The WOW look at this thread
02-21-2006, 10:35 AM
#4186
Originally Posted by laoba
vauxhall manaro VXR. this car is sweet, it's a GTO here in the US. they featured it in last season of top gear (the UK motoring show). richard hammond tests this car out, and then has kazama come out and drift with the car
speaking of the GTO, it's being discontinued...
Pontiac will drop the GTO this year
DETROIT -- General Motors has told Pontiac dealers that it will discontinue the GTO coupe at the end of this model year. GM will make the last deliveries of the vehicle to dealers by the end of September, sources close to Pontiac say.
GM will produce 10,000 to 12,000 more GTOs before dropping the nameplate, one source close to the situation says. Last year, Pontiac sold 11,590 GTOs compared to 2004 when it sold 13,569. That's a 14.6 percent drop.
When Pontiac launched the GTO in 2003, it projected 18,000 annual sales. The vehicle was criticized for bland styling, and some fans of the original GTO complained that it lacked nostalgic styling cues.
"For the remaining life of the car, it simply wasn't worth the engineering expense or effort to re-certify it as an '07 for a very limited run, when we could continue selling them as '06s," says a source close to GM who is familiar with the program.
The GTO is built on a rear-wheel drive architecture from GM's Holden division in Australia. The present model is going out of production as GM constructs the new Zeta RWD architecture, says the source. There is no replacement coupe planned at this time and because of the strong Australian and weak U.S. dollar, the GTO had to be priced thousands over where GM originally wanted it -- in the mid-twenties, the source says. "It never did as much volume as we had hoped," the source says.
The GTO suggested retail price starts at $31,990, including shipping. One GM source says, "the 2005 and 2006 were pretty well sold out, and sales were especially strong in areas of GM weakness, like Southern California. It's a shame it has to go -- for now."
Another source says that GM has indicated that it would like to have another vehicle in that "space" in the future.
02-21-2006, 01:30 PM
#4191
BMW today released new details on its much-rumored N54 Bi-Turbo Engine. The motor is expected to appear in the 2007 BMW 335i and 2007 BMW 335ci (coupe). The engine has an output of 306 horsepower and maximum torque of 295 lbs.-ft (400 Nm). BMW said it has already tested a 3-Series sedan with the engine, and achieved a 0-62mph time of 5.7 seconds. BMW said the engine is relatively lightweight — about 70kg less than its 4.0-liter V8 engine. According to the automaker, the 3.0-liter engine has little or no turbo lag, thanks to two small turbos instead of one large one. Maximum torque is achieved between 1500 and 5800 rpm.
02-21-2006, 03:38 PM
#4197
02-21-2006, 09:21 PM
#4199
Originally Posted by Impresive-G
rofl. fujapples should of got that. haha
"Fujiapples should have gotten that car. Haha!"