----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, January 22, 2003 7:06
PM
Subject: Re: [Chevelle-List] New GTO pics
- what has happened to our beloved A-body cousi
IMO the retro look is getting kinda old for me. Seems to me that alot of
American vehicles have lost their glamour with some of the public so this
retro motion is trying to get some consumers back from foriegn cars. I
think the V6/4 banger fwd motion was decided back in the early to mid-80's
when gas mileage became bigger and fwd allowed manufactures to produce smaller
cars with more room as they could eliminate the driveshaft bump. Also to add
to it... fwd cars are much nicer to drive in the winter up north here and also
if you haven't noted are much more expensive on the labor side of things to
fix as they are more cramped in the engine bay. I like many of them... but IMO
they hold way too much of the market share and the rwd and awd options hold
far too little. I also agree that this is probably part of the reason for the
who truck/suv craze.
I personally do love the GTO concept... and that is because for the first
time in a good 10-20 years you can get a 2 door sedan that actually has a
semi-usable back seat with V8 power and even a manual. That flat out rocks!
Also since we are on new cars... look at the hp battles begining again...
Hemi's, 390hp Cobra mustangs, the GTO is going to have a 405 hp LS6 option,
and if the websites are correct the 2005 Lightning could have 500 hp! I guess
I will say enjoy it while it lasts...
Mikey
