Autoblog

Coupes seem to be somewhat resurgent lately, and the stupendously awesome Pontiac G8 GXP might be set to lose a pair of doors. While that would make it essentially a repeat of what came here as a revived GTO not too long ago, the name is not likely to return. The basic idea has been outlined in the Holden Coupe 60, itself starting out as an updated GTO, but turning out much cooler. The neo-ponycar wars will require the fitment of the 400 horsepower LS3 to run with the Shelby GT500KR, Challenger, and cousin Camaro.

The newly unveiled G8 GXP serves as the benchmark for what this coupe will likely come equipped with. That means big 19-inch wheels, uprated suspension, a meaner fascia and, most importantly, an available Tremec six-speed manual transmission. There should be a GT version, too, with "only" 361 horsepower, which should still offer a significant kick in the pants for less cash. The biggest impediment to the G8 Coupe actually seeing the light of day are looming new CAFE regulations, but we don't see how selling a bulk of these cars with the still-excellent 3.6 liter V6 to less performance-addled customers would be a bad thing. It'd hopefully prevent Pontiac from running afoul of the fuel economy rules while getting another car out there that enthusiasts can embrace in a variety of flavors. Thanks for the tip, Matthew!

[Source: Inside Line, Photo illustration by Nick Wilcox, Inside Line]

With the cancellation of any D1 Grand Prix drift action in the United States this year, the Formula D season should keep drift-addicts entertained when it gets underway on April 12th in Long Beach, California. Last season closed with Tanner Foust and his AEM Nissan 350Z being crowned champion, and Foust's multiple motorsports wins in 2007 (he also captured the X-Games rally title) garnered him increased attention and sponsorship deals. In fact, Rockstar Energy Drink has now ditched Daijiro Yoshihara and Pacific Rim to pair up with Tanner Foust and AEM for 2008. No matter for Go Go Daijiro though, as Rhys Millen conveniently had his number. Looking to expand the Pontiac Red Bull crew, Millen could not pass up the opportunity to snatch up the two time 2007 event winner in need of a ride. Millen's old Pontiac GTO will come out of retirement for Yoshihara to pilot in 2008.

[Source: Exhaust Note]

It's finally (semi) official: RWD cars like a new Pontiac GTO (and Holden Monaro) and Impala are "gone for now." Bob Lutz has been making noises about it for a while, and every announcement gets more and more certain that the front wheels will be pulling more GM cars.

Just a month ago, Lutz told Forbes "That's where the internal debate [on the Impala] is now -- no firm decision at this point, but my guess is that we will come down on the side of the front-drive car." By the time of last week's Detroit Auto Show, Lutz was telling GoAuto "I think the (Monaro/Pontiac GTO) is gone for now.... [T]hat's not the end of the market where we want to stimulate demand. We have to find ways to stimulate demand and desirability in cars that will get us closer to the 35 MPG average."

How will that be done? Perhaps by using the Alpha midsize platform and making CUV's. However, the Alpha still hasn't been signed off on, and won't be until GM figures out what -- and how many -- standards it will need to adhere to when the CAFE tug-of-war ends.

[Source: GoAuto]

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What's the best way to ruin a classic muscle car? Just slap on some gaudy 22-inch chrome wheels and give it a colorful chameleon paint job. While we'd much rather have a pristine example in showroom condition, you have to admit this 1967 Pontiac GTO is... unique. After all, Samuel L. Jackson himself has been behind the wheel in the movie "XXX State of the Union" (we think Ice Cube, too) and it even has functional rocket launchers. We're not sure when you'd ever be able to use them, but they would still be cool to have, you know, in case. The car also comes with a custom interior and more gauges than you'll know what to do with, an Air Ride suspension, V8, and automatic transmission. That's good, because we doubt whoever buys this car will know how to drive stick.

Thanks for the tip, Jordan!

[Source: eBay Motors]

We visited this issue in February, when Winding Road speculated Pontiac would get a Camaro spinoff, but now Car and Driver is weighing in. With the imminent return of the Chevy Camaro, many Poncho fans have wondered about a possible return of the screaming chicken, as well. Pontiac's last attempt at reviving a storied model (GTO) met with mixed results. The GTO was supposed to be a slam dunk for Pontiac. Take an existing rear drive muscular platform, add a few Pontiac trim pieces and a GTO badge, and voilà, instant success. Well, it didn't quite go as planned and GTO sales were rather tepid. Not that it wasn't a good car, especially in 6.0 form, but it didn't really set hearts aflutter, especially compared to the wildly successful retro Mustang.

So will Pontiac get a new GTO, or maybe a Firebird instead? With the G8 coming to replace the Bonneville and Grand Prix, a suitable RWD platform is already approved for US consumption. And of course, it's also underpinning that hot new Camaro. So if Pontiac gets a new muscle coupe, will it show up as a goat or a chicken? That's what Car and Driver asked Pontiac. After a long silence, C and D finally got some answers. Surprisingly, they seem to point towards a new GTO. They based this on Bob Lutz's own words: "No carbon copy of the Camaro will make it into any other GM-brand showroom" is how they put it. They also point out that while a Firebird would have to be essentially the same as a Camaro, a GTO from the same platform could be bigger and different enough to claim its own place in the market, maybe more of a G8 coupe. Whichever badge this future Pontiac sport coupe wears, it should get the same 261-hp 3.6-liter DOHC V-6 or 362-hp LS2 6.0-liter V-8 options as the G8. They would be offered with five or six-speed automatics, respectively, but six-speed manuals should be available, as well. Tough choice, really – a Firebird that would be a restyled Camaro, or a GTO that could go its own way. Which would you choose?

[Source: Car and Driver]

There aren't too many cars out there that can shred all four tires at once, but that's exactly what certain Pontiac GTO models are being accused of. Cleveland's Newsnet5 looked into GTO owners' complaints of shredded front tires with all the drama and hidden pinhole cameras (see the video here) you'd expect from a such a story.

What they found was actually somewhat startling. Early GTOs are eating their front tires. It seems the Holden Monaro, on which the GTO is based, is sold in Australia with 233 mm-wide tires. In the U.S., the GTO gets 245 mm-wide tires. According to the Center for Auto Safety, that extra rubber puts the tire snug up against the GTO's strut, causing the front tires to eventually fail. The TV station says 65 GTO owners have filed reports with the NHTSA about the problem, which has mailed letters alerting owners to an investigation.

Owners of 2006 GTOs need not worry about the tire-shredding problem. GM fitted the newer cars with updated struts which give sufficient tire clearance. Instead, that group of GTO fans gets to worry about strut failure, of which there have been numerous NHTSA complaints.

You can read a statement the CAS after the jump.

[Source: Newsnet5 via Wired]

First off, my apologies to you all, because this is a repost. However, I couldn't put up car-related Super Bowl ads without including it. Besides, if you missed it the first time, you're in for a treat. Pontiac aired the spot that's pasted after the jump during Super Bowl IV (Chiefs 23, Vikings 7).

The car it was pushing was the '70 GTO "Humbler," which let its driver pull a dash-mounted lever to activate the car's Vacuum Operated Exhaust (VOE) option. Doing so relieved backpressure and gave the car added punch while bestowing a positively evil exhaust note upon it to boot. After the spot aired, GM brass went nuts, pulling the commercial and killing the Humbler option itself. The spot aired just that one time, but you can watch it as often as you like by simply following the jump.

[Source: YouTube]

John Neff checked in from SEMA all excited about Mattel's Hot Wheels booth and we totally understand. We'd be willing to bet that many regular Autoblog readers have 1:64 scale hot rods doing 360s on their desks.

Mattel knows their market, and sent not only hundreds of their beloved miniature cars, but also flew in three full-sized hot rods.

Hot Wheels fans from the 1960s might remember their toy cars being vibrant, metallic colors. Those hues went away in the 1970s due to the large amount of lead used in their Spectraflame paint. Mattel has now teamed up with PPG to produce a new (hopefully lead-free) Spectraflame paint for adult-sized rides.

Photos of the SEMA Hot Wheels display including the three hot rods after the jump.

That the Autobot better known as Bumblebee will take the shape of a Camaro (both old and new) in the Transformers film is old news. Other than a few on-set pics, including some showing a Camaro concept curiously sporting a Saleen license plate, not much else was known about the car.

Well, Hot Rod magazine visited the set and got the full skinny on Bumblebee, and it's all very interesting. In a feature named "Flight of the Bumblebee" in Hot Rod's November '06 issue (on newsstands now) , we learn that GM, who had a good working relationship with Michael Bay already, opened up the "skunk works" (Bay's words) to the director, who immediately decided he wanted the new Camaro in the film.

The problem was that there were no new Camaros available to be used for filming. The only two in existence were on the auto show circuit, and of those, only one was a runner (the silver one), and it was in no way prepared to handle the rigors of real stunt driving. For the production, new Camaros would have to be created.

Enter Saleen, who was brought on board to build the cars. Saleen has done this kind of thing before: they created the Shelby Cobra Concepts used in the Ice Cube actioner, XXX: State of the Union. GM decided that the Pontiac GTO would be the best candidate to act as a base vehicle for the film's Camaros, and they provided two of the Pontiacs, all the relevant specifications, as well as two fiberglass Camaro bodies made from the concept car molds. Then, the team from Saleen went to work.

(Keep reading after the jump)

[Source: Hot Rod magazine]

The lads at Vauxhall, the British version of Opel, have been keeping busy with their tuneriffic VXR editions of the Vectra and Monaro.

Let's start with the Vectra. It comes in hatchback (pic after jump) and wagon bodystyles, and its turbocharged 2.8L V6 is good for 276 horsepower (280 PS) and a 6.1-second 0-60 time. (The wagon does it in 6.3.) A button on the dash lets the driver switch the suspension settings between regular and sport modes.

This is all very nice, and it makes us think about a potential (and hopefully probable) Saturn Aura Red Line. We think that a Saturnized grille with VXR-style bodywork and 300 horsepower underhood would do the trick. Pretty please, Ms. Lajdziak...

As for the Monaro, well, this is going to make fans of the recently-departed Pontiac GTO very angry. You see, the Vauxhall Monaro VXR500 (above) is a limited edition version of the rebadged Holden, and in this guise, the 6.0L LS2 gets added jolt via a supercharger, upgrading it to 493 horsepower (500 PS) and 500 lb-ft of torque. 0-60 now takes less than 5 seconds and the badass Vauxhall tops out at 180.

I told all you Pontiac fans you'd be mad about this...

(Vectra VXR hatch pic, press release after the jump)

[Source: Vauxhall]