Autoblog

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]

The idea of refitting your set of North American wheels to resemble its domestic market counterpart is not new. One of the more popular conversions has been transforming the Nissan 240SX back into the JDM-spec Silvia from which it sprung. Until the SEMA show last week, however, we were unaware one could do this to car other than those that came from the East. A company called JHP Vehicle Enhancements, however, had a Pontiac GTO on display that, besides the incorrect location of the steering wheel, was a dead ringer for the Holden Monaro.

We took a week off from featuring a RR of the Day to focus on SEMA, so imagine our shock when we return to find a privately owned Goat-turned-Monaro in the Autoblog Flickr Pool. Owned by Flickr member Julius C., this late model GTO suffered an unfortunate up-close encounter with a guard rail one rainy day that created the perfect opportunity to practice some Aussie-inspired rhinoplasty. The damaged front end was swapped for a Holden Monaro look-a-like from JHP and a Gravana hood with two scoops was added for good measure. Check out Julius C.'s own Flickr account for a journal of the car's transmogrification.

When the GTO arrived back in the U.S. it was harpooned for being too vanilla in the looks department. While the Holden Monaro isn't exactly the Rocky Road of vehicle design, driving a GTO that looks like one will surely turn the heads of those in the know. To everyone else, the badge re-reengineered Goat will continue to be the same 6.0-liter sleeper it's always been.

We're back with the RR of the Day feature after a week-long hiatus for SEMA. All this week we'll feature unrelated rides that catch our eye, but we're returning with a theme next week and that theme is "Best Autocross Car". If you've got a hot AutoXer, join the Autoblog Flickr Pool and submit your ride for consideration. More detailed instructions can be found after the jump.