For about seven years, my daily driver was a Turbo Buick. I put nearly 90,000 miles on that Turbo-T, and I still catch myself doing things in other cars that were born of necessity with the TR.
Example: Turbo Regals had a problem with the idle air control units getting clogged with carbon. When they did, the engine would die at idle and you'd have to spend some time removing the IAC, cleaning it, and re-installing if you didn't want to look like a fool at the local cruise night.
The T isn't a daily driver anymore, but even now at a stoplight, when I'm driving any auto-trans car, I'll be unconsciously pressing on the gas and brake to "prevent" a stall. Over the years, I'd become one with that G-body-and my psyche became calibrated to the Buford's soft suspension and loose steering as "the way a car should feel."
Recently, I happened to drive my 1987 Turbo-T, my 2001 Z28, and our project 2005 GTO consecutively. All musclecar versus sports car arguments aside, the difference between the Buick and the Z was huge: even though the Buick's front suspension and steering have been replaced and/or upgraded, 14 years of improvements at GM made the Camaro's steering feel much tighter, and its suspension feel much more settled.
No big surprise there-but when I drove the '05 Goat after spending a good amount of time behind the '01 Z's wheel, I was blown away. While the Monaro-based GTO definitely doesn't have the razor-sharp handling of an F-body, its light-yet-sporty steering feel and supple suspension is a joy. This is a car that will pull mid- to high-.80s on a skidpad with 17-inch rims and all-season tires; F-body handling-minus the harsh ride-is only a performance tire and 18-inch rims away. And the best part? The Z and the Goat are only separated by four years!
Whether you want to credit Holden for creating it, or Pontiac for Americanizing it, it's irrelevant: the fact remains that the steering, the handling, and the overall quality of this performance vehicle is outstanding. The new GTO proves that our favorite auto company is starting to think globally.
Unfortunately for GM, styling is the Achilles' heel of the '04-06 GTO, and sales have been lower than expected. While 11,000 die-hard 2005 GTO lovers have looked past its homely exterior to the outstanding car beneath, the general public chased--and caught--the less powerful, less refined 2005 Mustang. The Ford lovers came out in droves last year, purchasing nearly 60,000 Mustang GTs.
Hopefully, the bigwigs have learned an important lesson here: if you're looking for sales volume in image-obsessed America, function always takes a backseat to form. It makes perfect sense--guys, equate this to your other hobby: the ladies. Let's say you see two girls at a club--one is shy, sweet, caring, attentive, and a nice person; her friend is loud, bitchy, superficial, could give a damn about you, would gladly ruin your life--and is much better looking. Who do you chase, Fido?
The Goat's current iteration will be gone after 2006, temporarily leaving the faithful EFI GM cognoscenti without an affordable rear-drive, V-8 powered performance car yet again. Only this time, it's a good thing.
Regarding the new Camaro, the general consensus is "It looks great, but the retro craze will be long-gone by the time the Camaro hits the streets." Seems like many people feel that the Mustang and Challenger will have cornered the market, and GM won't sell many Camaros. But retro or not, if the Camaro debuts with the edgy Concept styling, it will sell.
The GTO is an excellent example of great engineering, created by our friends at Holden. As we speak, there's a dedicated group of GM engineers in Australia developing the Camaro. A couple of months back, we were informed that GM planned on designing and producing the Camaro in Australia. All financial reasons aside, this is an excellent plan. Looks aside, the GTO was so endearing because it was thoughtfully designed. Sure, a door lock switch and a dead pedal would have been nice, but features like seating comfort, cabin room, and interior quality go a long way with the car-buying secretaries of the world. Now, combine those qualities, the Camaro Concept's styling, and a killer GM V-8, and GM has the potential to sell every one it builds.
And chances are, the next-gen GTO will share much with the Camaro. I'm confident that with GM North America and Holden engineers putting their heads together Down Under, the next GTO will be as or more refined as the current model--only with a sexy new body guaranteed to seduce the buying public.
Sure, it hurts to have to wait even longer for these new beauties to be made. But after declining Fourth Gen F-body sales, and the GTO disappointment, GM knows that it's now or never--and if it takes them an extra year or two to create a couple of V-8 hot rods that will set my hair on fire, I'll wait.