Monaro on topgear again
Discussion
www.applausestore.com/Site/
Hi Aussiedude,
This is where you apply, I got mine within two weeks.
It is pretty novel for us colonials. You will have to take your thick skin as Clarkson will give everything Australian a blast except the Monaro.
Hi Aussiedude,
This is where you apply, I got mine within two weeks.
It is pretty novel for us colonials. You will have to take your thick skin as Clarkson will give everything Australian a blast except the Monaro.
You will have to take your thick skin as Clarkson will give everything Australian a blast except the Monaro.[/quote]
Clarkson wrote an article on the 5.0 litre HSV GTS for the Sunday Times (mid 1999 I think). He suggested is was the best car in the world (a phrase he uses fairly regularly) & finished the article "if at all possible buy one". If anyone has this article I would be very grateful for a copy as it was this that made me decide an HSV would be my next car.
He wrote about my car on 17/02/2002 again in the Sunday Times, but half the article was slagging off Australia and its inhabitants. He still loved the car, despite smoking about 1000 ciggies in it, it stank for ages afterwards! His memory of the standard GTS was obviously very rosy, as he declared it just as quick to 100 as the s/charged car, despite it being at least 3-4 secs slower. Rod the importer was not that happy about this point!
>> Edited by A57 HSV on Thursday 16th June 12:17
Clarkson wrote an article on the 5.0 litre HSV GTS for the Sunday Times (mid 1999 I think). He suggested is was the best car in the world (a phrase he uses fairly regularly) & finished the article "if at all possible buy one". If anyone has this article I would be very grateful for a copy as it was this that made me decide an HSV would be my next car.
He wrote about my car on 17/02/2002 again in the Sunday Times, but half the article was slagging off Australia and its inhabitants. He still loved the car, despite smoking about 1000 ciggies in it, it stank for ages afterwards! His memory of the standard GTS was obviously very rosy, as he declared it just as quick to 100 as the s/charged car, despite it being at least 3-4 secs slower. Rod the importer was not that happy about this point!
>> Edited by A57 HSV on Thursday 16th June 12:17
The car was still owned by HSV(UK), Clarkson had it for a few days, before I owned it. The car was the press/demo car & lent (free of charge) to several publications, with the aim of advertising the LSV Supercharger package which was approx. £10k on top of the standard GTS. Sadly HSV(UK) stopped trading a couple or so months afterwards.
Serviced + 4 new tyres before it was sold to me!
>> Edited by A57 HSV on Thursday 16th June 15:47
Serviced + 4 new tyres before it was sold to me!
>> Edited by A57 HSV on Thursday 16th June 15:47
I've read rumours in old posts that the monaro may be withdrawn from production in 2006(is it true?) cos GM America is in the sh*t economically & they control the purse strings for the entire GM brand worldwide but what's the harm in keeping production going in oz & keeping as it was b4 the sudden burst of worldwide praise, a low volume niche market coupe as i reckon the european market could be huge for it & lure bmw, lexus, merc & jag drivers etc away from their overpriced & overcomplicated mobile technology showcases & into a relatively simple car that makes u want to drive it just for pure fun.
Sorry if i've gone on a bit but how often does a mass producer make a car everyone loves, worries the opposition & then rumours start flying around about it's demise. F@rd must be wetting themselves with glee
Sorry if i've gone on a bit but how often does a mass producer make a car everyone loves, worries the opposition & then rumours start flying around about it's demise. F@rd must be wetting themselves with glee
I'v been looking at this site.. www.gminsidenews.com according to reports there, GM had originally planned the next Saab 9-5 & buik models to use the new Zeta platform that the new VE will use.. However they canned this because of escalating costs. This has affected other models going into the Zeta, including Monaro. It looks like they'v got rid of the idea of manufacturing it in America too, considering the loss of 25000 workers.
My guess is that the next Monaro will be a more individual car, still based on VE Commodore, but more differentiated. It should also have a convertable and diesel engines if rumours are to be believed. Holden know they need a Monaro, GM cant afford it, Holden have basically said "BACK OFF" Because of this, it will probably be at least a year after the VE commodore before we see a new Monaro
My guess is that the next Monaro will be a more individual car, still based on VE Commodore, but more differentiated. It should also have a convertable and diesel engines if rumours are to be believed. Holden know they need a Monaro, GM cant afford it, Holden have basically said "BACK OFF" Because of this, it will probably be at least a year after the VE commodore before we see a new Monaro
The 9-5, Vauxhall Omega & Commodore all share the basic platform that dates from the mid 90's. Holden made changes to its size etc for the Aussi market. My Dad had a 9-5 and an Omega, there are a few things you notice the same, but the Saab has many more differences than the Omega, possibly because it is sold in Oz to compete with the Holden, whereas the Vaux didnt. I believe technology such as the 4 speed auto are shared between all 3.
>> Edited by Rob K on Sunday 19th June 12:17
>> Edited by Rob K on Sunday 19th June 12:17
Sadly, Clarkson seems to have lots of facts in his head but none in any particular order. His glib offhand comments often have little or no substance.
Overall, he was very complimentary about the Cadillac and we all saw the calibre of it's performance and handling when the Stig was comprehensively blown away by ham-fisted Mr Clarkson. His main gripe with the Cadillac appeared to be the price and this is down to Cadillac Europe pricing. A brand new CTS-V is about $50k in the US so even taking into account import duty and VAT, you can have one on the road in the UK for around £35k.
Apart from failing to distinguish between the "bargain Monaro" which is basically an LS1-engined Omega and the "HSV" VXR to any degree, he also omitted to underline that the Cadillac has 4 doors and not just two. I'm surprised at his jibs at quality as I went to see a CTS-V in Florida in May and the interior is far better than the VXR and the overall quality seemed pretty good to me.
Finally, I was pleased to see the Cadillac lap a streaming circuit at 1:33.4 whereas the old VXR did it in 1:33.7, also in the wet. Mr Clarkson then opined in an off the cuff way that the roles would be reversed when the LS2 6.0 VXR hit the track. Personally, I'd like to see the tightly computer reined LS2 take that half second out of the track time of the CTS-V. Assuming it's a dry track, it will have to achieve a 1:28 to be better than the CTS-V if a wet lap is 4 seconds longer and if it can do that, I'll be impressed myself....but I'll still buy the Caddy. LOL.
>> Edited by LuS1fer on Tuesday 21st June 21:10
Overall, he was very complimentary about the Cadillac and we all saw the calibre of it's performance and handling when the Stig was comprehensively blown away by ham-fisted Mr Clarkson. His main gripe with the Cadillac appeared to be the price and this is down to Cadillac Europe pricing. A brand new CTS-V is about $50k in the US so even taking into account import duty and VAT, you can have one on the road in the UK for around £35k.
Apart from failing to distinguish between the "bargain Monaro" which is basically an LS1-engined Omega and the "HSV" VXR to any degree, he also omitted to underline that the Cadillac has 4 doors and not just two. I'm surprised at his jibs at quality as I went to see a CTS-V in Florida in May and the interior is far better than the VXR and the overall quality seemed pretty good to me.
Finally, I was pleased to see the Cadillac lap a streaming circuit at 1:33.4 whereas the old VXR did it in 1:33.7, also in the wet. Mr Clarkson then opined in an off the cuff way that the roles would be reversed when the LS2 6.0 VXR hit the track. Personally, I'd like to see the tightly computer reined LS2 take that half second out of the track time of the CTS-V. Assuming it's a dry track, it will have to achieve a 1:28 to be better than the CTS-V if a wet lap is 4 seconds longer and if it can do that, I'll be impressed myself....but I'll still buy the Caddy. LOL.
>> Edited by LuS1fer on Tuesday 21st June 21:10
LuS1fer, Not sure I agree about the LS1 engined Omega. The basic design of my Commodre based HSV is undoubtedly shared with the Omega. However the only parts common to the Omega that I am aware of, are the door handles & some trim clips. No glass etc. is interchangeable.
I also suspect that the Commodre chassis is much stronger than the Omega, to cope with the variety of road surfaces found in Aus.
Sadly the CTS-V is I believe only available in LHD.
>> Edited by A57 HSV on Monday 20th June 12:33
I also suspect that the Commodre chassis is much stronger than the Omega, to cope with the variety of road surfaces found in Aus.
Sadly the CTS-V is I believe only available in LHD.
>> Edited by A57 HSV on Monday 20th June 12:33
A57 HSV said:
LuS1fer, Not sure I agree about the LS1 engined Omega. The basic design of my Commodre based HSV is undoubtedly shared with the Omega. However the only parts common to the Omega that I am aware of, are the door handles & some trim clips. No glass etc. is interchangeable.
I also suspect that the Commodre chassis is much stronger than the Omega, to cope with the variety of road surfaces found in Aus.
Sadly the CTS-V is I believe only available in LHD.
>> Edited by A57 HSV on Monday 20th June 12:33
No, that was a little simplistic, I was merely highlighting the difference between the basic Holden and the "tuner" HSV as owners are particularly wont to do on here! LOL. Not sure about the Monaro but Jagsy's HSV GTS door handles are the same as the C5.
You're right, the CTS-V is LHD only because of the LS6 - only the sixes are RHD but LHD has never been a problem to me so I don't really dwell on it. It's just 3 foot nearer the kerb....
I don't mind LHD on say a classic or SUV, I owned a 1959 Caddy for a few years. But in a car that I would be able to overtake others in I find LHD a real pain, especially if you are behind a tall vehicle/lorry.
One reason why I had to have an HSV was that I could access my favourite engine in a RHD 4dr. The fact that it handled better than the only 2 real alternatives at the time (M5 & E55) & was as rare as hens teeth, made it a bit of a no-brainer choice for me.
Still can't find an ideal replacement for my car. I got excited for a bit by the prospect of the V10 M5 but the techno side of it leaves me cold & I'd rather have low revs/high torque.
One reason why I had to have an HSV was that I could access my favourite engine in a RHD 4dr. The fact that it handled better than the only 2 real alternatives at the time (M5 & E55) & was as rare as hens teeth, made it a bit of a no-brainer choice for me.
Still can't find an ideal replacement for my car. I got excited for a bit by the prospect of the V10 M5 but the techno side of it leaves me cold & I'd rather have low revs/high torque.
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