Muscle car finds niche

By ALASTAIR SLOANE motoring editor

Holden's drive to export models to fill niches in other General Motors markets worldwide goes up another gear next year with sales of the Monaro coupe to Britain.

The iconic 5.7-litre V8 Monaro will be rebadged a Vauxhall and priced from £28,500 ($74,800). Exports will be limited to 300 Monaro models a year.

Vauxhall managing director Kevin Wale - a former Holden Australia executive in Melbourne - said British car enthusiasts would "thoroughly enjoy the Monaro, a true rear-drive muscle car." Vauxhall is GM's division in Britain.

The confirmation of the British deal comes as Holden's retiring chairman and managing director Peter Hanenberger watched the first shipment of Monaro-based Pontiac GTOs head to the United States.

Holden is building the left-hand-drive GTO at its plant in Adelaide and will export about 18,000 to the US over the next 12 months, a quota set by America's United Auto Workers union. The quota is expected to be revised for 2005.

The GTO is powered by the same 5.7-litre engine as the Monaro but GM liberated more power for American buyers.

The American deal is the first step towards Holden becoming GM's global development centre for rear-wheel-drive vehicles. Exports of the Monaro to Britain are another link in the chain.

GM vice-chairman Bob Lutz has talked for some time about exploiting Holden's rear-drive expertise within the GM empire.

"They [Holden] just do probably - from a value standpoint - the world's best rear-wheel-drive car, because they achieve extremely close to the dynamic excellence of a BMW for a far lower cost and price," Lutz said at the signing-off ceremony for the GTO.

The GTO received an immediate approval rating in America. Lutz said it was "everything we hoped it would be, and more. This latest GTO will carry on the proud tradition of a legendary line."

American marketing whiz Jim Wangers, who helped make the original a success, said Holden had done a sensational job.

"The decision not to go retro was a good move. This car is understated and tasteful, yet very capable. It has all the heart and soul of a GTO."

The original GTO inspired the term "muscle car" when it debuted as a high-performance option on the 1964 Pontiac Tempest.

Though originally only scheduled for 5000 units, more than 30,000 Tempest GTOs were ordered in 1964 alone. Before the GTO ended its production in 1974, more than 500,000 were sold.

Holden and Vauxhall indicated they had the British market in mind for Monaro when they showed off a badgeless model at the British motor show in Birmingham last year. Said Wale at the time: "It got lots of positive reactions, it provided a lot of excitement - just the nature of the car. I think it certainly encouraged us."

But the question of the car's branding also emerged as an issue.

"We were still trying to work out if we did it what our badging strategy would be," Wale said. "So we deliberately left the badges off the car."

The preferred option, however, was Vauxhall all along. Modifications to the Monaro for Vauxhall are limited only to homologation/engineering issues, unlike the facelift the Pontiac GTO received.

The Monaro will be sold in Britain with a comprehensive specification including leather eight-way electric seats, 18-inch alloy wheels, dual front and side airbags, electronic climate control and six-disc CD.

Vauxhall also has its eyes on further high-performance variants including HSV products. Utilities and all-wheel-drives could also be on the agenda.

The latest Monaro was launched in Australia and New Zealand in 2001. The facelifted Series II came midway through last year but sold only in Australia. The revised Series III Monaro arrives in New Zealand this week.