I glanced thru the newest issue and noticed that the GTO was in the news...and for some reason Car & Driver thinks that our GTO was part of GM's German subsidiary, Opel...said the GTO was an aging platform.
Quote: "The aging reardrive platform the GTO is built on (remember the '90s Cadillac Catera?) is being replaced by one developed by Holden, GM's Australian Arm."
I remembered reading form some where that the IRS is the same that was in the Catera. I never looked into it because i'm too busy enjoying driving my GOAT.
Actually, they're not off the mark. Can't remember where I read it, but the old Catera did, indeed, have some connection to Holden. I think there was some sort of platform sharing going on between Holden and Opel that predated Pontiac's co-opting of this very same platform for the GTO. It may have been the Holden Commodore, I think, that Opel was using as the Opel Senator . . . and which Cadillac then borrowed for the Catera at a time when they had no rear-drive vehicle in their lineup. I think the Commodore is pretty much just a stretched Monaro, so you can see that all these cars are kinda related.
Actually, they're not off the mark. Can't remember where I read it, but the old Catera did, indeed, have some connection to Holden. I think there was some sort of platform sharing going on between Holden and Opel that predated Pontiac's co-opting of this very same platform for the GTO. It may have been the Holden Commodore, I think, that Opel was using as the Opel Senator . . . and which Cadillac then borrowed for the Catera at a time when they had no rear-drive vehicle in their lineup. I think the Commodore is pretty much just a stretched Monaro, so you can see that all these cars are kinda related.
You got it more or less right GM Kid
The platform dates back to the mid-nineties.
It's an Opel chassis design, loaned to GM Australia (Holden), and stuffed with a made in USA drivetrain.
So it's a 10 yr old platform. Who cares? It's solid, quiet, rigid, inexpensive, and goes like a raped ape.
Would any of you rather have a brand new Mustang chassis?
You got it more or less right GM Kid
The platform dates back to the mid-nineties.
It's an Opel chassis design, loaned to GM Australia (Holden), and stuffed with a made in USA drivetrain.
So it's a 10 yr old platform. Who cares? It's solid, quiet, rigid, inexpensive, and goes like a raped ape.
Would any of you rather have a brand new Mustang chassis?
Yup. Another strike against the Mulletude.
This car is an Australian design based on a European platform.
Thank God GMNA was kept at bay, busily slapping plastic on the sides of FWD pigs like the Bonneville.
Yes indeed, the GTO is related to the Catera, which is related to the Opel Senator/Omega. Yes, the technology is old, but very solid. Better than most anything that's from Detroit, or wherever "American" cars are built these days. These Opel's were bred to do battle on Germany's Autobahn, along side the big 'Benz's and BMW's of the era, and did quite well too. That's why the steering is kinda' slow, for high-speed accuracy at triple digit speeds. Yup, German engineering, by way of Australia. Cadillac could've had a winner, if they'd exploited the original virtues of the platform, instead of trying to "Americanize" it. When it was introduced, all I could do was shake my head, knowing full well (by first-hand experience in Germany) what the Senator/Omega was capable of.
Not that it matters to anyone but us locksmiths, but the GTO has alot of programming similarities to the Catera when it comes to the immobilizer keys. The keyway on the GTO is all Opel as well, I don't expect many ignition lock failures like we see with the crappy MRD locks on the US Pontiacs.
You got it more or less right GM Kid
The platform dates back to the mid-nineties.
It's an Opel chassis design, loaned to GM Australia (Holden), and stuffed with a made in USA drivetrain.
So it's a 10 yr old platform. Who cares? It's solid, quiet, rigid, inexpensive, and goes like a raped ape.
Would any of you rather have a brand new Mustang chassis?
Yeah, first real change for the Mustang since 1979, I think.
...and that was actually a 'no' to your Mustang question, b.t.w.
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Cadillac could've had a winner, if they'd exploited the original virtues of the platform, instead of trying to "Americanize" it. When it was introduced, all I could do was shake my head, knowing full well (by first-hand experience in Germany) what the Senator/Omega was capable of.
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