Can't believe I forgot to mention the GTO in the badge engineering
thread. Maybe because I don't consider it a GTO. Am I the only one
that thinks it looks like a beefy version of the Pontiac Grand Am?
Speaking of the badge engineering, or "badge whoring" as of latley
with manufacturers, now we have the Impala again, the Monte Carlo,
now the Dodge Charger is making a comeback. Will it ever end? Or
will a manufacturer stop disgracing automotive legends to promote a
car that by itself wouldn't sell as great.
For an everyday car I drive an Oldsmobile intrigue with the great
little 3.8 V6. Basically I have the same car as an Impala, Monte
Carlo (with 2 extra doors) and the rest of the GM fleet.
I used to have a 2003 Oldsmobile Aurora 4.0 V8, but talk about a gas
hog. Great power, but man every 300 miles it demanded another $40 to
fill the monster tank.
Now speaking of the Oldsmobile Aurora, since everyone knows the Olds
line is dead (what a terrible shame) GM wasn't about to waster all
the engineering that went into the Oldsmobiles. Look at the "NEW"
Pontiac Bonneville GTX I believe it is called. It is 100%
mechanically and stucturally my former Oldsmobile Aurora. Same
engine, tranny, frame, hardware mounting, same door handles, inside
& out, seats, trim, electronics, sunroof, doors, roofline, trunk,
exhaust, brakes, steering rack, etc.
All the "new" bonneville has is different fascias badging, and the
usual oddball radio and steering wheel controls. Don't get me wrong
the GTX is an awesome looking Bonneville, just it amazes me that it
is basically my old Aurora in disguise.
Of all the Badge engineering, the GTO is really missing out, unless
they do a more masculine redesign, and bring back some classic GTO
features, it'll always be a Pontiac Grand Am on roids to me.
Joe OBrien
--- In DMCForum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "timnagin" <timnagin@xxxx> wrote:
> I would like to add the new GTO to that list. I was sorry to see
the F-body
> go away, but glad to see they decided to do something with the
LS1 / LS2
> engines in the new GTO.
>
> I was out of town, saw one at a dealership, and pulled a U to get
a look at
> it. I looked at the sticker, then at the car, then back and the
sticker and
> said, "you want me to pay how much? for THIS?" I was so let down.
>
> Greg
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: therealdmcvegas [mailto:dmcvegas@xxxx]
> Sent: Saturday, February 19, 2005 11:28 AM
> To: DMCForum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [DMCForum] Re: H2: Go anyhere. Including directly to
jail; Do
> not collect $200.
>
>
>
>
> Car manufacturers will also do this in order to save money on less
> sucessful car lines as well. Take the "J" body for instance. Been
in
> production since the 80's, and gave birth to the Cavalier,
Sunfire, &
> Cimmaron. GM has made their money back on the tooling for these
cars,
> so if they discontinue them, there's no profit loss. Which is what
> they had to do, in order to cover their losses on their other car
> line. The one that birthed dismal sales failures such as the
Catera,
> Malibu, Impala, & Chevrolet Classic. Bland, boring cars so bad,
that
> GM could only profitably sell them thru fleet sales. And that's not
> saying much.
>
> Now GM has reintroduced these future rattle traps as the "New"
> Cavalier replacement, the Chevy Cobalt. Just as they had to do when
> they migrated tooling from the failed Pontiac Aztek over to build
the
> Buick Rendevouz.
>
> If you want an example of a vehicle that failed when it got badge
> engineered, but because of it's rarity, it's gonna be worth serious
> cash some day, take a look at the Lincoln Blackwood. Those things
are
> gonna be the next "Dodge Dude".
>
> -Robert
>
>
>
> --- In DMCForum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "timnagin" <timnagin@xxxx> wrote:
> > Actually, JZD did mention "badge engineering" when asked about GM
> dropping
> > the Buick name from their line. He thought it would be a waste
to
> get rid
> > of the name when they could stick it on an import or something
else.
> >
> > Even though the Escalade and Navigator are more expensive than
the
> vehicles
> > they are based on, quite often the parts used on those vehicles
are
> the same
> > or less expensive to manufacture. Take a base vehicle, slap on a
> few
> > different items and jack the price up by $10k and people believe
it
> is
> > better. It is the same vehicle, thus, "badge engineered".
> >
> > Greg
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