GM muscles in on the Monaro

Detroit will rebadge the two-door Holden and call it the Pontiac GTO, after the 60s' coupe, writes ALASTAIR SLOANE.

The new-generation Holden Monaro will be modified and rebadged as the 21st century Pontiac GTO in the United States.

General Motors executives have confirmed the car will go on sale early next year.

It will be powered by the same Chevrolet-sourced 5.7-litre V8 used in Australia and New Zealand, priced at about $US30,000 ($NZ68,000) and aimed at well-heeled American executives who have made money and turned to off-shore luxury brands. "It feels and drives a lot like a V8 BMW," said Bob Lutz, GM's vice-chairman for product development, at a special preview in New York.

Lutz drove the Monaro in Melbourne in February and said then that the coupe and Commodore ute were being assessed for sale in America.

The former US marine pilot said during his Australian visit that a large proportion of his role with Holden parent GM was to inject excitement into future products.

"In this respect Holden is seen as a shining light," said Lutz, who is known for his love of bold, exciting cars.

"In many ways Holden is a microcosm of what we would like all of General Motors to be.

"It works within the various resources of GM; it works with GM's alliance partners and it operates with very limited funds but with unlimited creativity, ingenuity and enthusiam."

Lutz also spent time looking over the Holden Special Vehicles operation - especially its treatment of the Monaro.

"It's fair to say that HSV styling cues are very much his cup of tea," said HSV chief John Crennan.

"You don't have to do too much research on Mr Lutz to know that he likes products that make statements."

The old Pontiac GTO was one of the first of a string of powerful muscle cars and sold in the US between 1964 and 1974.

It was nicknamed the Goat and was aimed at young buyers looking for affordable cars with serious horsepower.

Soon after it was launched, American pop group Ronnie and the Daytonas reached No. 4 on the hit parade with their song Little GTO, which included lyrics like "yeah yeah, little GTO."

But the popularity of the muscle cars declined with the oil price shock of the early 1970s and fell further away as American motorists turned to larger vehicles like four-wheel-drives and more modern pick-up trucks.

Holden is speeding up plans to export the Monaro and Commodore ute and has already increased production on its left-hand-drive assembly line.

The ute might wear the El Camino moniker, after the swept-up GM two-door of the 1970s.

Former American President Bill Clinton had a El Camino, back when he was a budding politician in Arkansas.

"It was a real sort of down-southern deal," he said. "I had astro turf in the back. You don't want to know why but I did."

But Holden has some engineering work to complete before Monaro exports can begin.

The most demanding challenge it faced was to figure out how to put the LHD Monaro's fuel tank between the rear axles to conform with American regulations.

The RHD Monaro has the fuel tank behind the rear axles.

The fuel tank in the Commodore ute isn't a concern: the ute is based on the Commodore wagon and its fuel tank sits between the rear axles. Nor is the ute's LHD programme - utes already go to the Middle East and Brazil.

Holden must also prepare the cars in time for a 160,000km emissions driving test in America. The results of the test have to be analysed before sales can begin.