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Automotive Industry

2002 Holden Monaro CV8 - Cars Worth Noting - GM's Holden Monaro CV8 has 5.7L V8, 302 hp engine and 6-speed manual transmission - International Pages - Brief Article - Product Announcement

Automotive Industries, Sept, 2002 by Andrea Wielgat

It's a pity the guys at GM didn't think of it earlier. But I guess it's better late then never.

I'm talking about the Holden Monaro CV8. It's the car product-gum Bob Lutz reportedly fell in love with during a trip down under to GM'S Australian subsidiary, Holden. This is the vehicle that will resurrect the famed Pontiac GTO for 2004.

This luxury sports coupe certainly lives up to its classification On the luxury side, I loved the interior. This must be the best GM interior in the family We're talking leather paired with a tastefully designed cockpit My only complaint is that the instrument panel looked dated and needed a freshening.

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On the sports side, the Monaro has a 5.7L V8, 302 hp engine with a 6-speed manual transmission. Once I got used to the right hand drive and shifting with my left hand, the vehicle was a delight With great handling and a sporty suspension, I found the Monaro perfect for taking on long winding roads. Holden equipped the Monaro with independent sport suspension, tuned steering ratio and fabulous 18-inch tires mounted on alloy wheels.

Last but not least, the Monaro is one good-looking coupe. It has all the right curves in all the right places. With a muscular front and sculpted sides it certainly is a head turner.

When it comes to the United States GM is set to tweak the Monaro's design to fit into the Pontiac family. It will also make some changes under the hood including installing a specially tuned version of the 5.7L LS1 V8.

Welcome back, little GTO.

Automotive Industry

2002 Holden Monaro CV8 - Cars Worth Noting - GM's Holden Monaro CV8 has 5.7L V8, 302 hp engine and 6-speed manual transmission - International Pages - Brief Article - Product Announcement

Automotive Industries, Sept, 2002 by Andrea Wielgat

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