jpd80 Posted July 22, 2017 Share Posted July 22, 2017 (edited) I wouldn't even call it retro at all....not even an attempt at it aside from dredging up the GTO name. It was a Holden Monaro with a Pontiac grille and an iconic muscle car name, no one would have been upset if GM had just called the thing G8. True story about Monaro, it was developed by engineers in their own time and given the green light for development, it cost a measly AUS $66 million to develop off Commodore and a further AUS$20 million to federalize. The problem was that the VT Commodore was delivered in 1997 but Monaro didn't arrive until nearly 2000 and GTO in 2001 and by 2006 the styling was terribly dated... it is what it is, a coupe developed off a sedan. Edited July 22, 2017 by jpd80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Rosadini Posted July 22, 2017 Share Posted July 22, 2017 So back to the thread topic-haven't read ANYTHING in press about "strategic moves" of any sort Hackett has initiated. Maybe that is a good sign-he is actually looking at things and deliberating before making change for the sake of "change" and "look what I've done" coverage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Posted July 22, 2017 Share Posted July 22, 2017 .....let's not pretend any name is sacred in the automotive world. Mercury Montego also Mercuru Montego Mercury Monterey also Mercury Monterey Dodge Charger also Dodge Charger 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PREMiERdrum Posted July 22, 2017 Share Posted July 22, 2017 So back to the thread topic-haven't read ANYTHING in press about "strategic moves" of any sort Hackett has initiated. Maybe that is a good sign-he is actually looking at things and deliberating before making change for the sake of "change" and "look what I've done" coverage. Changes are definitely happening. He's just not crowing about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atomcat68 Posted July 23, 2017 Share Posted July 23, 2017 It was a Holden Monaro with a Pontiac grille and an iconic muscle car name, no one would have been upset if GM had just called the thing G8. True story about Monaro, it was developed by engineers in their own time and given the green light for development, it cost a measly AUS $66 million to develop off Commodore and a further AUS$20 million to federalize. The problem was that the VT Commodore was delivered in 1997 but Monaro didn't arrive until nearly 2000 and GTO in 2001 and by 2006 the styling was terribly dated... it is what it is, a coupe developed off a sedan. That's sort of what happened to the soon to be discontinued Ford EXP in 1985. The workers thought they could make a better car, so they grabbed one off the assembly line and put an Escort front on it and showed it to their boss and Donald Peterson looked at it and was liked it and it got produced that way until the Probe came out and Ford didn't want to spend recourses on three coupes. ...This is probably the first time in history a car was stolen, and everybody was happy about it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted July 24, 2017 Author Share Posted July 24, 2017 That's sort of what happened to the soon to be discontinued Ford EXP in 1985. The workers thought they could make a better car, so they grabbed one off the assembly line and put an Escort front on it Hmmm not beliving that story: Escort EXP Escort GT The 1986 EXP stole the lower Cladding from the Escort GT (which it really was mechanically identical to and got a new grill that wasn't shared with anything else... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoonerLS Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 Look at the previous EXP: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atomcat68 Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 Hmmm not beliving that story: Escort EXP Escort GT The 1986 EXP stole the lower Cladding from the Escort GT (which it really was mechanically identical to and got a new grill that wasn't shared with anything else... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_EXP I first heard this story from one of the auto mags too in the 80's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted July 24, 2017 Author Share Posted July 24, 2017 Look at the previous EXP: Right, but its apparent the 86 EXP was part of the Escort Refresh that happened at the same time. The Stampings for the roof and rear end where different then the Escort. The 83-85 EXP wasn't winning any beauty contests with that maw on it. It reminds me of the the '82 Mustang to a point [/img]https://assets.hemmings.com/story_image/597111-1000-0@2x.jpg?rev=2[/img] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted July 24, 2017 Author Share Posted July 24, 2017 (edited) Look at the previous EXP: Right, but its apparent the 86 EXP was part of the Escort Refresh that happened at the same time. The Stampings for the roof and rear end where different then the Escort. The 83-85 EXP wasn't winning any beauty contests with that maw on it. It reminds me of the the '82 Mustang to a point Edited July 24, 2017 by silvrsvt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoonerLS Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 Right, but its apparent the 86 EXP was part of the Escort Refresh that happened at the same time. The Stampings for the roof and rear end where different then the Escort. That doesn't mean that it wasn't saved by some folks from the line sticking an Escort nose on an EXP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atomcat68 Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 That doesn't mean that it wasn't saved by some folks from the line sticking an Escort nose on an EXP. Yes, I think they one that was taken off the line looked like a hack job with the different nose on it, but everyone could probably see that with a little work like matching the body cladding and such it would work. Hell, even on the 1987 EXP I owned, it looked like they styling lines didn't match up 100%. I could tell the front fenders and hood weren't designed for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted July 25, 2017 Author Share Posted July 25, 2017 Hell, even on the 1987 EXP I owned, it looked like they styling lines didn't match up 100%. I could tell the front fenders and hood weren't designed for it. That's because they where from the escort. I know the Roof/C-pillar/rear end was from the first gen EXP, not from the updated 1985 1/2 refresh of the Escort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.