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Pontiac GTO | Car Review | The Pontiac GTO is a car built by the Pontiac division of General Motors in the United States from 1964 to 1974 and by GM subsidiary Holden in Australia from 2004 to 2006. It is considered an innovative, classic muscle car of the 1960s and 1970s. From 1964 to mid 1973, it was closely linked to Pontiac Tempest / Le Mans and the 1974 model year it was based on the Pontiac Ventura. The 21st century GTO is essentially a left hand drive Holden Monaro, itself a variant of the Holden Commodore coupe.

Pontiac GTO was the brainchild of Pontiac engineer Russell Gee, an engine specialist; Bill Collins, a chassis engineer; and Pontiac chief engineer John DeLorean. In early 1963, General Motors' management issued an edict banning divisions from involvement in auto racing. At the time, Pontiac's advertising and marketing approach was heavily based on performance, and racing was an important component of that strategy. With GM's ban on factory-sponsored racing, Pontiac's young, visionary management turned its attention to emphasizing street performance.

In his autobiography �Glory Days,� Pontiac chief marketing manager Jim Wangers, who worked for the division�s contract advertising and public relations agency, states that John DeLorean, Bill Collins and Russ Gee were indeed responsible for the GTO's creation. It involved transforming the upcoming redesigned Tempest (which was set to revert to a conventional front-engine, front transmission, rear-wheel drive configuration) into a "Super Tempest" with the larger 389 cu in (6.4 L) Pontiac V8 engine from the full-sized Pontiac Catalina and Bonneville in place of the standard 326 cu in (5.3 L) Tempest V8. By promoting the big-engine Tempest as a special high-performance model, they could appeal to the speed-minded youth market (which had also been recognized by Ford Motor Company's Lee Iacocca, who was at that time preparing the Ford Mustang).

The name, which was DeLorean's idea, was inspired by the Ferrari 250 GTO, the successful race car. It is an Italian abbreviation for Gran Turismo Omologato, (exact translation is Grand Tourer Homologated) which means officially certified for racing in the Grand tourer class. The name drew protest from purists, who considered it close to sacrilege.

Pontiac GTO was essentially a violation of GM policy limiting the intermediary a line to a maximum displacement of 330 cubic inches (5.4 L). Since the GTO was an option package and no series could be considered to fall into a gap in politics. Pontiac General Manager Elliot "Pete" Estes has approved the new model, although sales manager Frank Bridge, who did not believe it would find a market, insisted on limiting initial production to no more than 5000 cars. If the model is a failure, Estes probably would have been reprimanded. As it turned out, was a great success. - CAR REVIEW

GM introduced a revised sedan at Auto Shanghai 2005, designed in cooperation with PATAC. Bearing the internal code T250 and sold in South Korea as the "Daewoo Gentra", the revision comprised primarily interior and exterior styling changes, a new interior instrument panel and minor equipment changes, including increased sound deadening. Incorporation of the radio antenna into the rear glass and extensive wind tunnel testing helped reduce the coefficient of drag from 0.348 to 0.326.

A restyled hatchback with the sedan's updated instrument panel was presented as the Chevrolet Aveo during the Frankfurt Motor Show 2007, to be marketed in Europe and North America. The Korean market received its own distinct restyle of the hatchback, the Gentra X.

Later iterations, including the Kalos, Aveo, Barina and Gentra sedans, the Gentra X hatchback and the 2007 "Frankfurt Show" hatchbacks were styled in-house and with the assistance of PATAC, and depart notably from the original Giugiaro exterior and interior styling designs.

With launch of the Gentra X in South Korea, GMDAT had replaced engines of T250. 1.2 L S-TEC II inline-four engine was updated with features such as dual overhead camshaft (DOHC) and timing chain (older version has timing belt) system. 1.6 L E-TEC II engine had replaced with ECOTEC (GEN-III) engine with new features such as variable valve timing mechanism.

Daewoo's now disbanded Worthing Technical Centre in the UK conducted the initial research and platform engineering, with Daewoo's main Technical Center in Bupyong, Incheon, South Korea completing the majority of the later development programme. Daewoo engineers refined the chassis in Britain, on the proving ground at Motor Industry Research Association near Nuneaton, UK. Long-term testing covered nearly 2.2 million kilometers (1.4 million miles) with further testing outside South Korea on test sites in Arjeplog, Sweden; Granada and El Vendrell, Spain; Kapuskasing, Canada and Beijing, China. According to an April, 2003 GMDAT press release, Daewoo built 119 prototypes during the Kalos's design and development, crashing 31 for research and data-gathering purposes, and manufacturing 39 pilot production vehicles to verify standards and quality.

The body's sheet metal panel gaps were kept to 3 mm (0.1 in) and all but the roof panel were galvanized steel. 46% of the Kalos' underlying structural components were produced with high-strength steel, with tailor-welded blanks used in the production of the vehicle to put strength where needed while saving weight. The front suspension used MacPherson struts with offset coil springs and a stabilizer bar, while the rear featured a semi-independent torsion beam axle.

The body featured a drag coefficient of 0.35, with a frontal area of 2.16 m2 (23.3 sq ft) giving aerodynamic resistance of 00.74 m2 (8.0 sq ft). All Kalos iterations featured high H-point seating within a relatively narrow, short and high-roofed body that combined a long wheelbase with short front (81 cm/32 in) and rear (49 cm/19 in, hatchback) overhangs to maximize the outward visibility, interior space and maneuverability relative to the vehicle's footprint. Rear seat H-points are higher in all body types, giving the car theatre seating.

The first generation of Chevrolet Aveo began with launching Model T200, a subcompact automobile which has manufactured and marketed since 2002 by GM Daewoo, the South Korean subsidiary of General Motors. The model was marketed prominently under the nameplate Aveo. The model received the T200 internal codes, used first by Daewoo, and then, by GM Daewoo during the car's development. The T250 code was designated for the facelifted models.

Chevrolet Aveo T250 (sedan)

Designed, engineered and originally marketed by GM Daewoo, the Aveo succeeded the Daewoo Lanos and was marketed worldwide in 120 countries under five brands: Chevrolet, Daewoo, Holden, Pontiac, and Suzuki, being originally called Daewoo Kalos in its home country market South Korea, before being rebranded Daewoo Gentra. In other markets, the first generation model was marketed as the Holden Barina in Australia and Asia, Pontiac G3 in the United States and later Canada, previously in Canada as the Pontiac Wave and currently in Canada as the Suzuki Swift⁺. The successor of T200, the Chevrolet Aveo T300 will be released in 2011.