VZ Monaro released

[fpv_gtho]

http://carsguide.news.com.au/news/story_page/0,8269,10750395%255E21822,00.html

Covers off the new Holden Monaro

Jaedene Hudson
13sep04

The brand new Holden VZ Monaro has finally broken cover.

After months of speculation whether the car would feature the bonnet scoops of its American twin, the 2005 Pontiac GTO, the question has been answered.
The existence of the Monaro's racy bonnet scoops was exclusively revealed in The Daily Telegraph on July 29.

Holden chairman and managing director Denny Mooney said the decision to put the scoops on the Monaro – a car he calls iconic in Australia – was driven by demand.

"I tell you what, this was research. I would say it is the voice of the Aussie customer that told us what we want," he said.

The VZ Monaro is the first major upgrade the car has had since its launch in 2001.






It features a new front grille with different fog lights, a dual exhaust system and front, side and rear skirts.

Two new colours have been added to the VZ Monaro range – Turismo (a chromatic teal blue) and Odyssey (a dark mercury silver). And the VZ Monaro not only has more show but also more go.

The extra muscle comes from the same Gen III 5.7-litre V8 that featured in the previous model but it's been reworked to produce 260kW. Torque is up to 500Nm.

"At the end of the day this is an image car. And part of that image is muscle and power," Mr Mooney said.

Other improvements include a drive-by-wire electric throttle, short shift ratio gearbox and the biggest brake package of any Holden.

The relocation of the exhaust system sees the boot capacity shrunk from 370 litres down to 245 litres.

The extra power can be felt and the V8 roar has been even further enhanced by the dual exhausts.

"The VZ Monaro has been allowed to flex its muscle," Mr Mooney said.

And, despite the numerous additions, at $60,490 the new car will cost only $500 more than its predecessor.

It will be on sale later this month.

[holdens]

i recon its pretty good im not so sure bout it being so american thats sorta a let down but hey money is money. but they did a good job to keep it looking good.
jason bright to win the v8 supercar championship 2004

[SlickHolden]

It's Australian, It can't be american, Seen it on the holden.com.au and looks real hot in black, That would be the color of choice i would say looks the best :)

[fpv_gtho]

So far from what ive seen of it, red makes the bonnet vents look the best, but every other car seems to just make them look to tacky or something, they dont look like they were engineered enough into the design. its a bit of a ? over the black on the rear bumper as well. but what were they thinking with that new blue?

[SlickHolden]

I seen this color on a SII Monaro and went holly shit lol:eek: It's 10times brighter then it should be ahhhhh,

[fpv_gtho]

i think its way to pale, its like a pastel colour. its got no muscle, no real shine or spark to it, yet Holden say its their new hero colour. what happened to that blue the VZ SS was caugh in?

[SlickHolden]

And if you dont like the scoops a Series 1,2,3 bonnet will slip right on in it's place :D

[fpv_gtho]

better hope Holden's sales room's arent like fords...to get a hold of bulged bonnet, you need to supply them a VIN that matches a GT or XR8

[Spastik_Roach]

I think it looks pretty damn cool. Just needs better rims, but overall lookin sharp. Like the bonnet personally.

[SlickHolden]

Wounder what a SIII Monaro would look like with them bonnet scoops on it ?

[fpv_gtho]

it could be either way, the edgy new front bumper probably accentuates the lines of the more curvy bonnet scoops, but a VY with VZ scoops would be a bit like the AU XR8 ive seen with a bonnet bulge and the EF with a BA Ghia front bumper.

[SlickHolden]

it could be either way, the edgy new front bumper probably accentuates the lines of the more curvy bonnet scoops, but a VY with VZ scoops would be a bit like the AU XR8 ive seen with a bonnet bulge and the EF with a BA Ghia front bumper.
:eek: Dont people go over board, I seen a VN with a VX HSV clubsport bodykit :eek: i have got to say it was the worst car i have seen :eek:

[Hell_Unleashed]

Here are some pics from the Holden Site... High res...

[fpv_gtho]

:eek: Dont people go over board, I seen a VN with a VX HSV clubsport bodykit :eek: i have got to say it was the worst car i have seen :eek:


thats nothing, ive seen heaps of VN's, VP's, VR's and VS's with either a VT or VX kit, try a VK wagon with a VT kit.

The AU XR8 i saw though looked pretty good, other than the guy that done it he still left the first bit of the centre crease on the bonnet which was really the only thing bad about it

[SlickHolden]

thats nothing, ive seen heaps of VN's, VP's, VR's and VS's with either a VT or VX kit, try a VK wagon with a VT kit.

The AU XR8 i saw though looked pretty good, other than the guy that done it he still left the first bit of the centre crease on the bonnet which was really the only thing bad about it
:eek: :eek: :eek: :D
I seen a AU with a Touring car body kit on it, The only problem was it had standard 15" rims with caps on it lol maybe they run outta money :D

[fpv_gtho]

yeah i think the supercar kits are starting to get more and more popular, have a look in the B/W section of a unique cars mag and you should be able to spot at least a kit for a Commodore. its a bit of a role reversal though considering you usually see cars with next to no bodykit yet they could have 16"/17" wheels

[hsvman]

what happened to that blue the VZ SS was caugh in?

donno if its a bit late but anyway, they stil have it i saw it on the ss at the sandown 500 it was a very nice colour... and seeiny the ss up against the vectra CDXi they looked very similer.

[fpv_gtho]

yeah i know they havent gotten rid of it, but before the VZ launch, that was set to be the "hero" colour, now here comes this awful pastel blue on the Monaro with the same "hero" title. looking back on the previous models though, the S1 monaro had hothouse, then the VY SS had it. The S2 monaro had that purple that was like ford's phantom, then the VY2 SS had it. Finally the S3 monaro had that blue the VZ SS was in.

[Blue Supra]

I like the blue:D
i looks nice, id buy it if i had the cash and a supra already ;)

[fpv_gtho]

but of course the Supra's gotta have priority, right?

[Blue Supra]

but of course the Supra's gotta have priority, right?

Damn Straight it does!!
conveniently enough its cheaper too :p

[SlickHolden]

It's a old color turismo blue on VZ monaro, Seems like what ever monaro gets it's past down to the sedans. But they both have there big colors now, But as for hero color thats only what the media calls it when holden brings a new color out they flaunt it in your face and get it out there everywhere they can, And the media just calls it the hero color of the models, I think hero colors are over rated :)

[Blue Supra]

i agree with this, theres too many tiger mica, that ugly green colour and not so much the purple, i actually didnt mind the purple. People just want it cause its on the ad, bu then everyone has them and then your stuck with an average looking car. id get something exotic like yellow or bright blue!

[fpv_gtho]

for the most part yes it is the media badging the colours as hero colours, but holden themselves try to show the car off as much as they can in the single colour so theyre doing nothing to prevent the colours being tagged as "hero" colours

[Blue Supra]

Maybe they need to do more to promote the range of colours they have, like if you drive past most ford dealerships they have about 7 XRs lined up all in different colours. Ford definetly haver a better coulour range for the XRs then Holden have for their SS etc.

[fpv_gtho]

i'd like to say that Ford are trying to have a range of hero colours (with acid rush, phantom, blood orange, mandarin orange, citric acid, venom, vixen, envi, blueprint and shockwave) but Ford initially wanted Phantom to be the hero colour, just for Blueprint which was carrying over from AU3 to be more of a hero colour

[SlickHolden]

I dont know about holden showing off VZ in blue, the 2 cars they had was the VZ SS and SV6 and both were in black at the dealers, And the berlina was lite blue green :eek: Remeber when monaro first came out they had the rainbow colors every color you could think of, And back then ford didnit have a big number of colors now they do :)

[fpv_gtho]

they'd both have different methods of reading the market i'd say. probably not that surprising, but for the AU, Ford never actually got much public opinion on the development of the shape like they did with the BA as well as other things like what buyers actually wanted in a car

[SlickHolden]

So they just made a car that they wanted to build ?
I think holden has seen that with AU and are slow in there changing of the car to the VE. Show the bum 10million times on the AD till the one's that don't like it just give in and say ohh what the hell it's alright :D

[fpv_gtho]

i dont think it was so much that, as Jacques Nasser was overconfident in the design. the VE, holden should have a fair amount of freedom on the design, despite the global architecture. it could be a make or break design like the AU was though

[SlickHolden]

what gets me worried is the yanks think it's unreal that has got to be bad they ahve shit taste :D

[Colty]

LOL everyone has GIFS as their avatar which keep flashing to different pictures >< Im like the odd one out so ima gonna go make one too d;-D

You just watch, tommorow you all will be like "OMG colt I wish i had your avatar" d:-P

[SlickHolden]

LOL everyone has GIFS as their avatar which keep flashing to different pictures >< Im like the odd one out so ima gonna go make one too d;-D

You just watch, tommorow you all will be like "OMG colt I wish i had your avatar" d:-P
Then you not be odd anymore mate :D

[fpv_gtho]

LOL everyone has GIFS as their avatar which keep flashing to different pictures >< Im like the odd one out so ima gonna go make one too d;-D

You just watch, tommorow you all will be like "OMG colt I wish i had your avatar" d:-P


make it a good one mate



what gets me worried is the yanks think it's unreal that has got to be bad they ahve shit taste

yeah they do seem to like the AU now in the US, same in parts of Europe, but i dont know if the same couldve been said in 1998 at its release. 6 years on, the design has aged a bit which is good for something that was ahead of its time :p

[SlickHolden]

You know we look back 20 years and our cars dont come close to cars around in Europe and US or asia, they all had things on cars we got 5 years after they did, But today i'm so proud of the cars this country builds we have options that everyone overseas has we are up to date and our cars don't look outta place around the world or look old they look as good if not better. Dam we do it good now:D

[fpv_gtho]

wel unfortunately theres always some catching up to do. take any australian car to japan for instance and it'll be a technolog dinosaur still, likewise take one to france and it'll have "conservative" styling :p

we're getting on par with the UK at least, you could say we're ahead of the US for the good part, although we still rely on them alot

[SlickHolden]

Just for donks and shifters :D The day they style our cars will be the day i ride a motor bike lol::)

[fpv_gtho]

motorbikes arent that bad are they?? :p but yeah after what they turned the monaro into, one might question their design philosophy. chris bangle was american as well wasnt he...

it wasnt that long ago that ford and holden were practically independant in the country, holden had their V8 and ford had their V8 plant down in melbourne, but that all ended in 1982

[SlickHolden]

I know it's a shame, But the bigger we get maybe they can leave us alone, If they want our cars it meens we are good:D and we are doing something right. But i still would like to see a Aussie run holden, Like jeffy did ford.

[cuntukimushroom]

my bro adores monaros stunning car love it

[fpv_gtho]

I know it's a shame, But the bigger we get maybe they can leave us alone, If they want our cars it meens we are good:D and we are doing something right. But i still would like to see a Aussie run holden, Like jeffy did ford.


i think the bigger we get, the more they might try influence our products, just so that we can end up exporting it to them. doesnt matter if 70K sales are jeapodized here if theyre made up by over 100K exports now with the FTA



my bro adores monaros stunning car love it

i guess that goes to show the intenational coverage the Monaro's getting

[Spastik_Roach]

:eek: Dont people go over board, I seen a VN with a VX HSV clubsport bodykit :eek: i have got to say it was the worst car i have seen :eek:

We have numerous *shudders* Previous Gen Vectras with wannabe HSV Bodykits. Truly the most hideous thing. I think Jeremy Clarkson would go on a chainsaw massacre if he saw one.

[SlickHolden]

We have numerous *shudders* Previous Gen Vectras with wannabe HSV Bodykits. Truly the most hideous thing. I think Jeremy Clarkson would go on a chainsaw massacre if he saw one.
:D i think he would to :D

[Colty]

HAW HAWW HAWWWW *looks at avatar*

[fpv_gtho]

*droooool*....is that your GT?

[Colty]

Well its not ACTUALLY mine but its my dads :p

But it looks all squashed LOL, stupid 90x90

[Falcon500]

Well england have more bells and whistels but when things pop and fizzle and sometimes even finish with a bang you have to wonder are they any better off ;)

And when the new engine or rebuild cost comes in you often begin to wonder if a funeral for the car would be cheaper :D

[ELGT]

:eek: :eek: :eek: :D
I seen a AU with a Touring car body kit on it, The only problem was it had standard 15" rims with caps on it lol maybe they run outta money :D

HA the other day i seen a VL calais with a vx clubsport bodykit and get this it had a EB falcon GT boot spoiler.. in a nice cream colour (sarcasm intended)

that new blue colour is a no go on the monaro too bright i much prefer the blue on the SV6 Impulse Metallic i think it is..much better ;)

[fpv_gtho]

Luckily the worse of the 2 is on the slower seller of the 2 then....Its like Ford and Hoden keep swapping over with the hero colours or something, Acid Rush is alot like Hyper Yellow, Envi's like Hothouse, Phantom's like that Monaro purple and Blueprint's like that Impulse Metallic.....Soon Ford are going to release a Ferrari yellow for the XR

[Colty]

That would look nice.

[fpv_gtho]

Its similar to the yellow on the Monaro, and ive seen it on a couple of Utes and Commodores (with the Monaro tailights whilst they were at it) and it really only suited the Monaro, but the shots of the Falcon XR's ive seen in the yellow (one from a member on FF.com, the other of an XR8 ute from a Ford newsletter), they seem to blend in pretty well.

[Blue Supra]

ooo
i like it.
yellows always been a fav colour of mine for sentimental reasons.

[Colty]

I thought it was blue :O

[fpv_gtho]

Well there is 2 new blues as well i think..

[Blue Supra]

I thought it was blue :O

Iv gone off Blue, i saw a Blue Supra a while ago so my idea is officially stolen! so im keen on a yellow one now! now i just need the finances...

unfortunatly i cant change my handle but i dont think i would if i could anyways... Blue Supra js sounds better then Yellow Supra...

[fpv_gtho]

yeah and everyone knows you as Blue Supra as well :p

[Falcon500]

HA the other day i seen a VL calais with a vx clubsport bodykit and get this it had a EB falcon GT boot spoiler.. in a nice cream colour (sarcasm intended)
The other day i saw what was orgonallyand XD ute...it had 18' rimsand a 351 clevland and agawd aweful purplepaint job...i thought it was still pretty cool and saveable...and then i saw the lower half of a EL front faceia and an unmatching XF grille obove (they put alot of effort in for this effect) and it looked terrible...simply disgusting!

And That VB i saw with a VN HSV bodykit added sounds susuprisngly similar to what your saying there mate....you really have to wonderwhypeople pick and mix like that.....

[fpv_gtho]

i think some people just like the economy of the 80's models, considering you can pick up something fairly decent under $2K, but they still rather the modern looks. If you've been on SSV's site, theyve got a fair few XF bodykits that look like theyre practically the bottom half of an EB GT matched to the original XF bumper or something...doesnt look all that bad though

[Blue Supra]

there should be a legality that bans you from mix and matching bodykits onto other gen cars like a VY kit onto a VP (looks awful)

[Colty]

hehe a law that bans certain body kits because they look bad would be strange lol d:-)

[Blue Supra]

When (not if) i rise to a position of power in any area of politics i will pass a motion to make ricing illegal, anyone found guilty will have their car crushed and their license revoked for a period of 9 years without parole:D

i saw a bright purple excel today woth bling mags a fart can and chrome taillights, damn it looked shit! wish i cooda got a foto for the rice hunt!

[IBrake4Rainbows]

I have seen that car around Canberra, i nearly shoved a potato in it's exhaust just out of spite, it wouldn't have done anything the exhaust was that big.

But i have seen a Pink Legacy (In New Zealand, quite disgusting) and a Mazda 626 Coupe in which the stereo is worth three times the rest of the car.

[Blue Supra]

What colour was the 626?

[IBrake4Rainbows]

Red, with black Wheels, little or no bodykit.

[Blue Supra]

In canberra? when did u see it?

[IBrake4Rainbows]

a few times, mostly around the hyperdome at night.

[Blue Supra]

hmmm, might have been a mate of mine... but he doesnt cruise for the sake of it. but he does have a sick stereo, he had his car written off lately though by someone who ran a rede light into him.:( hes got a nova now.

[IBrake4Rainbows]

Sucked in.

Sure it wasn't him who ran the red light, this guy was insane......

[Blue Supra]

Nah it wasnt him then, Hes a very very good bloke who just enjoys LOUD music. some of his friends were in hospital for in hospital and have scars from it. I know it wasnt his fault cause he is the granniest of all granny drivers.

[fpv_gtho]

I think you'd have a hard time making rules on ethics for cars, as much as we all want it to happen at times

[SlickHolden]

I was woundering when ford would do yellow :D
It does seem like holden and ford swap colors back and forward to each other :D

[Blue Supra]

well theyd HATE to br similar now wouldnt they;)

[fpv_gtho]

I was woundering when ford would do yellow :D
It does seem like holden and ford swap colors back and forward to each other :D


Well you notice though that they never EXACTLY copy the colours, and when you really look at it theres little differences everywhere, but they still make a big effect on how it looks on the car. For instance, Acid Rush has alot more gold in it then Hyper Yellow, so it makes it look less shiny etc, then that purple Holden has is darker than Phantom on the XR's so if there wasnt enough light, you'd mistake it for Black. Ford are going to bring out a new purple soon, that on a colour card you'd swear it was black, but on a car i sunlight, its a pretty damn dark purple

[SlickHolden]

Like holden had a color that you swore was black but it was blue it was called raven.

[Blue Supra]

like i had a colour for my datto you thought was yellow but it was rust?;)

[fpv_gtho]

if you have a look on the site for the Falcon at the colour chart, theres Silhouette and Vibe. Silhouette of course is the black and Vibe is the new purple, but just from the chart, they both look black

[Blue Supra]

yeh i found when i was flicking through the nissan site the other day, that the orange didnt look orange at all...

[IBrake4Rainbows]

Well, colours are muddling these days, remember beige is now known as Saharan Sunset in BMW language......

[Blue Supra]

vomit is now known as vile green!;)

[IBrake4Rainbows]

Snot is now known as Lemon Rind Left in the Sun for three Days.....

[Spastik_Roach]

Poo is known as Dark Metallic Faeces. :D

[IBrake4Rainbows]

Crud is known as Accumulation of Unknown Substances.

[fpv_gtho]

you guys would go crazy if left by yourselves wouldnt you

[Colty]

hahaha ><

[FastFalcon]

American inflance have rewind it, in a way but has also made it look meaner and angryer looks better goes better, wy not.

[fpv_gtho]

I dont see why you would change a design that most people could fall in love with, boring or not, to something thats purely love-it-or-hate-it

[SlickHolden]

I don't see how 2 bonnet scoops can be seen as american influence,
And one more thing we always hear how We are useing the rear pontiac gto tailights black inside dark, But if you look at all the pontiac gto's not one has these black rear tailights. Only car i have seen them on is the HSV GTS and GTO not a pontiac GTO.

[fpv_gtho]

Its seen as americansation as they'd rather cut costs and only produce bonnets with vents and bodyshells with the fuel tank taking up 100L of space in the boot, and the only RHD unit being the firewall...they'd rather cut costs than keep the Monaro's unique identity from the GTO

[Colty]

The Pontiac GTO should look like the HSV GTO =D

[fpv_gtho]

I actually saw someone on another forum think that the Pontiac GTO was the HSV GTO

[Colty]

maybe they got the names confused :O

[fpv_gtho]

more than likely.....you get surprised though with how many people know about the Monaro stateside now...