A New Age For Musclecars?

DETROIT, Jan 3, 2002; Michael Ellis writing for Reuters reports that Detroit's two largest automakers will add some excitement to their lineups this year by selling "gas guzzler" sports cars whose high fuel consumption requires buyers to pay federal taxes of up to $7,700.

Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. will resurrect two of their legendary V8 engine sports cars from the 1960s in an attempt to win back customers from Japanese and European automakers.

With the launch this year of the Ford GT and GM's Pontiac GTO, combined with the long-running Dodge Viper from the Chrysler arm of DaimlerChrysler AG, each of the traditional U.S. Big Three will sell a "gas guzzler" for the first time in a decade.

"We're trying to put a lot of performance back into the car to excite people and put people back into the car market," said Bob Kraut, marketing director of the Pontiac GTO, which he expects to accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in less than 6 seconds. "We think it will be the fastest production GTO we have ever produced."

All three cars get less than 22.5 miles per gallon on a combined city-highway average. Despite rising gasoline prices in the United States, GM and Ford expect the sports cars to be a hit.

Ford and GM have yet to set retail prices for the GT and GTO.

Under the so-called gas guzzler law passed by U.S. Congress in 1978 to encourage production of fuel-efficient vehicles, U.S. and foreign auto manufacturers must pay taxes ranging from $1,000 to $7,700 for each new car that fails to surpass the 22.5 miles per gallon threshold.

While sport utility vehicles have been blasted by environmental groups for their fuel consumption, and are often labeled "gas guzzlers" by the press, SUVs, pickup trucks, and minivans are not subject to the "gas guzzler" tax because they are classified as light trucks instead of cars.

The taxes and the negative publicity had discouraged Ford, and particularly GM, from selling gas guzzler cars most years. The list of cars charged the tax is almost entirely European sports and luxury models, including models from Volkswagen AG's Lamborghini, BMW AG, DaimlerChrysler AG's Mercedes brand and Ford's Jaguar and Aston Martin divisions.

But in recent years, automakers have raced to add more horsepower to their cars to give them a marketing edge over rivals.

"Given this country's current state of affairs, it's sadly ironic that a gas guzzler designation is being held as a badge of honor," said Jim Kliesch, author of the annual "Green Book" guide to environmental cars and trucks.

PEOPLE WANT 'CARS THAT FEEL GOOD, GO FAST'

At the risk of offending environmentally sensitive consumers, Ford and GM see the cars as "halo" vehicles, which will add some shine to the Ford and Pontiac brands.

"If your whole point in life is to get around the guzzler tax, you miss out on great performance," said GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz, who backed both the Pontiac GTO and the Dodge Viper more than 10 years ago when he worked at Chrysler. "I think there is a natural desire on the part of the public for cars that feel good and go fast."

The Ford GT is a near-replica of the Ford GT40 which swept the Le Mans endurance race in 1966. GM's Pontiac GTO was considered the first American muscle car when it debuted in 1964.

Both GM and Ford point out that the Pontiac GTO and the Ford GT will sell in relatively modest volumes.

"Given the segment that we're in, and given the exclusivity of it in terms of volume, which is fewer than 1,500 vehicles per year ... we would hope that our customers would understand the fact that we have one gas guzzler is not a reflection of our environmental commitment," Ford spokesman David Reuter said.

Pontiac expects to sell about 18,000 GTOs in their first full year of production. Officials said they are still determining the expected mileage of the GTO.

Ford's Reuter said that Ford expects the GT to post an average miles per gallon in the mid to high teens. "I don't know how you make a 200 mile-per-hour car and achieve 22.5 miles per gallon," he said.