# Is my co-worker's car what he claims it is? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 16, 2017, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-co-workers-car-what-he-claims-it-is/789127 "2017-06-16T16:48:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-co-workers-car-what-he-claims-it-is/789127/1 "2017-06-16T16:48:09Z")
He claims that what he has is a 2005 Holden Monaro CV8 Z, a limited edition vehicle of which only 1100 were made. Monaros were sold in the U.S with left hand drives and rebadged as Pontiac GTOs. What makes me suspicious about his car’s origin are 1. His car has a left hand drive, unlike the CV8 Z limited edition which was only sold in Australia with a right hand drive 2. The Badging on the back has “CV8 Z” on the left, but it also has “LS2 6.0L” on the right, and the CV8 Z came out with a 5.7 Litre edition 3. It’s missing the commemorative CV8 Z wheels 4. It’s got the Monaro CV8 Z steering wheel…albeit on the wrong side of the car. 5. It’s got the seats that _almost_ match those in the CV8 Z, but are more red than orange. Can fabric get darker over time? 6. It doesn’t have the sunroof that I think all CV8 Z models came with So, is this just a case of massive modification of a rare vehicle, or is this a Pontiac GTO in a Halloween costume? ---
**Author:** ![obbn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d6d6ee/32.png) [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-co-workers-car-what-he-claims-it-is/789127/2 "2017-06-16T17:21:40Z")
I can’t say for sure, but all of the GTO parts you mentioned (steering wheel, badges, etc.) are available for purchase. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-co-workers-car-what-he-claims-it-is/789127/3 "2017-06-16T17:22:09Z")
The plate in the car should show the country of manufacture. If it is a rebadged Monaro as a Pontiac, it should still have been manufactured in Adelaide South Australia. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-co-workers-car-what-he-claims-it-is/789127/4 "2017-06-16T17:27:48Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > The plate in the car should show the country of manufacture. If it is a rebadged Monaro as a Pontiac, it should still have been manufactured in Adelaide South Australia. I’m asking if it is a Pontiac GTO poorly rebadged as the much more rare CV8 Z Monaro. Both were made in the Adelaide plant, but the CV8 Z special edition was the last thing to come out of that plant before it closed down, and it considered to be a find. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-co-workers-car-what-he-claims-it-is/789127/5 "2017-06-16T17:43:13Z")
Can you locate the VIN and track it? It should be visible under the wind screen. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-co-workers-car-what-he-claims-it-is/789127/6 "2017-06-16T18:00:10Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > Can you locate the VIN and track it? It should be visible under the wind screen. Thank you! I just ran the VIN through Carfax, and it pops up as 2005 Pontiac GTO. It’s a fake. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-co-workers-car-what-he-claims-it-is/789127/7 "2017-06-16T18:14:20Z")
The fact that it’s LHD is really all you need to know. He’s a big fat phony. In theory you could convert a CV8 Z to LHD but he didn’t and you already know that. It’s not currently legal to import a 2005 Holden to the US; it would be an extremely risky, extremely expensive process. Only a die-hard collector would even try, and no die-hard collector would then hack up the interior with a bunch of GTO parts to make it LHD. Incidentally, while phonies may be everywhere, as a “car guy” with extensive internet experience, I’ve come across several compulsive liars who insist that their cars are something they’re not. Including one, oddly who insisted that his G8-with-a-bunch-of-Holden-parts was actually a Holden. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-co-workers-car-what-he-claims-it-is/789127/8 "2017-06-16T18:23:05Z")
Incidentally, it looks like there’s a company selling LHD Holden Utes in the US. I’m not sure how they’re doing it legally, since they explicitly say they’re using the uncut Holden unibody (and therefore the Holden VIN stamp). I wonder how they’re titled… ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-co-workers-car-what-he-claims-it-is/789127/9 "2017-06-16T18:33:23Z")
Not to hijack the thread but why is illegal to import one? ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-co-workers-car-what-he-claims-it-is/789127/10 "2017-06-16T18:41:10Z")
> [@rsat3acr](#): > > Not to hijack the thread but why is illegal to import one? I don’t know about this specific model, but a number of cars manufactured for overseas markets don’t meet U.S safety and/or emissions standards. ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-co-workers-car-what-he-claims-it-is/789127/11 "2017-06-16T18:54:40Z")
Sure, that makes sense. I was over thinking it ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-co-workers-car-what-he-claims-it-is/789127/12 "2017-06-16T19:03:55Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Thank you! I just ran the VIN through Carfax, and it pops up as 2005 Pontiac GTO. It’s a fake. yeah, it’s a badge swap. pretty common; I’ve seen plenty of Scion FR-Ss where the owner has taken off the Scion badges and put on the Toyota GT86s badges instead. I’ve never heard of someone trying to bullshit a backstory as bad as your co-workers, though. > [@Gary\_T](#): > > I don’t know about this specific model, but a number of cars manufactured for overseas markets don’t meet U.S safety and/or emissions standards. if it’s not a design which was certified to US standards (safety and emissions) it can’t be imported until it’s 25 years old. So even though e.g. a Ford Fusion and Ford Mondeo are the same basic car, you can’t import a new Mondeo since various parts e.g. lighting, restraints etc. will have been designed for EU standards and won’t be NHTSA/EPA compliant. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-co-workers-car-what-he-claims-it-is/789127/13 "2017-06-16T22:13:06Z")
Send me a video of the guy talking and the Aussies on the Board will be able to tell you whether he would be a Monaro owner.😃 ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-co-workers-car-what-he-claims-it-is/789127/14 "2017-06-16T22:34:33Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Thank you! I just ran the VIN through Carfax, and it pops up as 2005 Pontiac GTO. It’s a fake. Did you share this bit of info with him? How did he try to spin it? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2017, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-co-workers-car-what-he-claims-it-is/789127/15 "2017-06-17T00:13:13Z")
> [@Projammer](#): > > Did you share this bit of info with him? How did he try to spin it? I won’t see him until Monday. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2017, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-co-workers-car-what-he-claims-it-is/789127/16 "2017-06-17T01:38:22Z")
I’m hoping he paid $70K or more for a genuine Monaro CV8 Z gray market import. Some idjit’s just deserve to be shaved bald, tarred, and feathered; it builds character & maybe even drives some sense into 'em. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2017, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-co-workers-car-what-he-claims-it-is/789127/17 "2017-06-17T01:42:39Z")
> [@Gary\_T](#): > > I don’t know about this specific model, but a number of cars manufactured for overseas markets don’t meet U.S safety and/or emissions standards. I can see making it illegal to drive it, but what if Just I wanted to park it in my basement by the pool table? ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2017, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-co-workers-car-what-he-claims-it-is/789127/18 "2017-06-17T01:45:00Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > The plate in the car should show the country of manufacture. If it is a rebadged Monaro as a Pontiac, it should still have been manufactured in Adelaide South Australia. but they all were, so there’s no need for GM to encode place of manufacture, if its a 2005 GTO or 2005 Monaro, then its made in Adelaide. The 6 litre was put into CV8-Z , so while you could get a Holden Monaro in 2004 and it would have to be 5.7 litre - no 6 litre at first - the 6 litre was in there fore the end, and the car is meant to be a tail end car. The missing special CV8-Z rims are what indicates its not a real CV8-Z. Also the CV8-Z should be a 2006 car. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2017, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-co-workers-car-what-he-claims-it-is/789127/19 "2017-06-17T01:50:16Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I can see making it illegal to drive it, but what if Just I wanted to park it in my basement by the pool table? There are stipulations, [but that may be possible](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Show_or_Display). > [@](#): > > The approval for “Show or Display” import is granted if the prospective importer is able to show historical or technological significance of the vehicle in question, and if the vehicle was produced in limited numbers (with 500 being used as a threshold value.) Import approval is granted on a combination of make, model, and production-year; thus, there is no need to re-apply for approved vehicles when further examples are imported in the future. Because the manufacturer of a “Show or Display” vehicle does not necessarily endorse its export to the US, such automobiles may be considered grey market cars. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2017, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-co-workers-car-what-he-claims-it-is/789127/20 "2017-06-17T01:51:31Z")
There was never a question whether or not it was imported from Adeliade to USA … it was always the question of whether it might have carried the CV8-Z badge when imported and sold as a Pontiac… NO it never would carry the Holden badges, it would only carry the Pontiac GTO badges. There’s no “special CV8 Z” model for Pontiacs [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-co-workers-car-what-he-claims-it-is/789127.md?page=2)