Pontiac to get G8 rwd family
Sedan will be followed by wagon, sport truck

Jamie LaReau
Automotive News
November 19, 2007 - 12:01 am ET

DETROIT — General Motors plans a new family of rear-wheel-drive vehicles for Pontiac. The G8 line will include a sedan followed by a wagon and sport truck.

All will be modeled after products sold by GM's Australian subsidiary, Holden, according to three sources familiar with the project. The vehicles will be assembled in Australia.

There was debate within GM about whether to give the sport truck to GMC. GMC won't get it.

Instead, GM's marketers wanted — and will get — a Pontiac sport truck so GM can market the three rwd vehicles as a high-performance family.

The sport truck will have the same drivetrain as the Chevrolet Camaro, and it will use a modified sedan architecture.

There is one caveat: Sources say the wagon and sport truck may be repriced or canceled if the U.S. dollar continues to drop. The Australian dollar is currently worth 90 cents in U.S. currency, up from 79 cents in August.


Lets hope the US dollar stays or gets stronger.

Page not found on that link Herc.

Sorry. The link was to a site you have to subscribe to. I removed it. But still bring on the Excitement.

I want the sport truck sooooo bad. It'll be like the sexy El Camino I never had.

If you guys check out the December edition of MotorTrend, it has those pontiacs in it, as well as some more G8 info, the corvette (ZR10) and the competition, the GT-R!

You mean those Holden's

Why is it that a country that has 1/4 the population of the U.S. is able to support a market for high perf RWD and here state side it can't?

Bush is running the country, everything is crap!

i agree, i dont agree with a lot of bush's decisions...

EDit: i was never a big fan of sport crossovers

Sport trucks make me . SSR is fast, but it is so hideous. Maybe growing up in Texas I have this way of thinking that you leave towing to the trucks and the REAL 'getting up and going' to the cars. 'Cept for maybe the Lightning. But for some reason the thought of a sport truck still makes me 'lol'.

That doesn't mean I don't acknowledge that they could kick my tail, because some of them can. It's just that in the end, I'm still laughing a little.


Ding ding! GPN Express, first stop~ All members
getting off at the George W Bush Turnpike, please step forward! *wooo woooooo!* *train squealing*

I just rcv'd my prescription the other day.

The reason Pontiac is getting the Holden Ute and not using it to bring back the El Camino, is because Chevy already has a full line up with no room for the El Camino.

Interesting choice of words!

I've always been a fan of the car/truck crossovers. The Ute looks fabulous and I could always make use of the truck bed for carrying various things, but I don't need an offroad/towing vehicle.

LMAO

I was thinking the same thing.

A sport truck huh...interesting. There were actually a lot of trucks racing at the drag strip last time I went (only in Texas. ) There weren't a whole lot of really fast ones, although a few were running mid-14s and faster, but when evenly matched, they were some good races.

The announcer was saying that it was a good drag night in Texas - lots of trucks, car show, an alchohol dragster (WOW that was LOUD!!!), free hot wings, and an absolutely insane wheelie.

I would like to see the new Pontiac truck...and I hope it's not cancelled.

*EDIT* OK, nvm...the Ute is completely ugly...

And while the Commodore (which is the G8) wagon looks ok, I hate to see it go the same route as the Charger. I don't like the sporty engines in wagons like that...but hey, that's just me.

For those wondering what the new line-up looks like

Check out December MotorTrend edition, has all that stuff, fella's and gals!
Plus that truck in there is freakin green, loooks terrible. They also call one of them the UTE, short for utility coupe I think.

They call it the Ute cause that's what they call the truck version in Australia. Ute is short for Utility. The orange one above is the Ute.

The Ute has actually been around for quite awhile in Australia.

the Ute is a mainstay in the land down under...guys restore the old ones and make hotrods out of them...I noticed in one article that Holden even offers a four door ute.

More info on the Ute

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/FirstDrives/articleId=123602?tid=edmunds.il.home.photopanel..3.*

But it's so ugly...!!

I'm digging it

I've always had a soft spot for the El Caminos. The ute looks like a natural progression as well. Too bad I need more room then that cab allows. I predict low production #s for the Ute. Roughly less then 5k a year. Then the ute will sell and Pontiac will get a better rep. If they flood the market the ute will sit on the lot not sell and effectively what ever shortcomings it has will be directed to the rest of the G8 family and Pontiac will suffer.

I think they should hold the low production numbers for the hi-po versions and make a v6 version more readily available...lets be real here, lots of us droll over the hot new cars but when it come to plunking down the bucks we buy more of what we need and is in our budget. I thinkit would be cool to have one since I dont own a truck and dont need one very often...but I aint gonna mortgage the house for a thirsty hot rod...a nice v6 model would be more affordable and useful.

I'm not a big fan of the G8 sedan... but how I wish I could get the money for a G8 Ute.

*bluuckkk* *raaaaalllllffff* why the Ute? Please, why? The ElCo was square for a reason: roundness looks bad on trucks.

The wagon aint too bad. I think. eh. I'll stick with the Z06, Silverado, G8, and G6, tyvm.

The elkie was square cause it was based on the monte. Round works on trucks. Just look at a 51 chevy.

Man, I love the G8...except for the wagon, anyway.

I was excited about the truck until the picture showed up.

How ugly.

I'm not at all fond of that putrid green colorin the pics...but the truck itself I'm likin...especially visualizing the G8 front fascia in place.

I think the wagon looks sweet! Make it a little meaner and it'll hang with the magnum, maybe!

Well Lutz said no sportwagon. They just not fashionable enough. No GTO until they get the CAFE standards under control and maybe we'll get a four door of the Ute in GMC guise.

No sportwagon
http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1287653#post1287653

four door ute
http://www.mellor.net/mellor/enews.nsf/edition/C4FB1DDA89C86095CA2573D1003D16E2//GoAutoNews_416.pdf

What engine are they putting in the Ute? same as the G8? I really want to see some SVT lightnings get stomped once and for all

I believe it'll be the LS6 or some derivative.

I was thinking with the new CAFE standards GM won't be able to afford three cars that get below the required standard. So with the postponement of the GTO you can guarantee there will be no firebird.

You got to ge kidding me. NO FIREBIRD, My wife and I are waiting on that. The camaro looks nice but the bird will probably look better...........

Sorry guys I dont like the new look for the G8 Pontiac. In fact I have never gotton used to the look of the newer Pontiac GP's. Give me the look of the 03's anyday.

Looks like the pickup will be official at the NY Auto Show which sucks because I won't get to see it when I go to the Chicago Auto Show next month. NY Show is in March

cant wait to see it in NYC!

idk if im hearing this right but...is it true that they are cancelling the GPs to make room for the G8?

The grand prix is the G8. Name change is due to the new goodies inside and new design......They could have at least kept the HUD!!!!

awww man they shoulda kept the name....

Give it a year or two...the hud may come back.

G8 is replacing both the GP and the Bonneville.

damn...that sux...but at least its gonna have a massive amount of power though...