We reported back in the middle of December on rumours that General Motors was looking to drop the Pontiac G8 ST and it would appear - bummer - that things are firming up that way. Nothing’s certain, but there are now reports circulating the web indicating that those rumours will likely become reality and the G8 ST will become ‘collateral damage’ in GM’s rationalisation and restructure program.
While the G8 ST would have been a niche vehicle for the American market, the news, should it prove correct, will be very unwelcome for GM Holden and put a serious dent in its export activity and export earnings. And that’s bad for Australia.
For American motorists, it means the loss of the spiritual successor to the El Camino, and a hot ute to-boot.
This comes on the back of reports that GM US was considering killing off the Pontiac brand entirely or making it a one-make brand only. While things are uncertain everywhere in the GM basket-case, some reports indicate that a ‘Pontiac one-make brand’ would focus on the G8. For the sake of Holden’s export program we hope that proves correct.
As GM looks to turn the tide and get its operations back on track we can expect more model cancellations from the General. For sure, while we’ll lament the losses, we can keep our chins up so long as there’s a ready supply of V8 engines still heading our way. We’ve definitely got our priorities in order…
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Its very sad to see..pitty car markers are going through such a hard time. Cause the Americans would absolute love it. Especially fans of the El Camino. Maybe they should of let Chev import them to America and bring back the El Camino!
I was giving some thought to trying to get work in the US a few years back, before this was announced.
One of the things I wanted to do if I was to move over there would have been to ship a VU over with me. Since it’s identical to the A-pillars to a regular Commodore, I could have gotten and OEM quality LHD conversion by fitting the Pontiac GTO bits.
The VE ute was going over would have been a good thing for Americans who like “trucks”, but don’t want to drive some lardy high ride height monstrosity.
It’s a shame a bunch of greedy investment bankers had to just ruin it for all of us.
I remember when a few of my US friends came over to Aus during my brother’s wedding and spotted on the Ute’s. They asked what the hell is that, I told them its a Ute - like a pickup truck but use a chassis of a sedan. He commented we should call a “Cruck” (pronounced “Croc”)…mix breeding of Car and Truck.