[brandonppr]

I am not sure if there is truth to this or just speculation, but here it is:

http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071119/FREE/71119001/1024/FREE

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.

The G8 sedan goes on sale early next year. It replaces the Grand Prix and will be Pontiac's flagship sedan with a starting price around $25,000.

The G8 wagon will be a performance vehicle similar to the Audi A3 wagon, sources say. The G8 sport truck will be reminiscent of the Chevrolet El Camino, which was produced in North America from 1959 through 1987.

The vehicles will closely resemble the Holden VE Ute sport truck and Commodore wagon.

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.

The 2008 Pontiac G8 sedan is the first U.S. vehicle developed on GM's global rwd sedan architecture. The Camaro will be the second. The G8 sedan will be assembled in Australia and will share much of its sheet metal with the Commodore.

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.

 

[usmc190]

That's what I saw before. I remember them firmly (Bob Lutz?) Saying there would be no El Camino double of the Pontiac G9 (just guessing) sports truck. Autoweek, they also were the first mag to run a spread on the Camaro after it debuted. It was on the cover too, cause that is what made me subscribe to it. Nice info/ thread!

 

[usmc190]

You said it could be cancelled cause of the AUS $, but wouldn't it be built in Canada with the rest of the rear drive cars?? Pontiac was planing on building the G8 there soon after the Camaro, Impala, mystery rd coupe get rolling off the line. Since they are all shareing the same zeta and drive trains, it makes $ sense. Right?

In all reality, until the new President is in office, and all the new laws that are in Congress right now are passed or vetoed, the only two GM rd cars I'm counting on are the Camaro and the Impala. Maybe G8 if it sells well the first year. Until then everything else is just wishful thinking.

 

[Jinx]

I can see a G8 version of a sport wagon (GT in wagon form), but not the truck version. I just cant see the market. Suburu tried with the Baja and well........

 

[Z28 Autobot]

ehh specualtion..I will beleive it when I see it.. I can not see Pontiac getting everything..

 

[Luwinkle]

Jinx..that's because the Baja was ugly as sin.

 

[brandonppr]

Here is another report from Freep:
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071120/BUSINESS01/711200384

G8 models to broaden appeal
Pontiac sedan will be offered as a station wagon and sport truck
November 20, 2007

BY MARK PHELAN FREE PRESS AUTO WRITER


Pontiac wants to add variants of the eagerly awaited G8 rear-wheel-drive sport sedan to broaden the model's appeal.

A station wagon and sport-truck variation are among the possibilities for the Australian-built car that is to go on sale next spring.



"It's very likely we're going to get more variants" of the G8, a General Motors Corp. source said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the automaker is still considering which G8 models to offer. The sleek sedan will become the flagship for Pontiac's return to its performance heritage when it replaces the Grand Prix sedan in 2008.

GM's Holden Australian unit builds the wagon and pickup models as part of its best-selling Commodore VE family of vehicles. The G8 is a mildly revised version of the Commodore VE sedan. Its sporty looks are reminiscent of a BMW 5-series, and it is the first production model from GM's global Zeta family of rear-wheel drive cars, which also will produce the Chevrolet Camaro and a number of other models GM's North American plants will build for several of the automaker's brands.

"It's optimistic to think that all the body styles Holden builds could come here," the source said.

The weak U.S. dollar makes importing the wagon and pickup a dicey proposition, and GM isn't sure how much demand there would be for either of the cars. GM has not said how many G8s it expects to sell annually, but it is likely that even the sedan will be a low-volume model unless GM decides to build it in North America, which is unlikely to happen before 2010 or 2011.

Pontiac will offer 261-horsepower V6 and 362-horsepower V8 versions of the G8, priced at $26,910 and $29,310, respectively. The brand also is considering a high-performance GXP.

"Having a G8 family consisting of several models is probably a wise decision" as Pontiac tries to establish the G8 in consumers' minds, the source said. "There's been some discussion of the sport wagon and the pickup."

GM considered making the pickup part of its all-truck GMC brand, but "it makes more sense as a Pontiac because of the G8 name and its looks," the source said.

The Australian sport pickup recalls the Chevrolet El Camino sport truck from 1959 through 1987, but there has not been any discussion of bringing it in as a Chevrolet.

"It would cost too much to establish a new name and or unique looks for a Chevrolet model," the source said.

 

[USA1Camaro]

I think the wagon will sell, but not in great numbers. I'm not sure about the Ute. It could go either way. It's a love it, hate it design.

View attachment 202

 

[brandonppr]

I think the wagon will sell, but not in great numbers. I'm not sure about the Ute. It could go either way. It's a love it, hate it design.

View attachment 202

I agree 100%



I think that chop you posted above looks alot better than that GTO ute conversion though.

 

[OverAnxious]

Honestly I think wagons are making a comeback and will sell better in the near future

 

[dshane]

Chrysler didn't think so and canceled the Magnum.

 

[Luwinkle]

dshane..it's Chrysler..they're like Ford..they make a LOT of incredibly stupid moves for no reason whatsoever.

And that chop looks better because it's based off of the current gen Ute..not the ugly-as-sin last gen.

 

[dshane]

Oh I wasn't defending them...lol Just stating that others arnt selling wagons and I dont think that GM should start. Before they jump into a low voume market they should get other things a little more down the road like Malibus on every corner.

 

[Luwinkle]

They might make it a limited production vehicle. Like the Solstice/Sky..I have only ever seen a couple of them on the roads around here since they came out. GM is doing well with them because they aren't making them all year long.

**** shame they're canning the Magnum..one of the few Dodges I like.

 

[Z28 Autobot]

hmm the Magnum got canned..and it was on the lager platform of the Charger and 300 and now Challenger and it still got canned?? why??
And has that series of cars really stopped selling??

The UTE would work..its something that no one has no one..GMC should take that though..not Pontiac...Especially if it has the wagon..the G8 wagon..would sell..

but a 2009 V8 GMC Typhoon or Syclone would be nice

 

[Luwinkle]

I'd just love a 6.0L 360hp V8 in a small truckcar with a 6spd manual. With a badass factory sound system (monsoon or pioneer). Mmm.

 

[LorcinLS1]

hmm the Magnum got canned..and it was on the lager platform of the Charger and 300 and now Challenger and it still got canned?? why??
And has that series of cars really stopped selling??

The UTE would work..its something that no one has no one..GMC should take that though..not Pontiac...Especially if it has the wagon..the G8 wagon..would sell..

but a 2009 V8 GMC Typhoon or Syclone would be nice

I would think the ute would work better under gmc's name plate. I think the pontiac wagon could do ok, some people like wagons and gm hasn't had anything since the roadmaster and caprice wagons.

 

[Jinx]

Jinx..that's because the Baja was ugly as sin.

Exactly. But I think the ute is ugly as sin as well; along with all the other el caro el truckos.

But as for wagons, (even though I cant stand them) wagons have a market here in the states. With the competition lacking the Magnum now and only automakers lack the balls of a powerful wagon; I think a G8 would be a good move. Im sure it prolly be produced in low numbers like the Mitsibishi Lancer wagon in the states did; but it could be matched for demand on an annual basis.

 

[USA1Camaro]

Here is interesting info from Autoblog about the 3 models coming from Holden and why the Magnum got canned.


"It's cheaper to build them in Oz due to volumes of scale. The Elizabeth plant has ~50-60k units of excess capacity. Even with the increasing strength of the Australian dollar against the US dollar, it's still cheaper/more efficient to utilize a current plant at 100% capacity than to retrofit an existing plant to produce these vehicles.

Holden is unique in that they have their own assembly methods (different from GMNA) and suppliers (i.e. they've used Blaupunkt head units and Mitsubishi alternators for years, rather than Delco/Delphi like most GMNA cars). Many of these things (i.e. the head units) are integrated into the cars so tightly that GM simply just couldn't duplicate the body panels and build the cars here.

We will see some Zeta cars (Camaro, Impala/Caprice) built in Oshawa, Ontario (as well as the eventual conversion of the Cadillac CTS/STS/SRX Lansing Grand River plant to Zeta) and it's entirely possible, if the first-gen G8 is successful, that future variants would be built at Oshawa, but we're talking about 2012/2013 or later. My guess is if there's a Monaro coupe (and a possible GTO twin), it wouldn't be piggybacked onto VE and built in Oz, but likely built in NA and exported back to Oz, as was the plan 3 years ago. "

http://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/19/r...uck/3#comments

The sedan, wagon and ute are all the same car with a different body coming down the same line, no different than the Pontiac G6 cars. It's no sweat for Holden to supply each variant to the US. My guess is they will divy up the 50,000 units they can build between the 3 G8 models and tweak the numbers of each based on demand. Very flexible.

I don't think Pontiac could sell 50,000 G8s a year with only a sedan model but when you add a G8 wagon and G8 ute to the mix the prospects look better.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GP owners whining about the price can buy a G6 or head over to Saturn or Chevrolet and get a new Aura or Malibu.

The market is demanding nicer cars from GM and they are delivering them at appropriate prices. If you don't mind owning cheap rental cars you can still find fleet specials on Chrysler and Ford lots.

The Magnum wasn't a flop. Chrysler's decision to discontinue it has more to do with the upcoming Challenger than anything else. Chrysler knows they have a bonafide hit in the Challenger and are using the capacity freed up from killing the Magnum to build more Challengers at Brampton. More Challengers means they can lower the price to better compete with the Mustang and deliver enough units to meet demand.

With the Magnum gone GM stands to dominate it's niche much like Ford dominated the fullsize RWD niche with the Crown Victoria after GM abandoned it.

Also, the most G8 cars Holden can supply is 50,000 max. That number is going to be divided up between the G8 sedan, wagon and utility. Holden can tailor the numbers of each variant based on demand. Even if the G8 utility only sells 5,000 units a year they are still sitting pretty.
The G8 family of cars is a big win for GM and for RWD enthusiasts.

 

[Luwinkle]

That's pretty nifty...and very flexible. If the demand for the Wagon is low and the Sedan is high..they can change production..and the exact opposite if need be. Cool.