Lutz Confirms: Commodore SS to be sold in US as Pontiac G8

[flyingfridge]

Originally Posted by Carsguide.com.au

Up to 50,000 Holden Commodores a year will be exported to the US rebadged as Pontiacs in a second crack at the market first prised open by the Monaro three years ago.

General Motors product chief Bob Lutz confirmed the high-performance Commodore SS, the sporty V8 version of Australia's favourite sedan, would sell as the Pontiac G8 in the US, with the export car due to be unveiled at the Chicago motor show next month.

"We're seriously planning to import a lot of Commodore SSs in the guise of Pontiac G8s," Mr Lutz said at the Detroit motor show yesterday. "It's such a logical thing to do."

The export drive comes at a critical time for the nation's vehicle industry, which has been hit by a sales slump as consumers, mindful of higher petrol prices, shift to smaller imported cars.

This has forced three of the four big local manufacturers - Mitsubishi, Ford and Holden - to cut jobs in response to tougher market conditions and search for cheaper parts overseas.

Mr Lutz, a prime mover behind the Monaro export scheme, said GM's global strategy now required every model to be feasible for any market. He said the flipside for Australia would be an increasing variety of vehicles imported from the US, including the new Camaro.

He refused to say when Commodore shipments would begin, but the February unveiling in Chicago suggests work is well advanced.

The Monaro sold beyond expectations in Australia but failed to reach sales forecasts in the US, where it was criticised as being too bland to resurrect the famous Pontiac GTO muscle car.

Exchange rates, with the rising Australian dollar, were another problem. "With the GTO we made a mistake because we passed on the deterioration in profitability that we took through the appreciation of the Australian dollar," Mr Lutz said.

However, the Monaro had helped change thinking at the car giant.

"While the GTO program may not have fulfilled all our hopes and dreams in terms of volume and profitability, it did break the ice on global programs," he said. "It got everybody in North America understanding that the engineering groups in the other regions can do excellent vehicles for the North American market."

http://carsguide.news.com.au/story/0...-21822,00.html

We knew it was going to happen, but it's all official and named now. Excellent.

[SL65]

Was about to make a spy thread but this'll do

Spy pics of the G8 testing in Aus

GM’s on-again off-again development of rear-wheel-drive sedans seems to be turned on again, as indicated by this prototype recently photographed in northern Australia. Why Australia? Because development of the rear-drive sedan is being done by Holden, GM’s Australian branch.

The new Pontiac sedan will likely be called the G8, in keeping with Pontiac’s current model naming system. The G8 will replace the current Pontiac Grand Prix. Just as the Pontiac GTO was based on a Holden model, the Monaro, the new G8 will be based on an existing Holden vehicle, the rear-wheel-drive Holden VE Commodore sedan. This time, however, there will be much more extensive differences between the Holden and the Pontiac. The Pontiac G8 will have its own sheetmetal and its own interior, setting it apart from the Commodore.

The G8 is expected to be produced in Australia, as was the Pontiac GTO. It will offer a choice of V6 or V8 engines. Introduction of the G8 is not expected until at least 2008.

This part worried me...

"The Pontiac G8 will have its own sheetmetal and its own interior, setting it apart from the Commodore."

Yep, thats exactly what they should take control of - the interior

[Hidden_Hunter]

I wonder how different it will look or if the "new" interior will just be the standard one - a few holden badges.

[fbc]

Excellent news for Holden, the Australian car industry, and American car buyers - you're getting a great car guys.

[SL65]

Originally Posted by fbc

Excellent news for Holden, the Australian car industry, and American car buyers - you're getting a great car guys.

Let take credit for it because we're Aussie!

YOUR WELCOME AMERICA! Now don't stuff it up....

Haha, j/k....now wait, I wasn't Seriously Pontiac - don't mess with it or else there'll be a boomerang coming your way.

[fbc]

Originally Posted by SL65

Let take credit for it because we're Aussie!

Well I used to work at Holden, so damn right I'll take some credit

(Admittedly the closest I ever came to VE was graphing it's cost on a vehicle program cost chart, but hey...)

[Dsemaj]

Those spy pics are weird. The front headlights has some big gaps, so i'm guessing the Commodore ones will be replaced with their own headlights. The rear looks from the Statesman, but the rear doors look like the Statesman too, but with a difference. They look like they're meant to fit a Commodore size car, but they have the little Audi-like bit that continues on the door.

Be interesting to see what the final product is.

[Hidden_Hunter]

If pontiac is *shudder* redoing the interior I wonder if it will be closest to the SS or SS-V.

I also wonder if the interior is being reworked to lower costs as well

[thedguy]

Expect an interior something like this:


And the usual over done scoops and holes and lines that come standard with All Pontiac designed sheet metal (or plastic).

[jetsetter]

Originally Posted by thedguy

Expect an interior something like this:


And the usual over done scoops and holes and lines that come standard with All Pontiac designed sheet metal (or plastic).

That's from a Grand Prix. This new vehicle will be some quite different.

[SoxXpupPeT]

Thats Great! to bad there getting rid of the GTO but you get what you get. that car is going to sell big here. Cant WAit!

[Steve Levin]

Let's just hope it doesn't end up with the goofy wing like the GTO did (as compared to the Monaro VXR).

Steve

[Ezbok58a]

GM interiors are working their way up from the current stuff they have, sure it might not be as good as the European interiors but then it isn't a European Car to begin with.

[Dsemaj]

Lutz said that the Commodore has the best interior of any GM made car, so I don't think they're going to screw it up.. Well I hope!

[Samir]

They better flare up some of the styling... otherwise it will end up like the Monaro/GTO. That style of bodywork never really caught on in the U.S.

[Hidden_Hunter]

any more dressing up and the ss-v would just look plain retarded

[Topher]

Originally Posted by SL65

Let take credit for it because we're Aussie!

YOUR WELCOME AMERICA! Now don't stuff it up....

Haha, j/k....now wait, I wasn't Seriously Pontiac - don't mess with it or else there'll be a boomerang coming your way.

and then it will come back and hit you again!

[thedguy]

Originally Posted by Dsemaj

Lutz said that the Commodore has the best interior of any GM made car, so I don't think they're going to screw it up.. Well I hope!

I can see the accountants now
Accountant 1: "Wow thats nice, damn thats a comfy seat, really holds you in!"

Accountant 2: "Thats some nice material on the seat whats it called?" "And I really like the dash design"...

Accountant 3:"This all must be costing us 50 cents more on each car than we really need to spend, we can't have any of this!" "Plus American's don't like 'quality', just a car that looks good..."

Accountant 1 to Pontiac Chief Engineer: "Think you can fit another scoop somewhere on that front end? Holes means less material, which saves us money"

Originally Posted by Samir

They better flare up some of the styling... otherwise it will end up like the Monaro/GTO. That style of bodywork never really caught on in the U.S.

Oh don't worry, Pontiac loves putting in loads of ugly useless scoops and holes on cars. By the time it's done it should resemble a TVR designed by a blind folded monkey.

[Hidden_Hunter]

they can't be too expensive to produce at the momment because the commodore (the base model anyway) is quite cheap for the size of car you're getting.

[jetsetter]

I can see the accountants now
Accountant 1: "Wow thats nice, damn thats a comfy seat, really holds you in!"

Accountant 2: "Thats some nice material on the seat whats it called?" "And I really like the dash design"...

Accountant 3:"This all must be costing us 50 cents more on each car than we really need to spend, we can't have any of this!" "Plus American's don't like 'quality', just a car that looks good..."

Accountant 1 to Pontiac Chief Engineer: "Think you can fit another scoop somewhere on that front end? Holes means less material, which saves us money"

At this point it would most likely cost more to change materials and the price of the car would increase.

Oh don't worry, Pontiac loves putting in loads of ugly useless scoops and holes on cars. By the time it's done it should resemble a TVR designed by a blind folded monkey.

That has been changing.