Perhaps riding a contact high from all the heady presentations at the NAIAS, GM product Czar Bob Lutz let fly that the Holden Commodore SS will be coming to the US as a Pontiac. Lutz went on to say that the car will be known as the G8, and that GM is looking at an official amount of "a lot." In this case, a lot adds up to about 30,000 per year, with reserve capacity in case they nail it with price and features, and demand is high.
We hope that's the case, as the Commodore/G8 would certainly fill a hole in Pontiac's offerings and could really shake things up in the sports sedan segment if executed well. We expect that the execution will be near spot-on, judging from the performance we've seen out of the General lately. The GTO nee Monaro paved the way for sourcing the G8 from Holden. The Commodore was developed with export in mind, and Holden has the export game figured out already. They send more Statesman luxury models out of Australia then they sell locally. Lots more, in fact. Since the GTO broke the ice and let GM know what their subsidiary is capable of in the land where toilets flush backwards (not true), GM sounds excited to give the Excitement division a shot of, uh, excitement.
[Source: drive.com.au]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
John P. @ Jan 9th 2007 7:59AM
I really want to like these cars from Australia but they just aren't exciting to me at all, they always look so dated. G8? like the G8 Summit where the anti-globalization protests run rampant?
I don't like the name at all but I'll take a look when they show up and give it a fair shot. First the so-so GTO now this. hmmmm. At least it's not Ugly.
Dan @ Jan 9th 2007 8:01AM
The exterior is ok, but interior is awful (there were pictures in Motor Trend). Please modify the interior before bringing it here, don't repeat the mistake you've made with GTO.
Chris @ Jan 9th 2007 8:09AM
If only they don't throw nostrils on the car this time... They're already going to mess up a nice, simple grille to match it with every other ugly-grille Pontiac, no need to ruin the hood also.
I don't know how you think the Commodore looks dated John though, the old one definitely does but the VE is alright. Doesn't look amazing since they couldn't totally change the looks, especially the front-end, due to the wagon and ute (pick-up) variants still being based on the old style for quite a while. In a couple years when the VF or whatever
comes out it'll look much fresher. That's always how the Commodore has worked.
The interior isn't that bad either Dan, if an interior is reasonably well received in Australia it should be a revelation compared to what GM cars normally are in America. Higher standards down under because the market is much smaller and more competitive, they can't afford to sell trash like the Monte Carlo.
chris @ Jan 9th 2007 8:11AM
Local car magazine comparisons between the 300c SRT8 and the SS Commodore rate the commodore as a much better performance car even with the lower power output, they both performed equal quarter mile times (13.9). Hopefully it will sell better then the Monaro did though.
Pete @ Jan 9th 2007 8:28AM
To those criticizing the interior of the car, you've obviously not actually seen it, or just criticize the interior of GM cars as a reflex rather than based on actual observation. The '04-'06 GTO had one of the nicest interiors of any GM car, and in a car that was designed 6 or 7 years ago. The only issue w/ the GTO was it's ho-hum exterior styling.
Holden knows how to build a great car, and I have no doubt this one will be class leading in it's price range, and give BMW some actual competition in the sports sedan arena.
John P. @ Jan 9th 2007 8:36AM
Chris, I didn't say it's an ugly car, and I will be sure to go see it as soon at it arrives at my local GM dealer. I want to give it a fair shot, but the GTO really turned me off when it got here so It will take awhile to get over that one.
Jonathan @ Jan 9th 2007 9:07AM
i want an american mfg to come up with a sports sedan rear drive, 28-35k with 6spd manual that can compete with bmw, infiniti, etc... i guess this is a step but i am tired of half harted attemps by the big 3 its like they don't even try. And they wonder why they are loosing market share!
amp @ Jan 9th 2007 9:26AM
What's the CTS then?
gwballin @ Jan 9th 2007 10:52AM
If the interior is even as good as my 05 GTO, it will be a selling point not a liability.
Richard @ Jan 9th 2007 11:07AM
9./10. The Middle East Chevy Lumina based on the Commodore is an import. I would think it makes little difference to its buyers whether it comes from North America or from Austrailia.
The situation with the G8 is very different. Pontiac is a domestic brand in the USA with its own engineering and styling. Even in Canada, many Pontiac models have long been simple rebadges of similar Chevrolet models. GM plans to import a slightly modified Austrailian Commodore into the USA under the Pontiac banner. The Commodore may be a wonderful car. This is not the issue. The issue is that it is not a Pontiac.
We have been down this road before with the GTO. The Holden Monaro may be a great car, but putting a moustache and eyeglasses on it didn't make the Monaro a GTO.
This move has little to do with getting the best cars to North American customers. It has everything to do with absorbing Holden's excess manufacturing capacity. In the USA, GM and the other domestic manufacturers shut down factories with excess capacity.
Owain Ozymandias Buck @ Jan 9th 2007 11:53AM
Please, oh please, send me a Holden Ute!
Or at least a RWD wagon! Chevy badge, Pontiac badge, I don't care if it's a Geo badge, I'd buy one in a heart beat. It'd make a damn fine new El Camino.
I've been wanting a v-8/six speed ute so bad, I can't stand it.
FLR @ Jan 9th 2007 12:02PM
The GTO's styling may be 'bland' according to some, but I like it. The interior is one of the best to come in a GM car ever! The GTO suffered from low sales due to poor marketing and a few small missed details that American want (Sunroof, XM, Nav) and a small trunk.
I recently got a GM car and started piling on the points for a Camaro...but I already have one...so I think I'll pick up the G8 when it gets here instead!
TriShield @ Jan 9th 2007 12:12PM
I really can't believe some of the comments about this car. Are you people really insane? Or just completely stupid?
Don't you remember what the Grand Prix and Bonneville looked like inside and out? It's cool for Pontiac to sell a Toyota (Vibe) and Daewoo/Opel (Le Mans) but not a Holden, a car that is more American in focus than literally every Pontiac sedan in the last 30 years?
This car is not a GTO, and not carrying a famous name Pontiac is known for and that it wasn't engineered to wear. Don't apply that nonsense to it. It's a fresh, world-class sedan for a brand that needs a fresh start and hopefully will make us forget about the awful Bonne/Grand Prix that it is replacing.
What looks better in it's price range? The bubbly round Impala SS? The FWD puffy-cheeked Acura TL? A new, fully loaded Camry? The creaky just-discontinued Bonneville with the worst interior design ever and molding flash everywhere you look?
Give me a break.
FLR @ Jan 9th 2007 12:21PM
Oops...I meant GM credit card! Doh!
cowboy bob @ Jan 9th 2007 12:58PM
American manufacturers about killed themselves when GM, Ford, & Chrysler all dove headfirst into front wheel drive almost across the board. You can see where that got them. It's always funny that you have to almost drown before you realize that you don't know much about swimming. Such is the analogy for front wheel drive popularity. Manufacturers thought they could save a few bucks, and now they are where they are, as Don Rumsfeld would say.
BOB @ Jan 9th 2007 1:49PM
Not to upset the Aussies, but this car will need a very strong makeover to represent what a Pontiac should look like -- the styling and the interior are WAY generic to our eyes, not distinctive at all. (Yes, I went straight to the Holden website and looked at all the pictures: what I saw was a well-executed pastiche, not strong, distinct, and unified design.)
Maybe, even if too mistakable for other cars, it provides some sales volume, keeps the Pontiac brand going, and paves the way for the future, it will be a good move. Certainly the present vehicle GM is trying to pass off as a Grand Prix is a lesser car.
Richard @ Jan 9th 2007 2:02PM
15. FWIW, I am not a Vibe customer even though it is US-manufactured product. Neither did I buy the Korean-manufactured LeMans. However, I have purchased the Grand Am, 6000, and Grand Prix. Suffice it to say, I vote with my wallet.
Has Pontiac made mistakes? Of course it has. One of those mistakes was rebadging the Holden Monaro as a Pontiac GTO. However, we are the sum total of all of our experiences. Our defeats and our triumphs make us what we are. This is also true of automobile manufacturers. Holdens may be great cars in their own right. However, there is nothing of Pontiac in them.
If you are such a great fan of Holden, urge GM to convert the Commodore and other Holden models to left hand drive and import them to the USA as Holdens. Sell them as the rugged Outback buggies that they are.
ohmy @ Jan 9th 2007 2:31PM
... why are people putting down the GTO? Because it doesnt have the "boy racer" look to appeal to high school kids? or because it doesnt have retro styling so that 60 year old people can recognize it? please, the GTO is one of the nicest car around, the interior is perfect, the exterior is nice in that it doesnt scream for attention, and nobody in their right mind would question its performance!! its a sleeper car, which is why I love it...
TriShield @ Jan 9th 2007 2:52PM
Richard, Pontiac has made among the worst cars money can buy for nearly three decades. Every Pontiac since the 80s has been a cheap, shoddily made plastic mess with exterior cladding. They've all been buggies as you put it. Even the Solstice is a poorly crafted piece inside and out, as new and beautiful as it is. Judging by your vehicle ownership history I'd say you and I have VASTLY different expectations of how a car should be made and what it should drive like.
I owned a "real" Pontiac myself (though it was a rebadged LeSabre). My '93 Bonneville was my first and last Pontiac, it was literally lined with shiny Rubbermaid materials inside and was abysmal to drive. I swore I would never own another one again, the brand to me is synonymous with extremely bad cars in every respect.
That percpetion changed when I purchased a new 2006 GTO last year. I first drove one in 2004 and was utterly amazed such a car was wearing Pontiac badges. This car made me a GM customer and kept me from going to a foreign automaker for my transportation needs.
It is a fantastic car in every respect and is blessed with an interior and driving dynamics that shame most everything else GM NA comes up with. It's no wonder Holden has been tasked to engineer the next Camaro Down Under. They love muscle cars as much as we do (if not more) but have a much higher standard for interior design/materials, quality and overall driving dynamics than we do.
If the G6 is as good as GM NA is willing to do for Pontiac now, then importing the Commodore as Pontiac's newest large car is the best decision they've made in years for the brand.
There is not a car in it's class that really looks like it. If you want to bling get a 300C or Charger. If you don't need a V8 get a G35. If you love torque steer get an Acura TL. If you love V8s and don't want a car that makes you look like a redneck jackass driving it then the G8 is the ticket.
I will purchase one provided GM doesn't remove all the features this time or completely blow the grille design.
tcc3 @ Jan 9th 2007 5:09PM
Ohmy, that may be why *you* like it, but you are obviously a minority. I dont understand the "its a car-ninja; Its so boring no one sees it coming" argument.
They got off cheap - instead of engineering a real car worthy of the GTO badge, they threw some Grand Am body panels on an existing car.
Ive got no beef with the platform, its a beast under the hood. But Pontiac sales of that era show how well received Pontiacs "make every thing look just as ugly as the Grand Am" strategy was.
They wanted to milk the GTO nostalgia, didnt want to have to work for it, and it bit them in the ass.