
The car above is a brand new 2007 Chevy Lumina SS, which is, in turn, a rebadged Holden VE Commodore SS. It's powered by a 6.0L LS2 V8 that dishes out 362 horsepower through the rear wheels. As you can see, it's left-hand-drive. It's ready to lay long, black strips of rubber on American tarmac.
There's just one problem.

That boat it's getting on is headed to the Middle East. We have to wait (very impatiently) while the boys in Dubai, Saudi Arabia, etc. get to buy the car that belongs right here, right now. Oh, I know the word is that we'll see it as an '08 (or '09) Pontiac
Grand Prix (see Oct '06
MT for more), but come on.
The development of the VE Commodore was not some state secret that never left Australia. Holden is a GM company. The General knew it was coming, and anyone with functioning eyes sees that Americans are more than willing to pony up for a rear-drive car. Or are those Chrysler 300s, Dodge Chargers, and Dodge Magnums I see all over the place just mirages?
The new
Holden VE, its
long-wheelbase WM siblings, and the absolutely killer
HSV variants are great-looking cars with the right stuff under the skin. They would sell here today. Call it a Pontiac Grand Prix. Call it a Chevy Corsica for all I care. Just call it
something and get it here -- the United States of America -- yesterday. This car should be The Big Deal for GM at the Cobo Center in January: a full-tilt-boogie, engine-revving, tire-squealing, Bob Lutz unveiling extravaganza. GM will own the show.
Own it.
So please, GM, just do this already. Bring the car. Market the living hell out of it. And watch it go.
(More photos, Holden's export press release after the jump)
[Source: GM Holden]