Pontiac G8 to Live on as Chevrolet Caprice (well maybe not, updated)
07-15-09, 03:11 PM
#32
Lexus Fanatic
No. Apples and oranges. They're two different vehicles altogether. The Ridgeline is 4-door, sits much higher up, is more versatile, has AWD, has more towing capacity, and can do light off-roading. The El Camino and Ranchero were RWD passenger-car sedans with the two rear doors lopped off and a small truck-bed installed. They were designed for on-pavement light-duty hauling in good weather.
07-15-09, 03:29 PM
#33
07-16-09, 09:42 PM
#34
Guest
Posts: n/a
http://fastlane.gmblogs.com/
Mr. Lutz says there is no business case for a Chevrolet version of the G8. Resources and manpower are needed elsewhere, according to Mr. Lutz. He says that GM is not backing away from RWD and performance, and in typical Lutz fashion, he lets some future plans come to light. He says that current and FUTURE Cadillacs will continue with RWD and hi-po motors, and that Holden's RWD expertise and SHEETMETAL will be used again in the future, "just not right now.".
So, can we assume the RWD Cadillacs are the Alpha platform cars, previewed with the Converj styling? For Alpha to make sense, GM needs to share the platform with a volume brand, so can we expect to see the Holden Torana and various foreign marketl Daewoos, Chevys and Buicks also built on this platform? The lighter Alpha platform has also been rumored to be flexible enough to stretch to fit the next gen Zeta cars (Camaro, Commodore, Caprice, Park Avenue, Lumina, Statesman).
Mr. Lutz says there is no business case for a Chevrolet version of the G8. Resources and manpower are needed elsewhere, according to Mr. Lutz. He says that GM is not backing away from RWD and performance, and in typical Lutz fashion, he lets some future plans come to light. He says that current and FUTURE Cadillacs will continue with RWD and hi-po motors, and that Holden's RWD expertise and SHEETMETAL will be used again in the future, "just not right now.".
So, can we assume the RWD Cadillacs are the Alpha platform cars, previewed with the Converj styling? For Alpha to make sense, GM needs to share the platform with a volume brand, so can we expect to see the Holden Torana and various foreign marketl Daewoos, Chevys and Buicks also built on this platform? The lighter Alpha platform has also been rumored to be flexible enough to stretch to fit the next gen Zeta cars (Camaro, Commodore, Caprice, Park Avenue, Lumina, Statesman).
07-17-09, 04:17 AM
#35
Pole Position
No. Apples and oranges. They're two different vehicles altogether. The Ridgeline is 4-door, sits much higher up, is more versatile, has AWD, has more towing capacity, and can do light off-roading. The El Camino and Ranchero were RWD passenger-car sedans with the two rear doors lopped off and a small truck-bed installed. They were designed for on-pavement light-duty hauling in good weather.
07-17-09, 07:09 AM
#36
Lexus Fanatic
http://fastlane.gmblogs.com/
[B]Mr. Lutz says there is no business case for a Chevrolet version of the G8.
[B]Mr. Lutz says there is no business case for a Chevrolet version of the G8.
Assuming, of course that, that is is not a doctored photo, I don't think that Lutz would have retooled the G8 assembly line just to do one Chevy prototype.
07-18-09, 11:01 PM
#37
Lexus Fanatic
Sorry GM fans but the G8 will not be coming back with a new name
Pontiac may be dead in the water but some enthusiasts - and until today, Bob Lutz among them - have been clamoring for at least one of the brand’s cars to be rebadged and sold under another GM brand - the Australian-built Pontiac G8. Designed and constructed by GM's Holden subsidiary Down Under, the G8 had been pegged for re-branding as a Chevrolet Caprice. Today, however, Bob Lutz made it clear that no such plans are in the works.
GM CEO Fritz Henderson has previously answered with a resounding "no" when talking about a future for the Pontiac G8 GXP, but today's news sounds the death knell for the more rational G8 and G8 GT as well. On the GM Fastlane Blog, Lutz wrote, "The G8 will not be a Caprice after all. I’d mentioned it, and said we were studying it, giving it a serious look, because a car like the G8 was just too good to waste. That’s all still true. I have to say that, with my new 'marketing' hat on, upon further review and careful study, we simply cannot make a business case for such a program. Not in today’s market, in this economy, and with fuel regulations what they are and will be."
Henderson ostensibly remains committed to retain other aspects of GM's sporting heritage, including previous assurances that the Corvette will remain in the portfolio along with other performance models.
The G8-to-Caprice rumor started with Lutz himself. Within hours of announcing his plans to take on a marketing role at GM, Lutz revealed to Automobile Magazine that the Pontiac G8 would find its way into Chevrolet showrooms under the Caprice name.
"The last time we looked at [the G8], we decided that we would continue to import it as a Chevrolet," Lutz said. "It is kind of too good to waste."
Lutz also explained that GM’s U.S. operations still has export agreements with Australia and its Holden subsidiary, and also mentioned that the Pontiac G8 is sold in other markets, such as South Africa and the Middle East, wearing Chevrolet badges.
The rumor gained further credence when an 'insider' revealed a supposed plan from within GM. Speaking with Automotive News, the insider claimed that one possible option was to make the G8 a Chevrolet flagship sedan and price it relatively high. The insider also reaffirmed Lutz’s comments that the car would likely be renamed the Caprice, as well as revealing that the 415hp (310kW) G8 GXP might be retained as a sort of a “five-passenger Corvette” type of vehicle as well as a law enforcement vehicle.
Instead, the new national fuel economy standards have carried the day, and the G8 will no longer see American shores under any badge. Unfortunately, the model loss may not stop there, as GM spokesman Tom Wilkinson explained that there are “real issues with CAFE and rear-wheel drive.”
GM CEO Fritz Henderson has previously answered with a resounding "no" when talking about a future for the Pontiac G8 GXP, but today's news sounds the death knell for the more rational G8 and G8 GT as well. On the GM Fastlane Blog, Lutz wrote, "The G8 will not be a Caprice after all. I’d mentioned it, and said we were studying it, giving it a serious look, because a car like the G8 was just too good to waste. That’s all still true. I have to say that, with my new 'marketing' hat on, upon further review and careful study, we simply cannot make a business case for such a program. Not in today’s market, in this economy, and with fuel regulations what they are and will be."
Henderson ostensibly remains committed to retain other aspects of GM's sporting heritage, including previous assurances that the Corvette will remain in the portfolio along with other performance models.
The G8-to-Caprice rumor started with Lutz himself. Within hours of announcing his plans to take on a marketing role at GM, Lutz revealed to Automobile Magazine that the Pontiac G8 would find its way into Chevrolet showrooms under the Caprice name.
"The last time we looked at [the G8], we decided that we would continue to import it as a Chevrolet," Lutz said. "It is kind of too good to waste."
Lutz also explained that GM’s U.S. operations still has export agreements with Australia and its Holden subsidiary, and also mentioned that the Pontiac G8 is sold in other markets, such as South Africa and the Middle East, wearing Chevrolet badges.
The rumor gained further credence when an 'insider' revealed a supposed plan from within GM. Speaking with Automotive News, the insider claimed that one possible option was to make the G8 a Chevrolet flagship sedan and price it relatively high. The insider also reaffirmed Lutz’s comments that the car would likely be renamed the Caprice, as well as revealing that the 415hp (310kW) G8 GXP might be retained as a sort of a “five-passenger Corvette” type of vehicle as well as a law enforcement vehicle.
Instead, the new national fuel economy standards have carried the day, and the G8 will no longer see American shores under any badge. Unfortunately, the model loss may not stop there, as GM spokesman Tom Wilkinson explained that there are “real issues with CAFE and rear-wheel drive.”
07-19-09, 03:06 PM
#38
Lexus Fanatic
07-19-09, 04:36 PM
#40
Lexus Test Driver
http://www.egmcartech.com/2009/04/02...e-east-market/
Interestingly enough, our current G8 is sold in Middle East as a Lumina. The caprice, being based on the Statesman, just looks like a longer version of the Lumina.
Lumina
Caprice Royale
http://www.chevroletarabia.com
07-19-09, 07:20 PM
#41
Lexus Fanatic
That picture we had seen is a middle-east spec Caprice. The Caprice name was saved after it was axed here, and has been sold since 2000 in the middle east as a Holden Statesman rebadge.
Interestingly enough, our current G8 is sold in Middle East as a Lumina. The caprice, being based on the Statesman, just looks like a longer version of the Lumina.
Interestingly enough, our current G8 is sold in Middle East as a Lumina. The caprice, being based on the Statesman, just looks like a longer version of the Lumina.
I didn't know that the Holden platform was using the Chevy badge in the Middle East.
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