v8 and all? either way i think it should make for a nice addition to the pontiac lineup… i guess this sedan will sit in between the g6 and gto sedans.

now theres actually a reason to buy a pontiac.

I believe GM’s strategy of importing to the US the best it manufactures around the world will ultimately sway people back into their dealerships.
This car looks awesome as a Holden. If the Pontiac redone is tasteful, it could be a hit.

This is what the Grand Prix should have been. Now make rear drive standard on the Impala and Monte Carlo! Good move.

I doubt that anyone has ever driven a Holden before in this site. It’d be nice to have someone down under comment on the new Commodore without bias.

I hope they do better with it this time than last time. The GTO was a modified version of the Holden Monaro, and that was not GM’s best success story.

I drove several GTOs and liked them a lot. At least they were a lot better than everything else in a Pontiac dealship. By a long shot.

Nice interior, fit and finish, that big Corvette engine.

Definately an exciting edition to what has become a less than exciting line of cars.

I know a lot of people will think this is *just* badge engineering and, yes it is a Holden with Pontiac badges however; it’s a completely seperate market with nothing like it to compete against. So don’t start with that crap…

I hope it has some pontiac design, and is not just a badge job. This will help the brand image alot more than the GTO.

You could tell me the car was designed in the 90’s and I’d believe you. Style wise, it looks like a 1999 Subaru Legacy.

Renton: I agree the current GTO is an awesome car. I test drove some of them and really wanted one, but it wasn’t practical for winter driving and where I live we have long winters. My point regarding the “success” for GM was that it didn’t please the old school GTO lovers, so it wasn’t a financial success. I think that’s due to the fact that it looks more like a big Cavalier than any of the previous iterations of the GTO.

Holden is to Pontiac what Opel is to Saturn — and that’s officially A Good Thing.

Now, offer a factory turbo + flappy paddle shifters on the AWD Vibe and call it a day.

My only concern is that if they import this from Australia, that’s gonna jack up the cost, possibly beyond competitiveness.

Other than that, go GM! this car looks sweet

Hmmm…..now all we need are a couple of prominent Chevy Nextel Cup teams to field some entries for the Bathurst 1000…..could make an interesting campaign.

Do know that Holden has quite a strong motorsport history.

They do have that Ute (Pickup), right? Bring that here too, and call it an El-Camino SS. Ok, that might not work as well as a Grand Prix, but they could do it…..

I’d rather have it badged as a Holden.

Kinda ugly. I think this car is worse looking tha the dearly departed GTO…shame.

doesn’t thrill me at all. they should bring back the Firebird T/A based off of the new camaro base.. then they’d have something to sell again..

As was discussed the last time this was news, it’s far too bland. “BrokenCadillac”, I’m with you.

UGLY!!! can pontiac not design any good looking cars or what??? looks like an old mustang

that picture is a photo shop.

I’m with V1ltR on this one. The car is a Holden. Lutz is jonesing on Holden. GM should import the car as a Holden. Such a move would be much more likely to succeed. I have no doubt that this is a great car. However, what it is not is a Pontiac.

The entire history of the Pontiac brand contributed to each line in the Grand Prix and G6. There is nothing of Pontiac in the Holden. Appending a faux Pontiac grill on a Holden won’t turn it into a Pontiac.

If GM wants to bring former customers back to the fold, it will not do it by rebranding an offshore vehicle. If it wants to attract new buyers who had not considered Pontiacs in the past, this won’t do it. Comments above to the contrary not withstanding.

Bring the Holden to America. Sell it through Pontiac dealers. But save the Pontiac shield for Pontiacs.

It will look ugly as sin if they insist on using that ridiculous style grill that they used on the GTO in America.

I haven’t had a chance to drive the new commodore yet however I have been for a ride in one and its a huge improvement on the older generation (perticularly the VY/VZ model’s) the interior is just short in quality of the BMW however it also costs a lot less.

I’m sure they’ll do some Pontiac things to it, but this is the new face of Pontiac. Much like Saturn has a new face, albeit with much less history behind the old one, Pontiac is getting reborn. And why not? What they got ain’t workin.

youngm7, If were imported as a Holden, GM would have to do nothing to it except convert it to left-hand drive and bring it into compliance with US law. What is being done with Saturn is the opposite of what is being done here. Saturn is getting a new face along with a new everything else. With the Holden, GM is grafting the familiar Pontiac-like grill on a completely different car. Indeed there is no strategy to turn Pontiac into the brand which brings Austrailian-engineering to the States. If there were, I would be supportive. Instead we have a mix-and-match strategy. Take a Holden model and see if GM can find a US model name to slap on it. This is not a strategy for success.

Don’t know why people complain so much about the lack of ‘Pontiac’ styling…newsflash; Pontiac styling has sucked a$$ until a few years ago with the arrival of the G6 and Solstice.

Before that it was all about adding fancy plastic rocker panels, wings and foglights wherever possible. Even the previous generation Firebird was hideously ugly, with those huuuuge overhangs. And let’s not even talk about the 70’s and 80s…

Yet when GM brings over conservatively-styled Holdens that offer great big bang for the buck, all people do is complain about the ‘boring’ styling. Which is odd because the greatest Pontiac of all time, the original GTO, was a perfect example of power packed in a plane-jane package.

It’s plain to see that Lutz is trying very hard to ditch Pontiac’s all-looks “flamer” image and start delivering a product lineup that has substance. Pity people don’t seem to get it, even on an ‘enthusiast’ site like LLN.

Wow! Cant wait to see it on the road…

Ewww, they shouldve left it as it was and not with that Pontiac grill that makes it look ugly and cheaper

@global_lightning,
Sarcasm or not, just a couple of years ago, the Pontiac Grand Am was GM’s largest selling model of passenger car.

I think I’m the only person who liked the GTO, and subsequently this new car here, because they’re styled rather blandly. I’ve never understood why people insist that a blandish car isn’t what a GTO should be. If you actually pay attention to the GTO’s design lineage, you’d note that bland is exactly what a GTO should be. It was arguably the original muscle car, and when it first came out it looked like something your grandma would drive. It didn’t get all ridiculously festooned with spoilers and stripes and intakes until the 1970 Judge. It’s not supposed to look fast, it’s supposed to be fast… and it is.

So, I welcome the news that GM is importing the Commodore. And unlike most of their other products, I would consider buying it because it’s made in Australia. Also, the GTO was never exactly what I would term expensive when you think about it (30-35k), and I believe the Commodore sits below the Monaro in the Holden lineup, so logically this new model should be even cheaper (I’m thinking 25-30k). Now, I just hope they bring some to Canada this time around.

/no

also, global_lighting, do the words “cutlass” and/or “442″ mean anything to you?

furthermore, one can no longer purchase a new oldsmobile.

/no

Quite a pity people seem to get riled up over FACT … this car is bland. If GM wanted to really change its current, and long-time, direction which is failing them deservedly, get some new designers who appropriately design vehicles steering clear of the typical Pontiac mould. Nevermind what’s been mentioned … stop importing and slapping on some make-up trying to veer away from the old style but keeping the brand recognizable.

The commodore is PURE SEX. And now we are getting it rebadged as a pontiac.

Praise Jesus, Allahu Ackbar and Yahweh is THE WAY.

Prayer pays. This will rock. So long as pontiac doesnt rape its look. This is EXACTLY what GM needs to do. This is the first step to a revolution within GM. First we start by bringing in superior designs from satellite manufacturers, and then we give our local designers and engineers some leeway, and smack down the union enough to build what the engineers design. And GM will have what people want, at a price they can afford. And all will be right with the world…

::NIRVANA:: |3^)

nowei, my comment was in jest. Yes, I’m aware of Old’s great legacy cars and their demise. That’s why I referred to them: as blandness and lack of differentiation shut them down, so will the same path consume the remaining US brands.

Holden spent big bucks developing the new Commodore (at least in Australia terms, a car built for a population of ~20mill can only attract so much). GM/Holden will probably ship it everywhere they can make a profit to try and make some money off their investment in the car.

Also the Commodore is a family car, it ain’t a Ferrari so the “blandness” factor isn’t worth whining about. It was built for a conservative market with conservative looks for conservative people. In a lot of ways its similar to the position the VW Golf has in Europe. Regular family car until you start looking at the GTis and r32s. Visually they’re not radically different from the base model but its enough to take a second glance. But instead of using some little four-pots you get a big family car starting with a V6 3.6L all the way up to turboed V8 6Ls. They’re big, bland-looking, RWD family cars with more power than the average person needs. Makes a great first car!

I have no problem with the Pontiac (G8?) sedan version of the Commodore looking like this.. it fits the organically-styled new lineup better than the current blobby Grand Prix does, and understated styling is a boon when you want to go really fast! Unfortunately, importing it from Australia instead of assembling it in the US will bring the price way out of line compared to the outgoing Grand Prix, which in many cases sells for barely more than a loaded G6 already! How can GM expect to increase sales of its replacement if it is priced several thousand dollars higher?

@Knobby157,

There is a huge difference between “conservative” and “bland.” Virtually every Honda sold in the US save the Element and Ridgeline are conservatively styled. However, they are not bland.

@autonutt,

I agree with you on the price of this car. I see it priced in the $35k-$40k US range. Lutz sees a market for a rebadged Austrailian iimport at this price point, but my bet is that the market is very small.

That Motor trend nose job is plain ugly. I hope GM stylists weave some of the magic that they did to the Camaro on the front end. I hope the true production version looks better than this spypic.

if only ford were smart enough to bring euro and aussie models to the us… *sigh* i’m not american but i feel bad for you guys

I say keep the Grand Prix name. Leave the alphanumeric names to Cadillac. Try and build it here, too.

Oh…jeeze guys…what are you worried about? Look, Holden build very good cars on the tightest of budgets. Being an Aussie, I know our market quite well. It’s cut-throat and crappy cars just don’t survive. Holden has invested, in our terms, a fortune developing this car and benchmarked against the best BMW has to offer.
When you see the car in the metal you can tell where the money went. The body gaps, paint work, interior and attention to workmanship and quality are all first-class. My first drive of one was a revelation. They go like the wind, they have a super quiet interior which is very comfortable, they have a nice exhaust note when listened to from the outside and they handle so well you’d have to be a twit to get into trouble on the road. This car oozes quality. If it comes to you as a Pontiac or a Holden, just enjoy it. At least you won’t be driving around in thos petrol guzzling SUVs and pick-ups…they are what really got your Auto industry into a rut.