Everybody knew this was going to happen. Call it Commodore, Lumina, or whatever… it’s all good. Give the locals the 3.6L V6, and give the highway patrol boys the 6.0L V8. Done, and done.

I thought yesterday’s article said GM was severing ties with Holden and that is why the G8 won’t come here as another brand. Now this article, and it won’t come back as a civilian version until 2010? It will be outdated by then.

Nahhh… GM’s letting loose Opel, not Holden. But GM will seriously screw Holden by getting rid of the G8. But hopefully this move will save Holden. They need all the volume that they can get.

What sweet sorrow! Now you will need a real exotic to outrun one one of these 6.2L 415hp/415 lb-ft of torque bad boys!

Call it the Poopy McFartsmobile for all I care but let us keep the RWD!!!!

This way it will be easier to spot the unmarked police vehicles. Too many people own older Impalas while hardly anyone bought G8s.

I foresee a police auction and a pissed off wife in my future.

I knew the car would live. It’s too goog of a car and a great value to just stop prodiction entirely.

No one said GM was cutting ties with Holden. LLN said Pontiac was stopping production of the G8.

If this vehicle does become an Impala they will build it in Oshawa with the Camaro. In fact if they can get 40,000 police units annually it would make financial sense to build it there anyway. But I think they will have to put in a turbo 4 to make it meet future MPG requirements. I guess I wonder if government entities can take vehicles that do not meet the new MPG standards? Perhaps the 2.8Turbo would give high enough MPG.

Speaking of the Camaro built in Oshawa, here is an idea for Buick. Since GM axed the “performance division”, let’s get some excitement back in to Buick. Not a rebadge, but use the Camaro chassis and build a new 2 door only Buick GNX. Caddy was for old people 10 years ago, they can re-energize Buick, too. I think coming right out of the gate with a new Buick GNX or Grand National would do the trick.

make this the new impala, problem solved.

NOT commodore, go back to the Impala muscle roots

make this the new impala, problem solved.

NOT commodore, go back to the Impala and its muscle roots

Guys, old cars muscle cars are dead! Sorry but no one will be able to build these cars legally in 4 years. Heck BMW will be using 4’s by then.

But GTA a GN would be great! Unfortunately our elected officials will not let that happen.

a GNX would be the worst idea for Buick. Given the option not many younger people would be caught dead in a Buick. And sporty cars would not make Buick profitable. Sadly their boaty, cushy cars appeal to old people because their ride and seats support their terrible backs. It’s the truth. Don’t agree? Ask your local retirement home.

I know. My dream of a new Trans Am is officially dead now too. I just think a limited run (10,000) of a new GNX would show America and the world that Buick is not just for 65 year olds. There has to be some sort of a groundbreaking, exciting model to get away from the senior citizen stereotype.

this would be a lot better than the current charger lineup for them!

Lord, please dont call it a Lumina here.

and guess what VR666, i dislike everything buick makes and theyre all for 65 year olds, but i would DROOL for a new GNX.

A4, don’t worry. You know those horror movies where they find a cavern filled with skulls and bones. GM has one of the those filled with names like Lumina. In fact it shouldn’t be too long before they have to open up a second lair.

Agree with the popular consensus here. I think we’re all clamoring to see this car live on here in the States. Unfortunatley the comments concerning the fact that this car hasn’t sold very well here and is languishing on dealer lots like an Aztec has sealed it’s future probably. Perhaps this cop car idea is GM’s response to the Carbon Motors E7, in that it is a police only offering that is unique on our streets, and can be controlled easier than the hordes of Crown Vics, Impalas and Chargers running around.

“Sadly their boaty, cushy cars appeal to old people because their ride and seats support their terrible backs.”

VR, what was the last Buick you were in? Sadly more misinformation.

@carstuff
they are not dead.
people still want them.
please stop misinforming us.

gta89mike, that’s dumb. Whatever happened to the Caddy based off the Corvette platform? OK, perhaps that’s too expensive.

Buick may be descent now, but it will take a long time for their image to reverse into what it used to be in the good old days. If Hyundai can do it, GM can too.

I think the problem with the G8 is the name and marketing. The G system for Pontiac was the beginning of it’s death. If the g6 was still a Grand Am and the g8 still a Grand Prix or Bonneville, I think they would have done much better. Plus, they marketed the car 6 months before it was here, and then nothing once it was on the lots. Plus, sitting next to G5’s and G3’s, what is the point.

Now, market this thing as an Impala, right next to Camaros and Corvettes, I think it would sell A LOT better. So much in the car business has to do with the right marketing. GM is no good at that.

Sprockkets, I think the Enclave has already started the change. Average age is well below 50. The new LaCrosse should do the same. The average Buick buyer is now 55, almost even with Honda (51).

bigs, I never said no one wanted them (muscle cars), they do. What I said was the government will not let them be built. Well at least not be SOLD in this country. We can build them here.

We need some uniformity in our police fleets. Now that the Crown Vic is a dead man walking the green mile, departments buying new fleets are not really looking at Fords. Just today, being on the road for 2 minutes I saw these cop car: Expedition, Charger, Magnum, Crown Vic, Impala (last gen, and this gen). And thats within one department/city!

i think commodore would be a badass name for Chevy to use from the Aussi’s, alot better than Lumina. but if this does get sold to the public in 2012, i dont really want to see the Impala name go away either.

I also think GM need to transfer the Kappa II platform over to chevy and let the Solstice/Sky live on… maybe as a reborn Stingray, offer it just below the base Vette coupe

Still wish they’d bring the G8 pickup SUT thing over as the El Camino.

gta89mike, I agree with the naming convention, but, the stupid trend is to call things by letters, as if it makes the car so much more appealing to Americans. Honda still has the Integra and Legend in Japan, Mazda has the Axlea or whatever everywhere else, and Caddy, that was silly, CTS = Cadillac Touring Sedan or STS = Seville Touring Sedan.

RSX, TSX, OOooo I have a C Class or TL, or a 3,5,7. GM just tried to follow the stupid trend.

Im still amazed a dirty old holden commodore is such a desirable car in the usa… dime a dozen p.o.s here.

this is what the impala should of been. the public would of ate it up as well as police departments. the G8 name carries no weight here

AMERICAN cars should have real names. It’s just the way it works for us. Although it seems to work well for all luxury cars. I can’t say the same for other brands.

Alpha-numerics add a little zap to the CORVETTE, “C6″ for “CORVETTE SIX” or “Sixth generation CORVETTE”, and even make LINCOLNs seem cool, (Face it LINCOLN, you got to get some serious going on and fast), but the majority of AMERICAN cars need names not numbers.

I agree with sprockkets and gta89mike, to a point.

But what really killed PONTIAC was the lack of mission focus, NO FIREBIRD (No one would give CHEVY a look without the CORVETTE or CAMARO, and crappy @$$ marketing.

Of course, there was nothing to market.

The G6 (Grand Am) had a rowdy fast and winning GXP racer, RWD and all, but do they bring that to the customer? No. Not even a Alpha replacement, No Alpha platform (Killed) and no PONTIAC now.

Killed the FIERO and nearly 20 years on gives us the SOLSTICE… (WHAT?) How about calling it “FIERO” or “FIREBLADE”, or something more exciting and less like the car your girlfriend would drive. The SATURN SKY got the wussy suspension but the butch styling. The SOLSTICE got the more hardcore suspension and engine but the wussy body. Needed more pronounced Aero. And now no PONTIAC or SATURN reads like “No more kappa cars and hot small sports coupe from GM”. Maybe CHEVY will carry it as an actual “Baby” CORVETTE, the rumored V6 STINGRAY.

The GTO? Stands for “Geez That’s Old”. A 3-4 year old Manaro coupe slated for replacement already and it was shipped over as a $40,000 mid-lifers joyride with less than stellar styling and worse handling. The final Fox-MUSTANGs ran rings around that car. A new one was promised and would have been a major hit. Basically a coupe version of the G8 (GRAN PRIX)

The Bonneville (G10?) could have been a budget STS to recoup revenue and just be cool. A production version of the CHEVROLET SS Concept from a number of years back would have been killer. But nope.

Everything else was a waste of time.

Without the Flag-bearer, The FIREBIRD, PONTIAC was a body without soul. Just another GM “Zombie division”. By the way, the FIREBIRD, FIERO, and CORVAIR are my favorite “not CORVETTE” GMs.

GM Is likely going to die of no vision, no guts, and not strategy.

Thank goodness I’m a FORD Man.

I was looking to get a G8 next year. Oh well, guess I get a 540 instead.

sprockkets – How sure are you that it’s Cadillac Touring Sedan and not Catera Touring Sedan? It really doesn’t make sense with the others short for a regular name and the car before CTS was a Catera as the others were a Seville (STS) and Deville (DTS). Not like this matters or anything.

blakkar…..EXCELLENT post about pontiac…..couldnt have said it better myself….was a huge fan but now im done with gm….

yes a police car would be great ‘ i’d murder it out

of course you would

The pictured version would be excellent, to say the least. Most all applications would also only need the 3.6L to beat the performance of the Crownie’s in ANY performance measure, including efficiency.

Then when the next Commodore/Caprice/etc arrives in 2011-2012 as scheduled, Americans can buy the thing as the 2011-2012 Chevy Impala.

For the record, the G8 failed for the little stuff. It didn’t have catchy styling, which has helped make the Charger, Maxima, or other large sedans reasonably popular. Hood scoops and quad tips didn’t catch the eye enough, the public has seen too many Grand Ams to buy that. Secondly, the 27K starting price was steep next to the other cars the public looked at, like the Taurus or Impala. Certainly enthusiasts understand its greatness compared to those cars, but the publice didn’t, and certainly the G8 nameplate did it no favors.

The platform needs a Malibu-esque amount of styling inside and out and a name people can recognize. Have the 3.0DI standard for 23K, have a 3.6L for as much as 26K, and pile the V-8s for similar pricing to the G8.

of course, the question here, is, why would Ford stop building a model that IS selling???

olds: it is getting really old and probably needs huge investments in new tooling AND the new MPG rules will kill it by 2011.

Just bring the Lumina thats in the Middle East to the US

yeah the crown vic is becoming outdated…
BUT instead of ceasing to make it, they should update it…

and i hope chevy comes through and makes a production model, its a great car and is selling pretty well and would sell even better if it were to be advertised

‘LS7: Nahhh… GM’s letting loose Opel, not Holden. But GM will seriously screw Holden by getting rid of the G8. But hopefully this move will save Holden. They need all the volume that they can get.’

Usually I never say anything when I read ignorant comments, but I really cannot let this one slide. GM wold not ’screw’ over Holden by getting rid of the slow selling G8, properly called the Commodore. Further, Holden does not need ’saving’ for it is still the number two dealer out here. NB: Toyota has been #1 for ages with Ford stuck in Three. Additionally, the only two vehicles Holden has from other brands is the Astra and Vectra… so I reckon we will be all right over here w/o you folks in the colonies importing this car.

We are a small country, population wise, and one that does not buy new cars for the sake of buying new cars the way yanks do, especially when you consider taxes. So companies know not to build more than they can ship.

Holden Commodore is a great car

I have been expecting this for a year.
AUS is one of few countries I can feel good about buying a car from.

BAD BOYS, WHAT YOU GONNA DO, WHAT YOU GONNA DO WHEN THE NEW CHEVY, COMES AFTER YOU?

It’s totally inconceivable to me that GM (or our government) would allow the outdated W-body Impala to continue to erode GM’s reputaion and steal Malibu sales, when GM has a Zeta based sedan (with the demise of Pontiac) that would do a lot to revive Chevrolet’s image and give the brand a proper flagship. I know a Commodore based Impala would be low volume, but it would give the brand a sporty halo-like flagship sedan while giving the Malibu’s sales a chance to grow and expand. GM has this plan backwards: the W-body Impala should become the “Chevrolet Classic” fleet queen while the Zeta based Commodore should be rebadged as the new “Impala” sports sedan.

I would go as far as using the Impala badge on it instead of the Chevy bowtie and marketing the car as a low volume sports sedan companion to the Camaro and Corvette.

So… let me get this straight:

GM realizes they actually do have a good car in the Holden Commodore and will almost assuredly be offering them to police departments nationwide– because of course it is a full size rear-wheel-drive, V-8 equipped sedan– but it’s far less certain that the Commodore will get a regular place somewhere in the GM lineup despite this?

GM would need to sell the civilian version anyway no matter what engine is in it, just to keep the car available, but honestly I’d hate to see a police car available in the form of a performance sedan that people actually like that isn’t available to the buying public.

That would be a cute way for GM to tell us to go suck it:

Dealer: “Hey there customer! Buy our new automatic-only, front wheel drive, four-cylinder Impala!”
You: “Heh– uh, no thanks. How about a civilian version of one of those rear wheel drive, V8 police sedans I see the highway patrol using?”
Dealer: “Oh, we don’t sell those. High gas prices and changing times, you know– but the new Impala gets great gas mileage!”
You: “I’m sure it does. Good luck on the turnaround…”