Filed under: LA Auto Show, Podcasts, Etc., Chevrolet, Ford, GM, Lincoln

Episode #205 of the Autoblog Podcast features the monthly appearance of Alex Nunez. Chris, Dan and Alex recap the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show, Top Gear USA's first episode, the return of the Holden Commodore as a Chevrolet, and it all wraps up with your questions and feedback at the hour and a half mark. Thanks for listening!

Autoblog Podcast #205: LA Recap, Top Gear USA, and Chevy Zetas



In the Autoblog Garage:

Lincoln MKS Ecoboost
2011 Mustang GT


News Topics:

• LA Auto Show recap
• G8 to return as a Chevy
  
• Top Gear USA airs its first episode

Hosts:
Dan Roth, Chris Shunk, Alex Nunez
Runtime: 1:31:35

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Autoblog Podcast #205: LA Recap, Top Gear USA and Chevy Zetas originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 23 Nov 2010 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: LA Auto Show, Etc., Chevrolet, GM, Pontiac

Episode #205 of the Autoblog Podcast records tonight, and we've got some things to talk about. Drop us your own feedback and questions below if you think there's anything we've missed, or vote on your fellow readers' submissions to help determine what we discuss this momentous evening. You can subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes if you haven't already to hear your question answered.

Discussion Topics for Autoblog Podcast Episode #201

• LA Auto Show recap
• G8 to return as a Chevy
  
• Chevrolet Volt winning Motor Trend COTY
  

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Submit your questions for Autoblog Podcast #205 originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 22 Nov 2010 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Sedan, Performance, Chevrolet, Holden, Australia, Rumormill

A fountain of tears was shed when the Pontiac G8 sedans bit the dust along with their parent brand. The Poncho-fied Holden Commodore was one of our favorite rides - particularly in its delicious, LS3-powered GXP guise with a six-speed stick. As you know, Holden is once again ready to export Zeta-based sedans to the U.S. in the form of the new long-wheelbase Chevy Caprice police cruisers, but civilian variants are not part of the program. This brings us to the latest scuttlebutt published by Drive.com.au, which reports that a new export agreement to send standard-wheelbase Holden VE Commodores back stateside as Chevrolets may be on the horizon.

Drive quotes General Motors engineer Al Oppenheiser as confirming that negotiations are indeed underway, while a second unnamed GM source told the website that it's a done deal. A Holden spokesman told Drive that in terms of exports, the focus is presently on the Caprice PPV, but added that other deals are being pursued. There's good reason to be hopeful. GM North America President Mark Reuss was the boss at Holden in 2008 and 2009, and clearly knows just how good the product is.

The G8 won widespread praise during its brief tenure, and the lack of a legit sport sedan is a glaring hole in Chevy's otherwise comprehensive lineup. It's also important to remember that thanks to the Pontiac G8, most of the development to federalize the Aussie four-door has already been done. It would likely not take much to get the current VE Series II sedan ready for a U.S. encore. Hell, if it actually happens, maybe this time GM could even go through with the ute introduction, too. Naming the Chevy version would be a snap, after all.

Fingers crossed, everybody. Thanks to TriShield for the heads-up!



[Source: Drive.com.au]

G8 redux? Chevy comeback rumored for Holden Commodore originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 20 Nov 2010 15:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Truck, Chevrolet, GMC, Holden, Australia, Rumormill, Specialty

As if General Motors hasn't endured enough turmoil in the last year, Pickuptrucks.com is reporting that GM North America president Mark Reuss is championing the idea of a stateside Holden VE Ute. Pardon us for thinking this issue was dead and buried in 2009, interred in the graveyard of stillborn ideas. Reuss, who ran Holden for GM during the VE's development, has a soft spot for the admittedly excellent platform that we only shortly knew as the Pontiac G8. While that dalliance was only marginally longer lived than Jay Leno's move to prime time (the promised G8 Sport Truck was announced and then canceled before birth), Reuss thinks that GMC or Chevrolet could proudly park the Ute in U.S. showrooms.

Rather than let all the hard work done to bring the G8 to fruition go to waste, Reuss is also reportedly looking for a slot for that car, as well. If GM can get the Ute classed as a truck in North America, it might play a significant role in Corporate Average Fuel Economy ratings, and that may be enough reason alone to offer a neo-El Camino. A revised G8 popping up under another GM moniker would be welcomed by the auto punditry, though may still fail to move enough units to make an impact. There's no denying that niche vehicles such as the Ute and G8 have a following, but we wonder how much focus these efforts are stealing from the pivotal vehicles that must launch and continue to sell without a hitch. As exciting as a Ute might be, a flawless and successfully marketed launch of the new Chevrolet Aveo is likely far more important to GM's financial health at this point than some hoon sled.



[Source: Pickuptrucks.com]

Report: GM's Mark Reuss ponders return of VE Commodore to U.S. originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 15 Jan 2010 13:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Sedan, Performance, Chevrolet, Holden, Australia, Rumormill

If it's Monday, there must be a big, rear-wheel drive Chevrolet four-door coming soon. Tuesday? We'll retract and deny everything. We know, we know. We also know we just reported that the next Chevy Impala will remain front-wheel drive - but check this out. We've been hearing rumors for some time now, that despite whatever Fritz Henderson has to say on the matter, a high-performance version of General Motors' Zeta platform that underpins the Pontiac G8 will live on as a Chevy SS model, either badged as a Caprice or (more likely) an Impala. And we're not talking the police special. As Maximum Bob has said, the G8 is "Kinda too good to waste." Needless to say, we totally agree.

An eagle-eye'd AB reader named Jim just caught the following on a Pontiac G8 forum:

"My dealer had sent off pictures to GM of the cable portion of the front seats belts rubbing against the plastic on the side of the front seats. In an email sent back to the dealer, GM says that they have no plans to solve what has already been built but going forward a correction is planned. The email continues: ...a fix is planned for MY11.5 Chevy Police Program and MY12 Chevy SS. The fix will involve a protective sleeve that covers the buckle and section of the buckle stem that rubs on the plastic trim."

How 'bout them apples? That might normally be a sliver of a sliver of a rumor, but it exactly what what we've heard independently from a reliable source - and it brings a great big smile to our face. Now, repeat after us, LS3 with six-speed manual, LS3 with six-speed manual, LS3 with six-speed manual... Thanks a million, Jim!



[Source: G8 Board]

Rumormill: Holden-based, RWD 2012 Chevy SS coming after all? originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Holden, the Australian branch of GM responsible for toys like the Pontiac GTO, has launched a series of upgrade packages for the Holden Commodore that make it look like the Pontiac G8. The SS V-Series Special Edition packages are available for sedan, ute (think modern-day El Camino), and wagon body styles.

The Holdens get new 18-inch wheels, twin-nostril front fascias, a front splitter, and dual hood scoops—all of which recall the front-end treatment of the G8 GXP. The Sportwagon version essentially demonstrates what a G8 GXP wagon would have looked like. And it looks good. (Apparently they had a lot of extra G8 fascias lying around.)

This makes us especially sad because GM has nixed the G8 for American sales, and there will likewise never be such a wagon on our shores.

Related posts:

1. 2009.5 Pontiac G6 – Auto Shows
2. Pontiac G8 and Solstice Concepts for SEMA – Auto Shows
3. 2010 Pontiac G8 Sport Truck – Auto Shows

We’ll miss Pontiac’s hottest rocket, even with an automatic.

We maintain respect for the storied nameplates of Pontiac’s glory years, despite the fact that many of us at Car and Driver grew up when General Motors’ “excitement brand” was slinging LeMans-badged Daewoo hatchbacks, A-body Pontiac 6000 sedans, and a parade of laughable Firebird Trans-Ams that helped steer the brand toward a decade-long addiction to injection-molded excess. Oh, and we can’t forget the Aztek, even though we’d like to.

But when GM decided earlier this year that Pontiac was a non-core entity, and thus disposable, the wasting away of the legendary division was all but complete. One only needs to look at the company’s media website, where the only current Pontiac highlighted is the 2010 Vibe—a re-badged Toyota Matrix hatchback that muddied the brand’s ethos more than anything else—to see that the pioneering spirit behind the muscle car has been completely forsaken. Thankfully, the Vibe aside, Pontiac’s exit from the marketplace will be marked by the smoking tire treads of its most powerful and probably best vehicle ever: the 415-hp 2009 G8 GXP.

Keep Reading: 2009 Pontiac G8 GXP Automatic – Short Take Road Test

Related posts:

1. 2009 Pontiac G8 GXP – Short Take Road Test
2. 2009 Pontiac Solstice GXP Coupe – Short Take Road Test
3. 2009 Pontiac G8 GXP – Second Short Take

Filed under: Sedan, Chevrolet, GM, Pontiac

General Motors' newly-appointed Vice Chairman, Bob Lutz, has penned a post on GM's Fast Lane blog that can be boiled down to two words: My bad.

A flurry of reports spurred on by Lutz' comments that GM was considering adapting the Pontiac G8 into a reborn, rear-wheel drive Chevrolet Caprice have been downplayed by a number of the General's generals, including CEO Fritz Henderson. In Lutz' post, he put the final nail in the G8-cum-Caprice's coffin saying:

"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. But 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."

Lutz is quick to point out that the decision to kill the G8 will have no effect on GM's future rear-drive vehicles, and he went on to say, "... we have a tremendous RWD team in Australia that gave us the beloved G8, a team that we will tap into at some point again in the future for its expertise and sheet metal. Just not right now."

So... nothing to see here people. Move along...

[Source: GM FastLane Blog]

From the Horse's Mouth: Lutz says Pontiac G8 won't spawn Chevrolet Caprice originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 16 Jul 2009 19:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Sedan, Chevrolet, Pontiac, Police/Emergency

Ever since General Motors announced this spring that it was killing the Pontiac brand as part of its restructuring, fans of the Holden-developed G8 sedan have been clamoring to save it as a Chevrolet. After company officials repeatedly said over the past two months that no such thing would happen, Bob Lutz re-lit the fire last week in one of his first pronouncements after un-retiring. Lutz proclaimed that the G8 would indeed become a new Chevrolet Caprice.

During our first drive of the new Buick LaCrosse this week, we had the opportunity on one of the legs to ride with GM CEO Fritz Henderson, and we pressed him for more details on the Caprice plan. Unfortunately it turns out Henderson brought his portable fire extinguisher with him, telling us:

We've been looking at it for police applications. As for whether or not it's broader than police applications, I am not a believer in re-branding and re-badging. We've been talking about in terms of potential police applications and we'll leave it at that."

Henderson also threw a soaking wet blanket on the idea of adding production to Oshawa alongside the Camaro, saying that the cars will continue to be sourced from Australia. So, for the moment, it looks like Zeta sedan fans will probably have to be content with taking a Blues Brothers approach to the problem: Buying their next car as a decommissioned black-and-white.

[Image: GoAuto]

Fritz Henderson to Autoblog: Chevy Caprice is being looked at as "police application" originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 15 Jul 2009 09:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Sedan, Chevrolet, GM, Pontiac, Australia

When General Motors' Bob Lutz talks, we listen. The reason, of course, is that he always gives us something good to write. Over the weekend, we told you about an interview Lutz had with Automobile Magazine where the Maximum One said that the G8 will live on as a Chevrolet Caprice. Lutz's comments looked like a sure thing to us, as it's hard to misinterpret these words.

"The last time we looked at [the G8], we decided that we would continue to import it as a Chevrolet. It is kind of too good to waste."

Just a few days later, Blogger Bob sounded a bit less certain about the future of the G8 as Chevrolet. On the company's Fast Lane Blog, Lutz simply said "we're studying the feasibility of bringing (the G8) in as a Caprice for both law enforcement and the public." That doesn't sound nearly as certain as the Automobile interview.

Kicking Tires reportedly received a similar statement from GM brass, saying "As part of its reinvention, General Motors is exploring every opportunity of effectively utilizing its global portfolio of vehicles, facilities and talent. While this exploration includes the possibility of extending imports of Holden vehicles (such as the recent Pontiac G8) to North America, no decision has been made at this time."

We're hoping this is corporate speak for 'We're going to do what Bob says, but we just don't want to promise anything just yet.' Turning the G8 into a Chevrolet model looks to us like the cheapest possible way to keep a terrific vehicle available in the States, and with the Bowtie's significantly larger dealer network, maybe GM can finally figure out how to turn a profit with with the awesome Aussie.



[Sources: Automobile Magazine; Kicking Tires; Auto Observer]

GM beginning to backpedal on Lutz' G8-turning-Caprice comments? originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 14 Jul 2009 13:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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