R.I.P.: GM Cancels 2010 Pontiac G8 ST Sport Truck

Tuesday, January 06, 2009 | 12 comments » Categories | GM, Pontiac, Pontiac G8 |

Despite all the hype that Pontiac created for its Holden Commodore Ute based G8 ST, General Motors has decided to cancel the sports truck that was scheduled to hit U.S. dealerships this fall. The announcement was made today to the company's dealers. From the looks of it, GM is planning to reduce Pontiac's line-up to only a few models in order to create a 'niche brand' as promised in its bailout plan to Congress at the end of 2008.

"With Pontiac being more focused on sporty fun to drive cars, we took a long look at the ST and it didn't fit with what our future vision of Pontiac would be," Hopson told Automotive News. "At that point, we decided to not proceed with this vehicle." Smart move or a mistake on GM's behalf? Have your say in the comment section below.

Source: Autonews (Sub. Req.)

12 comments

kjb434 // January 06, 2009

The El Camino dies again before being reborn....
AvgasStew // January 06, 2009

pffft - kinda stupid as they have all the gear setup to make them here in Aus....... why only import just the g8? its kinda like going to ice cream factory seeing all the flavours only to see the ice cream truck ONLY sells vanilla?
Anonymous // January 06, 2009

Right car wrong time. However not creating a
2nd gen G6, not being more original with the Vibe, or being stuck with the G5 and the G3 Pontiac will have a tough time keeping the brand alive.
Anonymous // January 06, 2009

And the Sport Truck is not a sporty fun to drive car?
daviepops // January 07, 2009

BIG MISTAKE !!! Firstly someone at GM needs to consult a dictionary. This is a seriously SPORTY vehicle and it would also be a NICHE vehicle as required by the "new" Pontiac brand. The G8 is the ONLY truely sporty fun car in the current Pontiac lineup. Therefore the correct decision would have been to import BOTH the ST and the Sportwagon versions of the G8/Commodore family currently available from GMHolden.
Braddo // January 10, 2009

Shame you guys will miss out, there are heaps of these on the road here in Aus, they look great and are a real workhorse.. Not to mention the pimping some of them are recieving... Cool Cool cars
Anonymous // January 23, 2009

NOOOOOOOOOOO I WANTED TO BUY ONE by the time they would be released i would have graduated college and could probably afford one after the 2nd or 3rd year of them.

this is kinda stupid move for pontiac because they could have sold them in australia (over 25% of vehicals sold in australia are utes) and haveing two models by gm would cut into ford's marketshare over there for sure.

this car would have sold well where i live in alabama. most veicles here are either trucks or SUVs even in the city at trafic lights there would be 10-15 pickups/suvs and only 4-7 cars (say there was 15-20 cars at light) alot of people down here buy the regular cab pickup models and tune them up to drive fast if pontiac released this with thier high performence engine./maual transmission combo then they certinly would fulfill a niche becasue many high performance engines in trucks are automatic transmission only (probably because of towing with a standard is sometimes tricky and if drivers messed up their transmission then the car company would be blamed not the idiot shifting where where there is no torqe on engine or worse just blowing the engine from redlineing it the whole time while towing)

i was also looking forward to the 6speed paddleshift auto manual option. the technology for theese transmisions are out there and they are getting cheeper and cheeper to prduce at least a basic model.

in the american country standard transmissions are getting rarer and rarer. ive been car hunting recently and 4 car lots in a row and they told me that none of their cars were standard transmission and when i asked why they said that they sit too long on the lot. this is why i am increaseingly looking at german auto makers for my next car because overseas aparently 6 speeds are extramly popular and most cars sold have them.
Kerri // February 13, 2009

That's ridiculous. I was seriously planning on buying one. I have a feeling that the worst is yet to come with this administration...
Anonymous // March 26, 2009

To those blaming the administration:

I don't think congress (NOT a part of the executive branch or "administration") told GM that they could not produce the G8 Sport Truck. You guys seriously need a reality check if you think that GM in the USA wouldn't have crumbled without the government's help, or that GM or that the government had a damn thing to do with this truck release.

Also, importing a GM vehicle from a foreign country does not generate a lot of revenue for the country it was imported to. Therefore, it seems logical that GM is going to cut the Holden rebadges in the future, or at best, try replicating the production facilities here, stateside.
hank webb // April 03, 2009

come on gm that is just what is killing you off.
You wet our whistle and then do not deliver. you need car people like john delorean, pete estes, jim wanger for advertising, the old design team etc. How about bringing in some citizens who really know what they want and like.
Good old bill for styling. Let's get with it or you will be gone. pontiac was a leader at one time and it can be again if you let it and get with the program. You need better advertising.
Anonymous // April 21, 2009

THIS IS THE REASON CHEVY IS IN BANKRUPTSY THEY ARE MAKING ALL THE WRONG STUFF . MAKE SOMETHING DIFFERENT AND AMERICANS WILL BUY IT. STUPID, STUPID, GENERAL MOTORS/////////////
Dobbo89@hotmail.com // April 23, 2009

The true beauty of the Holden/pontiac ute, is that it is just like a comfortable sedan, not a truck to sit in and drive, and it will out handle the rest of the pontiac line up, has the 4 cyl mode while cruising to save gas, V8 when you want it, all while handling 1/2 a ton in the tray. Chevy engine and gearbox great for servicing, even if small numbers are sold, and aftermarket parts plentiful. Why not GM ?

This is NOT a truck, it is a sedan. same as the GTO, G8, just with reworked panels and rear suspenstion. this is a modern el calmino, not a ford f350. This is same platform ( albeit with modifications) designed by the same people new camaro will use. However I understand sales may be limited, slow acceptance of the GTO proved that, and the government won't let the companies gamble there money. But if the new camaro goes ahead, then the same USA plant can make this car for themselves.