Pontiac Sports Truck: Holden Ute Heads Stateside Motoring Channel Staff - 17/March/2008 
Pontiac Sports Truck
It looks like a Holden Ute, but this is actually
the Pontiac Sports Truck, due in the US in '09
Pontiac will offer American buyers the same
engine types sold in Australia: V6 and V8 mills
The interior is almost identical to Holden's Ute
Another Aussie Goes To AmericaIt was
big news when Holden announced that the VE Commodore would be restyled
and rebadged as a Pontiac G8, a true rear-wheel drive performance car
that American drivers could warm to. Naturally this led to talk of a 'reborn' El Camino based on the Holden VE Ute.
While GM's global car czar Bob Lutz said he'd love to see the Ute in
America when Holden first launched the 2-seater, Holden's local boss at
the time, Chris Gubbey, was non-committal. But Gubbey has moved on, and
the deal that everyone expected has been officially sealed. In light of the new GXP performance sedan, the next question for Pontiac is this: will the HSV Maloo make the trek to the States? - Feann Torr, Editor |
GM Holden has restyled the front end of the vehicle,
incorporating the Pontiac grille and twin hood scoops
American HSV: the Pontiac GXP uses the new
LS3 V8 engine, which has a 6.2-litre capacity
and suggests that new HSV models could also
get the new LS3 small block V8s in 12 months
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Melbourne, Australia — Holden has sold yet another vehicle to the Americans. In a special ceremony, Holden's new managing director, US-born Mark Reuss, announced that the Pontiac G8 performance sedan and the just-released Pontiac Sports Truck will make their U.S. debuts at the 2008 New York Auto Show. Both
the Pontiac G8 and Sports Truck are based on the VE Commodore and Ute
respectively and are both manufactured here in Australia, to be
exported to America. The most
exciting aspect of the new Holden Ute heading Stateside, which has been
restyled by Pontiac to reflect American tastes, is that it will create
a whole new vehicle segment in America. At
present there is nothing like the Holden Ute on the road in America,
and seeing that the USA is the world's largest and most lucrative new
car market, the humble Ute could be a sleeper hit for GM. "It's not everyday that a manufacturer announces a vehicle that creates
a whole new segment in a market, but with this, the first ute export to
North America in the form of the G8 sport truck, is exactly what
Pontiac is doing," GM Holden chief Mark Reuss said. "The addition of the new G8s to
our export program further enhances GM Holden's position as the centre
of global rear wheel drive expertise in the GM organisation and
reinforces that the cars we are building are truly world class." With
this new deal, Holden's large-car manufacturing future is guaranteed
and the new export deal could add tens of thousands of sales to
Holden's bottom line every year. Construction of the
Pontiac Sports Truck will begin in mid 2009, and sales of the 2-seater
lifestyle vehicle will begin in North America from late 2009. The
Pontiac Sports Truck will be almost mechanically identical to the VE
Holden Ute, which the Motoring Channel has road tested on two
occassions: first drive and V6 versus V8 comparo, where the V6 model scored very strongly with a 4.25 out of 5 overall rating. "The
design, engineering and performance of the G8 sedan is already drawing
praise from US media and Pontiac fans alike and we're confident that
the sport truck and the GXP sedan will be as warmly received," added Mr Reuss. "This is another example of how at GM Holden we are expanding our export opportunities and operating globally." The
Ute, or utility, is claimed to be an Australian invention which dates
back to the early 1930s, but the name 'ute' hasn't been attached to the
Pontiac Sports Truck just yet. In the US, a 'ute' is commonly viewed as a sports utility vehicle, or SUV like a BMW X5. Even
so, the 'Sports Truck' moniker is not set in stone and Pontiac has said
it will hold a competition, allowing the public to decide on a
name for the new vehicle, much like Volkswagen did with the Tiguan
soft-roader. According to Pontiac, the public will be able to submit their
suggestions through the Pontiac website: Pontiac.com/NameThisCar. Pontiac’s
marketing director, Craig Bierley, said that his company was aware that "sport
truck" didn't fully describe the vehicle's ability, a vehicle which blurs the lines
between sports cars and the traditional American pick up truck. The winning entry will be announced April 15 2008. America
had a vehicle in the same spirit as the Aussie Ute, the Chevrolet El
Camino, from 1959 to 1987, and the El Camino name is expected to garner
some support - though it was a Chevy name and not a Pontiac so it may
be pushed aside for something else. The general manager
of Buick-Pontiac-GMC, Jim Bunnell, was clearly very pleased to be
getting the sporty new ute on his books, suggesting that there's
nothing else like it on American roads. "Pontiac
has never shied away from offering segment-defining vehicles. There's
simply nothing else like the G8 sport truck on the road today, and we
definitely believe that there are customers who will be excited by its
distinctive design, performance and cargo capabilities," Mr Bunnell said. Pontiac has confirmed that the new Sports Truck offered in the USA will available with both V6 and V8 engines. General
Motor's 3.6-litre V6 engine will be the entry-level power unit, while
the 6.0-litre V8 engine will be the high performance model. The
latter will also get Active Fuel Management that shuts down four of the
eight cylinders when not needed to improve fuel economy. Features
such as dual-zone climate control, cruise control and remote start, and
safety systems like ESP, driver and passenger front curtain and side
impact airbags will be offered. Another Holden-based
vehicle showing at the 2008 New York Auto Show will be the Pontiac G8
GXP, which could be compared to an HSV GTS. GM Holden
will have its hands full building the Pontiac G8, Sports Truck, and
also the GXP at its Elizabeth plant in South Australia. According
to GM Holden's Export Manager, Kristian Aquilina, the GXP will give
Pontiac's Commodore-based G8 range a hard-edged sports model. "Not
many would have thought Pontiac could have taken the G8 GT one step
further, but the GXP has done that and it is sure to impress. This is a
very exciting product," Aquilina said. Jim Bunnell, the
Buick-Pontiac-GMC general manager, said that the GXP is more than just
raw power: "The GXP delivers the sophisticated yet exciting driving
experience that enthusiasts expect in a car costing far more than the
GXP," Bunnell said. Expected to race from zero
to 60mph (96km/h) in under 5.0 seconds, the G8 GXP is powered by a
6.2-litre LS3 small-block V8 which can output 300kW and 546Nm of
torque. This equates to matching 402hp and 402 lb ft of torque using
the American power scale. With more eye candy than the
standard Pontiac G8, the GXP gains a new front apron with a lower
splitter, an updated rear apron with built in diffuser, new fog lamps,
and a larger wheel/tyre package. It is also expected to get larger brakes and an updated interior not unlike the HSV (Holden Special Vehicles) range. The
Pontiac Sports Truck, GXP and G8 sedans will be on show New
York’s International Motor Show runs from the 21-30 March 2008. Related articles:
- Pontiac G8 (2008)
- Pontiac 1977 Trans Am (Road Test)
- Holden VE Ute: SS vs SV6 (Road Test)
- Holden VE Ute (First Drive)
- Holden Coupe 60 (2008)
- HSV W427 (2008)
- Holden VE Commodore - Dual-Fuel LPG (2006)
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