Jalopnik: Shocker! Pontiac G8 To Live On As Chevy Caprice! [Carpocalypse]

[NewsFeeder 9]

Despite multiple denials from levels as high as GM CEO Fritz Henderson, newly-re-tasked GM marketing man Bob Lutz told Automobile Magazine the Pontiac G8 would find its way into Chevrolet showrooms under the Caprice name. Is the Carpocalypse over?

No, unfortunately, it's not. But what it does mean is Lutz will have a greater say in product planning than sources had initially claimed.

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

CEO Fritz Henderson has repeatedly denied that the G8 would survive as part of another brand, saying he's "not a fan of rebadging."

But Lutz, citing export agreements with Australia and the fact that the Holden Commodore is already sold in many countries as a Chevrolet, assured Automobile GM would not let the car die. Find out more over at Automobile Magazine.

Photo Credit: Automobile Magazine

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[Blake Noble 150]

This is too good to believe.

[A Horse With No Name 1,544]

This is too good to believe.

GM may pull its head out of its ass yet.

Now if we could just save the Kappa cars, we could be talking a car company. Throw in an updated Astra as a Buick product...hmmm...

Chris

[z28luvr01 170]

Welcome back, Bob.

I'd prefer that it be sold as an Impala with the CAprice name going to the W-body, but whatever. He's right - it's too good a car not to be sold here. If this does come to pass, I'd actually consider it over the Camaro.

[Oracle of Delphi 33]

This is too good to believe.

That's because it is, do you really think Government Motors will let it live with a V8? Nahhhh, not with all the public money in GM now. V6 maybe, V8, never ...

Besides I think it will be funny to watch you all salivate for it, but months ahead of it's proposed release, to have it canceled once again. How many times must you guys go through this before you see the humor in it ??? Even a dog knows to come in out of the rain, and it's starting to cloud up again ...

Edited July 11, 2009 by PCS

[Drew Dowdell 5,330]

I could see it with a Turbo V6 3.6, but PCS is right, probably not a V8.

though it does make an excellent case for the Park Ave

[vonVeezelsnider 53]

That's because it is, do you really think Government Motors will let it live with a V8? Nahhhh, not with all the public money in GM now. V6 maybe, V8, never ...

No big deal there. I've always liked the Statesman but I'm not a big fan of the Commodore. Maybe this "Caprice" isn't the same one they get in the middle east but rather based on the Commodore?

[Intrepidation 855]

If the car lives on, even without he V8, that is truly great news. There's more to performance than going in a straight line fast, and the G8 is one of the few cars GM has that is built with an understanding of this.

[Oracle of Delphi 33]

I could see it with a Turbo V6 3.6, but PCS is right, probably not a V8.

though it does make an excellent case for the Park Ave

I agree with you Oldsmoboi, makes more sense as a Park Avenue, since Chevy is a volume brand and Holden would never be able to supply the volume Chevy would need to make it work ... Buick on the other hand could charge a higher price, and need less volume to fulfill it's goals ...

With Bob back, I guess I'll get ready for the closure of Buick next ...

Edited July 11, 2009 by PCS

[Intrepidation 855]

Thing is if you make it a Park Ave and upgrade the interior to Buick levels, you have a paradox. You'll have Buick with a RWD flagship while Cadillac is supposedly going to FWD .

[Oracle of Delphi 33]

Thing is if you make it a Park Ave and upgrade the interior to Buick levels, you have a paradox. You'll have Buick with a RWD flagship while Cadillac is supposedly going to FWD .

The Buick Paradox, has a nice ring to it ...

[FAPTurbo 1,117]

This is good news, even if the V8 may be omitted. The 3.6L in the Camaro gives that car very respectable performance anyways, and a possible turbo option would really be interesting.

[ehaase 18]

I think this car will mostly be sold to law enforcement, with Ford rumored to discontinue the Panthers in 2011, with just a very low volume for retail.

[Intrepidation 855]

So hey look at that, the sky's not falling.

[PurdueGuy 72]

I think the V8 has a chance if it's been selling well in G8 guise. Keep in mind that even the gov't wants to see GM profitable... well, some parts of it do.

[Drew Dowdell 5,330]

I agree with you Oldsmoboi, makes more sense as a Park Avenue, since Chevy is a volume brand and Holden would never be able to supply the volume Chevy would need to make it work ... Buick on the other hand could charge a higher price, and need less volume to fulfill it's goals ...

With Bob back, I guess I'll get ready for the closure of Buick next ...

Holden might not be able to support the volume but GM Shanghai could.

[hyperv6 774]

This is no suprise! Several of us here said that it was coming as a Caprice and noted that whlile sever GM people spoke of this they never said NO.

First off this will be a G8 with nothing more than a Chevy gille added. No need to rework a new car other than the id package.

Second it will have a v8 option. We may not get a SS based on a GXP but we will get a V8 and a 3.6 DI engine. THey will not import more than 40K a year. That number is just right to make money and not leave many on dealer lots. Fleet sales will show a profit since they will sell to the goverment.

Third there will be a police package.

Fourth this car will be around long enough for a new car on Alpha or what ever the RWD package becomes in the future.

Five Camaino are you listening. While it is not a sure thing a El Camaino in low numbers could eaisly be apart of this package as it is done and could be offered in V8 or DI V6 at little risk of cash since it is alread done and paid for.

Six we could see this car as soon as next year as a 2011 There is little work to do here.

Like I have said lets see what GM has to offer in the future before we start writing them off. Many of the idiots who said they were dead have been wrong and stand a good chance of being wrong again. If GM does fail it will do so fighting and not from indifferance of poor product. They will fail with one of the strongest line up they have had in years. The Economy is their biggest challange not good product.

While news on the Z28 is not good I would not be suprised if we see a limited run before the Zeta is put to bed. The numbers it would have sold in would not make much differance to the bottom line. I suspect we will see work on a 3.6 DI Turbo in the future. Maybe two Turbo's?

Lutz will open the can of power on the 4 and six cylinders and we will much greater use of these engines with power of the present v8 engines in some cases. Add this to lighter weight cars and you will still have fun cars with plenty of get up and go.

The V series also will be prime with the coupe and possible wagon.

I can't wait to see what Bob can do with GM support and some real money behind him to do with Buick what he could not do with Pontiac.

Anyone connected with Pontiac knows Bob was never given the proper support nor the proper funds to fix Pontiac. HE did what he could but he never got the final call on Pontiac. With Buick raking in Billions in China this will fund cars we never thought Buick was capable of building. Sales are up 20% this last year and will grow 10% this year. That should justify some real spending for cars sold there and here.

Like I said let them show you what they can do before you write them off. There is so much they have not shown us yet. I think many will be suprised at the future products.

[Croc 268]

Thing is if you make it a Park Ave and upgrade the interior to Buick levels, you have a paradox. You'll have Buick with a RWD flagship while Cadillac is supposedly going to FWD .

I wonder if this will be the next thing Lutz changes. I really can't see him letting Cadillac go FWD.

[ocnblu 801]

Yup, Buick is fine with FWD/AWD, but not Cadillac. Cadillac needs to be RWD/AWD.

[Intrepidation 855]

I wonder if this will be the next thing Lutz changes. I really can't see him letting Cadillac go FWD.

It would be nice, he said himself that the G8 was too good of a car to waste...so that implies the platform is too good to waste. Why not use it or bits of it and Sigma for Cadillac?

I can live with the SRX being FWD since it has a RWD (CTS wagon) counterpart, but the flagship really should be RWD. Plus, if they're going to spend money to modify a platform for the flagship no matter what they use, why not go for the RWD one(s)?

[Drew Dowdell 5,330]

I don't think Cadillac is "going" FWD. They are getting a FWD biased AWD crossover that can send all power to the rear wheels if it needs to and the ZTS would replace the DTS as Cadillac's only FWD sedan (while not really filling the DTS's role)

It's basically zero sum.

[ocnblu 801]

What about the Lambda Escalade rumors terrorizing the neighborhood right now?

[haypops 0]

That's because it is, do you really think Government Motors will let it live with a V8? Nahhhh, not with all the public money in GM now. V6 maybe, V8, never ...

The other government motors announced Viper production is starting up. I imagine that will have more than a 6!

[Chevy Nick 9]

GREAT NEWS!!!!!

[SAmadei 224]

After seeing it as a G8, it looks like crap as the Caprice. I'd rather see Buick get it, as the Buick nose looks better. I'd rather see the Holden nose.

In any case, I'm sure it'll have both the V8 and V6... but not the hot V8 or the in your face styling to go with it. In other words, GM doesn't have a decently sized sports sedan (or coupe), so its not going to lure me back into the fold.