Bob Lutz: Pontiac G8 “a good idea at the time”

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By George Skentzos | July 17th, 2009

GM Vice Chairman, Bob Lutz, has undeniably confirmed that the G8 sedan will indeed die with the Pontiac brand – full stop.

While standing by his previous comment that the Australian-developed sedan was “too good to waste”, from a marketing perspective the task of reassigning the G8 to another brand is just impossible to achieve.

Mr Lutz made the official announcement on GM’s FastLane Blog earlier today, mentioning that as a fan of the G8 he could sympathise with its supporters although simply could not justify the cost of rebranding.

“I know that we’ll get a lot of complaints from G8 lovers, because I’m one of them. And the product guy in me is complaining as loudly as anyone. But the marketing guy says there’s no case. With budgets being what they are for the time being, the resources must be allocated elsewhere.”

The Australian engineering team behind the Pontiac G8 was also given special mention in the announcement, with Mr Lutz confirming that GM would again turn to Holden for its expertise in the future, “just not right now”.

Here is the full statement from GM Vice Chairman, Bob Lutz.

It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time…

By Bob Lutz
GM Vice Chairman

OK, I have some late-breaking news for you from the world of GM, where things are indeed moving quickly, and what I’m about to say is proof.

In fact, we’re moving so fast, we’re going back in time to, oh, about four or five days ago, when the Pontiac G8 was going away and was not going to become a new Chevrolet Caprice.

And therein lies the news: 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.

I know that we’ll get a lot of complaints from G8 lovers, because I’m one of them. And the product guy in me is complaining as loudly as anyone. But the marketing guy says there’s no case. With budgets being what they are for the time being, the resources must be allocated elsewhere.

In no way, and this is very important, in no way does this mean we are backing away from performance, or backing away from rear-wheel drive. Look no further for proof than the Corvette, the Camaro, the CTS or many other present and future Cadillacs. We have a strong lineup of RWD vehicles already and we will continue to have it.

And 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.

Captain Mainwaring

Well there we have it folks.
How very sad for the Holden team.
Now get on with your new priority which is selling Daewoos.
Dude

Way d go Lutzy… killing off the best car in the entire US GM range.
Bavarian Missile®™

He said just not right now…..not ever !

What else is he going to say ,but stay and support American jobs in front of the American Government that owns them.

What he really wants to do and will do at a later date are two different things !

Americans love our product and he knows it ,he just has to work a way of smuggling it in and making it look
“ALL AMERICAN”still.

Never say Never…………
Direct Injection

I would bank on it never being done. The U.S. Government has just shelled out about $100 Billion greenbacks to save them so I wouldnt think they would want to import a car when they need the American jobs first. G(overnment)M(otors) still has a lot of work to do………..
Alex

Anybody else get the feeling that the Commodore and indeed Holden may die in the next ten years?
Mad Max

The cracks about Holden and Daewoo are just so old and boring now. Get over it guys. The Captiva and the Cruze have and are proving to be hits. You might not like them but the great buying public are voting with their own hard earned and that is all that counts. You are just proving to be one joke wonders.
As far as I remember Captain Mainwaring was a short, fat, pompous, arrogant wannabe toff. Like the one on Caradvice, he was neither funny or very bright either.
The Belush

Dear Bob Lutz,

Congratulations in driving the final nail into the G8’s shipping container. How can a car be “too good to waste” and not be a viable option for a market such as the USA; the home of muscle? In the future be inclined to actually make a decision before talking to the media. One day the G8 is dead, a couple of days later it’s a Caprice, then its dead again. Slightly indecisive? The G8 is a fantastic car and has been widely applauded by the American public and motoring world. Why discount this and maintain the mundane front wheel drive mentality which arose in the late 1970′s? GM has been down this road before and should consider having some exciting models in its mix. Imagine a world with nothing but Barinas and Cruzes. Not to say that these cars are not an important part of the model line up or bad cars, but the youth want fun cars to drive. The middle aged people want fun cars to drive, even some family people want fun cars to drive. With Corvettes and Cadillac’s high price and long waiting lists for the Camaro, what else is there? The Cobalt ss? Oh yes this was killed off too.

Well Mr Lutz, you once led a renaissance for rear drive motoring but it is clear you are a puppet.

Regards

Disgruntled Australian motoring enthusiast
Wheelnut®™

Yes [according to the article] the Pontiac G8 is dead FOR NOW.

Lutzy [ who has forgotten more about the automotive industry than what acting CEO Fritz Henderson will ever know] has most likely been reprimanded for going over Henderson’s head.
Afterall he is a big dan of Holden and what they can do with the limited resources etc.. as he said

“….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….”

The reason for the decision to put the new Chevrolet Impala [which is/was to be based on the VE Commodore] on ice may well be because GMs first priority is to protect/create US jobs.

However; when the GM board realise that they’re unable to build a full size RWD performance sports sedan of the quality etc that Holden offer in the VE – then they may have no other option than to import it from Australia –

That is of course until the new GM finds its feet again at which point they will most likely start building them in either the USA or Canada [along side the Camaro - which uses the same Zeta platform]

Never say Never – particularly in the Automotive Industry
Wheelnut®™

The Belush – You obviously haven’t read the entire article… in particular the last stanza where Lutzy says:

And 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.

Which means not only will GM be utilisng Holden’s design and engineering experience and expertise etc in relation to future projects but there is also the posibility that when things improve – they may well end up importing the VE.

That is it won’t happen overnight but it will happen
D

That’s a real shame, a good product has gone to waste.
http://Caradvice.com.au Baddass

Guys, don’t be so hard on old Lutzy, I think it’s great he even speculated about a revival. Even though it didn’t pan out, I’d much prefer a true enthusiast like Lutz leading GM than a bean-counter who drives an AMC Pacer. GM will probably go under, but I hope they go with a blast: stuff the greenies, bring on Camaro Z28!
Myke

Its not Lutsy’s fault, he has always been a great supporter of Holden. The killing of the G8 is a result of the CEO Fritz Henderson, who used the excuse he didnt like rebadges (obviously has no idea which company he is running).

Unfortunity new GM is just old GM but in a smaller scale.
jason the american

This new GM seems just like the old one that built crap. Chrysler is still going to make their RWD cars and how Hyundai is even building them now, pretty sad.
jon

The guy is an absolute idiot, he is just a loud mouthed yank who loves hearing his own voice. He doesn`t make the big decisions anymore and I really don`t know why the dumb ass is still there, why did they ever bring this glorified salesman back.
Skybreak

I don’t think Holden should be too worried. It still exports the Commodore to NZ, Britain, South Africa, South America and the Middle East. It exports engines, and when the Cruise goes into local prodution they are planned for export too.
I’m sure GM would love to have the Commodore back somewhere in their US line-up, obviously the current situation doesn’t allow it.

Rather than moaning about Lutz shooting his mouth off again, I’m just grateful that we have local car industry that was strong enough to survive the recent carnage.
Hjalle

Costs of rebranding?!? What so hard and costly with taking off a Pontiac sign and sticking on a Chevvy sign???
Direct Injection

It will never happen…..and it shouldnt happen either. If I was a Government Motors worker who had just lost his job and I saw them importing a gas guzzling dinosaur like the Commode i would be pissed off!! It is the exact car that got GM into trouble in the first place!! I would have thought they had to save as many U.S. jobs as they can given that he taxpayer has wasted so much money.
JML

It seems the recent near-death experience has finally made GM see the light. Why, oh why, upon your resurrection, would you continue to push the same old-school, big block V8 leviathans that turned buyers away in the first place? And why would you not try to save local jobs over overseas ones? If the Aussie govt. bailed out Holden to save Aussie jobs and they then turned around and used that money to import Korean crap instead of investing in Aussie-made, then we’d be majorly pissed. Oh wait, that pretty much already happened…
http://carz.com/ Carz

That’s one of the depressing news I’ve heard, G8 is a great car and many loves it. I wonder why it has to end this way, I don’t think it’s a wise move from management.
max

The sooner they get rid of this clown the better. Welcome to the “NEW GM”, same as the “OLD GM”.

There was never a political case for this vehicle. “Garbage Motors” living on welfare, just out of C11 leaving their creditors, billions of dollars of them with just cents in the dollars. Wanting to import the G8 from OZ, at the cost of US taxpayer funded jobs..this may be one of the more sensible decisions this festering open wound of a company has made in the last 20 years.

Mo marketing case, you bet there isnt, next, move onto the Volt, thats an even stupider idea for a company that cant pay nexts weeks wages without welfare assistance.

Get rid of Lutz, he is a joke and a fool.
max

“Rather than moaning about Lutz shooting his mouth off again, I’m just grateful that we have local car industry that was strong enough to survive the recent carnage.” – Skybreak

Sure the cruze will be built here, with almost 200 million if taxpayer dollars to ensure it does, no doubt it will receive generous fleet support from our state and fed governments as well. Strong enough to survive? Holden is living on welfare just like its parent company.

200 million to build a small fuel efficient 4 cylinder car, what a joke, esp as report from this very site indicate that the cruze diesel motor is way behind the focus in fuel numbers, and that was comparing a manual cruze to a auto focus.

Dont give me garbage like “strong enough to survive..”, Holden are here only as long as we taxpayers keep reaching into our pocket.
max

I like Holdens thinking however, we can’t afford the retooling to build the car, because we dont actually make any money, also, we have no cash reserves. But hey, if you taxpayers retool for us,and then give us volume by way of fleet sales, we will build it, just as a favour to you guys.
Wheelnut®™

Max- they just got him back less than 6 months after he announced his retirement [that is he was pushed to try and save RWs reputation/ego]

He is now their Global Product Manager which virtually means that the decision as to what cars GM build and where they are built/sold is up to him..

He may appear to be an idiot However; he is actually a knowledgeable and down to earth kind of guy with real world experience [a rare find in business these days] who says what the majority of other people are thinking but are to scared to open their mouth for the fear of offending someone

He is a man who is passionate about the auto industry he worked his way up from the factory/showroom floor for a number of companies in different countries – Not just the USA [which is why he isn't as narrow-minded as RW is/was]

Before working at GM he was the CEO at Chrysler [1986-1998] where he saw the introduction of the Viper and the Prowler
Before that he was Vice President at Ford [1974-1986] where he saw the introduction of the [Cosworth] Sierra.. And before that he worked for BMW [1970-1974].
Luv Local Industry

Maxx RE: Taxpayers.

Are so many, so naive, that they believe only Australian and US governments subsidise their car industries?

Pleeeeeaaaaasssse!
BK

Wheelnut its great to see it finally dead
Tomas79

When Holden can’t make profit in it’s own backyard, flogging them to local fleets. How on earth would exporting those sub standard cars to U.S, and trying to flog them there at a reduced price be a viable business??

It might be better built then most of the other GM cars, but it’s still a heap of junk when compared to some of the cars coming out of Europe, Japan, and now Korea!!

Funny, how some blind holden fanboys are trying to keep the dream alive…. It’s bordering delusional!!
charles

If GM keep this fool around much longer they will be dead forever, they have been given a stay of execution so they should use it wisely. Obviously everything they have been doing hasn`t worked so why would you keep the same guys that were responsible for the demise of GM around. I`m not doubting everything this guy has done in the past but I think his time is up, who in their right mind would make a statement about keeping the G8 when people have lost their jobs in the America. If they love the G8 so much why not use it as a starting point for something they can build over there, but something they can call their own.
Miniskip®™

The American Car market is the most competitive in the world – Americans have so much more choice than Australians

Which means the build quality of a car has to be of a rather high level as do the standard features the performance/handling and safety etc. because if the car isn’t up to scratch or they don’t think its any good.. it probably won’t survive

Therefore; the fact that there are so many American car enthusiasts in the USA that want the VE Commodore over there; indicates that they believe it’s a much better car than similar RWD cars in its class that are available over there at the moment.

I think that yu are the one bordering on delusional – given that you are unable to see or accept that the build quality of the Commodore [and Falcon] has improved over the years

Infact – If you care to read articles from other automotive sites apart from http://www.100%toyota.com you will see that a number of respected motoring journalists [who have driven more cars than you or I will] have nothing but praise for the VE.
Infact insideline has a G8 as a long term test car which they have used in several tests against all sorts of cars from Europe and Japan – and the G8 has done incredibly well in some cases its upstaged the more high tech more refined more fancied rivals
max

Maxx RE: Taxpayers.

Are so many, so naive, that they believe only Australian and US governments subsidise their car industries?

Pleeeeeaaaaasssse! localindustry

GET real mate, you could support AFRICA for 5 years with the billions GM/Chrysler have received.

PLEEEEAASSEEEE!

As for Lutz, his legacy is big, he took his penion and ran, and here he is again, sucking more taxpayer dollars out of the system.

And if he is calling the shots, why is the G8 dead? He has been told to shut his mouth, about time as well, get rid of this ancient fool.
max

miniskip, what the hell is the use of building it if they cant make money on it. I couldnt give 2 hoots as to how the VE or Falcon drive, Im never buying one.

As for the G8, its dead, rwd is dead at GM, lean and mean is the new way, so what is the G8 at the end of the day?

Simple, failure that lost money, drives nicely does it, who cares, only lost money, the only thing that the G8, VE and Falcon have contributed to their parent companies over the last 4 years is losses.

Some of you guys wanna get your head in the real world, why build cars that lose money, for the ride? To impress people? So moto journo can rant on? Christ, how many alfa’s have won euro car of the year over times..plenty, and Alfa is broke and their cars are lemons. As for the Journos, whose paying for the advertising in their mags, their web sites..and do they ever actually buy these lemons? You bet they dont.
max

Therefore; the fact that there are so many American car enthusiasts in the USA that want the VE Commodore over there; indicates that they believe it’s a much better car than similar RWD cars in its class that are available over there at the moment. MINISKIP

Champ, those other companies actually make profits, now I understand that you GM airheads dont give a damn about making profits, paying bills, not sending other businesses and individuals to the wall, cause you go C11 and walk away from billions in debt, no accountability at all, and now, goody, you get to live on welfare and bring the fossils back, party time

Pity all of those USA enthusiasts never actually purchased the G8 at MARKET PRICE either, thats right, 3/4′s of them were sold at a loss, more losses, more bludging off taxpayer welfare,. and chomps like this fool klutz goes weak at the knee’s thinking about it, and ALLLLLL those US enthusiasts who talk about it but dont buy, get real, bottom line, profits.

Nice to see the new Camaro is also turning into a lemon, thats right, the US governemnt is responsible for the warranty as well, GM is a joke, and so are you for listening to the garbage they feed you.
Wheelnut®™

If RWD is Dead at GM why are they just released the RWD Camaro; The RWD Corvette; and the new RWD Cadillac Sedan and why are they already planning a range of new RWD cars to be released in 2012?

Why would Lurz say that Holden has a lot of RWD expertise which they plan to take advantage of in the future?

Not only that but show me one real high performance sports car which is FWD and capable of handling more than 200Kw

I mean if RWD was dead [as you say] then surely they would have knocked back Holdens plan to develop the Zeta platform and forced them to base the Commodore on a medium sized FWD car which already exists wouldn’t they..? ..Think about it.
max

You have to understand something, Klutz is no longer relevant, the US feds are running GM now, its that simple, this is American leyland folks. Its going to be lean and mean, and Klutz has just been told to shut his mouth, hence the back pedal. Klutz is nothing, he is there to present a show, but in the back ground its the US feds running it.

The Camaro has been a WIP for a few years now, and frankly who the hell cares about the Camaro, so what, they sell 100000 of them big deal, whats that as a ratio to 10 million units unit sales overall, stuff all. The Camaro is not relevant, just another lemon whose boxes are blowing up, right now as we type.

Who the hell cares about the VE, or the Falcon, or the Aurion for that matter, again world sales volume makes these cars a token gesture, wow, they build 150000 VE’s, who cares, same for the Falcon and Aurion. The very fact that their volume is so small will lead to their own demise. These cars are not players, they are just unnecessary costs in a global sense.

Read G8 is dead, read that 20 times, get it, the US dont want them, thats 300000 exports a year gone, thats 70 million in re tooling down the tubes, get it. Read FAIL.

One more VE and thats it folks, one more falcon, and the next will be front wheel drive. Who knows with the Aurion, probably dead.

IF you are to thick to join the dots, dont expect me to help you with your abc’s. Just use common sense, it works for me. Its not about the cars, its about the profits, GM is stuffed.
Tomas79

Miniskip®™ Says: “The American Car market is the most competitive in the world – Americans have so much more choice than Australians”

Exactly, thats why G8 didn’t survive, even though it’s significantly cheaper up there, then here…

Miniskip®™ Says:”Which means the build quality of a car has to be of a rather high level as do the standard features the performance/handling and safety etc. because if the car isn’t up to scratch or they don’t think its any good.. it probably won’t surviveTherefore; ”

Excatly that’s why G8 didn’t survive!!

Miniskip®™ Says:”the fact that there are so many American car enthusiasts in the USA that want the VE Commodore over there;”

A few village idiots, don’t make a strong bussienss case!! Thats why G8 sales flappoed, and the G8 ute idea was canned!!

Miniskip®™ Says:”Infact – If you care to read articles from other automotive sites apart from http://www.100%toyota.com you will see that a number of respected motoring journalists [who have driven more cars than you or I will] have nothing but praise for the VE.Infact insideline has a G8 as a long term test car which they have used in several tests against all sorts of cars from Europe and Japan – and the G8 has done incredibly well in some cases its upstaged the more high tech more refined more fancied rivals”

Please, I live here, and I have driven many crapadores in my time, and we both know what they are known for!!!
Wheelnut®™

The G8 didn’t fail because of what you believe to be inferior build quality.. GM like a number of car companies were affected by something people refer to as the Global Financial Crisis – Im not sure if you’ve heard of it..

Its just that due the narrow minded CEO [at the time] who make a number of stupid decisions etc GM were affected more than most

As a result GM had to restructure its operations.. so it decided to sell off or get rid a number of brands one being Pontiac.

That’s not to say that the other Pontiacs like the Solstice were crap because as I said before sales of other cars fell just as much – back then mobody was buying new cars due to the uncertainty as to whether or not they would have a job to help pay for it.. now things are staring to improve again

I mean during the GFC sales of the Toyta Prius and Tundras also fell does that mean that they are also crap?
Wheelnut®™

Tomas79: yes you may have driven a number of Commodores.. So have I But I doubt that you have ever driven or ever will drive a:

Aston Martin Vantage; Lamborghini Murcielago; Konigsiegg CCX; Bugatti Veyron; Alfa Romeo Schigera; Porsche GT; Ferrari Enzo; Gumpert Apollo; Merc-Benz SLR…. etc

At its limits to see what it really can do like the various international motoring journalists have..
journalists who have said positive things about and are impressed with the Holden Commodore and what it can do and how well it performs etc

Which says something given their experience and the cars that they have to compare them to
Wheelnut®™

Tomas79 you criticise those who fling sh!t at Toyota at any chance they get [and yes I admit I am one of them]

Yet how is that any different to what you.. You are always bagging Holden and Fords at every opportunity; aren’t you?
Tomas79

Wheelnut Seriusly….
I have not driven any supercars, but i have driven a few other cars, available here and in U.S with much better level of refinement, and build quality!!
Tomas79

Wheelnut®™ Says:
July 18th, 2009 at 8:02 pm
Tomas79 you criticise those who fling sh!t at Toyota at any chance they get [and yes I admit I am one of them]
Yet how is that any different to what you.. You are always bagging Holden and Fords at every opportunity; aren’t you?

No, I don’t…. It’s only on this site that i have to be the devil’s advocate, and balance out the views.

I’m seriously a fan of the new Falcon FG…
And recently been thinking, for a reasonable priced (under 80K) performance car it would hard to go past the FPV GT-E.

Next time I’m buying a car, I might actually get an GT-E or an F6E (if it ever gets released)…..
Unfortunatly it will propably be the last aussie falcon….

But Wheelnut, I just don’t like blind patriotism….

“And 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.”

Reading anything from this statement is rediculas… what else could he say???!!
Wheelnut®™

So have the international journalists.. yet as I said they have driven a wider range of cars than you or I have or ever will .. yet they can see the V8 Commodore for what it is.. an affordable RWD sports sedan which is fun to drive..

But then again the motoring journos from around the world obviously don’t have the knowledge or know half as much about cars as you do.
Tomas79

You mean like clarkson who said it looked cheap, and was moronic and that he wouldn’t have one!!
Tomas79

Also there was another written review, in which the VE Kept on malfunctioning for clarkson…. In a typical maner!!
Bavarian Missile®™

Yeah and Clarkson hates BMWs Porsches and most Mercs that other jernos love…….and now thinks only c o c k s drive Audis …………..

Give it up Tomas we all get it……..you hate Holden you cant wait to see its demise,but your a closet Ford lover

Ya done ?

Fact is ,Lutz “hasnt” said never, just you, and last time I looked you worked for a mining company somewhere in South Africa not at General Motors ……………its your opinion not FACT !
Tomas79

Bavarian Missile,
Another pointless statement…
And for the record I never worked for a mining company in South Africa.
David Moy

It’s on, it’s off, it’s on again, it’s off again.

Amazing how they can talk about re-badging a dud in the US and it was going to sell. GM is in a world of crap as is Holden. Who will buy Holden, maybe Mark Skaife?

My guess is Holdon will be owned by great wall and this so called Aussie battler will be on a fried rice diet in no time.

Lets see what spin Holdon can add to this.
charles

Look the Australian built car is at the top of the endangered species list and heres why. In 06-07 we dished out 1.1 billion which equates to $23500 annual subsidy for every job and add the company car tax deductions, government fleets, fuel rebates and us tax payers our paying for it. I believe enough is enough and I`m not the only who feels this way. The productivity Commission rate the Australian car industry as a sheltered work shop they want tariffs reduced from 10% to 5% by 2010 and the money turned off by 2015.
Ross P

So many opinions from above ,with no facts.

Tomas who cares where you work ,point is you dont work for GM ,do you ? So how do you know what their future intentions are. He didnt say NEVER.

You guys are the same ones that have been commenting on GMs and Holdens closure for months.”Holden gone,bye bye Holden,well it hasnt happened give it up!

Why dont you find a cause you can contribute to in this world ,like world peace,maybe you can get that happening. Holden leaving! What angry sad people you are.
max

So many opinions from above ,with no facts.
Tomas who cares where you work ,point is you dont work for GM ,do you ? So how do you know what their future intentions are. He didnt say NEVER.

You guys are the same ones that have been commenting on GMs and Holdens closure for months.”Holden gone,bye bye Holden,well it hasnt happened give it up! Ross

Here are a few facts that you seem to have missed;

1. GM is owned by the US taxpayers, currently, including GMAC, almost 85 billion dollars has been poured into this
failure.
2. The US has current trade deficit of almost 9 trillion dollars, like GM, its bankrupt.
3. Its not the role of governement to run auto maker companies. Why would it be. Read British Leyland.
4. GM is STILL discounting the hell out of their stock to get sales, nothing has changed, they are still losing money per unit produced. They sell their cars to cheap compared to their competition. No consumer is going to buy their product if it has a price parity with say Toyota and Honda. This discounting is being funded by the worlds taxpayers.
5. GM management is inept, still have the same clueles faces in the public view, Klutz, Henderson. I concede this is a charade as the US feds want to sell GM in the short term, this gives the appearance of a compnay not being controlled by the feds.
6. Ford, Toyota, Honda et al are being forced to compete with a company that should no longer be around, they are in effect being denied increased market share, and profits due to GM being on a welfare life line.
7. Even worse, GM is discounting the hell out of its cars in the US to move metal, which in turn puts further pressure on Ford etal, this discounting is being funded by US taxpayers, GM will not make money due to the discounting, still.
8. The UAW is now a major stakeholder in GM, lol, things have got worse
9. Here’s the kicker; GM is owned by the US feds, is funded by the US feds, is selling units at heavily discounted prices which is being funded by the Feds, which may mean that Ford will require US taxpayer funds to survive, which will be given to then by the US feds, who also happen to own GM…lol, this is a farce and is the primary reason governement should not be involved in business. This is not free trade, GM should be dead, Ford should be getting stronger as a competitor has been removed from the market place.

As for Holden, who cares, same with Ford OZ and Toyota OZ, the amount of cars produced in OZ, compared to the world market is just not relevant.

As an aside, Holden does not make money, is living on welfare, loses money every unit sold, sells heavily at discounted prices…see a pattern happening here.
max

And then we here comments about the Camaro, who cares, so they will build 100000 or whatever of them, who cares, its not relevant in terms of world wide unit sales, who cares about the G8, even if it survived, its not relevant in world wide sales terms. These niche cars are a waste of time when your company is a mass producer, which GM is.

Facts..what world are you living in, do you watch the news? Do you research what is exactly happening in the US? dO you even bother looking at historical financial reports?
You dont care these companies are living out of your wallet? You dont care these companies are contributing significantly to worldwide debt, increased taxes? Ruining other companies and individual and families when they go C11 and walk away from billions of debt?

Cause you dont, as long as you have your rwd vehicle, with flared guards and a v8, oh yer and your v8 supercars. I mean stuff the real world, dont worry about the healthy companies that have done things right and actually pay taxes and conribute to soceity, then have to compete against an open wound that sells on discounting because its funded by the worlds taxpayers, and still loses money.

And yer, the jobs, the poor people that will lose their jobs if GM closes, people, if a company cant pay its wages it telling me something, there are no jobs! I would love to employ another 5 people in my business, but guess what, I cant pay them, therefore there are 5 positions to fill. Yes there is a cost if GM closes, get over it, our children and grand children are going to be paying this debt off for the rest of their lives. Just because people WONT take the pain of what is perfectly obvious right here, right now. Clowns.
Mark

The Pontiac G8 was only ever a NICHE vehicle in the US. GM were unable to sell these cars at full price. I was in the US in April and saw them marked down from $31,000 USD to $21,000 USD – brand new! So much for there being a ‘huge demand’ for them. If demand was so high, then they could easily sell them for full price. And to whoever said it was the best vehicle in the US GM range – I’m not so sure. The new Chevy Malibu (and Saturn Aura twin) look to be very nice cars. I saw a TON of them during my trip there, they look great and are more fuel efficient (4-cyl & V6) than the G8, priced better, and almost the same size. Like I said, the G8 was/is a good ‘niche’ vehicle, but that’s all it ever was.
realcars

Thomas69 u are a tossle.lol
Tomas79

Spot on Max and Mark.

Ross P, wipe away those tears, hold on to the fact the he never said “never” (Not like he contradict himself regularly ) and take a bit of your own advice, and contribute to the world a little!!
Tomas79

Wheelnut®™ Says: “show me one real high performance sports car which is FWD and capable of handling more than 200Kw”

Ford Focus RS (220kw FWD), Ouch!!!!
The Realist

The last time Holden made a profit Mark Latham was the saviour for the Labor party…

When will Holden step off the ladder of opportunity provided by the tax payer?
Forza M

i have it on good authority that the VE platform will be the last real drive platform made by GM, this is it people.
charles

Finally there is some worthy posts to read instead of the biased, one eyed dribble that comes from the die hard supporters and ones that can`t handle anything said against their beloved.
Wheelnut®™

No Charles – it appears that you Tomas79 and Leone [the naive dog] are still on this site making inciteful comments; taking things out of context etc; and trying to pass your opinions off as fact as always
Ezz

Max’s point about GM heavily discounting off the taxpayer’s back is concerning for those companies toughing it out themselves, like Ford. Govt assistance for innovation purposes is an investment in your people, but assistance of this kind may be just misdirected patriotism. Only time will tell, I guess.

****
Titan

After reading some of the comments in this blog I guess it is true what they say – Hope springs eternal.

Can’t say this is much of a surprise at all…
charles

No Wheelnut just the facts and the truth. I can`t help if I don`t care for Aussie built cars, especially Commodores in that awful green color.
Ross P

Yeah Charles/Will lets bring in Fiats instead ,much better than Ozzie stuff.