2010 Pontiac sports truck

[Joey D]

Uh, okay. Guess I was wrong on that point.

I did just get Holden's figures for Payload in the bed.

For the SS, (What the G8 ST will be) it's 617kg (1360 lbs) Manual, and 597 (1316 lbs) for the Auto. Interestingly, the SV6 and Omega models have higher payloads.

Also just found a 1600kg (3527lb) Tow Package.

The Colorado in the I5 format (lets not kid ourself, no one wants the I4) has a trailering capacity of 4,000lbs for the regular cab and 5,500 for the extended. It also costs less, can go off the pavement, and has an option to carry more then 2 other people.

The payload is also about 1,500 lbs.

As far as I know the Colorado/Canyon are getting a V8 soon, although I might be wrong on that. That will help it out quite a bit. So I see no reason to bring this thing to the market when the Colorado/Canyon does a better job while being cheaper. Like I said Pontiac Sport Truck = SSR in terms of people buying them, just watch if they bring it here.

 

[TopHat]

But the Colorado is terrible.

 

[BayConRong]

But the Colorado is terrible.

that's beside the point and i faked my age and called it the warchief for you

 

[TopHat]

Uhhh.... what?

Stop using my emoticon.

 

[Joey D]

The Colorado isn't a bad truck when you look at what else is on the market in way of mid-sized trucks.

 

[Jim Prower]

It's still MILES behind the Tacoma and Frontier, which are the only vehicles in the category worth looking at...Okay, the Ridgeline, too.

 

[Tornado]

Look! Its the 2010 Pontiac Bad Business Decision. Coming to dealer lots (where they will stay most likely indefinitely) near you!


For the record, I agree with Joey 100% on this. This will not sell, and will only accomplish in pissing off Chevy/Pontiac loyalists.

 

[JCE]

If they only manufacture (err import) 1500 per year they WILL MOST CERTAINLY sell. Hell, I might sell a kidney for one. If they mass-produce ... import them they wouldn't do well. But if a limited production model is what they are planning what's to say they WON'T sell? If stupid people bought the retarded SSR then they will buy something like this Ute that is 1,000,000,000,000,000% better than the retarded SSR.

 

[Tornado]

If they only manufacture (err import) 1500 per year they WILL MOST CERTAINLY sell. Hell, I might sell a kidney for one. If they mass-produce ... import them they wouldn't do well. But if a limited production model is what they are planning what's to say they WON'T sell? If stupid people bought the retarded SSR then they will buy something like this Ute that is 1,000,000,000,000,000% better than the retarded SSR.

Limited production does not equal instant sales, and cars have failed on that principle that had far easier sales pitches than this one does.
The SSR, for all its faults, had styling that everyone loved so much that GM put it into production just because of it. The Retro T-Bird was the same way. They should have been successful simply because people are so stupid. But they weren't, showing there is in fact a limit to people's stupidity.
This is so out of left field (Pontiac car based pickup) that I doubt anyone will even notice it. And it certainly won't appease the legions of Pontiac fans who are already pissed off about other downright stupid GM decisions surrounding the brand in the past 5 years. This car was designed purely to make Chevrolet fans angry and Pontiac fans confused.

 

[JCE]

But but...I love it. YSS loves it. That alone is worth it. When a Ford and GM guy come together on an issue the world must take notice!

 

[Sniffs]

what has Honda got to do with it? RIDGELINE come to mind, anybody?
I mentioned the Caballero in my post
I didn't count the Ranchero, cause ford got outa THAT quick (isn't it a US Falcon with a bed?)
the reason I don't think it will sell: when people find out it's another holden clone, it'll get booed off the stage. sorry, you Holdenistas, I like the Ute, too, but americans still have this "furiner"(foreigner) thing.
cast your mind back, you older people, to pontiac sunBIRDS, back in the day, or the funny looking W body Grand Ams. I've seen more of those cars with blown rear suspensions, no remaining paint, 6 teenagers, and some dirt poor kid in the driver's seat "boom-boom-THUMP" ing their way down the road annoying the living crap outa people who live in the boonies. a pontiac is a car that kids "radio Strip" to turn it into a rolling Boom Box. not to mention that they all looked alike, like most Buicks, all through the ninties

there won't be any "excitement" in Pontiac again untill they settle on their format, like Caddy did. Caddys are cool again, AND hot-rods! (or would Caddy have walked away with a COTY trophy?)

when they dig up another Trans Am, a US designed Goat (yoohoo-GM reasearch...bring back de Judge, bring back de Judge), or the like to actually REVIVE the excitement, THEN they can try something like this again.

a note to OZ:even a rebadged ford didn't cut the mustard up here.

sorry, but unless it looks like the car was cut with a razor knife out of one block of steel, yanks won't like it too well.

 

[YSSMAN]

As far as I know the Colorado/Canyon are getting a V8 soon, although I might be wrong on that.

If I understood things correctly, the new CAFE rules axed the plan, but I may be wrong. The H3 already has it, so obviously, it works pretty well to shove it in the GMT355s...

====

So let me attempt to be a voice of reason here:

- Lets face it, the GMT355 trucks suck and really haven't lived up to expectations all that well. They're absolute crap when compared to the Toyota Tacoma and Nissan Frontier, not to mention the Honda Ridgeline and Dodge Dakota. GM needs to consider some kind of alternative, and quite obviously this is their little water test to see what they can do.

- The "truck" is very capable, looks good, and will likely come in at a good price (GM said $31K before). I would be surprised if its just as fuel-efficent as the Colorado, and furthermore, if its much more comfortable.

- The "risk factor" of introducing this to the US is absolute ZERO. Say GM kicks a couple thousand over to the US for three years and they don't sell well, it wouldn't be a problem. Considering that its the G8 interior and front clip in a Ute they'd be selling anyway, the only money they're wasting would be advertising dollars. Try to push more than 10K a year, that will be a problem... I suspect 5000 a year would be easy to accomplish.

- Stop bitching about it not being an El Camino... The Chevrolet lineup, simply put, is too full to have one more truck made available. They would have to kill either the Colorado or the Silverado, and neither would happen. We Chevy fans are getting the Camaro unmolested, and that should make us happy.

Or, better yet, make the G8 ST popular enough and there may be a good case for the Chevrolet version later on down the line...

...Personally speaking, I'd rather wait for Chevrolet to consider the return of the Chevelle (via Coupe 60 concept) than have the El Camino back...

====

What is going to cripple the sales of this?

- No V6 option: My guess is that having the LY7 would make it much more appealing to most "average" folks, maybe for the 2010 model?
- No AWD: Its a nice bonus to happen, and I doubt it would be difficult to adapt to the vehicle, so its take it/leave it for most folks.
- It will be sitting in a Pontiac dealer, which will be weird at first, but given the BPG setups, I think we'll see Canyon and Sierra shoppers looking at the ST too.

=====

I don't think it will be an immediate success, but they'll sell enough of them every year to justify importing them. It seriously doesn't cost GM much money to build 'em and ship 'em, so even if it doesn't work, its an easier lesson to learn that what the SSR was.

 

[JCE]

Nice post YSS. +air rep

 

[Tornado]

- Lets face it, the GMT355 trucks suck and really haven't lived up to expectations all that well. They're absolute crap when compared to the S10.

Phixed.

 

[JCE]

- Lets face it, the GMT355 trucks suck and really haven't lived up to expectations all that well. They're absolute crap when compared to the S10.

Phixed.

Only the non-Isuzu ones.

 

[Tornado]

A couple of years ago someone at my school owned an Hombre. I thought for so many years that it was an S10 with a custom front end (he pulled off all of the badges). I thought it actually looked better than the S10 did. He also had flamethrower exhausts, which may have swayed my opinion slightly.

 

[nd 4 holden spd]

The Colorado in the I5 format (lets not kid ourself, no one wants the I4) has a trailering capacity of 4,000lbs for the regular cab and 5,500 for the extended. It also costs less, can go off the pavement, and has an option to carry more then 2 other people.

The payload is also about 1,500 lbs.

As far as I know the Colorado/Canyon are getting a V8 soon, although I might be wrong on that. That will help it out quite a bit. So I see no reason to bring this thing to the market when the Colorado/Canyon does a better job while being cheaper. Like I said Pontiac Sport Truck = SSR in terms of people buying them, just watch if they bring it here.

OK, and of course so many people take their RIDGELINE to track days? How many times do I have to say it in this thread? This is NOT a truck, it is a UTE. Big difference. You can't hope to compare this to any truck on the US market at the moment. Not one. This is a super practical sports car. It will eat most people alive in a race, except for rich boys in high end sports cars. If America see this as a truck, then it will fail. Because it isn't a dang truck. Get that notion out of your head. I'm thinking I should send Holden a letter telling them America don't deserve the Ute, and how and why we should take it back.

 

[Tornado]

If America see this as a truck, then it will fail. Because it isn't a dang truck. Get that notion out of your head.

I can rattle off a whole huge list of cars that tried that very idea and failed because of it all at the same time. In America it will be a truck. Plain and simple. That is why the El Camino exploded in the late 80s, why the Subaru Baja imploded on the market immediately and why the VW Caddy and Subaru BRAT both failed at the same time the El Camino did. If it has a bed, people will think it is a truck and expect it to do truck things. If it doesn't, people won't buy it. The only example I can think of that failed despite its prowess was the Dodge Rampage, and that almost doesn't count (being essentially a K car and all).

 

[Eric.]

So I ran this by my dad yesterday...He wants one with a V6, 4WD, automatic, for like $20k.

 

[nd 4 holden spd]

I guess it will fail then, America it seems don't deserve this kind of Ute.

 

[Tornado]

Blame the S10. That's what killed all of them.

 

[YSSMAN]

My guess is that following the NYC08 show, there will be a pretty big outcry for a V6 model. Generally speaking, the lack of a V6 is a HUGE mistake if they leave it. The L76 is a great engine, running on E85 with cylinder-deactivation and all, but the thing is that most people wouldn't need much more than the 275 BHP version of the LY7 already offered in the Lambda crossovers.

Personally speaking, I'd guesstimate that the V6 model (with available sport trims) would outsell the V8 model almost 2:1 with the way gas prices are now. It would be an absolute blunder to not make it a viable option if they plan on keeping the "truck" here for a while...

====

And like it or not, this Ute is going to be a "truck." Anything with a bed in North America automatically = truck, no matter how many times we're told its a "Ute." But, the thing is, its already been proven that the Ute is just as capable as our small trucks... And just as much, is better-looking, rides/drives better, and certainly would be accepted at most valet service lines.

However, one thing strikes me:

Even with the 2.9L I5 that is supposed to "save gas" (or whatever), the Canyon/Colorado only manages 17 in the city and 22 on the highway. Thats a few MPG off of the G8 with both models, something that could increase slightly with the Ute body (although I'm not sure).

So, the G8 is bigger, has more power, costs a bit more (when comparably equipped)... But still has better gas mileage, rides better, looks better, and can tow/haul just as much... So why are people worried again?

It isn't like GM is sticking their neck out there and saying "We're going to sell 100,000 of these by March 30th 2010," they'll be testing the waters and will kick a few over a month. No big worries at all.

 

[High-Test]

Come to think of it, the name "Uterus" would be a play on its ute origins..

 

[nd 4 holden spd]

The Ute you are getting is a slight bit lighter than the sedan. So no problems with mileage. The more powerful V8 is used because the V8 is a performance model, and will beat most sports cars in a drag race piece of pie.
Remember- multi-tasking.

 

[Tornado]

Come to think of it, the name "Uterus" would be a play on its ute origins..

I think its good they changed it then, now that you mention it. Lest we remember:

 

[Jay]

Which was a rebadged Honda Passport....or was it the other way around?

No, current Rodeos (what we were talking about), are nothing like the Honda passport.

 

[Joey D]

OK, and of course so many people take their RIDGELINE to track days? How many times do I have to say it in this thread? This is NOT a truck, it is a UTE. Big difference. You can't hope to compare this to any truck on the US market at the moment. Not one. This is a super practical sports car. It will eat most people alive in a race, except for rich boys in high end sports cars. If America see this as a truck, then it will fail. Because it isn't a dang truck. Get that notion out of your head. I'm thinking I should send Holden a letter telling them America don't deserve the Ute, and how and why we should take it back.

Why would you take a truck to the track? There is a very small amount of people that track their vehicles, most of the time they are using it for normal everyday purposes.

No, current Rodeos (what we were talking about), are nothing like the Honda passport.

I guess I'm used to the one we got some time ago.

 

[nd 4 holden spd]

Well this is a Ute, it's something you should take to track days, therefore it's nothing like the RIDGELINE which proves my point. But USA will see it as a truck, so let me say this- The Ute will not be a fail, American buyers thinking it's a normal truck will be the fail.

 

[Joey D]

No the consumer doesn't fail, the company fails for not delivering what people want.

 

[nd 4 holden spd]

They are delivering what people want, but they're not smart enough to realise what the company is giving them.

Hasn't America been whinging for years that we have Utes an their El Camino is dead? Here's your El Camino. Now let's ask and make sure- what is it?

Average Ameican- "A truck that has a small payload. I wish we had an El Camino."

Wrong.