Pontiac is coming
The Australian-built Pontiac G8 is now available at showrooms in Kanda.
HOLDEN is expanding its American invasion with the Pontiac G8 now available for sale in Canada.
Built at GM Holden's car assembly plant in Elizabeth, South Australia, the Pontiac G8 offers the same smooth ride and handling as the Holden SS Commodore and is based on a rear wheel drive platform developed by GM Holden for the global market.
The move to Canada is a first for GM Holden and follows the release of the Pontiac G8 four months ago in the United States.
GM Holden plans to export half of all cars made in South Australia this year for road use in the US, Canada, the Middle East, Brazil, South Africa and the UK.
GM Canada communications manager Tony LaRocca said he expects the G8 to be popular.
“We are particularly pleased with the high valuation of the interesting yet economical V6 model, which will represent the bulk of our sales volume.”
In the US, the Pontiac G8 is one of the fastest selling vehicles in the GM portfolio. Pontiac public relations manager Jim Hopson said they have sold the 6270 G8 since release.
“It's impressive that even with record high fuel prices in the US market, the V8-powered G8 GT accounts for more than 70 percent of those sales,” he said.
“Given the rapidly changing US market, I wouldn't make assumptions about sales volume for the full year, but so far we've been very happy with the G8's performance and our dealers continue to want more than we do. I can deliver.
"I can't speak for the Canadian market, but I can tell you that this car was highly anticipated by Canadian buyers who were always disappointed that we were never able to sell the Pontiac GTO in this country."
He said that their customers view GM as a global company. “Therefore, the fact that the G8 is being built in Australia does not come as a surprise to them.
“Those with a particular eye for sports cars appreciate Holden products.
“While the Pontiac GTO (based on the VZ Monaro) was not as successful as we would have liked, the performance of the car was never questioned and many of these GTO owners were first in line for the new G8, in part because they knew Holden would be involved."
The G8 sedan is powered by a 3.6-litre DOHC V6 engine with 190kW and 335Nm of torque, manufactured by Holden Engine Operations in Victoria.
The G8 GT is powered by a 6.0-liter V8 small-block engine producing 268kW and 520Nm with Active Fuel Management, which improves fuel economy by alternating between eight and four cylinders.
Pontiac G8 US product manager Brian Shipman said it was "the perfect performance package". “The Pontiac G8 is currently the most powerful car per dollar in the US. It accelerates to 0 km/h faster than the BMW 60 Series and has more power.”
