Cuban Classics, great photography of the last American cars in Cuba

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Pontiac G8 to Return – As a Chevy!

With rear drive and a punchy V-8 under the hood, the Pontiac G8 was the first real sport sedan for Pontiac in decades, and we mourned its demise when GM killed off the Excitement Division as part of its post-bankruptcy rationalization. But it appears the G8 will make a comeback — only this time wearing Chevy badges. Three GM sources have confirmed to Motor Trend the Australian-built sedan will re-appear on the U.S. market as a Chevy in the coming year. And it won’t be called Impala. “We have a good name for it,” smiled one of the sources.

Bringing back the G8 (the 2009 Pontiac G8 GXP is pictured) as a Chevy seemed such a no-brainer — all the certification and engineering work required to transform the Holden Commodore into a Pontiac had already been paid for by the Old GM — it’s a surprise it’s taken so long. Part of the reason for the delay, we understand, is that GM wanted to wait for a mid-cycle facelift on the Holden Commodore to give the car a fresher exterior look.

Cost is a problem. With the Australian dollar now on par with the greenback, shipping cars from Australia is now an expensive proposition. In addition, some minor re-certification work will also likely need to be performed to get the car back to U.S. spec. Because of this, and CAFE requirements, the Chevy sedan will only be available as a V-8, and in relatively limited numbers. Holden has also developed a U.S. market version of its mechanically identical Caprice long wheelbase sedan for police applications, but GM continues to insist that it will be for law enforcement duty only.

“The Commodore Zeta 1 architecture offers us so much with rear-wheel drive performance,” says one of our sources. “The synergy between motor compartment packaging of the Commodore and HSV products versus what we do here with Camaro and Corvette means the opportunities are endless.”

GM’s decision to bring back the Pontiac G8 as a Chevy is a good-news, bad-news story for its Australian subsidiary, Holden. After decades of ignoring the Australians’ engineering efforts, it seems Detroit is about to embrace the Zeta rear drive architecture. But for cost reasons it is likely GM will move further development of the architecture for next-gen Zeta-based cars to Detroit, putting the future of its Australian engineering facility in doubt.

Car and Driver; Lingenfelter 455 T/A Concept

All I can say is....wow....
I am still waiting for the conversion kit below though....

Take one part 2010 Camaro and add some ’70s Trans-Am . . .

Given Pontiac’s demise, it’s clear there won’t be any factory-baked Pontiac Trans-Am coming from General Motors. Enter the aftermarket, which has become suddenly eager to serve buyers wanting a new-school T/A. Indeed, joining the conversion kit offered by Phoenix is this

Lingenfelter take on turning your brand-new Camaro SS into the modern Trans-Am of your dreams. The concept debuts in the metal at this year’s SEMA show in Las Vegas.

Of course, Chevy looks won’t do, so there’s a new front fascia, a shaker hood, revised rear quarter-panels, functional front fender vents, and an integrated decklid spoiler. New lighting front and rear as well as 20-inch honeycomb wheels complete the exterior transformation, while new blue woven-vinyl seats and a metal-turned instrument panel add retro feel to the inside. We have to admit, this thing really does resemble the 1970s original, and we like it.

Given the company’s penchant for pumping up horsepower, of course Lingenfelter would rework the engine, too. Under the striped hood—there’s no huge screaming chicken as of now—sits an aluminum 455-cubic-inch (7.5-liter) V-8 block with a lofty 11.5:1 compression ratio, ported-and-polished Lingenfelter heads from the Corvette Z06’s LS7, a forged crankshaft, and high-flow intake. The custom stainless-steel exhaust comes courtesy of Corsa. Power output is quoted at 655 hp and 610 lb-ft of torque, up significantly from the 426 hp of a stock manual Camaro SS. Also present are a new twin-disc clutch and flywheel assembly and tougher rear half-shafts to withstand the extra grunt. Handling alterations are limited to the addition of Nitto tires.

Source;

http://www.caranddriver.com/news/car/09q4/lingenfelter_455_t_a_concept-auto_shows

It's Official: GM to phase out Pontiac in 2010

General Motors Corp. said Monday it will phase out the Pontiac brand name by the end of 2010 as the automaker unveiled another restructuring plan that includes cutting more manufacturing jobs.

GM said its 82-year-old Pontiac division is being eliminated as it concentrates on its Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC brands.

The company also said it will complete its plans for the Saab, Saturn and Hummer brands by the end of 2009.

GM said it will reduce its number of assembly, powertrain and stamping plants in the U.S. from 47 in 2008 to 34 by the end of 2010, and to 31 by 2012. The locations of the plants that will close was not revealed.

GM will also cut more of its U.S. hourly workers. The company said its U.S. blue collar workforce will decline from roughly 61,000 in 2008 to 40,000 in 2010, and level off at about 38,000 starting in 2011. Details on any Canadian job reductions were not immediately available.

The latest job cuts are between 7,000 to 8,000 more than what the company spelled out in a February viability plan that was turned down by the U.S. government.

The company said it is also speeding up consolidation of its U.S. dealer network.

GM said it expects to reduce its U.S. dealer network from 6,246 in 2008 to 3,605 by the end of 2010. That is 500 more dealers, and four years sooner, than the company laid out in the February restructuring plan.

Source;

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2009/04/27/gm-pontiac-gone.html

General Motors to kill Pontiac on Monday

This is sad but inevitible news. Two of my favourite cars had the pontiac badge, a 1983 Pontiac Acadian (my first car) and a 1995 Pontiac Grand AM GT Coupe V6 (ah, my single days).
According to a report from InsideLine, General Motors could axe Pontiac as early as this Monday. Although IL isn't citing its source within GM, it did contact the General's PR man, Tom Wilkinson, who said, "There's nothing I can share with you at this time... Officially, nothing has changed with Pontiac's niche-brand status, until you hear differently." Not very clear, but not particularly positive either.The line about Pontiac's "niche-brand status" has been floating around since last December, when GM began to focus on its four core brands – Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC – while readying the rest (Saab, Saturn and Hummer) for execution or extradition.Pontiac's focus has been ill-defined (at best) over the decade, with solid products like the G8 coming to market alongside other less-than-stellar offerings (cough, G3). There was talk of reigniting Pontiac's performance heritage or even refocusing the brand as a Scion competitor. Regardless of past plans or intentions, there was no doubt that Pontiac was in the cross-hairs, and come Monday, we might know it's final fate.

Source;
http://www.autoblog.com/2009/04/23/report-general-motors-to-kill-pontiac-monday/