Commodore to Canada in disguise as a Pontiac G8

GM HOLDEN’S export program now extends to Canada, with North American deliveries of the Australian-built, VE Commodore-based Pontiac G8 extending over the border from the United States.

In a deal which could now see export vehicles built at Holden’s Elizabeth plant in South Australia overtake domestic production, the Canadian G8s follow five months after the US market introduction in March and represent the first significant automotive export program between Holden to its fellow Commonwealth nation.

As in the US, the Pontiac G8 is available with either the Port Melbourne-built 3.6-litre V6 or a 6.0-litre V8 with GM’s Active Fuel Management cylinder-deactivation technology. The latter continues to be unavailable in Australia.

Despite General Motors experiencing a dramatic downturn in sales in the US, Holden claims the Pontiac G8 is currently one of the fastest-selling vehicles in the auto giant’s US portfolio, with the average time on a dealer’s lot currently at 27.6 days.

“Initial media coverage from the recent Canadian G8 launch event has been highly positive," said GM Canada spokesman Tony LaRocca.

“We expected the powerful (V8) GT model to be popular and that was definitely the case, but we're particularly pleased with the high praise for the fun, yet fuel-efficient V6 model which will represent the majority of our volume.”