[theatadug]

AUSTRALIA'S biggest-selling car, the Holden Commodore, will be exported to the US

The Commodore SS, a V8- powered sports sedan, will be sold as a Pontiac from late this year or early next year.

Holden expects to export 30,000 Commodores annually, about half what it sells locally.

"We are seriously planning to import a lot of Commodore SS sedans as Pontiac G8s," Mr Lutz said, adding that Holden could export up to 50,000 Commodores a year if the model was priced correctly.

Mr Lutz said the export of the Holden Monaro as a Pontiac GTO from 2003 to last year (during which 40,000 of the V8 coupes were sold) brought Holden's expertise to the attention of its parent company, General Motors in North America.


So Yanks, what do you think?

[Battwenue]

Be interesting to see what they price it at, how much does it cost in Aus? I wonder how it will fair up to other high performace sports cars in the states in a similar price range.

Not sure about the design though?? The back looks great but the front air intakes and grill are hardly aesthetically pleasing

[Darnisg]

Front end is hideous, the rest resembles a 5 year old Mitsubishi/BMW
.

[theatadug]

Be interesting to see what they price it at, how much does it cost in Aus? I wonder how it will fair up to other high performace sports cars in the states in a similar price range.

Not sure about the design though?? The back looks great but the front air intakes and grill are hardly aesthetically pleasing

Just like the Pontiac GTO, I think for the US market they try and make the car look more aggressive. I don't mind it, I sometimes think they make the SS a little too conservative here.

Well let me get you some Specs and pics of our SS...

6.0 L 270 kW Gen IV L98 V8 engine

[Battwenue]

i MUCH prefer the SS design, simple, clean and elegant but it still has the meanness attached to it you want out of a 6.0L V8

[theatadug]

i MUCH prefer the SS design, simple, clean and elegant but it still has the meanness attached to it you want out of a 6.0L V8

oi!

Where in SA do you live may I ask?

So many Aussie FM members have been from SA. lol

[Mimsykzr]

Looks like a BMW with where the front end has been attempted to be morphed into an American 4x4 Pickup truck.

[theatadug]

The G8 is sort of compairable to the HSV E R8 Clubsport.






Though the R8 clubsport is sexier.

[Battwenue]

oi!

Where in SA do you live may I ask?

So many Aussie FM members have been from SA. lol

Lol when i signed up to FM i was living in Adelaide, in the Brighton/Glenelg area (went to Brighton secondary school on Brighton Road) after that though i lived in Sydney for about 3yrs and now im living in London!

[Espacamlisa]

I am going to say around $30k. It will be Pontiacs GTO replacement I would say since the GTO only had a three year life span. Will be Pontiacs #1 until another GTO comes around.

Though I dont understand the L98 motor. Why not just use the LS2? Same displacement, but quiet a bit more power. Maybe they dont want anything to top the GTO as of now because there is still stock out there still at the dealerships.

Its an ok looking car. This Holden company though really isnt getting the looks of American Muscle too well. In the GTO they tried and it was ok, but not enough. Got a little better with the hood scoops but still well short. But this here just seems more like something the younger youth would throw onto there car as a ricers body kit.

[jesyflowers]

Its not Holden that can't get the muscle car look down, its the redesigners at Pontiac! I like Pontiacs, I own a 1989 Pontiac Trans Am, but something you must understand about Pontiac is that no matter what car it is, it MUST have a split front grill to be a pontiac. The only cars that were exempt from that for the most part are the Third and Fourth generation Firebirds. They got a Twin nostril hood but that was about it. Sadly, they are running out of ways to make the twin nostril look good, or the designers just plain suck.

As far as the L98 engine, I think Holden's L98 engine has a different spec than the L98 engine GM classifed in the states. The GM L98 was in production from 1985, to 1992 in the Y and F body cars.

270kw works out to about 360hp, so yeah an LS2 would be better but maybe they don't want this car to be a screamer just yet. Also, remember this is a 4 door car, heavier than the GTO/Monaro is. I don't think its aimed at the same people as the GTO.

[KahiroSamo]

As far as the L98 engine, I think Holden's L98 engine has a different spec than the L98 engine GM classifed in the states. The GM L98 was in production from 1985, to 1992 in the Y and F body cars.

270kw works out to about 360hp, so yeah an LS2 would be better but maybe they don't want this car to be a screamer just yet. Also, remember this is a 4 door car, heavier than the GTO/Monaro is. I don't think its aimed at the same people as the GTO.

I seems you can get dizzy keeping track of all the engine designations gm is throwing out for their engines. Apparently the holden L98 is esentially the LS2 rotating assembly with the heads from the 6.2L L92 used in the escalade. The good news is the heads flow really well. I have seen flow figures over 300 CFM @28" of water on the intake side wich places it somewhere between the LS6/LS2/LQ9 heads and the LS7 heads. The heads also apparently have a different intake face than either the LS7 or the normal LSX architecture. The problem is they use a milder cam for the L98 than the LS2. The holden L76 is pretty much the same engine with displacement on demand. I think gm has also figured out a way to put a cam phaser on the LSX architecture, so these engines may have that too. I'm not certian of that though. As a side not it may be time for Pontiac to get a new styling trend. They have been using the twin nostril/widetrack look since 1959, but that apperance has been co-opted by the bangle BMW's.

[Katoabralia]

Fantastic car, i love it (esp in blue), its sold as a Chevrolet in my country.

Anyway the new back end is fantastic and i love the new shorter rear. The 6.0L engine makes a noise that will scare the crap out of the driver in the German car next to you.
Its pretty well priced too and the engine is very tweakable.

[ZIZITOPER]

The front looks alright, but the back looks like a girls car. And the cab seems to look too much like a bubble. The roof should be more flat.


And when's the retro GTO supposed to come out? 2008-9?

[jesyflowers]

I know GM has a working LS series engine with cam phasing technology, but I don't think its been put into production yet for the LS series of engines. I believe that the Solstice GXP, and the Sky Redline engines (turbo ecotec) have cam phasing and variable geometry turbine housings in their designs.

When GM finally does build a V8 with cam phasing technology watchout. The performance versions of these engines will be phenominal. Imagine, V8 torque, and insane top end power.

[theatadug]

The front looks alright, but the back looks like a girls car. And the cab seems to look too much like a bubble. The roof should be more flat.


And when's the retro GTO supposed to come out? 2008-9?

I think it just needs a rear wing like you see on the clubsport. You have this really aggressive front and then not so aggressive rear end.

[Espacamlisa]

Looking at it for awhile, mainly the front, it looks like a Pontiac styled Evo9 especially in that second photo up top.

[SantaGanstag]

i like it but i think its too heavy. v8 weighs in at 4000lbs

[mikajuise]

Loosk better than any other pontiac out IMO. Should do their line some justice.

[Abanijo]

Decent looking car, but the original Australian version looks better IMO. I like the look of the US GTO better.