The Pontiac G8 Lives (In Australia)

Oh, the sad saga of the Pontaic G8. GM finally built a vehicle worthy of Pontiac’s sporty pretensions, only to can the whole brand months later, leaving the G8 orphaned. Which was crummy for enthusiasts, but ultimately a good thing for GM’s business as G8s were assembled in Australia and shipped over to the US, bleeding profit margin all the way. Then came news that a G8-alike would be built in North America, but would only be marketed to police fleet buyers as a Caprice. “Insult to injury!” shrieked the slighted fans of V8 RWD sedans. What they didn’t realize was that GM was still in injury mode. For the real insult, we turn now to the Carpoint.com.au [via Jalopnik], which reports that consumers can still buy new Pontiac G8s. In Australia. Sort of.

According to CP:

Holden introduced a special edition of its high performance SS-V sedan, which came with the twin-vent bonnet and sportier front bumper and grille used on the now defunct Pontiac G8 export program…

Holden introduced the special models in November 2009 when it gave the SS-V sedan, wagon and ute the Pontiac styling treatment, in a bid to clear some parts from the axed Pontiac export program.

But the limited run of Commodores has proved so popular that Holden has decided to continue building them indefinitely, according to a recent briefing to dealers.

The Carsales Network understands that customers will have the choice of the regular SS-V look, or the Pontiac look — but the Pontiac look will still attract a $1000 price premium…. Even though the limited edition SS-V models did not wear Pontiac badges, some dealers have begun ordering the Pontiac and G8 ‘jewelry’ for customers.

Sigh. Are there that many Pontiac grilles and bumpers sitting around at the Holden plants, or did a parts-clearing operation morph into yet another way for Holden to package the Zeta platform?