Pontiac Cancels G8 ST Sport Truck

Beside all the well-known cost-cutting measures prepared by companies from all over the world, including here reduced production, job layoffs and idled plants, the economic recession has also killed several car models which could otherwise represent a major success for their parent companies. Pontiac G8 ST Sport truck is such a cancelled model as General Motors decided to kill the project due to the so-called “continuing vehicle review”, according to an Autonews report.

“With Pontiac being more focused on sporty, fun-to-drive cars, we took a long look at the ST and it didn't fit with what our future vision of Pontiac would be. At that point, we decided to not proceed with this vehicle,” Pontiac spokesman Jim Hopson was quoted as saying by the aforementioned source.

Pontiac G8 sedan was launched in March 2008 while the ST variant was officially unveiled at the New York Auto Show during the same year. However, such a vehicle doesn't make sense in a struggling market which strives to counteract the financial crisis, Pontiac officials explained. That's why it's extremely important to help Pontiac dealerships focus on more attractive models, they explained.

"The way the business is today, we want the dealers to focus on the great products we do have: the G6 sedan and the Vibe," Russ Clark, executive director of product marketing for Pontiac, Buick and GMC, told Autonews. "We want everyone focused on the volume products and the long-term viability of the company. We and the dealers only have so many resources to promote our products."

Most people thought that Pontiac G8 ST was an excellent car, from the point of view of a truck but, during recession times, exaggerate fuel consumption plus high engine power and torque won't do nothing more than to attract media criticism and damage the company's image.