Pontiac El Cami-"NO"

[wonderbot]

Filed under: Trucks/Pickups (http://www.autoblog.com/category/trucks/), Etc. (http://www.autoblog.com/category/etc/), GM (http://www.autoblog.com/category/gm/), Pontiac (http://www.autoblog.com/category/pontiac/)
http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/05/g8stconceptred450.jpg (http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2008/05/el-camino-likel.html)

It comes as little surprise, but Cars.com (http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2008/05/el-camino-likel.html) has all but confirmed that the "El Camino" moniker has been nixed as a potential name of the new G8 Sport Truck. The site reports from a recent media event that a Pontiac spokesperson said that there was internal strife regarding use of the Chevy-associated nameplate on a Pontiac vehicle. Frankly, we agree with this decision. If GM wanted a legit El Camino, it would have simply handed the Ute to the Chevy division. GM has mismanaged its vehicle naming process enough as is -- one needn't look any further than Pontiac, where it's nuthin' but a "G" thang, baby... unless you're talking Vibe or Solstice. Way to be consistent, guys. Like everyone else, we're curious to learn what the badge applied to the G8 truck's tailgate will read, and it sounds like we should hear something fairly soon. Now, can we have another contest to give the G8 sedan a real name, too? Bonneville sounds nice to us...

Gallery: 2010 Pontiac G8 Sport Truck (http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2010-p-o-n-t-ianda-c-gpontiac8-sport-truck/)
http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/03/g8stconcept_1024x768_thumbnail.jpg (http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2010-p-o-n-t-ianda-c-gpontiac8-sport-truck/699988/)http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/03/pontiac-g8-st-1280-001_thumbnail.jpg (http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2010-p-o-n-t-ianda-c-gpontiac8-sport-truck/698565/)http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/03/pontiac-g8-st-1280-003_thumbnail.jpg (http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2010-p-o-n-t-ianda-c-gpontiac8-sport-truck/698567/)http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/03/pontiac-g8-st-1280-004_thumbnail.jpg (http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2010-p-o-n-t-ianda-c-gpontiac8-sport-truck/698572/)http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/03/pontiac-g8-st-1280-005_thumbnail.jpg (http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2010-p-o-n-t-ianda-c-gpontiac8-sport-truck/698568/)

[Source: Cars.com (http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2008/05/el-camino-likel.html)]
Read (http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2008/05/el-camino-likel.html) | Permalink (http://www.autoblog.com/2008/05/08/pontiac-el-cami-no/) | Email this (http://www.autoblog.com/forward/1190114/) | Comments (http://www.autoblog.com/2008/05/08/pontiac-el-cami-no/#comments)


Read more... (http://www.autoblog.com/2008/05/08/pontiac-el-cami-no/)

[Vampyrate]

and thats why i put in my vote for the el cameo since its pretty much the same thing with different badges

[TA^Guy]

and thats why i put in my vote for the el cameo since its pretty much the same thing with different badges
Cameo was a Chevrolet nameplate as well.

[Matt95GT]

I wasn't personally a huge fan of the design... but canceling it over naming and brands seems kinda silly to me. Don't want to use a Chevy name on a Pontiac? Fine, then just call it something else.

[Vampyrate]

damn you chevy!

[Grims01GT]

I kinda sorta like it

[RocketFast321]

Hmmm the holden crewman ss

[04alyGT]

I wasn't personally a huge fan of the design... but canceling it over naming and brands seems kinda silly to me. Don't want to use a Chevy name on a Pontiac? Fine, then just call it something else.

I would take any reason to cancel this abomination just so my pontiac isn't associated with it.
Seriously, this is just disgusting and embarrassing.

[[ChaosweaveR]]

It was only a matter of time before the Aussie's Ute would come here. I hope Ford's listening and watching this, if GM can bring their Aussie cars here, then they should start bringing the Falcon, and maybe even the Euro and Aussie spec Focus ST Turbo's here as well.

[Nighthawk243]

GM is gambling with this. The Ute will be the third attempt to bring an aussie vehicle in to the US. The GTO only had a 3 year run, and then died off. The G8 just came out, so it is untested.

[Matt95GT]

I would take any reason to cancel this abomination just so my pontiac isn't associated with it.
Seriously, this is just disgusting and embarrassing.

I think it's ugly too... but that's a different conversation. In this case it looks like GM is confusing itself with names. Cancel it cause it's ugly and won't sell, but not cause you can't figure out a name for it.

[TA^Guy]

I didn't read anywhere in that paragraph that they were cancling it at all.

All it says it that the name "El Camino" has been "nixed as a potential name of the new G8 Sport Truck."

[04alyGT]

Well I guess I was just really hopeful

[Matt95GT]

I didn't read anywhere in that paragraph that they were cancling it at all.

All it says it that the name "El Camino" has been "nixed as a potential name of the new G8 Sport Truck."

I thought I read it somewhere that they were canceling the whole sport truck... guess it wasn't this article.

[04alyGT]

They should cancel whoever designed it.

[TA^Guy]

I hope not, I'm already digging the new G8, I'd love one with a bed.

[trogdorpontiac]

i think for that thing to sell here in america, they gotta make it a crew. not gonna sell as a two-seater.

[Nighthawk243]

Sell it with an air matress to put in the back, and you'll sell a million of them ;).

[TA^Guy]

i think for that thing to sell here in america, they gotta make it a crew. not gonna sell as a two-seater.
And why is that?

If people wanted a 4 door vehicle for their "family" there are plenty of sedans, Crossovers, SUVs, CrewCab mid sized trucks, etc.

It maybe a risk, but it's risks like this that could turn a company around. It could be a huge hit, and GM would basically have the US market on it because there is no competition for it.

You know bean counters said the same thing to John DeLorean when him along with Jim COllins and Russ Gee dropped a Bonneville engine into a Tempest. However they snuck it past them and had Jim Wangers package and market it as an option on the Tempest. And what happened? The GTO was born, and so was the famous muscle car era.

Thank god John DeLorean and his team didn't just sit back and listen to everyone that claimed there was no market for it...

[trogdorpontiac]

And why is that?

i'm just sayin cuz you don't see a whole lot of regular cab pickups bein sold anymore, it's mostly crew cabs.
and really, this is a street truck. i'm not saying a two seater's a bad idea, but they should probably make a 4 door as well, but with a shorter bed. might broaden the niche a little bit.

think subaru baja with v8.

[TA^Guy]

And how many Subaru Bajas do you see around? Far and few.

Your right, it's a street truck, not a family cruiser. Problem these days people are buying these big trucks and SUVs to haul their faimlys around when they don't even need them.

SUre as a two seater it maybe be more of a niche vehicle, but with no competition it has the chance to sell more units.

[trogdorpontiac]

i think the option of seating four adults would help, people sure aren't gonna get it for the 8ft. box.

[trogdorpontiac]

better weight balance too. i can tell the difference driving my dad's crew cab sierra with the 5.5ft box compared to his last sierra extended cab with the 6ft.

[TA^Guy]

That is right no one buys a truck for the bed.

I bought my truck because it gets great gas milage. lol

[ga5speed02]

there is an article on that in this issue of HPP. ill see if i can scan it and post it