2008 New York Auto Show: 2010 Pontiac G8 Sport Truck

• What’s New – What’s old is new again when it comes to cars, and that’s especially true with the 2010 Pontiac Sport Truck. The to-be named model is an El Camino car/truck throwback based on the G8 sedan, straight from Australia. 
• Why It Matters – Frankly, it doesn’t. Unless things change suddenly, like gas prices go down to $2.50 a gallon or people start liking the whole truck-car thing, this vehicle may not even be around for the next presidential election.

The 2010 Pontiac G8 Sport Truck is like cats and dogs living together. Or, say, Obama and Clinton sharing a ticket in 2008, or even mixing your color laundry with your white socks. Its plain weird, in a good way, but also in the way that makes you shake your head and smile at the guy who still wears a mullet. You know: business up front and party in the back. That’s the Sport Truck, as a matter of fact. Business up front by way of the Pontiac G8 sedan and it’s marvelous V-8 powertrain and a party in back, courtesy of a truck bed welded on at the B-pillar.

This thing is so weird that they can’t even name it, and want you to try. Go to www.pontiac.com and enter your picks.

Aside from the contest to name it, what’s important to know about this latest offering from Pontiac is when it will go on sale, and where it comes from. Plans are to have copies on dealer lots late in 2009 for the 2010 model year, but watch carefully: they may have a change of heart as some point and do away with plans to build it…or maybe even add a four-banger fire-eater to the lineup. The sport truck comes from the G8 sedan by way of Australia, where it’s named the Holden ‘Ute.

The Pontiac G8 Sport Truck is powered by the G8’s 6.0-liter V-8 engine, the one that puts out 361 horsepower and 385 lb.-ft. of torque. Mated to its six-speed automatic transmission, driving the Sport Truck should make for a pretty interesting experience. Truck-wise, it can handle around 1,074 pounds of payload and tow up to 3,500 lbs. Built on the same rear-wheel drive orientation of the G8, the Sport Truck offers changes to the structure of the car, given its enhanced tow and payload capacity. All Sport Trucks get 18-inch wheels, and there’s an optional Sports Package that includes 19-inch wheels with P245/40R19 summer performance tires.  Brakes and steering remain the same as the G8 sedan.

It’s one of those subjective things in life: look at something and tell me whether it’s beautiful or ugly. Just about any thing or person will elicit a different response, depending on who’s doing the looking. In the case of the Pontiac Sport Truck, it’s just plain weird, but in a down-home lemonade sort of way. Consider, for example, the back. Yes, that’s a bed, but it’s a rakish bed, and the front says get out of my way with a shout.  Inside, GM officials say that there’s a large interior cargo area with more than 8.5 cubic feet of storage space. There are two covered storage compartments beneath the load floor and a pair of cargo nets.

By Brian Chee Photo credit: GM, Oliver Bentley