GM looking to use Pontiac G8 to challenge Charger in police market

Pontiac may be going away, but its Australian-built G8 sedan will likely live on as a large Chevy. According to sources, the G8 would reappear as the Chevrolet Caprice and the high-performance G8 GXP, with its 415-horsepower V8, would be marketed both as a premium sporty model described by one source as a “five-passenger Corvette” as well as a pursuit vehicle for law enforcement agencies where it could challenge the Dodge Charger. The Charger easily outperforms GM’s current Impala police package but Chrysler would have to look at the SRT8 version of the Charger to keep pace with the GXP.

A GM spokesman said discussion of the G8’s future is speculation at this time but the G8 is already sold as a Chevrolet in certain foreign markets and as a Buick in China.

The major roadblock to continuation of the G8 in the U.S. market is the new CAFE standards that all automakers must achieve. Because of its relatively poor mileage, the G8 would have to be sold in very small numbers to minimize its impact on overall GM fleet efficiency.