Holden looks for G8

There have been several known cases of Pontiac GTO owners converting their cars to recapture the looks of the Holden Monaro on which the Pontiac was based. Apparently there's a school of thought in the US that the GTO -- built by Holden between 2004 and 2006, and not to be confused with the original American GTO of the 1960s and early 70s -- looks better as a Holden.

A local parts supplier, JHP Vehicle Enhancements, has supplied those customers in the past. Now, the company is also supplying the genuine Holden parts necessary to convert the left-hand-drive Pontiac G8 into a VE Commodore SS. We first became aware of this through Jalopnik.com, where the news has been greeted with a degree of enthusiasm from American correspondents.

It seems that Pontiac's brand image isn't what it could be over there and the Holden panels and badging have the potential to enhance the G8's street cred. No image is better than a bogan image, seemingly. Is this not ironic though? Did not John Z. Delorean determine that Pontiac had no brand image whatsoever, so he established its performance brand credentials with cars such as the original GTO and the Firebird. Now, Pontiac has not so much come full circle as changed direction 180 degrees.

The G8-to-VE conversion doesn't come cheap. JHP quotes US $1990 for the parts unpainted and if you're serious, the parts to convert your G8 to an HSV GTS will set you back US $3880.

And if you're looking at other ways of modifying your G8 without converting the car to look like a Holden, Pontiac has revealed modified versions (pictured) of the G8 sedan and the G8 ST (Ute) at the SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) show that opened in Las Vegas three days ago.

The G8 sedan is powered by a 454CID LSX V8 and the ute has been enhanced with 20-inch alloy wheels and leather trim, among other changes.

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