Pontiac G8 sales commence in Canada

Rear-wheel drive in a cold-climate country is counter-intuitive, we're told. Front or all-wheel drive is the preferred option in snow. It's no surprise therefore, that Pontiac has waited until the height of the northern hemisphere summer to launch the G8 sedan in Canada.

The G8, as reported previously by the Carsales Network, is built by Holden at the company's Elizabeth plant in South Australia, complete with Pontiac-specific looks, left-hand drive and badging.

For Holden, the release of the G8 in Canada is the first time the local manufacturer has exported to that particular North American market. Specifications of the car are as for the American version, with auto-only models driven by the 3.6-litre V6 or the AFM-equipped V8.

Experience in the US market to date indicates that the G8 is popular, despite the American market's woes and the perception the Pontiac is not especially frugal -- and GM expects the US market's welcome for the G8 to be repeated in Canada.

"Initial media coverage from the recent Canadian G8 launch event has been highly positive," said Tony LaRocca, manager of product communications at GM of Canada.

"We expected the powerful GT model to be popular and that was definitely the case, but we're particularly pleased with the high praise for the fun, yet fuel-efficient V6 model which will represent the majority of our volume."

With the additional sales volumes in Canada, Holden is on track to export half of its Elizabeth plant's production capacity this year.

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