It Came from eBay Hell: V6 Powered Ferrari Fiero-rossa auf Deustchland zukommt*

Suppose you are a used car buyer in Germany, with €9,990 (US$13,199) to spend on some new wheels. Would you - even in your darkest, most masochistic hour - consider buying this...this thing? Let’s run down the list of why you shouldn’t buy this car:
1. It’s a Pontiac Fiero. Yes, it’s mid-engined and built in the good ol’ U.S.A., but it was built in the good ol’ U.S.A. in the 1980s and has a body made of plastic. That’s like saying, “She’s Latino and has a great body, but she has rotten teeth and herpes.”
2. The owner has made some modifications, including the addition of Ferrari Testarossa-style side strakes and a pair of Lotus Type 47-inspired snorkels that look like they’re made of old drainpipes. Classy.
3. The price is ludicrous. You can pick up an immaculate, first generation Toyota MR2 for half that. And a dozen better cars, to boot.
More worrying than the above though is the V6 modification the owner has carried out and the fact the registration papers have expired. Why? Well, it’s a Fiero. Fiero owners, by their very nature, rarely make their cars “better”. And the expired registration papers imply, to me at least, that the car is no longer roadworthy.
So, dear readers, I leave it up to you. Is this V6-engined Ferrari-wannabe a God or a dog? Your verdict, gentlemen and ladies...
* That’s, “from Germany” for those not as savvy with Google Translate as moi.

By Tristan Hankins

Link: eBay Germany

New Rumors of the Pontiac G8 Returning to North America as a Chevrolet

The demise of the Pontiac brand in 2009 also brought about the death of the G8, the Americanized derivative of the Australian-built Holden Commodore SS. It was a sad day for Pontiac and Holden fans alike, the loss of the G8 export contract costing Holden millions of dollars and putting the future of its Elizabeth, South Australia plant - and the brand itself - in jeopardy.

When the Holden-derived Chevy Caprice Police Car was revealed for the North American market twelve months ago, rumors of a reborn G8 in the form of a Chevrolet were rife. Now, Aussie motoring website Drive is reporting that U.S. exports of the Holden Commodore SS are "imminent", with a launch expected before the end of the current model's lifespan.

At the LA Auto Show, Al Oppenheiser, a senior engineer at General Motors and the chief engineer on the Camaro project, told Drive that negotiations were underway to sell the Commodore in North America as a Chevrolet:

"Although we have made no official announcement as yet, we are definitely looking at doing something with Holden for the retail market. What we are looking at is bridging a gap in the performance sedan market that was vacated by the Pontiac G8. With no Pontiac, the obvious performance brand is Chevrolet."

An unnamed source at GM has even gone so far as to suggest that the export deal has already been finalized and approved. As the LHD development work is already done, the biggest hurdle facing Holden's relaunch of North American exports is the high Australian dollar.

Jonathan Rose, a spokesman for Holden, is less optimistic: "At this point in time our focus is on exporting the Caprice to North America as a law enforcement vehicle ... beyond that we don't have anything to add right now."

The unnamed Chevrolet, if it does become a reality, will mostly likely be based on the short wheelbase Zeta platform, not the long wheelbase one like the Chevy Caprice Police Car.

By Tristan Hankins

*Opening photos: South African Chevrolet Lumina

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LupiniPower's Chevrolet SportUte is a wild one; Packs 535HP from Supercharged V8

The Holden Commodore Ute may not have been given the chance for a career in the States as the G8 ST sport truck after the demise of Pontiac, but GM's modern-day El-Camino from Down-Under continues to be offered in markets outside Australia including South Africa were it is sold as the Chevy Ute SS.

LupiniPower, a local tuner from South Africa, has taken upon itself to introduce a hotted-up version sporting a 6.0-liter supercharged V8 with 535-hp and a massive 590 lb-ft (799 Nm) of torque. That's an increase of 173-hp and 200 lb-ft over the stock Ute with the naturally aspirated V8 engine.

Thanks to the added power, LupiniPower's SportUte completes the 0 to 60 mph (96km/h) sprint in 4.4 seconds instead of 6.0 seconds, while 0-100 mph (160km/h) goes by in 9.9 seconds, close to 4 seconds faster than the standard Ute.

Furthermore, the SuperUte reaches 125mph (201 km/h) in 15.5 seconds or over five seconds quicker than stock, boasts a quarter-mile time of 12.7 seconds at 113mph (182 km/h) and runs the standing kilometre in 22.8 seconds at 150mph (241 km/h), while top speed is up 25mph to 175 mph (282 km/h).

The South African tuner also improved the Chevrolet SportUte's stopping power with bigger race-specification front disc brakes and callipers, as well as the suspension setup. Optionally, buyers can add a full Bilstein suspension and a sporty limited-slip differential.

Finally, the supercharged Ute rides on new 20-inch alloy wheels wrapped around Bridgestone Potenza RE050 ultra-high performance tires.

The LupiniPower Chevrolet SuperUte can be had as complete new vehicle in South Africa for R639,900, equal to around US$94,000 / €67,400 / GBP58200 at today's rates.

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GM's Pontiac Brand is Dead at the Age of 84

After 84 years, Pontiac, the once proud maker of American icons such as the Trans Am and GTO, breathed its last breath on Monday with the sale of the last remaining new cars. The closure comes one year after General Motors announced that it would terminate the brand as part of a restructuring plan.

Even though production of the last Pontiac, the Vibe, ended in August 2009, there were many new cars left in stock, so a deal was struck with dealers who received official backing to sell them. The agreement ended on Sunday, so Pontiac fans didn't actually get any treats for Halloween, only the confirmation that their favorite manufacturer is really dead.

It was a long year of clinical death, as buyers' interest towards the brand was insignificant. The New York Times reported that, at the end of August, GM dealers had fewer than 125 Pontiacs in stock, of which only eight were sold in September.

A sad end for a manufacturer whose name was once synonymous with "driving excitement". At the height of its existence, in 1973, Pontiac sold 920,000 cars, but after that it was mostly a downhill ride.

Pontiac did offer a few interesting cars in its final years – like the G8 and the Solstice -, but it was not enough to bring back the glory days, when GTOs, Firebirds /Trans Ams sold like hot cakes.

It may be of some comfort to Pontiac fans that General Motors has kept the rights for the brand, so who knows, maybe it will be resurrected sometime in the future. Until then, take a look at the gallery and videos below and keep the legacy of Pontiac in your hearts.

By Csaba Daradics

Source: NY Times

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