Show reveals the new looks
Neil Dunlop, Canwest News Service
Published: Thursday, April 03, 2008

For me, the hilarity began at Pontiac's debut of the 2009 Solstice Coupe, 2009 G8 GXP Sedan and the 2010 G8 Sport Truck.

Bob Lutz, vice-chairman of General Motors, took the stage and immediately began with the one-liners.

"You know, it was just five short years ago that Pontiac had no rear-wheel-drive cars, just one V8 and enough body cladding to fill an Aztek. We used to say 'We build excitement' and show you a four-cylinder Grand Am."

The total yuck-fest was, of course, all in service of the three new rear-wheel-drive Pontiacs behind him on stage, including the sharp-looking Solstice Coupe, a hardtop version of the standard roadster. It's available early next year.

The G8 GXP gets the same 6.2-litre V8 engine as the Chevrolet Corvette, with 400 horsepower and 402 pound-feet of torque -- enough, Pontiac says, for the sedan to go from zero to 100 kilometres an hour in less than five seconds.

The announcement that a six-speed manual would be available (a disappointing omission on the G8 GT) was met with cheers. Cheers at a Pontiac launch?

Maybe Lutz was right: The brand has changed. The G8 GXP will go on sale late this year. The G8 Sport Truck is essentially a G8 GT sedan with a pickup bed in place of the rear seats.

Anyone who's been Down Under will recognize this is as the Holden Ute (Pontiac's version will also be built in Australia), but others might see it as the reborn Chevrolet El Camino (last sold in 1987), reviving memories of bell-bottom jeans, big hair and Bachman-Turner Overdrive.

The Sport Truck's schizophrenic lineage made Pontiac balk at naming it, so the manufacturer set up a website where name ideas can be submitted. Pricing is not yet announced, but the new El Camino should hit dealerships in late 2009.

Lutz brought out rap star and "Pontiac owner" 50 Cent to discuss the naming contest. The silver-haired GM executive called him Fifty Cent instead of the usual Fiddy, so names are consistently problematic at Pontiac.

Across the show floor at the Dodge stand, another silver-haired auto exec was prepping for his stand-up routine.

Jim Press, Chrysler vice-chairman and president, unveiled the 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T and S/E, weaker siblings of the 425-hp SRT8. With a 375-hp 5.7L V8 and available six-speed manual transmission, the R/T is still a serious muscle machine. Built in Brampton, Ont., all Challenger models will go on sale this fall.

Each model was introduced with a separate skit. When the curtain didn't open and the lights didn't illuminate for the 250-hp V6 S/E model's segment, Press joked that they were "saving money to put back into the company."

At the launch of the 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe, a band butchered tunes while a pair of stunt drivers fishtailed the spiffy new rear-wheel-drive coupes all over the place. The car, billed as the "most affordable 300-hp coupe on the planet," is a looker, featuring BMW-style creases and trunk deck, Lexus-like headlights and tail lights, hatchback and fenders reminiscent of the Jaguar XK coupe and rectangular AMG-style exhaust pipes.

When it goes on sale next spring, two engines will be available: a 306-hp 3.8L V6 and a 212-hp 2.0L turbocharged four-cylinder. Add 19-inch wheels, Brembo brakes, sport-tuned suspension, the rear-wheel-drive setup and an expected price thousands less than competitors such as the Infiniti G37 and the Genesis Coupe looks like a winner.

Best of all, Hyundai had an open bar and I only had to elbow three fellow journalists to get a free beer.