I'm curious. If GM would bring the Ute over here as a modern version of the El Camino, would anyone here be interested in it? I know some people loathe it but I've heard many praise it too. If the G8 and a Chevy or Pontiac Ute were both offered here would anyone consider the Ute?

Your thoughts. :burnout:

I don't think it would sell well...

I don't think it would sell well...

I think poolmen everywhere would jump on them.

I don't think it would be a big seller, but then again I don't think it would be an utter failure either. I can see it cutting into Colorado/Canyon sales some. If it were offered in V6 and V8 versions I think it could possibly sustain yearly sales of 10 to 15K units. Now is that enough for it to be profitable? I'm not sure. I just like options. Used to be a time when you could get a midsize car in coupe, sedan, wagon or truckbed(El Camino style). I know it's not the 60's and 70's anymore, but I miss choices that our "forefathers" had.

Anyone else?

The Ute would have less of a chance at being successful than the GTO did. The Ute appeals to a very niche market that is very small, but very passionate about such a vehicle. However, there are not enough of these passionate followers for it to be successful. I would never consider buying a Ute.

A 4 door ute maybe.

Look at the Subaru Baja. It didn't sell well and thats the closest thing America has to a Ute.

Look at the Subaru Baja. It didn't sell well and thats the closest thing America has to a Ute.

It is true the Baja didn't sell well, but it doesn't have the bed space a Ute would. The market is limited. I do think it could equal the GTO market IF they offered a V6 as well as a V8 Ute and possibly with AWD. Then I think it would surpass GTO demand. BUT, I'm not sure GM could make $$$ on the venture or not.

I would buy it in a heart beat.

A 4 door ute maybe.


As mentioned in another post of mine, a 4 door ute is very possible considering for the last 4 years Holden sold the 4 door Holden Crewman ute which sold very well. It also came with 4wd for a short period when Holden was testing the waters with it. The Holden Crewman was exactly the same as the Commodore ute but with 2 extra doors and a hugeeeeeeeeeeeeeee wheelbase. I have heard that Holden will be building a VE Crewman so if the interest is there in your land I am sure the U.S. will get it too. Here I would say I would see as many if not more crewmans sold than the 2 door ute. Business and pleasure ideas were the reason for that because it offers much more than the Ford Ranger/Holden Rodeo/Toyota Hilux for example big V8 motor, family car room and luxury items and safety features. The old one was available with 4 airbags, the top level ones would come with at least 6 airbags no doubt like the SS-V/G8 V8 model. The ute is due to be released in Australia sometime in last quarter of 2007 possibly September. Much more info then for you.

It baffles me somewhat that a failed sales record of a dumpy looking Subaru is being used to adjudge the market potential of what is a different type and class of vehicle

Why equate a mid-size 4-door AWD with small 2.5 litre 4cyl engine and aborted tray (ie jack of all trades, master of none) to the appeal held by a much bigger and considerably more stylish sports-oriented 2-door RWD with a large tray and powered by a 6.0 litre V8?

The former has the automotive sex appeal of a newt. The latter can offer all the comfort, performance and dynamic ability of .. well, of a GTO

A yearly sales rate of 15k would represent around 10% of Holden's entire annual production

I would buy one

In comes the :mullet:

You think the TA was a :mullet: car... the El C was a super :mullet:

with the US market that sells millions of full size pick-ups per year,if holden could get only 1.5% of that market thats 15000 units the same as the gto.i reckon with car like handling, comfort and sports cars performance the holden ute v8 is an odds on favorite,also fuel economy that will be less than 1/2 of your regular chevy or f150 pick-up. 160mph 1/4 mile around 13 sec.its not your average toyota hilux

I personally think that the car would be a tough sell- in my eye it isnt the most attractive car out there- combine that with the lackluster performance of car based trucks and I dont think it will work.

I personally think that the car would be a tough sell- in my eye it isnt the most attractive car out there- combine that with the lackluster performance of car based trucks and I dont think it will work.your gotta be on crack! lackluster performance.the hsv maloo ute stock does 174mph and is the current speed record holder for that class of vechical.maybe the stig should remove his tunnel vision visor from his little helmet!:gears:

The issue would be that even if Holden sold 15,000 utes would it be profitable?

After doing all the engineering and the costs involded?

Maybe the VE ute would be profitable. But i don't think that the current ute is made in LHD.

im not talking about the current vy ute , its about the ve ute engineered to the same specs as g8 , even the holden utes from 2001 have had irs ,because of their light weight they are very fast,faster than a gto in their current form

im not talking about the current vy ute , its about the ve ute engineered to the same specs as g8 , even the holden utes from 2001 have had irs ,because of their light weight they are very fast,faster than a gto in their current form

Yeah i know what you ment.

But to be honest i'm not sure if i'll like the VE Ute. The current one is a good size for a daily driver...

i dont think the ve ute is going to be as big as a f350,it will be within a couple of mm to the vy,as a DD it wont matter,you can always buy a nissan or toyota 4 banger!

It would sell real well here in SoCal, especially if it came with a color matched lawnmower to stick in the back.

The ute is bigger than the Baja. The bed takes a dirtbike with the tailgate up. But because it is no bigger than the wagon, it is easy to chuck around or park at a shopping centre which makes it more attractive than a F250 or even a Hilux. With IRS it is really a two seater sports car with the advantage of a 800kg payload.

your gotta be on crack! lackluster performance.the hsv maloo ute stock does 174mph and is the current speed record holder for that class of vechical.maybe the stig should remove his tunnel vision visor from his little helmet!:gears:

But at what cost...

It won't really cost GM anything to bring over the Ute since all the major engineering for this to come here has already been done. I personally would never buy one but it really wouldn't hurt to have one of these in the lineup even if they only sell a few.

The problem is it would fit the Pontiac line up better, but all the :mullet: want it to be a Chevy. If they make it a Chevy then they'd have to name it Elco and with that name it will come with excess baggage that came with the GTO of not being retro. Then you have to look at all the other car based or performance trucks in this market and see how successful those have been. So let's see Ridgeline, Baja, SSR, Lightning, RAM SRT-10 hmmm I don't recall any of them burning up the sales charts. So add all that up and the Ute has the odds stacked against it.

your gotta be on crack! lackluster performance.the hsv maloo ute stock does 174mph and is the current speed record holder for that class of vechical.maybe the stig should remove his tunnel vision visor from his little helmet!:gears:

True, let me rephrase that to lackluster sales performance. :burnout:

No no no...

I mean at what cost does this super fast sportcartruck come to the buyer?

"the hsv maloo ute stock does 174mph "

that is fater than the 2004-2006 GTO. Anyway my point is I cannot see many americans spending 35K+ on this thing.

I'd love to have one. Although, it wouldn't fit Pontiac's lineup, as Nixapatfan suggests. It should wear a GMC badge (IMO). The same dealers could sell it, & give GMC a niche product. It seems that the '04-'06 GTOs are cult classics, so would a GMC Ute (or whatever it would be called).

It won't really cost GM anything to bring over the Ute since all the major engineering for this to come here has already been done. I personally would never buy one but it really wouldn't hurt to have one of these in the lineup even if they only sell a few.

The problem is it would fit the Pontiac line up better, but all the :mullet: want it to be a Chevy. If they make it a Chevy then they'd have to name it Elco and with that name it will come with excess baggage that came with the GTO of not being retro. Then you have to look at all the other car based or performance trucks in this market and see how successful those have been. So let's see Ridgeline, Baja, SSR, Lightning, RAM SRT-10 hmmm I don't recall any of them burning up the sales charts. So add all that up and the Ute has the odds stacked against it.

I agree a small increment in sales would justify a ute over here. Even if called a GMC and not a Pontiac would be okay as long as they don't call it "friend" (Caballaro) Two of the trucks you listed wer/are full stand-alone models and not small volume versioins of existing trucks. Sure, the SSR did not sell like hotcakes, most probably because it was priced like lobster. But around here the Honda Ridgeline is flying off the lots. And what other truck in today's market can you fit a fully boxed 50" plazma screen tv into teh back seat? I know we did. And what other trunk has a builtin beer cooler with room enough for a body or two if necessary. Sure beats their boxy Element with the measly 500# (appr) total gcw. (1 driver, 3 friends, no gear.)

The reason why I say it would fit Pontiac better is because Pontaic is supposed to be the "performance division" and if you are going to have a car based performance truck it should go to them. Pontiac doesn't need trucks like the Torrent and the minivan. GMC is supposed to build "profesional grade" trucks and another car based truck isn't going to help that image. The Chevy folks proved they aren't going to pay $35k for a Ute, when there is a more capable Silverado sitting right next to it for the same price.

Anyways, GM should bring the Ute as a niche vehicle expecting low sales volume since they'll be sending a boat load of cars anyways, tossing in a few utes in the mix won't hurt.

Having been over to the US acouple of times and having seen the VE ute I can say that it might not be a big seller if it makes it over there, the only reason I say this, is because you guy's love big pick up's not middle sized utes !!!! The VE ute looks 3-4 times better than the VZ ute but it's still only 2door middle sized ute not a big pick up which you guy's love !!

I agree a small increment in sales would justify a ute over here. Even if called a GMC and not a Pontiac would be okay as long as they don't call it "friend" (Caballaro) Two of the trucks you listed wer/are full stand-alone models and not small volume versioins of existing trucks. Sure, the SSR did not sell like hotcakes, most probably because it was priced like lobster. But around here the Honda Ridgeline is flying off the lots. And what other truck in today's market can you fit a fully boxed 50" plazma screen tv into teh back seat? I know we did. And what other trunk has a builtin beer cooler with room enough for a body or two if necessary. Sure beats their boxy Element with the measly 500# (appr) total gcw. (1 driver, 3 friends, no gear.)


1. Avalanche is WAAAAAYYYYYYYYY better than the Ridgeline and yes it has coolers (2 of them) -- ones you do not need to move your load to get to. Like the spare tire.

I have had me, my wife and my 2 sons in my TBSS as well as Groceries and a 50" plasma TV.

Having been over to the US acouple of times and having seen the VE ute I can say that it might not be a big seller if it makes it over there, the only reason I say this, is because you guy's love big pick up's not middle sized utes !!!! The VE ute looks 3-4 times better than the VZ ute but it's still only 2door middle sized ute not a big pick up which you guy's love !!

Sort of true. The compact truck market has been shrinking. But, big trucks still have small fuel economy. GM would have to find a way to promote the Ute as offering better fuel economy with actual truck payload capabilities. Plus, we like crew cab (4-door) trucks, so they would have to bring back the Crewman model.