Hold on, wait just one minute. The newest legal GM coupe-utility sold in the market was the 1987 Chevrolet El Camino. The newest one you could potentially import to the United States at the time this is written, thank you 25-year old import rule, is the 1994 VR-series Ute. So, someone has some explaining to do in regards to what appears to be a thrown-together 2005 Holden Ute. This is a vehicle that at one point in time I was ready to hand over serious money to own…when Pontiac was seriously getting close to pulling the trigger on what was known as the G8 ST, I had a down payment ready and the second production was green-lit, I would’ve ordered, no hesitation involved. Unfortunately, that didn’t come to be. Due to GM’s woes, in early 2009, the plans were binned due to the review of Pontiac being about “sporty, fun to drive cars” and the G8 ST didn’t fit the plans. My head hurts trying to figure out that kind of thinking, but that was the story that GM pushed out when they said no ute for America. It didn’t matter, anyways…twenty-two months later, Pontiac was canned and sent to the history books.
So, what is a VZ-era Ute doing wearing Texas plates? The truck is eleven years away from standard legality, so unless this is one of the Left Hand Utes conversions (that tend to have a bit of gray area surrounding them) your guess is as good as mine is. There isn’t much to be surprised about: an LS1 and automatic provide the motion, there’s the tonneau cover, the bed has been sprayed with a bedliner, and the Ute is left-hand converted. So it would make a neat little shop rig or a killer one-off driver. But again…we have concerns about the legality of this thing. We still want it though.
Guy has one locally. Did a conversion on a G8 said there where no issues with it? Thought there was a company I Colorado doing the same conversions?
It still baffles me that there was no business case for these things to be sent to you guys. Them and the Fords…but then again Dearborn had a known penchant for ignoring everything that Ford Aust did
Yes, there is a company in Colorado importing them and converting them to left hand drive. My neighbor had one with an LS hopped up by Texas Speed, cool car.
its funny how what you cant have seems more desirable..these are like a 2 – 4 grand thing over here, common as muck, I’ll go past a dozen of them on the way home from work tonight. Meanwhile you guys see cars for a few grand over there that we in Australia lust after ( yep, 4 doors too…you guys have kids too i take it?) What we need is some kind of matter transporter!