Wheelbase Communications
Half car/truck from Australia in the pipeline for North America: Remember the Chevrolet El Camino, basically a two-door Chevelle with a truck bed in place of a trunk and a rear seat? It seems that General Motors will sell a rebadged/reworked version of the Holden VE Commodore Ute in North America, which emulates the El Camino at least in spirit. GM is already planning to import 50,000 Commodore sedans, which will be North Americanized and sold here as the Pontiac G8. The new Pontiac trucklet will be named the G8 ST for Sport Truck and will only be available with the 6.1-liter V8, which is the G8 sedan’s optional engine. How will it sell? Hopefully better than the SSR pickup, which, despite powertrain upgrades and price slashing, just didn’t make it.
Mini to be made in America? The hip, fun and trendy brand known as Mini might be making a big investment in North America. The Sleuth hears that Mini is considering building its upcoming sport-utility vehicle — dubbed the Monte — at parent BMW’s Spartanburg, N.C., plant that currently produces the majority of the German automaker’s sport-utility vehicles such as the M- and G-Class. Mini’s Oxford, England, plant is currently running flat-out and likely does not have the production space/capacity necessary for the Monte. The Sleuth hears that the Monte will be powered by one of two 1.6-liter four-cylinder gasoline engines, including the 175-horsepower turbo unit from the Cooper S, as well as an optional diesel range that could include a new 1.4-liter unit. The Monte arrives late in 2008.
