Name That Sport Truck? GM Calls It "Quits"

(MoneyWatch)  Kicking off an ongoing downgrade of the Pontiac brand, GM on Jan. 6 cancelled the Australian-built Pontiac G8 ST model for the United States.

The G8 ST (for "Sport Truck") is a modern version of the Chevy El Camino, a car-based pickup truck that was discontinued after 1987. The G8 ST is based on the G8 sedan. In Australia, where it's built, the G8 ST is called the VE Ute.

Last spring, Pontiac announced at the New York auto show that it would hold a contest to allow consumers to suggest names for the new truck, then temporarily referred to as the "G8 Sport Truck." Out of more than 18,000 entries (including duplicates), GM chose the unimaginative name, "G8 ST."

The company said it seriously considered reviving the El Camino name, but ultimately decided against it. Only half-jokingly, I wanted to call it the G8 "G'Day, Mate," in honor of its "Ozzie" roots.

The G8 ST name was announced on Aug. 14, 2008. The new model's debut was expected in the fall of 2009. But now GM is killing the G8 ST for the U.S. market. "Pontiac dealers were informed during a video broadcast this morning that the Pontiac G8 ST program had been cancelled," said Pontiac spokesman Jim Hopson, on Jan. 6. The announcement only affects the U.S. market, he said.

The decision makes sense, given GM's urgent need to simplify its lineup, reduce complexity in its factories, and downsize its distribution channels ?€" all of which add up to lower costs, and clearer brand images.

As part of a business plan GM submitted to Congress in December, GM said it will likely drop Saab and possibly Saturn, on top of dropping the Hummer brand. GM also said it will downsize Pontiac into a smaller-volume, higher-performance brand. You have to wonder, for instance, whether the Pontiac G3 econobox or the Pontiac Vibe -- a fraternal twin of the boxy Toyota Matrix, produced in a joint venture with Toyota -- fit a low-volume, high-performance brand. The Son of El Camino won't be the last to go.