THE VE COMMODORE will continue to be exported to the US despite reports of its impending demise, according to former General Motors Vice President of Global Product Development, Bob Lutz.

(After announcing his retirement in February this year, Lutz is to return to the ‘New GM’ as a product Czar – a role described in a press statement from new GM CEO Fritz Henderson as Vice Chairman for “creative elements of products and customer relationships”.)

In a conversation with Automobile Magazine, Lutz appeared to confirm that the Pontiac G8 would find its way into showrooms as a Chevrolet Caprice in the future.

It’s encouraging news for Holden Australia, as the curtain was set to fall on the G8 export program, despite its relative success in the US market.

Lutz had this to say of the decision:

“The last time we looked at [the G8], we decided that we would continue to import it as a Chevrolet. It is kind of too good to waste.”

The confirmation, if correct, reverses earlier statements from CEO Henderson that the G8 would be killed off in the US with the demise of the Pontiac brand. Henderson commented at the time that he was “not a fan of rebadging”.

Lutz reportedly told Automobile Magazine that GM will not let “the car” die and referred to existing export agreements with Holden, noting that the Commodore already sells into export markets as a Chevrolet (predominantly in the Middle East).

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The fans stood patiently in line with wide-eyed anticipation, like children waiting to see Santa Claus.

Jim Wangers, the Godfather of the GTO, was in their midst, sitting, smiling and signing autographs Thursday, July 9, in the Ervin J. Nutter Center as part of the first-ever GTO Association of America and Pontiac Oakland Club International Co-Vention.

“There’s not many people I look up to as heroes, but you’re one of them,” Larry Smith of Denver, Colo., told Wangers, a former marketing executive with Pontiac who’s credited with promoting GTO — the quintessential American muscle car — from its birth in 1964 to the legend it’s become.

“I have more respect for him than any U.S. president,” Smith told an onlooker. “He is a legend. … It gives me chills.”

Wangers, 83, chuckled with embarrassment as he signed copies of his book, “Glory Days — When horsepower and passion ruled Detroit.”

“I’ll tell you one thing,” he responded with a laugh. “I never thought I’d outlive Pontiac!”

General Motors’ announcement this year to end production of the Pontiac brand is a sore subject at the Co-Vention. But for Wangers, who left GM in 1970 and later served as a consultant, the move wasn’t surprising.

“I’ve been watching (GM) destroy themselves for 35 years,” he said.

Wangers, who lives in Oceanside, Calif., said GM lost sight of “image” over the years, choosing practicality and other cost-saving measures over ingenuity, style and innovation.

Centerville resident Steve Fleury, the Co-Vention’s co-chairman, agrees. Back in the ‘60s, he said, the German carmaker BMW wanted to be like Pontiac — cool, stylish, exciting. Today, BMW is to be envied. GM? Hardly.

“BMW sells cars,” Fleury said. “GM sells rebates.”

Mourning aside, the Co-Vention is a celebration, a tribute to GTOs and Pontiacs of all stripes — Grand Prixs, Bonnevilles, Trans Ams and Catalinas (but probably not the Vibe.)

“It certainly is by far the biggest Pontiac event in history, and likely the biggest there ever will be,” said Wangers, who owns two special edition GTOs, a gold and white 1966 “GeeTO Tiger” and a red 1969 limited edition “Judge” that bears his autograph above the name plate.

Fleury said he expects the event, which runs through Saturday, to draw some 1,100 cars worth an estimated $25 million.

“When it comes to events like this, you cannot beat this area,” Fleury said. “There are 8,000 (Pontiac and GTO club) members within a day’s drive.”

And besides all that horsepower and beauty, they’re bringing their wallets, too.

“We figure it’s about a $4 million impact on the region,” said Lisa Willis, a sales manager for the Greene County Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Every single hotel room is taken in Greene County.”

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THE just-introduced (and then immediately canceled) Pontiac Solstice coupe is assured a place in automotive history, and not only because its production run lasted mere months.

This new targa-top Solstice is the last of the Pontiacs, the final word from the inconic GM brand . The Solstice coupe, a fixed-roof variation of the four-year-old roadster, is Pontiac’s last new model.

It will become something of a collector’s item.

“We expect that total production will be in the neighborhood of 1,100 units when we cease operations at the Wilmington plant by the end of July,” Jim Hopson, a Pontiac spokesman, wrote in an e-mail message. All Solstice coupes will have sequential ID numbers, so owners will know exactly which car of the 1,100 they have.

So what sort of epitaph, if any, does the Solstice GXP coupe suggest for the once-mighty Pontiac nameplate? In many ways it is a rolling testament of G.M.’s shortsightedness: a pinch of pizazz, a dash of panache, all mixed into a package of unmet promise.

This new targa-top Solstice is the last of the Pontiacs, the final breath of a brand that failed to adapt to a changing world. Once-proud Pontiac is being phased out by General Motors, its parent, and will be gone in 2010. The Solstice coupe, a fixed-roof variation of the four-year-old roadster, is Pontiac’s last new model.

It could become something of a collector’s item.

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