Did Pontiac Ever Make A Truck? Here's What We Know

Pontiac had a long and fruitful history under the GM umbrella from its establishment in 1926 until GM's bankruptcy reorganization in 2009 forced it to dump the Pontiac division along with Saturn, Saab, and Hummer. Pontiac's highlights include the muscle car era-defining 1964 GTO, the near-perfect 1967 Firebird, and the fun but undervalued Solstice roadster. GM's other divisions like Chevy and GMC produced a healthy supply of pickup trucks and SUVs over the years, but what about Pontiac? Did the Pontiac brand ever produce a truck model, or were its offerings limited to muscle, sports, and crossover cars like the ahead-of-its-time Pontiac Aztek?

Just before Pontiac went under, it produced one last impressive car, the G8, which in GXP trim could sprint from 0 to 60 mph in just 4.5 seconds. The G8 sedan debuted for the 2008 model year, and Pontiac presented an enticing pickup truck version of the G8 at that year's New York Auto Show. 

The G8 truck was much closer in design to the Chevy El Camino or one of Australia's many 'utes' than it was to a traditional pickup like the GMC Sierra or Chevy S-10. The G8 ST (short for Sport Truck") was actually a clone of the Australian-market Holden Ute, with the G8 GT's 361-horsepower engine under its hood. Specifically, the G8 was a rebadged Holden Commodore, which survived down under through 2020. 

The G8 ST was originally slated for a 2010 production release in the United States, with a sport wagon version to follow soon after. However, by then the Pontiac division was long gone in its home market. As a result, the utilitarian G8 models were never to be, joining the futuristic concept car, the 1987 Pursuit, in never making it to production. GM produced the Holden Ute for a brief stretch from 2015 through 2017 in Australia, but the powerful, low-slung El Camino wannabe never made it stateside.