At the Detroit Auto Show, GM's Bob Lutz revealed that the combination of the high cost to modify the wagon for the U.S. market and lack of demand for such a vehicle here in the states killed the program. "We looked at that, but the amount of change to meet U.S. regulations was going to be quite a lot of money…and the sad truth is, as much as some of us like 'sportwagons', they just don't sell in the U.S.," Lutz said. "How often do you see an Audi wagon? How often do you see a BMW wagon? How often do you see a Mercedes wagon? The answer is, almost never…they're just not fashionable. I can't explain why."
Although a wagon-variant of the Commodore won't make it to the U.S., a Pontiac-badged Commodore ute is still planned for the U.S. market.
Earlier reports had the Pontiac ute pegged as the G8 ST, but GM's head of marketing and sales, Mark LaNeve, indicated at a dinner with Leftlane that the G8 ST name is not set in stone. GM has yet to give an official date of when we will see the Pontiac ute on our shores, but it should follow in the months after the G8 launch.
Commodore-based G8 wagon not coming to the U.S., ute variant might not be named G8 ST
