G8 Dead Again

After studying the issue, Bob Lutz says on GM Fastlane Blog that there isn't a business case for the G8 after all, sorry to get your hopes up.

That’s all still true. But I have to say that, with my new “marketing” hat on, upon further review and careful study, we simply cannot make a business case for such a program. Not in today’s market, in this economy, and with fuel regulations what they are and will be.

What was interesting to me was the hint dropped that GM might try to make it a police car. GM currently sells the Impala as a police vehicle, but it hasn't made a very large dent in Ford's Crown Victoria sales. A RWD Caprice might have really gotten some attention, but it was probably too expensive to pull off.

This leaves Ford as king of the police cruisers for now, but it is no secret that the Crown Victoria's days are numbered. According to rumors on the web (such as Blue Oval Forums), the plant that builds the Crown Vic will close in 2011, which means tha that the last cars would be built as 2011 or 2012 models.

Will Ford give up the police cruiser business to the Dodge Challenger, or the expensive and not-yet-existent Carbon? Currently, it is commonly thought that the police want a rear wheel drive vehicle. Ford won't have anything to sell after 2012. Will they perhaps put lights and pusher bars on the Taurus SHO?