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Since Buick, Pontiac and GMC dealers are in the process of consolidating their showrooms, many were likely hoping for a halo product that could draw customers into the showroom. Hey, wouldn’t a version of the upcoming Chevy Camaro badged as a Pontiac Trans Am revival do the trick? Maybe, but at the NADA conference this week, GM told these dealers that a Pontiac Trans Am is not going to happen. Blame the new, more stringent federal fuel economy regulations for killing off this cool idea. In fact, the new regs also mean that the automaker will be scaling back on transforming Pontiac into a rear-wheel-drive performance division. Though GM assured dealers that Pontiac will remain a car-only brand, the assurance that a debacle like the Aztec won’t happen a second time is little comfort to those who were hoping Pontiac would once again be the brand that builds excitement. And who says performance has to be totally sacrificed for fuel economy? New powertrains are being developed that make the most of the internal combustion engine’s efficiency, and a twin-turbo, direct-inject four-cylinder can make gobs of power while being much more efficient than an equally powerful V6 or even V8.

GM did inform Buick, Pontiac and GMC dealers that they would be getting 12 new or special-edition vehicles over the next 20 months. A special-edition GMC Sierra pickup called Pro Grade was mentioned, for instance. Still, the quashing of any hope for a new Trans Am means that the number of vehicles slated to share the Camaro’s rear-wheel-drive Zeta platform in the U.S. is dwindling. Only the Pontiac G8 and G8 ST car-based truck are confirmed, with Zeta-based rear-wheel-drive sedans for Buick and Chevy still up in the air. This means that without the ability to spread out costs across a number of new vehicles, the price of producing these vehicles will likely be high and passed on to the performance-minded consumer.

Reports are coming in that the General is considering selling its medium truck operations to Isuzu. This news is totally unconfirmed by both parties, though Isuzu says it would be more than willing to listen if GM felt the desire to talk.

All of this comes shortly after Navistar chose not to follow through on its non-binding agreement to purchase the commercial truck unit from General Motors after seeing what’s been happening with the U.S. economy and gas prices. After that deal went sour, GM said that it would continue looking for options, so this particular piece of the rumormill pie is anything but surprising. We contacted GM to see if the automaker had anything to say regarding the hubbub, and, as expected, it’s staying tight-lipped for the time being. An Isuzu tie-up makes some sense, as the two truck makers have had dealings together in the past, most notably in the design of GM’s current mid-sized trucks, the Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon.

General Motors has informed its dealers that production of some of its 2008 full-size trucks and SUVs has been halted due to the ongoing American Axle strike. The affected vehicles include the GMC Yukon, Denali, Sierra heavy-duty regular and extended cab, its commercial-duty pickup and variants of Chevrolet trucks and Tahoes. According to the General, a basic lack of parts is the reason for the stoppage and dealer orders for the week of May 8th and May 15th have been cancelled. While a lack of production is bad news for any automaker, we can’t help but think that it couldn’t have come at a better time for the General as SUV and truck sales are down overall.

[Source: Automotive News – sub. req’d]