GM announces it won't be selling the 50-endorsed El Camino wannabe.By Gil Kaufman
50 CentPhoto: Kevin Parry/ WireImage
50 Cent may be the world's top-earning hip-hop entrepreneur, but even his good credit couldn't save the G8 GXP Sport Truck. The car-pickup mash-up, described as a modern-day El Camino, was to bear 50's seal of approval, but it has been killed by General Motors, a victim of the floundering car giant's efforts to reduce spending, according to the Detroit Free Press.
A spokesperson for Pontiac, a division of GM, said the specialty nature of the car just didn't make it feasible. Dealers were informed of the decision on Tuesday.
"We always knew that it was going to be very low-volume," Pontiac's Jim Hopson said of the vehicle that experts predicted would likely not sell more than 5,000 units a year. "This would have been an extreme specialty vehicle. From a long-term standpoint, especially with where the brand is moving, it just didn't make sense."
The car was slated to hit the market later this year. After 50 demonstrated his brand loyalty by placing two of the company's vehicles in his "Amusement Park" video, his own concept car was first unveiled at the 2007 SEMA Show in Las Vegas. It later received great fanfare at the 2008 New York International Auto Show, where 50 helped hype the car's release, walking around one of the vehicles onstage at a Pontiac presentation and saying, "I like that." He went on to discuss the horsepower under the hood of the various models like a true auto fanatic.
"Partnering with Pontiac has given me the opportunity to create something truly unique — a customized performance vehicle I am really proud of," 50 said at the time the deal was announced. "The G8 is like none other, and it pushes the boundaries of what people think a car has to be."
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