Two days ago, General Motors said that it would be killing off the Pontiac brand. Before the company had even finished its prepared statement, police squads across the country were moaning.

Here's why: once upon a time, the Ford Crown Victoria was the police car of choice, but some police departments have begun looking to replace their Crown Vic fleets--namely, with the Pontiac G8. The death of Pontiac meant the death of that beautiful, rear-wheel-drive dream.

But all is not lost. Since the G8 is really just a rebadged Holden Commodore, and since Holden is doing fine and dandy in its homeland of Australia, U.S. police departments could, theoretically, import G8s for their jurisdictions. And that's exactly what Australia's National Safety Agency is hoping they'll do. In fact, the NSA has partnered with the Los Angeles Police Department to prototype and refine the G8 for law enforcement use.

If a deal is brokered, it could give American police departments the opportunity to import up to 40,000 G8s per year (though they'd technically be badged as Chevrolets). The deal could go further, to include Canada, England, and the Middle East. So, as the saying goes: Pontiac is dead! Long live Pontiac!

[source: MotorAuthority]