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General Motors—whose long and storied sponsorship arrangement with Survivor helped sell literally dozens of Pontiac Azteks—has announced it would be parting ways with the series this season, but that their decision was purely based upon business reasons, and not because the new gimmick of pitting races against each other might, you know, alienate 100% of their customer base. Reports Television Week:

A GM spokesperson on Wednesday said the decision was made about three months ago and isn't related to the format of next season's competition, which will pit four tribes of different races and ethnicities against one another. [...]

GM decided to pull its advertising from "Survivor" because sponsoring the show no longer fit the company's business objectives, a spokesperson for the automaker said. It was difficult to integrate an automobile into a program that's set on an island, the spokesperson said, adding, "It's been a great relationship with the show."

It's ironic that they should choose to pull out in this of all seasons, where a GMC Yukon™ Cross-Island Challenge would have integrated quite nicely with the show's new format, helping to confirm once and for all whether or not widely held stereotypes about Asian drivers are true.