Liveblogging with Pontiac’s G8

Can’t say that I see what all the “hype” is about. As far as looks, I wouldn’t trade my Red Jewel Tint 2008 Chevy Malibu LTZ for a G8! Guess I’m missing something here. If it’s RWD- that’s NOT for me! Living in CT, I NEVER want to have to buy snow tires EVER again! If I saw that car on the road, I don’t think it would make me do a doubletake- EVER!

I’ve got an Audi to go to the snow, I’ve got one FWD Ford turd (a ‘91 SHO) that I keep polishing, like Ahab after his whale. The rest of the household fleet is RWD BMWs and Fords (oh, and a big old RWD Suburban for towing and hauling.) As far as future vehicle purchases, I’ve got no use for FWD in anything bigger than a Mazda3 (and maybe not even that big.) But then I live in California.

What matters to me about the G8 is simple: will GM ruin it in making a Pontiac out of a Holden? Because the Aussie Fords and Holdens have for a very long time been far, far, FAR better cars than anything Ford or GM built in the US. They’re usefully-sized, have fabulous seats, good interior room, excellent chassis, all wrapped around nice healthy (mostly US-derived) powertrains.

So…don’t screw it up, GM.

I do think its a great looking car - but I don’t think I’ve heard if a clutch is optional across the whole line or not. For my personal daily driver I need a clutch (and at least 5 forward gears) - when I buy again I’d sure like to have RWD and if this thing can be had with a V6 and a clutch it will be on my list, along with the CTS.

“Guess I’m missing something here. If it’s RWD- that’s NOT for me! Living in CT, I NEVER want to have to buy snow tires EVER again!”

Um, who informed you that FWD eliminated the necessity for snow tires in Connecticut winters - or is global warming affecting you guys up there that drastically???

YOAH/saY-good one–Snow tires-WHAT???I drive a 93typhoonw/street tires,2007trailblzerSS,wstreettires,2003sssilverrradow/20’sstreet tires,,aint been in ditch-yet,,,going is good on all,one wants to push in turns–called–being smart when ya drive duh//mostly comes dwn to how smart a driver you are-(stupid,,in ditch)-(smart-drive by or stop and make 20.00$)/late for work-so you can pay 55.00$have a good day,,da//overtime today dude//,,youda,stop for me wouldnt ya???shagg

Blah, more boring, uninspiring, obsolete-before-being-sold, appealing to only those who pine for a day when RWD muscle cars are actually fashionable again, crap from GM. I can’t imagine this would appeal to anyone under 50.

And yes, RWD in New England is never a good choice, I second that.

Yeah, well it’s still a pontiac! I think the pontiac division will be the next to bite the dust at GM. People aren’t buying pontiacs. Nobody wants them, no matter what they look like or who builds them.

Why should CAFE be picking on RWD when AWD vehicles are worse of MPG’s than RWD?
Sounds like they(CAFE)are just wanting to pick a fight to justify their own existence.

GM is desperately trying to mimic Pontiac as “BMW wannabe”. The lights, fenders, grills–ahh–look more like front of 3 series coupe with gills like new M3. What the heck their designers are thinking- come on, come up with your own ideas and don’t steal others…

The Pontiac G8 looks like a Holden clone. Throw Holden badges on it and viola; next year’s Commodore. If US cars are built worse than Aussie cars I can understand the fall of Detroit. I just don’t understand why a thing like that could happen. Where is US innovation?

Why are Americans and Europeans utterly surprised when it snows during winter? Surely they would have been expecting it and prepared, like good, little Boy Scouts. I don’t understand why anyone would want to drive anything they own in snow. Get a taxi, hire a professional driver (& car) as a tax-deductible business expense.

That’s because it is a Holden Clone!

Yeah, the car is a Holden clone for the most part. GM insists that Pontiac had a lot of say in the design of the car, but I don’t know. But I will say that I think this is a good looking car, and I think it’ll be a boost for Pontiac. I really wish that GM would do more with Holden here in the States. And Ford….come on Ford, bring us over some of your Aussie cars. I mean the new Falcon is a DAMN good looking car!!!

I personally don’t think that there is a problem with GM using it’s size and world resources to bring cars here. Really it strikes me as very smart. I mean Saturn has finally started making nice looking cars by bring us Opel’s…..so why not let Pontiac enjoy a bit of spotlight with the G8/Holde Commodore.

RWD cars work just fine in New England as they do in Europe. Less than 1% of the year the roads are actually covered with snow, because the road crews do a helluva job cleaning the roads immediately after snow storms. Nowadays with stability control, RWD cars are safe in the winter when used with proper tires (good M&S will work, you don’t need snow tires if you live in the city).
In any case, FWD and AWD will not help you when it comes to braking in the snow anyway.

One could compare this Pontiac G8 to a similarly priced Infinity G35 and Cadillac CTS instead of a 5 series BMW.

Wayne K - no, it’s not a Holden-clone, it’s a Holden.

It’s built by GM Holden in Elizabeth, South Australia.

There’s not much in the shape that’s unique to Pontiac, and that’s a good thing, as that division still can’t get over it’s junkiness.

And, however much the Aussies may whinge about their homegrown products, they’re generally built about as well as US-manufactured Japanese-branded vehicles, and they’re a whole lot better in design than almost all US-branded cars. Indeed, one of the least-pleasant vehicles I’ve driven in the past decade was an Australian-built Toyota Camry, hideous driving position and no ‘road sense’, of course it didn’t help that I”d just spent a week in a 5.4L Falcon GT that was a joy in most respects.

The Solstice is cute, but it’s a bit on the big side for what it is and it has just about the worst interior GM’s done since the 1981 Cavalier. And there was the GTO, which was also a Holden, and far and away the best thing Pontiac’s done since, oh, about 1970.

RWD works well enough in the snow given decent tires and traction control, the advantage to 4WD from where I am is that when it snows in the Sierra the CHP will make you stop and chain-up unless you’ve got 4WD with M&S-rated tires, so having AWD takes a bit of hassle out of the trip.

Nice try Philip,
It compares to the BMW 5 Series in size and power. It is an inch longer & two inches wider, and offers 362 romping V8 HP, unlike either of the more expensive competitors you name. It’s actually quite a better value than the Infiniti. The G8 GT with V8 starts at $2 Grand less than the cheapest G35!

GM cars are all warmed over puke.They have no money for new designs but they design a 50k convertible pickup truck.What they need are designers from South Korea.They build some nice cars.Even the Cadillac Cts is dated.Look at ACCORD &Camray,simple,pleasing designs,easy to look at and dependable.Its almost too late to say this,but get your &%#@*crap together. Thanx

Look at Accord and Camry? The new Accord is the worst-looking sedan on the market, by a mile. It’s a Saturn L-series with the detail design elements of Bangle’s E60 5-series BMW troweled on. If it were anything but a Honda everyone would be kicking it off the curb.

The Camry isn’t quite as bad as the last one was, but it’s still nothing special, it’s not so ugly as the Honda but it’s certainly not something you want to drive.

And that’s the key here: the Accord and the Camry are lowest-common-denominator generic front-drive identicars, you buy them because you need transportation not because you want to drive. The Holdens (including this Pontiac) are something else entirely, something far superior in basic concept.

It saddens me that they’re going to stop making the Grand Prix and replace it with a RWD pig-on-ice. This makes the new G8 too impractical for most buyers in northern states. Like it or not… if you drive in snow a lot, you’ll prefer FWD.

I love GM; but to me this move back to RWD has about as much foresight as crushing all the EV1s for scrap metal.

Hey Dudes as an Australian car enthusiast it is interesting to read all of the comments about the upcoming Pontiac G8.
Much of what has been said may be relevant particulary in regards to the vehicles percieved ability in snow and ice however I truly believe that in time US enthusiasts
will come to appreciate this vehicles inherent qualities.
There is plenty to the OZ car industry which is probably not familiar to our stateside brothers and how cars such as these and the Ford Falcon equivalent have evolved but when you go for a fast country cruise over some gnarly back roads or own it for ten years then this cars real depth will become more apparent. Enjoy