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More Liveblog: Does the G8 Peg the Styling Meter?
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I'm trying to do this secretly, but it's not working. In the five or six miles it takes to get from downtown San Diego to Hillcrest, I've almost caused two accidents, caused the owner of a mid-Nineties Bonneville to slide back and forth at a stoplight to get a stem-to-stern-to-stem-again look at the new G8, and finally, caused two black-golf-shirt types in a Mustang convertible to stop, pull over, gawk and circle.
People know the Pontiac G8 is new, but why? Does it connect the dots of a musclecar outline, or is it just a great-looking sedan?
This morning, co-driver Joe Tralongo and I wondered if the G8's sleek shape would make the enthusiast tach rise to redline. It's a relatively unadorned body, after all. And when a Charger R/T in sunburst orange blew by us on the Interstate, the G8's refined stance (which ends up looking like Honda's new Accord in profile) seems a little less musclebound. There are musclecar cues--the fender louvers, quad tailpipe tips, a sharp mini-spoiler on the trunk and red faces on the gauges--but a few upscale glints too, like the thin chrome-like trim that outlines the door handles.
A year ago, we asked stylists around the industry what a musclecar should look like. What gives them their unique appeal--other than the obvious V-8 muscle? GM designer Brian Smith told us it's in the long-hood, short-deck stance and the contouring of the body -- neither of which the G8 has in spades. And yet there's something recognizable in its look, probably the Pontiac grille, flared nostrils and all, that signals muscle to the other drivers I'm trying to nudge away from the G8's brand-new, unscathed flanks.
The G8 hits a big target--conservative enough to dress in black, flared and scooped enough to wear lascivious red paint without irony. If you really want raw muscle, though, the Charger is probably the better choice.
Tomorrow, we'll take a look at the G8's rear seat and how it spreads out compared to the Charger and Accord--and later this weekend, we'll talk more about the V-8 and automatic drivetrain, and how you can tell the G8's cockpit was built to be built around the world. In the meantime, enjoy some more G8 photography over in our photo galleries, and tell us what you think of the G8's styling in a comment below.
Responses (24 total)
By Everett Rupert | Posted: Mar 2nd 2008, 10:01:18 PM
The G8 has a look that could be comfortable in several settings; it is muscular enough to hang out with muscle cars and refined enough to tap bumpers with BMWs.
By Jim | Posted: Mar 2nd 2008, 06:53:27 PM
It's sad alright. The Us manufacturers just can't seem to avoid derivative designs... except for Cadillac. The new CTS which I've seen on the road, is striking and refreshingly new. I currently have a CLS and a Cayman S, and the CTS is the first American car that has tugged at my car nut heart!
By Dale | Posted: Mar 2nd 2008, 06:14:31 PM
Maybe we are just too influenced by nostalgia - most of the old muscle cars didn't have knockout styling - just big engines and noisier exhaust systems.
The G8 looks like a solid road car - looks pretty good from the front and inside, although pretty boring from the back. It is a lot better looking than the recent Grand Prix and Bonneville sedans - so I see it as an improvement for the Pontiac dealers. Compared to many other "sports sedan" performance cars of the world, it is quite a bargain at arounf 30 grand.
I think it will do moderately well, and will generate some additional excitement if the bring in the station wagon and sedan pickup versions - finally something for El Camino owners to move up to.
By Nick | Posted: Mar 2nd 2008, 06:01:52 PM
It's STILL a pontiac! It's got that ugly pontiac snout stuck to the front of another "cookie cutter" design. The days of pontiac excitement are OVER. I think pontiac will be the next to bite the dust at GM. Nobody wants pontiacs. Nobody is buying them. Their sales continue to founder. Nobody wants that ugly pontiac snout anymore and their "revolutionary" rear wheel drives will make achieving CAFE standards more difficult for GM - and GM can't handle any more difficulties at this time.
By Charlie | Posted: Mar 1st 2008, 06:01:49 PM
SAD, SAD, AND SAD!!!! Can't we give the domestics a chance? We keep this up and before you know it we will be saluting to a Japanese flag! I feel that U.S. carmakers are trying and can produce good vehicles but we need to support our industries. Be proud of being American.
By Sorbs | Posted: Mar 1st 2008, 02:26:45 PM
Looks like another Pontiac headed for the rental car bin. Seriously, when is that one designer at Pontiac going to retire?
By Dave Parent | Posted: Feb 29th 2008, 11:53:29 PM
Let's get real. Musclecar is as musclecar does. A real musclecar accelerates with the subtlety of a sledgehammer,and the build quality of a Wal Mart knock-off. A real musclecar sees every straight road as a dragstrip, and every corner as an inconvenient way of connecting straight roads. Real musclecars remind 60 year olds of how they felt at sixteen. And like dinosaurs, real musclecars flourished when there was an ecological niche for them.
I love musclecars, but modern automobiles are orders-of-magnitude better, functionally, and socially. God bless the people who keep the real musclecars going, but the term "modern musclecar" should make your spell checker explode.
And real musclecars never have four doors.
By Peter | Posted: Feb 29th 2008, 11:23:22 PM
I haven't seen the real car, just the photo above, but in the photo, it just looks like another mid-size Pontiac ready to fall apart about when the 3 year loan is paid off. Who really wants hood scoops, gills, and lots of plastic under the bumper which is going to break as soon as you hit a racoon or pull into a parking place and touch a curb. How about clean styling - not focus-group gimmicks? Oh, and maybe a Knudson nose.
By Forest | Posted: Feb 29th 2008, 10:40:34 PM
Todays "muscle" style was first (in my mind) coined with the 92 325i (and to a lesser degree the 89 5-series). This Pontiac, the new CTS, the IS250/350, even the new Audi (is it the latest A4?) have the same raked look. Sure the Dodge looks good - even muscle bound - but the G8 and the others I mentioned look fast, capable, classy, yet have a air of subtleness - and that look is what I love about the 67 Mustang Fastback, 69 GTX and Roadrunner, 67 Chevelle SS 396 and many others that defined "muscle car" for me.
By Marty Padgett | Posted: Feb 29th 2008, 10:37:51 PM
Righto on the typo - my mind must be wandering, even with a quad-shot Starbucks.
Junky? There's really nothing junky about this car, unless you really hate Blaupunkt audio systems and really want an in-dash nav system.
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