Hey all,
Maybe I'm slow, but I've just started noticing the new Pontiac G8. Our local Pontiac/GMC dealer keeps a couple parked right down on Main Street in my town. I kept wondering why a GM dealer was displaying BMW's with the other Pontiacs. Man, there is no doubt of the influence of that car! It is a dead ringer for a 3- or 5- series 4-door Beemer. What did it replace, the Grand Prix? It's a very good-looking car. Anybody know much more about it? Thanks.
Fordman3
The Pontiac G8 is a rear-wheel drive (http://"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rear-wheel_drive") sedan produced by General Motors (http://"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors") released for the 2008 model year (2009 in Canada (http://"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada")). The G8 takes the place in the Pontiac (http://"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontiac") lineup of both the Pontiac Bonneville (http://"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontiac_Bonneville"), which ceased production after the 2005 model year, and the Pontiac Grand Prix (http://"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontiac_Grand_Prix"), which ceases production after the 2008 model year. The G8 is Pontiac's first full-size car (http://"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full-size_car") since the Bonneville. The G8 is a captive import of the Australian Holden (http://"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holden") VE Commodore (http://"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VE_Commodore").
I have a "war story" with a G8...one day after work, earlier this summer, I met up with one on Main Street over in Brookfield.
At first, I thought it was in fact a GP, only, the rumbling exhaust and aftermarket wheels reeked of something a Camaro or Firebird might have had...
I was looking all around me, trying to figure out where the rumble was coming from, when this kid driving it opened it up a little...and just went shiznittin' and foggin' out to the next stop sign.
After he'd pulled ahead of me, I saw the badges: G8 GT...
and I knew this car was no punk, lol.
I know my Caprice isn't slow for a big 4 door, but it compares to a G8 GT like a Pinto to a Porsche...but I still had to take off as hard as I could...and promptly got treated to a full throttle, wigglin' ass, both-back-tire-spinnin eruption as he cracked it all the way open, and left me behind like I had just matted the gas in reverse.
Jeezus, but do I want a G8 GT, and I'll take it in bright red paint too. :D
I met up with him a few weeks ago at Wal Mart....he said when he gets his next tax return, he's getting a chip and a shift kit, and a 125 shot. Lucky , lol.
I like them myself, but i have heard rumors that GM is looking to cut Saturn, Hummer, Pontiac and Saab because they are spread so thin having so many divisions.
They're not looking to cut them. It's a plan 'B' possibility, if the Fed. loans don't go through. I don't think anyone will shed a tear if GM sells Saab and drops Hummer.
As to the G8's BMW looks, that wasn't intentional. BMW have been after GM for years for their twin kidney grille, saying they copied the Bavarians. The Commodore doesn't look all that much like a Bimmer, other than the Hoffmeister kink in the rear glass. But when you put Pontiac's grille on there, it does look like a sister car to the 3/5 series.
And if you were impressed with the GT, wait until the GXP's get here. Who can argue with 402hp/tq. (that's 41/11 more, respectively) in a good looking RWD Pontiac with a modern (IRS) chassis? It'll have a six speed manual, too. :hick:
(http://www.egmcartech.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/2010_pontiac_g8_gxp_image001.jpg)
This is what the Holden Commodore looks like. With the right front clip, its looks are its own.
(http://image.automotive.com/f/miscellaneous/gm-to-build-new-car-based-on-zeta-platform/1006352+w700+cr1+re0+ar1/holden-commodore-ssv.jpg)
Here's a good chart displaying who owns who (http://"http://www.ssrfanatic.com/forum/attachments/f6/39324d1192931084-who-owns-who-global-motor-industry-who_owns_who.gif")
Another "ick" front end from Pontiac...
I think that car is pure shag in every aspect
Mazda no longer belongs under the Ford umbrella, and GM sold their stocks in Suzuki and Isuzu. Mazda would be on its own, off to the side, like Subaru is to Toyota (they bought the shares GM sold), so maybe this is drawn out right. Still, Aston Martin, Jaguar and Land Rover are not Ford subsidiaries anymore. Speaking of which, where is Tata? The question is, as this chart suggests, is Daewoo still a Suzuki subsidiary, or is that under GM? I was under the impression that GM had a controlling stake in Daewoo, but never in Suzuki. How would this be possible, if Daewoo was a Suzuki subsidiary? Come to think of it, since both companies are showing some sort of ownership, I would say GM would remain in partnership with Suzuki here, but not have any gains from the success of Suzuki itself.
It goes without saying that Chrylser, Dodge, Jeep, and the Mitsubishi partnership are no longer under DCX, but Cerberus as Chrysler LLC. I believe the Beijing partnership was a Chrysler group deal as well.
:rollin: :cheers:
I noticed Mahindra Mahindra are in there, but no Tata. I see they've got the Malaysian Proton, and more Chinese car companies than you can shake a stick at, but not the largest automaker in India?
"Where are the tatas?"
"Why, at www.prawnpr0nplanet.com (http://"http://media.canada.com/b17a5268-e809-4db2-a84b-06fc4c00d03e/m1x00203_tatanano.jpg"), of course."
At first glance I thought that thing in the grill was a Cougar "kitty":cougarsmily:
That would be the Lion with it's hand on the world. I believe it's a throwback to the days of the British Empire (Royal Bank of Canada uses the same symbols, plus a crown).
SO...why can't Ford do this as well with the Aussie Falcon?????
I'd find a way to acquire one! ;)
Well, I'm glad to hear it's a RWD. Without knowing any better, I wouldn't have taken it for a Holden knock-off. So is the GTO still being built (the other Holden clone)? I sure don't think it went over like they imagined it would. I'm not sure there's even one in my town of around 20,000 population. Put it this way, I see more Fox 'birds and Cougars on the road here than I do the new GTO's (that's not meant to be a slam, but there just aren't Foxes to be found around here either). Maybe in bigger cities they are more plentiful? Speaking of hard-to-find or rare cars, I saw my first new Challenger R/T yesterday that wasn't on the back of a truck, right here in Madisonville. It was a deep orange-red. I've heard that dealers are getting whatever they ask for those. Man, that's a bad car!
Anyway, back to the G8. I have a feeling it will sell better than the GTO, because it probably appeals to a bigger base of customer, and the BMW resemblance will have to help. I haven't seen one on the road yet, so I could be wrong.
Fordman3
the first G8 i saw "on the road" was in a gas station parking lot.
i was sittin in a car while claude was inside payin for fuel and this extremely bright red car pulled up to the front of the store. i got a good rear 3/4's view of it and was like, "what is that?" from across the lot, i couldnt read any badges, diggin thru mental images many features fit a BMW-esque profile...but, finally it clicked that is was indeed a G8.
as claude came back out of the store i saw him lookin the car over, and as he got back in the car he said, "that new G8 looks alot like a bimmer, dont it?"
No. The GTO was the Monaro. Holden doesn't have a Monaro anymore, since all of their resources for developing that car were used to engineer the Camaro.
its like a mix of a BMW sport sedan look and a Audi sedan look theres a red one some guy or his wife always take it up to sonic where i work and theres a few others i see drive by sometimes.