A GTO? A G8? Or a Buick?

 

Pontiac all the way. If the were to make it a buick they'd have to change the interior pretty appreciably to differentiate it from the G8, and i'm scared to death of what what happens when GMNA has to make an interior design for a stylish car.

G8 vs. GTO, doesn't matter much to me. If they wanted to make some volume why not have a G8 V6 model and an LS3 GTO model. After all, that's what the GTO originally was anyway, an option package on a regular production coupe.

The GXP badge is as big a joke as the SS badge was when it was on the malibu right now so i'd prefer the top coupe to not be G8 GXP. Realistically id buy it if it was called the pontiac lemon-crash-cart though, as long as it retained the holden/G8 interior.

 

G8 GT Coupe

 

I'd say G8 as well and have a V6 version. And call the range topper GTO instead of GXP.

Of course, that would put in into DIRECT competition with Camaro.

 

I see problems with each.

GTO: Unless it has a specificly more unique (and more aggressive perhaps) body than a G8, I could see this one getting ragged on just like the 2004-2006 model for appearance if it's just a G8 coupe named GTO.

G8: Logical and probably the easiest to justify from an investment perspective with the G8 sedan and ST already in place. But will a coupe version of an existing sedan make a big enough splash in the market to warrant it? And would it sell enough to justify?

Buick: This is a tough one to justify with a limited up-scale coupe market and typically older Buick audience. I'd love to see one, but I don't know who would be attracted to it besides a few hard core Buick lovers like myself, at this time. Buick buyers don't typically change their mind from a useable sedan to an emotional choice like a coupe.

Not to say that it can't happen, but I think the new full and mid-size sedans should appear first with their Riviera concept inspired styling to get people prepared for a sporty Buick coupe. Otherwise, I'd be afraid it would fall on deaf ears with people having visions of the current Buick lineup in their head. Once the new sedans are launched as a follow-up to the Enclave, I could see more younger, affulent people taking a closer look at the newly hip and stylish Buick division and their sporty coupe.

 

I say call it a GTO. And this time, include the hood scoops from the beginning.

 

And I don't really see GMNA having any sort of a love fest with a new GTO either. In fact, most see the last one as a failure they'd want to distance themselves from.

 

Agreed. I wish there was another option in the poll above (I voted "G8") to accommodate the idea of having the "regular" coupes be called "G8 Coupe" and the high-end ones be GTO's. It would be a way to still pay proper homage to the GTO name, but to also adhere to Pontiacs goofy G* naming dogma.

I also agree to some extent at least, about the "GXP" label. Pontiac has been careless with the label - witness the utter joke of seeing it on the virtually non-upgraded G6 GXP. Whoever dreamed up and released the G6 GXP, frankly, should be fired from GM. It offers no performance upgrade in a real sense, and the styling is hideously worse than a G6 GTP to boot.

In contrast - the Solstice GXP and upcoming G8 GXP will help preserve some meaning for the GXP label. Plus, the GP GXP did offer real and useful performance upgrades over its predecessor the GTP CompG.

Pontiac, if they want to survive and flourish, simply must be more careful and deliberate with their models, names and option packages.

 

Monte Carlo.

 

Since Camaro wasn't an option ...

I'd say GTO, since that's what says '2 door Pontiac with a big motor' to me. But of course that would be V8 only.

I still don't like the G5, G6, G8 nomenclature so I'd rather not propagate it by calling it G8 Coupe or whatever. Personally I wish all the GTO "purists" (i.e. those who think time ceased to move forward after 1964) would just realize that times have changed and modern cars don't have to copy every damn styling cue from the original. Using their logic, the C6 should have come out with chrome bumpers. The Coupe 60 would make a great modern interpretation of the GTO, just like the last one did.

 

I say call it G8 and sidestep all the GTO crap that came along the last time around. for all intents and purposes it is Commodore/G8 so stick with it.

Maybe reserving the GTO moniker for the high end model, I dunno. I don't think that they'll ever satisfy the GTO "purist" crowd that derided the last car, even though it was pretty true to what the GTO was originally in relation to the rest of the lineup. People seemed to forget that there was more to the GTO than the Judge over the top graphics and spoilers....

Better yet call it Grand Prix.

As for calling it a Buick, with practically the same interior and exterior as the Pontiac across the showroom floor, it wouldn't work. Bringing a Buick variant in would require investment that would be over and above monies already spnt to Pontiac-ize the Commodore. It's already done, keep it Pontiac.

 

How about

LE MANS

It can't be grand prix. The last GPs didn't even offer a coupe. Talk about confusion. G8 should have been GP if they wanted to bring that badge back, but GP has too many bad memories of horrific interiors and cheap POS rental versions for most of the population

 

I'm also disgusted by the Pontiac nomenclature, I would prefer to have something like a "LeMans" line, where there was a Lemans sport truck, sport coupe, sport wagon.

But if we have to deal with it, as long as thier are great cars attached to these nondescript and totally unoriginal "designations", I think it could ultimately be made to work.

So I vote G8 coupe, or whatever derivation of that theme you wanna go with. As long as the G8 is advertised as a line of cars, and each model is marketed separately.

 

For a long time the GP was just a coupe (no sedan) that changed in 88 with the GM10 GP, the coupe was dropped in 02 (I think). So historically, the GP name would be just as applicable as GTO.

Confusion??? Ummm, the last LeMans was a reworked Daewoo econobox with questionable quality to boot, if I recall. Let's call it a draw and go with G8...

 

Personally, I feel it should come here in V6 and V8 form just like the G8.

The V6 Coupe should be equpted like the G8, right down to standard performance suspension and manumatic. It would make a fantastic counterpart to an Infinity G37 (don't laugh, the G37 is just a few ticks below 3700 pounds now, a V6 coupe wouldn't be too much more).

The V8 should be the G8 GT coupe. Same as the sedan.

An LS3 powered version should be the GTO, and be a counterpart to the sedan's upcoming GXP.

In retrospect, there was nothing wrong with the last GTO in and of itself. GTOs historically have been sleepers (save the garish, overpriced, and sales flopping Judge). The Monaro based GTOs were the quickest and fastest GTOs ever made (even the original LS1 version). People who buy cars like this aren't usually intrested in massive trunk space (see: Mustang Mach 1 and Cobra). But that Pontiac front end was weak, dealers not only blew it... they nuked the thing out of the water, GM was slow to react to what dealers were doing, supply allocation was botched (allocation was based on sales instead of location, so early on most all ended up in the northeast in the winter instead of the west coast and the south), and finally, (according to GTO fiunding father, Jim Wagners) GM didn't train their dealers on how to sell the thing.

My own personal experience ranged from a $15,000 markup (the thing was going for $49,000 and change) to needing to leave a deposit simply to test drive one! Branden later sent me the address of a dealer in San Fran that was charging only sticker, but by then the damage was done. I was turned off of Pontiac dealers, and started spending the cash refurbishing my Thunderbird SC.

I think the new G8s are excellent. A coupe addition would plug a gapping hole in Pontiac, and I'll raise the probability of it being made from 51% to about 60%. But if Pontiac dealers haven't learned their lessons, then it won't matter.

After seeing what's being charged for a Solstice GXP and one of the last Grand Prix GXPs in the area (was going for over $40K, and just last week was cut down to sticker) I doubt they have.