God post there BigDarknFast. That G8 looks kinda menacing and I wouldn't mind being able to look out in the driveway to see that staring back.

As I said I think the G8 will do well. Pontiac needs something compelling that slots in between Solstice and the G8 - better than the G5/G6.

 

Thanks, and I agree. The G5 especially, that's some pretty weak sauce. It made NO marketing sense, to release the G5 without a turbo variant. It weakens the Pontiac name, as does the Vibe IMHO. Pontiac needs to work hard on getting its focus back, such as is being done with the Sol and G8.

Couple more G8 (V6 variant) pix I took...

 

Just to throw something out there-

I dont see many 04+ Grand Prix cars out there.

For the 97-03 cars I see them all the freaking time. Heck, there are 4 of them on my street (covering 3 blocks). 2 are GTP, 1 GT and 1 SE.

I run into so many grand prix drivers with the 97-03 cars its amazing. I've asked a few at the gas pumps and grocers stores how they liked their cars - and I've yet to get a "I hate this piece of junk". I for one was watching the "Wider is better" commercials when they came out, and the marketing held up pretty good. I've gotten "oh you got the GTP? Supercharged right?" a few times as well.

The people that didnt least their "Wider is Better" Grand Prix back in 97-03 and instead bought it are coming to a need of a new car. And moving them to a G8 seems reasonable to me. While pontiac needs new product - a G8 lineup is a good addition.

...As long as they junk the G5.

 

All Pontiac needs is for GM to actually apply some effort to the situation.

 

As fas as I am aware GM didn't want to make the pontiac G5 but the dealers were crying loudly about not having a smaller car to replace the sunfire.

 

92RS shearn I think you're right about GM not planning to offer the G5 in the US. The G5 was however being sold here in Canada as the Pursuit and was offered pretty much as soon as the Cobalt hit the market if I recall. It moved south later on and got a name change. It's not bad, but without a GT/GXP option comparable to the Cobalt SS SC it's hardly an excitement car for Pontiac.

Geoff, I agree with you on the GP, but there are quite a few of both the 97-03 and 04+ cars here. The older model still looks good - arguably better than the just retired model. I have an 06, I was seriously looking at an 03 GTP - the newer car won out of course - low miles and lots o' warranty. We're more than happy with the GP. It's just too bad I couldn't sell the benefits of the SC to my wife - she just doesn't care that much about higher performance - go figure.

The only negative comment I think I've heard about the cars is the around town thirst for fuel - personally I don't find it all that bad. My yardstick for comparison on that front is my experience driving V8 cars around town. So the GP isn't too bad. I've not even heard any mention by people I talk to about the ISS problem that is common with W-bodies. They've already replaced mine. It's too bad Pontiac wasn't able to build on the impact of the 97-03 model - despite the CompG option. I must say I do like them - kinda rare around here, but still.....

Next one on the list is a G8 though. I love and would kill for the new Camaro, but the Pontiac will be a much easier armtwist for me.

 

The supercharger is nice, but the heads up display was the deal clincher. Seriously. And it added so little to the cost of the car for how incredible it is. I average 21mpg around town (partial city and highway) and 28-30mpg or so holding 75mph on the thruway. I cant say thats bad fuel economy at all for such a big and heavy car.

I dont want to give this car up, as it only has 96,000 miles on it and its been so good to me. In a couple years though, a G8 Sportwagon sounds like a perfect replacement.

 

Assuming that it gets here, my next new car will be the G8 ST GXP.

 

Which is another reason BMW is going to have a much more difficult time meeting CAFE that GM. (CAFE is also required to be met by foreign manufacturers who wish to sell vehicles in the States, correct?)

 

We hear that with every generation.

 

Then this time believe it.....no really..believe it.

 

Yes, all the foreign manufacturers that sell cars in the states are included in CAFE. But remember, it is only the cars that are sold here that matter.

 

I leased a Pontiac G5 (Pursuit) in June 2007. I am 24. It is a very basic car. It is clean, excellent on fuel and gets the job done. I bought it completely basic, 4 door, black 5 speed manual transmission. The gear box is notchy and smooth and actually out of all the vehicles I test drove (excluding the G6) I like its dash layout and ergonomics the best. During my search I looked at the Chevy Optra, Honda Fit, Honda Civic, Pontiac G6, Chev Malibu (previous model), Ford Focus and Mazda 3. Each vehicle had its highlight and disappointments.

The G6 was really great and definitely something the Pontiac division should keep. The problem is that we need more manual transmission cars. I am sick of going onto a lot and only being able to purchase an automatic car. To cater to my market of car absorbed people they need to produce something that I can look at as a daily driver to get my tasks completed while still having fun.

RWD is not the problem. It is building a light RWD car, a lot of my generation has only driven FWD vehicles. I know my girlfriend would be uneasy driving a RWD car in the snow. It would be great to see a 2.0L 4 door 6 speed manual Pontiac that had 160-175hp that could provide excellent mileage and still have the fun of being a decent handling RWD car. Its a new generation, Toyota doesn't have any cars with sex appeal, they have reliability a name people trust. Mazda produces sex appeal and it is working, rework the Ford Focus skin to a mazda plate and magically you are second to Civic Sales in Canada. The Civic is new, different and offers appeal to us. Finally, Pontiac has the G6 with sex appeal till you open the door and see that automatic transmission. I bought my Camaro with an auto because it is hard to find a 6 speed in Canada (used car in Canada). However when buying new, I should have the option Pontiac! (This might just be a Canadian problem, I am not sure if manual transmission are more popular below my border).

Those are my thoughts.

 

Don't manufacturers - and I'm thinking BMW here (because it was mentioned) - just pay a fine on a per vehicle basis for selling cars that aren't meeting current CAFE requirements? I thought I saw a comment like that that posted here within the past month or so - maybe it was on another site. Anyway, if that's the case is it a loophole that's going to be closed in the future? I'm not necessarily in the know on this since CAFE is an American ruleset and its affect on Transport Canada rules I'm not sure of.

Your frustration with not being able to find a manual car on the lot reminded me of the absolute lack of Camaros and Firebirds back in the day on the lot here in Nova Scotia, literally in my home town with three GM dealers I can count on one hand the total number of new 4th gen F-cars that were on the lots between 94-02. There were many times that total on used car lots though - brought in from elsewhere over the same range of years. The GM dealers handled them with the attitude like they were very special, rare or limited edition cars like a Z06 or something similar. Like NO, they were just regular production line product.

 

It reminded me of trying to find a 6spd Manual Red Convertible Z28 back in 94... We tried to find one in FL, but there weren't any available east of the Mississippi River...

Auto Trans have come a long way though since then... If I get a G8, I'll probably want the Auto...