When I walked into my Saturday job (sales at a Pontiac dealer) last Saturday, I was VERY pleased to see our first G6 on the showroom floor...a loaded silver GT, complete with panoramic moonroof. To say the least, this is a car Pontiac can be proud of...and a lot of the appeal is in the details.

Exterior:
-Wheels are gorgeous, clean, simple 17" 5 spokes.
-Attractive body side moldings
-Simple, elegant chrome exhaust tip
-Projector-beam foglights
-What's this? A METAL GRILLE??????????
-Attractive chrome accents around the twin grilles
-Subtle rear spoiler
-Clean, easy-to-grab door handles

Interior:
-Simple, easy-to-ready gauges with chrome trim accents.
-Power adjustable pedals!
-High-quality cloth in this example
-The panoramic roof is worth the $1,500 price...period. And a power sunshade to boot!
-Trip computer built into 6 disc radio! Average MPG, distance, etc...
-Metal interior handles...a quantum leap from the cheap plastic crap handles inside my old '02 Grand Am GT that where the molds came together to press the shape, there was a mold line that could scratch your hand!!!!!!!!!!
-Excellent Monsoon stereo...the only thing my old GT did right inside.
-Comfy seats

I have yet to drive this car, but know it is THE car my girlfriend and I will buy for her next spring, once we can get a 6 speed GTP coupe...assuming a base GTP doesn't go for much more $$ than this loaded GT.

There were a few disappointments though...

-No outside temperature, even with the On Star package? A buddy here at work has a strippo '04 Mazda 6 that at least gives you that!!!!!!!!!!
-No leather wheel in a GT? Why make people spring for the optional leather package to get a decent looking wheel? Oh yeah...the wheel is pretty bad looking, too...
-The upper dash facing screams cheap. The vinyl material on the upper portion of the Grand Am is the ONLY thing better about a Grand Am interior. The upper dash facing in the G6 screams Aztek to me for some odd reason.
-I thought GM's paint process was going better these days...I found dirt stuck in the LR fender!!!

As for the Cobalt, the Big E fair here in Springfield, MA had a Chevy display, including a C6 and a Cobalt. When I first saw the Cobalt, a tan LT sedan, I thought it was a concept car at first because it looked so modern and sporty, riding on huge-looking 17" 5 spoke wheels. It took a second to realize it was a Cobalt! The rear pillar looks much less awkward in person, I must say. Such a nice looking little car, especially with the 17s. While I couldn't sit in it, the interior looked top notch, as expected. Add this one to the shopping list too...

Just a few months back I said to myself there was honestly not ONE GM product that screamed "Buy Me" to me. Now with the Cobalt, G6 and Equinox, there are 3 definite must-drives when we get my girlfriend a car next Spring. Looks like I will be able to buy a new GM car again, after all...

 

Oh boy...the Big E. Everyone hyped that place up when I first moved there for school. LAME.

Anyway, saw the same exact G6 GT, but mine had the leather interior. Steering wheel is right out of the Malibu.
No outside temp? My Malibu has it?

I havent sat in the G6 yet, but I plan on doing a comparison between the Maxx and the G6.
The Nox is a great SUV, and priced right. Just wish they used the 3.5 instead of the 3.4.
And The Cobalt is gunna be a big winner for Chevy.

 

I drove a G6 at my local dealer last week (it was a base model with only a few options). Very nice That electric power steering sure is weird, there's no feel to it at all when youre stopped and move the wheel, or even when you're going slow. Takes some getting used to. The 3.5 sure is a nice engine, my only complaint is the lack of a manual so far, but at least there will be one soon. That was my BIGGEST complaint with the Grand Am.

I hadn't seen one in person, and I had thought it looked pretty frumpy in pictures, but the car sure looks a lot more agressive in person. The headlights look very sharp and I've gotten used to the rear. I can't wait for the coupe, I love that fastback roof! Oh, and the car has loads of room! I had the seat way far back (pretty much all the way) because I'm tall and I didn't really mess with the seat anyway, and then I hopped in the back seat and still had tons of room! I've ridden in the back of Grand Ams before and had no leg space at all, and the G6 had loads of room with the front seats all the way back! Very well done car, I'll seriously be looking into one once the 6 speed comes out.

 

The trip computer is installed in the radio unit? This wouldn't bother me since I'm not an audiophile, but if someone wanted to replace the headunit wouldn't they also lose the trip computer??? That's not good.

 

Just drove a G6. You're right Al....the steering is absolutely numb. My '70 Delta 88 had better feel. Overall it's a pretty nice car...but I couldn't imagine buying a car with so little (well NONE!) tactile feel in it's steering.

 

I'll likely be picking up a 6 speed awd one for my wife when they come out in a year or so.

I'm curious on just how high the price is going to get on a fully loaded one though.

 

Um, not so imo. I've spent several hours driving a six speed/3.9L car in the last couple of weeks. I found the steering to be rather nice.

I hope you guys realize that "electric" power steering is NOT steering by wire. It is simply a normal rack where the assist comes from a small electric motor rather than from a hydraulic unit. You are still connected to the road with a real steering shaft. The force required to move the rack comes from the driver's input on the wheel and the electric motor (instead of the hydraulic motor). Electric power steering can theoretically be programmed to offer a wider range of assist over a wider range of conditions more easily than, say, varying the size of the orifice through which the power steering must flow. Plus it removes yet another source of drag (and leaks/failures) on the engine, hydraulic lines, etc.

I assume that most guys around here know that, but you never know. I often see the claim made in lame newspaper "automotive" columns of "numb" steering from the electric assisted vehicles. I think they just jump on the bandwagon and make the claim to sound like they are car people... (the newspaper people, not you guys). And I swear, from the tone of some of their articles (and the non-engineering nature of most of their columns), I really think some of them think that electric power steering is electric steering. Anyway, I've driven Ions and Malibus and G6s, and never had a problem with the steering (other than the goofy looking wheel on the original ION). Although, I read somewhere that the 3.9L GTP G6 was keeping a hydraulic steering setup, which I think doesn't make sense but cannot confirm or deny. The only G6s I've driven were 3.9L six speeds. The Malibu and Ion were Ecotecs. I'll have to check out my parents' new Maxx and see how it feels.

But I thought the Ion and Malibu were fine... Remember, at low speeds, they give maximum assist to minimize the effort required to turn the wheel. I would not judge a car's performance in ANY category based on a parking lot drive...

 

I think the trip computer is only one of your worries. Most modern GM cars have just about every electronic system multiplexed through the radio. Replacing one is probably no fun at all, if not virtually impossible. And the hole from removing the factory one would be ginourmous!

 

My Malibu's steering isnt the best, but again its not made to be very responsive, but for daily driving and such, its a GREAT little device, and IMO why GM put it in the car. You get used to it quickly. Its very responsive at high speeds. I am very VERY happy with the performance of the 3.5, and its one of the reasons I went with teh Maxx over the Nox or Vibe. Its 200hp might be below "standard", but its low end torque is quite awesome. You can get a good spin out of the tires if you nail it.
I heard that the G6 GTP will get a regular hydrolic powerd r&p to enhance feel and steering. Even BMW was bashed for the same set up.

 

At the AutoShow in Motion they had a segment called "Chevy Challenge", where you compare specific Chevys to their direct competitors. Let me preface this by saying that IMO, you shouldn't encourage these direct, back to back comparisons with consumers unless you're sure that your product is better.

One of the ones that I did was Malibu vs Accord. The Malibu has "good bones" with it's Epsilon architecture....but it just fails in execution. We've already talked about steering. The suspension is pretty numb too. The interior seems pretty well put together...but there is not one inspiring element to it. Drive this car on an auto-x track and immediately hop into an Accord. The Accords' standard I4 doesn't have the low end torque of the Malibu's V6...but beyond that, the Accord has got it all over the Malibu. Back to back...the Malibu feels like a UPS truck and the Accord feels like a race car. Even the G6...which was abit better than the Malibu (far better style-wise), falls short.

I noticed that I was the only person under retirement age driving the Malibu...so maybe I'm not the target consumer for that comparo.

 

Eh, I feel the same way.... Looking at a new car and the only ones I am looking at are vw Passats (same thing as brothers audi a6), with TDI 40mpg average is not hard to get on highway, feel and build quality, interior, sorry to say, once you go german, you dont go back. the G6 sure does look very nice, was looking at the GP but looks a little wierd after a while. The reason i was even looking at GM's stable? the $6,000 in rebates, sad enough, there is nothing in gm's stable that interests me outside of the caddies.

 

I'm not so sure about that... there was that one study that showed Volkswagon has one of the largest gaps between perceived and actual quality. For example, I know one person that had to return her Jetta because of problems with the electrical system (she did receive a new one because the other was a lemon). My best friend's 2002 Jetta started rattling on the inside before my 2000 Firebird. He's on his second 5 speed (firts one died w/i one year), and has had to replace the MAP sensor recently. On the other hand, I have a friend that has been leasing a 2002 Golf TDI and hasn't had any problems with it.

 

Everyone has problems, and yes I did hear of the problems with the VW, I dunno, GTI's and Passats still made in germany. =P unlike the rest of the lineup.

 

Reliability wise... European vehicles are the least reliable, though they do make some good interiors. Americans were second best, to the japanese of course. The americans rush to buy whatever BMW or Mercedes they can find here, and shortly there after, they get rid of them cause they can't keep them going. Granted, many of them are a little older, but I know a few with newer BMW's and Mercedes that are barely a couple years old and they have been in the shop a few times. Those suckers aren't cheap either! The Germans pay a 16% tax on everything!

 

Every GM division with the exception of Hummer posted better quality numbers than VW for the 2004 JD Powers Initial Quality survey as did every other U.S. manufacturer, Kia and Hyundai. VW perceived quality far exceeds their actual quality, IMO. Yes, their interiors are nice looking and have a quality appearance, but they are certainly not trouble-free.

Manufacturer Problems per 100 vehicles

Lexus 87
Cadillac 93
Jaguar 98
Honda 99
Buick 100
Mercury 100
Hyundai 102
Infiniti 104
Toyota 104
Mercedes-Benz 106
Audi 109
BMW 109
Oldsmobile 110
Volvo 113
Acura 117
Chevrolet 119

INDUSTRY AVERAGE 119

Chrysler 120
Dodge 121
Lincoln 121
Pontiac 122
Subaru 123
GMC 127
Ford 130
Mitsubishi 130
Saab 133
Jeep 136
MINI 142
Land Rover 148
Saturn 149
Suzuki 149
Kia 153
Nissan 154
Mazda 157
Scion 158
Porsche 159
Volkswagen 164
HUMMER 173