Well, the G6 was designed a few years ago. It's not clear to me how the G6 ends up placing better in that comparison with a few cheap upgrades. Also, Toyotas typically do poorly in C&D family sedan comparison tests, yet they sell well.

Finally, it's not as though you'd want to design a Malibu or Aura that did more poorly, just so the G6 could be better than those two.

So I think it takes more than a stiffer suspension and a few more HP to sell more Pontiacs.

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If it's easy, give it to Chevy and Saturn too. I mean, this sounds like, simply, make better cars.

I don't think engine mods are going to be cheap. Maybe a loud muffler can give you another 5 hp, but how many people buying this kind of car would want that? Hondas and Mazdas don't have loud mufflers (from the factory). So I don't buy that there's a cheap engine mod available. But if there is, give it to all divisions.


For what it's worth, I had a G6 and a Malibu back to back as rental cars (sad story about miserable conditions on I94 in Chicago). I thought that the G6 drove quite nicely, and was definitely preferable to the Malibu. I suppose "sporty" might apply to the G6 -- not to the Malibu.

 

This test is also from a few years ago, so that excuse doesn't pass muster. I know Toyota's sell well. My point was not that Car and Driver ratings equal sales. My point was that there is such a thing as sportiness in mainstream cars, and that Pontiac generally scores low on this scale.

Not "better" -- sportier. The Malibu and Aura are designed to offer a relatively even balance of sportiness and refinement. The G6 should be geared more toward sportiness. Buyers looking for more handling would find this "better." Those who like refinement can go ahead and prefer the Aura and Malibu's more compliant rides and nicer interiors. Again, different buyers prefer different things.

I trust that the engineers at General Motors can find more sophisticated ways to modify the exhaust than going to Pep Boys and buying a louder muffler. I don't know much about the G6's specific exhaust system, but I'm willing to bet there's room to free up flow in the manifolds and downpipe. These pre-cat improvements wouldn't be that pricey and wouldn't necessarily make the car significantly louder. You could give it to all divisions, but why? Like you said, most sedan buyers aren't going to care whether the car has 250 or 270 hp. Chevy and Saturn can spend their development budgets on interior updates.

There are also lots of engine mods that shouldn't be too cost prohibitive. GM somehow scrapped together the change to design a front drive variant of its LS V8 for the limited production Grand Prix GXP and Impala SS. I find it hard to believe the 3.6 is at its absolute ceiling for power, even in non DI form. And before you even ask, the 6T70 transmission can handle up 280 lb/ft with no modifications, so there's room there.


Again, it's subjective and I respect that. But I find it hard to believe that the G6 would drive better than the new Malibu, which rides on an updated version of the same suspension. I drove a G6 GTP and Aura XR close together, and their was no comparison - the Aura cornered flatter, exhibited less understeer. The Accord is even better by these measures. Again, it may not be important to you, but it is to a certain segment of buyers. GM has a fistful of brands, so you'd think they could gear one of them to this audience.

 

Pontiac doesn't have their own powertrain group any more. If you find a way to add 20hp cheaply without any significant tradeoffs, you have to give it to all divisions. GM can't afford to hold back, just to help Pontiac. I would expect Cadillac to have more power, due to premium components that add significant $$. Though that only seems to be the case on the DI 3.6 (though they do get about 10 more than other car applications of the PI 3.6).

I never said it was at the absolute ceiling. We were talking about inexpensive power upgrades. Other than tuning for premium fuel, I doubt there's much to gain cheaply without increasing noise. If so, then GM should already have it across the board.

The non-DI 3.6 makes more power in the Lambdas, but I thought that was due to work on the induction system, which required more underhood space. I could be wrong about that. Interesting that the DI version only adds 11hp in the new Traverse.


Just to clear this up, the Malibu was an '06 or '07 (i.e. the old Malibu). I've never been in a new Malibu or Aura other than at an autoshow.

 

I think the road to a better Pontiac is about 50/50...

MARKETING is vital to the future of every GM division, especially Pontiac.

As loyal GM fans we all know that GM can make EXCELLENT cars all day long... Cars that are as good or BETTER than anything out there. However, as loyal GM fans, we have also seen how the market will virtually ignore those cars unless GM tells the public about them. (witness the current Saturn line -- Selling good, but not as well as they should) This is especially true if the cars come from a stigmatized division like Pontiac.