SOME POSITIVE DISCUSSION

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

"... minor gripes aside, the new Pontiac G8 GT shines in many areas — outright speed, good fuel economy for its big V-8, easy-on-the-eyes inside and out, nice cabin materials and comfort, and that huge back seat. Factor in price and it is, essentially, in a class by itself.

Nice."

http://www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?se...article_id=6692

Go Pontiac!

Edited May 11, 2008 by FUTURE_OF_GM

[SAmadei]

In the same issue they test the new Jaguar XK (or something).

The G8 GT compares favorably with the Jag in all sorts of categories... even though it is less powerful by 60 HP, the Pontiac was faster to about 60-70 where the Jag takes over. The Pontiac has more space, is lighter, yet was quieter! Oh, and cost half as much. The Jag did out handle the Poncho... and had copious amounts of wood and leather... did I mention the Pontiac cost half as much? ;-)

Bring on the GXP (and G8 Coupe)!

[K.C.]

Great article. The G8 does shine! It's a shame what is deemed to happen with Pontiac, and the G8 has been a long time coming. Just too bad there won't be successive generations of the G8.

[hyperv6]

Great article. The G8 does shine! It's a shame what is deemed to happen with Pontiac, and the G8 has been a long time coming. Just too bad there won't be successive generations of the G8.

I would not be suprised if they come up with a car nearly the same size and much lighter. CAFE is not the first time we though all was lost.

If they even made a RWD Malibu G8 with RWD and a Turbo 3.6 the is so much a car like that could do while getting better mileage.

I too have noted no one negitive review by the main stream press. The G8 looks like another hit for the Lutz Era.

The only complaints I ahve seen are no GPS and the Digital gauges in the center stack. Neither are deal breakers if you want a car like this at a great price.

[MyerShift]

I would be more interested in the G8 if it came with a manual transmission.

The Commodore offers a manual with the V6, why not here????

[daves87rs]

I would be more interested in the G8 if it came with a manual transmission.

The Commodore offers a manual with the V6, why not here????

That wold be a good idea....offer a little more fun....

[Camino LS6]

The manual will arrive in the GXP late this CY.

Hopefully, it will be offered in the GT at least following that.

[daves87rs]

The manual will arrive in the GXP late this CY.

Hopefully, it will be offered in the GT at least following that.

That would be good...

[hyperv6]

I may have a line on why the Manual tranny is not out yet in the G8 or Challanger.

I sat in a meeting to day with two guys from Tremec and they told us about the new tranny for the Camaro that will be used in the Challanger and Mustang also. The new tranny is a TR-66 and is a T-56 but only stronger.

It will also be offered in the aftermarket [hence why I was there].

Either way this will be a step up and most of the new cars will get it if they have a V8 application. I would expect the Veete to will ge a form of this improved tranny.

Edited May 22, 2008 by hyperv6

[Brougham-Holiday]

The biggest problem with the G8 is the interior which surprised me (along with my brother and his girlfriend) at just how cheep it looked for a 25-30k dollar car. Pontiac needs to update the 1980's looking red graphics as well as replace some of that plastic inside. The new GT G8 looks far cheaper inside then my 7 year old Oldsmobile Aurora.

[hyperv6]

The biggest problem with the G8 is the interior which surprised me (along with my brother and his girlfriend) at just how cheep it looked for a 25-30k dollar car. Pontiac needs to update the 1980's looking red graphics as well as replace some of that plastic inside. The new GT G8 looks far cheaper inside then my 7 year old Oldsmobile Aurora.

Guess they have not been inside my 04 GP? The G8 is a giant step up from my GP that stickered at $32,000 [Which I paid no where close to].

While the G8 is not perfect it is a improvment. Also the G8 reflects the BMW of which it as has Mercedes never had what I would call a great interior.

Edited May 22, 2008 by hyperv6

[z28luvr01]

My only gripe about the G8 is the lack of a folding seat of any kind. I'd love to be able to carry a bike in it without resorting to a bike rack that's certain to damage the paint. That may pigeonhole me into getting an ST, which isn't the worst scenario in the world. But other than that, the G8 sedan is absolutely fantastic, and it's very hard to make a case for a reasonably loaded Camry, Accord, Altima, or Malibu when a poor man's 5 series can be had for the same price.

[The O.C.]

The biggest problem with the G8 is the interior which surprised me (along with my brother and his girlfriend) at just how cheep it looked for a 25-30k dollar car. Pontiac needs to update the 1980's looking red graphics as well as replace some of that plastic inside. The new GT G8 looks far cheaper inside then my 7 year old Oldsmobile Aurora.

I have to admit that my last time in a production G8 seemed much more favorable from an interior fit-and-finish standpoint.

It's not perfect, but it is decently-screwed together and, to me, seems pretty fitting for a car in its price-range.

My only real gripes, and they are not that big, is that much of the switchgear feels somewhat chintzy....but not nearly as bad as we were used to with some GM products of just a few years ago.

I like the seats, I like the choices of cloth and leather options for the interior, and if the switchgear isn't fully up to Accord, or even GM "black-tie" standards, the rest of the interior feels pretty solid....as in the door panels, armrests, center console....other "hard points" in the interior that your arms/hands come into contact with. (Example: contrast that with the Grand Prix, which has a center console so poorly attached, you can "wiggle" it back-and-forth with your right hand, or the Malibu/AURA door panel armrests that pull away from the door panel if you put a modicum of pressure on the armrest.)

(It IS ironic that the G8 has the same type of "dot matrix" soft-touch plastic on the top of the instrument cluster and instrument panel.....seemingly the same "dot matrix" plastic that was used, and universally panned, on the previous-generation CTS.....)