regfootball

a 250hp FWD porker that can barely get out of its own way. only 250hp from 8 cylinders? it's not a 3 series!!!!

exterior turned out pretty good. interior is seemingly awash in typical GM cost cutting cheapness. GM needs to learn how to make nice looking plastic. dash is overdone. but not to the point of cladded era pontiac cheapness, so this may be ok. No one will pass up an Audi for this (or a VW for that matter...LOL).

hate suede. the plastic engine cover is a problem too (for guys like me that used to sit and state at the intake runners under the hoods of my other SHOs). aside from that this car is a major wet dream for SHO owners like me. I can live with the paddle shifters. A true manual would be nice, but this car is so much bigger than the original, I don't think a true manual would really fit an AWD 365hp car this huge. Good job Ford. I love the G8 GXP but this thing has AWD so I can use it in winter too. Awesome. Sync and Nav too. All the bases are covered. GET RID OF THE SUEDE!!!!!!! get rid of the chrome, too. This car does not need chrome. maybe just on the wheels but i would prefer blackout trim and machined wheels. and LEATHER seats.

sounds like a BADASS computer! my gosh. sure dwarfs this 1gb vista craptop i have to make do with.......

There is almost nothing I won't eat. except......not a big fish and seafood guy. It's all good. Can't pick a fave...

Impala SS has crap for suspension and the 4 speed tranny is junk. Drive the Impala SS and then an Aura XR with the paddle shifters back to back. The Aura XR is much more fun. I don't think the small block is as much of the brick people think it is. The v8 OHV block is alum i think and its not much heavier than the HF 3.6.....but its more than likely the archaic W body and $h! suspension that makes it such a terrible drive. Look at what GM did with the Cobalt. They didn't put near the investment in chassis into the Impala SS.

when i owned my 95 tbird and my 89 SHO concurrently, i actually came to much prefer the SHO. It rode and handled better, and had better balance. I know the Tbird was no 3 series, but the FWD SHO felt more trusty to drive. There are lots of good FWD cars out there that feel good to drive as well, and so that's why so many folks are just fine with a good FWD car. It doesn't have to be a 3 series, it just has to be better than a typical toyota. For reference, I have driven the GTO, was not blown away. The G8 v8 is very good. I enjoyed that car. The v6 G8 needs powertrain refinement and is not as enjoyable. BTW, a G8 GXP manual is one of my very most wanted cars. If i had way excess coin, i would be owning one.

g8 sales would probably double here in the US (or more) if AWD were available as an option, BTW.

honestly, I don't dispute what you are saying, but you also just stated a huge reason why FWD became the norm in the first place. so a) a large part of the country lives in the snow areas and wants to use their car they are paying thousands for every day instead of garaging it for 4 months in the winter b) the G8 apparently won't become a volume seller like the Bonnevilles and Grand Prixs were even 7,8, 10 years ago.

if anyone can tell me of any industry which isn't cutting, I'd be happy to hear it.

in guionM's post there was no mention of any big volume sellers as accomplishments.

no accord or camry killers on that list. no volume products.

excepting the CTS, GM's interiors are still full of cheapness.

GP was a 5 year old model by then and this is the g8's first year out of the chute. part of why the GP tanked at the end was it was stale.

ford feels they have a better shot of building on the technology they have already spent and paid for. its not a bad solution, and maybe they just want to see acceptance of the public to the e-rev. in the meantime, the fusion hybrid is the best, and the plug in portion is building on what they have already engineered and spent resources on.

Lutz helped get some GM mojo back with cars like the CTSv, g8, Cobalt SS, etc. He also pushed for better mainstream models some also. Yet, clearly its time GM moved on. GM needs a younger push to more mainstream focus. Not toyotaesque, but something more back to bread and butter and the masses.

pontiac sold how many?

if the cadillac chassis was designed in germany.........

which is why Opel needs a flagship sedan. its own Phaeton, except not so pricey and outrageous. Hyundai has a genesis. Opel needs something that can outdo that and compete with its hometown boys.

i wonder if pontiac and saturn will become clones as GM fades both brands away. Dodge/Plymouth Neon anyone? the death of pontiac to me is dispicable. yet, to me pontiac is needed as the altar ego of buick and the only way to keep buick showrooms from being relevant to anyone who can still pee by themselves. Seriously, everyone I see driving Enclaves is as geriatric as Lexus and Toyota. Side note, Hyundai is going to eat toyota's lunch some day a lot sooner than everyone else thinks. Hence, if Pontiac is going to die, and Buick is going to be non-believable, just call it Opel and get it all over with now.

i'll sell you the Aztek. That's close to what I'd want for it. fetchin young lad would do well cruzing the world in an asstek.

point being, this would carry them about 2 years until they get an all new one rushed to market. what, can't GM get a car to market in 2 years like Ford and Toyota? i would axe buick if opel was a no go here. saturn or pontiac would survive as the opel in NA cars. I just don't see the brand equity for buick with anyone besides old people. Pontiac at least would have a chance. Saturn too. But I do think introducing the Opel brand here, albeit slow and painful, could have a chance over time. I am wondering if we will see a crossover backlash by the public as well which could dramatically turn people towards sedans again. In that case I do not see much more for GM crossovers than the Lambdas, and the Equinox, Antara, and SRX. I just don't see Buick as being fully parallel and compatible with Opel. But basically China needs Buick and so what needs to happen then is basically Buick China and Opel need to be in full sync because I doubt there will be funded Buick NA exclusive products too much longer........ They probably can pull off the Insignia / Regal thing and have it be believable. Corsa and Astra however, there is NFW they can make them into Buicks. The only version of the Astra that is believable as a Buick would be a sedan. Both the Corsa and Astra need to be here, IMHO and they cannot be Buicks. This is why it needs to be Opel in NA or else it needs to have a deathmatch to see if these become Saturns or Pontiacs. Buick Corsa? I think not. Currently they say Pontiac is 'niche' now. Also we know the G6 and G8 will probably die. If this is the case, let's just get it over with now. Rename the G6 'Grand Am' and rename the G8 'Grand Prix' and at least let them die in dignity. Personally though I see no problem in letting grand prix and grand am live on in their next lives if they invest and do a good job making them. Whatever chassis GM comes up with to replace the zeta needs to be kick ass and needs to be AWD capable. I seriously feel Opel needs a flagship car too, and I would go so far to say it should be a global serious ass platform that is the next DTS / flagship Opel / volume Chevy or Buick large car chassis. And I am not talking Epsilon. I am talking serious hardware here. Buick Sky? um, NO. I am still failing to see how GM will remake and repair Buick to align with the product qualities of Opel. I seriously think they are not capable of making this work.

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/02/06/oregon-...rket-car-parts/

in this scenario, i would vastly expand Chevy's lineup. The G8 would become the new Impala. The Holden Caprice becomes Chevy Caprice. Chevy would get a deluge of new models and products pronto. Cadillac gets more models too.

so, really, what if? Could GM make do globally with 3 brands? These are the three I propose. Chevy Opel Cadillac