Pontiac G8 GT Sports Sedan Excitement!

Pontiac has had mixed success over the years living up to its mainstream performance car billing, as parent General Motors has allocated more money and resources to Chevrolet than for its sporty brand. That neglect has been evident down through the years as fast cars such as the GTO and Firebird have come and gone, leaving Pontiac with a handful of copycat models that are sold and badged elsewhere across the company’s many other brands.

In an effort to revive Pontiac’s image, GM has turned to its quintessential Australian brand, Holden, to produce a modern sports sedan, one not completely specific to the automaker, but certainly unique to the American driver. Based on the Holden VE Commodore, the Pontiac G8 GT (Grand Touring) is acknowledged by most automotive experts to be one of the best Pontiacs ever built, a car that competes effectively with the BMW 5-Series, but for thousands of dollars less.

Rear Wheel Drive For Exceptional Handling

At the heart of the G8 GT is its rear wheel drive platform, a once common denominator for all large American cars, but replaced in varying degrees in favor of front wheel drive which yields more cabin room while sacrificing handling. To be truly successful as a performance sedan, only rear wheel drive can adequately navigate tight curves and, thanks to stability control and a sport tuned suspension, the problem of rear tail swagger has been eliminated.

Certainly not a lightweight, the five-passenger two ton G8 GT offers a solid street presence and is powered by a 6.0L V8 engine paired with a six-speed automatic transmission. Producing 361 horsepower and a robust 385 lb.-ft. of torque, the Pontiac still manages to achieve an EPA projected 17 mpg city, 25 mpg highway. V6 power is available with the base G8 sedan while the top of the line G8 GXP is powered by a slightly detuned version of the 6.2L LS3 V8 engine found in the Chevrolet Corvette.

Finely Crafted Interior

Inside, the G8 cabin has one of the best designed interiors found on any GM model this side of Cadillac. The front passengers are treated to sculpted cloth bucket seats (leather is optional), crafted to hold occupants in place while navigating tight turns and especially comfortable for those long road trips. All controls are within easy reach and the gauges are visible and clear through the steering wheel. Rear seating is comfortable, even bearable for a shorter, middle seating passenger, with plenty of maneuverability for tall occupants.

An AM/FM stereo with 6-disc in-dash CD changer and MP3 playback, 6.5″ color LCD and Blaupunkt premium 11-speaker system is standard equipment along with dual-zone climate control with individual settings for both the driver and the front passenger. Various sound package upgrades are available.

Outside, the sport appearance of the G8 is emphasized thanks to its chiseled lines, dual hood scoops, machine faced alloy wheels, quad chrome exhaust tips, and clear lens tail lights. The front air dam and rear spoiler complete the G8′s fast track look, giving the sedan a powerful road presence.

Safety Is Standard Equipment

Safety is the name of the game for today’s motorists and the Pontiac meets that challenge. Anti-lock brakes are standard as is brake assist, with traction and stability control included to keep your G8 on the road under the worst of conditions. Front, rear and side head and body air bags offer crash protection while GM’s OnStar navigation and emergency unit can signal help if the airbags are deployed.

The G8 is most fully appreciated when taken out on the open road and given the chance to push all eight cylinders to their limit. From a dead stop to sixty miles per hour, the G8 hits that number in a respectable 5.3 seconds, a phenomenal speed when you consider the amount of weight being pushed. Passing a slow moving minivan is a snap as just a slight touch of the accelerator and couple of flicks of the steering wheel will put the family hauler in your rear view mirror within moments.

Just don’t expect to hear an aggressive growl from the rear as the exhaust note is surprisingly subdued, not matching the capabilities of the car. A minor disappointment, one that I would like to see Pontiac correct along with including paddle shifters and, if we dare to dream, an optional manual transmission.

Sedan V. Minivan: No Contest There!

For growing families desiring to upgrade to a larger vehicle, considering a minivan such as the Honda Odyssey is usually one option, but with the Odyssey EX and G8 GT being similarly priced and equipped (low 30s before discounts are applied) and with both vehicles getting 25 mpg on the highway, the fun driving belongs solely to the G8 driver. Unless, of course, you need additional cabin space and storage room, then you’ll have to work extra hard to sell the idea of a sport sedan to your spouse.

Thanks to Holden of Australia, Pontiac has a true world class performance sedan in the G8, one that is priced competitively while offering substantial savings over more costly European competition.

Pontiac G8 Lifespan Likely Cut Short

In days past when the name Pontiac was spoken, people instinctively knew that the conversation was shifting to a discussion about a fine line of sporty automobiles. At one time the brand had some of the hottest cars on the market including the GTO, Tempest, and the Firebird, exciting vehicles which imbued the Pontiac name.

Losing The Sporty Mystique

Over time Pontiac began to change receiving fewer sporty models but seeing more economical cars along with a van, the ugly Aztek SUV, and a number of rebadged vehicles sold by GM’s other US divisions. General Motors, in a bid to consolidate operations, has united most Buick, GMC and Pontiac dealers under one roof, a move which has allowed the automaker to cut back on the number of models offered by each of the three brands.

Today, GM has transitioned the brand to one offering a line of small, sporty cars with only one model hearkening to a bygone era, the Pontiac G8. Based on the Holden Commodore — a GM model built in Australia — the G8 is a well proportioned mid-sized sedan, with a fully independent performance tuned suspension. Critics have been comparing the car to BMW, recognizing that it offers something that most American cars do not – a wonderful combination of raw power, handling, and manageable size.

Raw Power in a Sports Sedan

Standard engine for the G8 is a V6 – the same 3.6L engine that powers the Cadillac CTS. However, for optimum power, a 6.0L V8 paired with a six speed automatic transmission ups the performance level a full notch, giving the car the distinction as being the most powerful sedan available on the market that retails for under $30,000. As a point of reference, the Cadillac CTS-V is the fastest sedan costing at least $30,000.

Though introduced earlier this year, the future of the Pontiac G8 is in doubt as is the sport truck version of the same model. General Motors has been hammered financially for the past several years and this year learned that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has backed a government initiative to require that Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) be increased fleet-wide for all vehicles sold in America. To get to the higher numbers some of the larger cars, trucks, vans, and other vehicles manufactured by GM will be discontinued or modified enough to make them lighter and more fuel efficient.

The Holden Commodore Soldiers On

The Pontiac G8 isn’t one of those cars slated to be downsized though it is believed that the next generation Holden Commodore (the Pontiac’s sister model) will soldier on, but be available only in the land down under where such CAFE restrictions don’t come into play.

The good news is that the G8 should be available for another five years before the car fades into the sunset. Likely, the burly rear wheel drive sedan will be replaced by a front wheel drive car with smaller engines, a capable car roughly the size of today’s Pontiac Gran Prix. Less won’t necessarily be more, but when fed regs are factored in less may be all that you’ll have.

Pontiac G8: Premium American Sport Sedan

Pontiac’s fortunes have been eclipsed over the past several decades by Chevrolet, as GM continues to pour new models and money into its best selling brand. As GM’s performance division, Pontiac has keenly felt the neglect, and has been steadily losing sales as buyers shop elsewhere.

Fortunately, Pontiac’s role in General Motors is beginning to change and they’re getting some outside help in doing it. No, I’m not talking about the Toyota-derived Vibe, rather the Holden-derived Pontiac G8, a full sized premium sport sedan, the new flagship of the performance brand.

GM Taps Holden For Pontiac

Tapping Holden for the G8 makes perfect sense, as the car is already built and sold in Australia as the Commodore. A thoroughly capable full sized sedan in its own right, building the G8 for the American market has been a boon for Holden as the company is able to fully utilize capacity in building the G8 alongside of the Commodore. Previously, Holden built the Pontiac GTO for the American brand, the first time the two GM divisions have collaborated on a design.

The Pontiac G8 is a welcome shot in the arm for Pontiac, a thoroughly capable rear wheel drive sedan. Powered by a 3.6L V6, or 6.0L and 6.2L V8s, the fully packaged G8 offers a good mix of performance and premium appointments, the same sort of package that many Chrysler 300 buyers are seeking and, if I dare say, what some BMW 5 series drivers expect. Indeed, comparisons between the G8 and the 5 Series have been frequently made, particularly in the areas of speed and handling.

What The Pontiac G8 Has To Offer

The G8 offers a long list of standard interior accouterments including:

Highly bolstered two-tone sport seats with color-coordinated gauge cluster and GXP embroidery Leather-trimmed steering wheel and gear shifter Power-adjustable front seats Fog lamps Alloy sport pedals A 230-watt Blaupunkt audio system XM Satellite Radio As far as safety and equipment goes, the G8 doesn’t disappoint in this area either:

Four-wheel disc brakes with ABS and traction control Electronic stability control Seat-mounted thorax air bags and dual-stage frontal air bags for front passengers, with automatic passenger sensing system Roof rail side-impact air bags for both seating rows OnStar Of the G8 models available, the GXP is the the top performer and comes equipped with a 6.2L V8, a slightly tamer version of the Chevrolet Corvette engine. Offering explosive power and BMW like handling, the GXP produces more than 400 horses and 400 lb.-feet of torque and is mated to either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission.

Front suspension is controlled by multi-link MacPherson strut; direct-acting stabilizer bar; progressive-rate coil springs; fully adjustable camber, caster and toe; while rear suspension is four-link independent; progressive-rate coil springs over shocks; stabilizer bar; fully adjustable camber and toe. The brake system consists of four-wheel disc w/ ABS; ventilated front and rear rotors; quad-piston front calipers; single piston alloy rear calipers.

The Right Move For Pontiac

Clearly, the Pontiac G8 represents a strong, bold move for General Motors’ performance division, a step that will likely help to bring additional fun-to-drive models Pontiac’s way as customers notice and embrace the changes.