According to LLN the G8 will be a one cycle wonder and will be discontinued by 2013. Personally, I will be surprised if it lasts anything like that long. The tragedy of all of this? Somewhere in the corporate halls of GM a room full of executives are wondering what went wrong.

 

The problem with the G8 is that its a car that only appeals to men and only by gearhead american car guys and women are the decision makers on car purchases, cause even if a man likes one the wife still has final say on a car.

Americans in general don't buy mid range sport sedans. Americans are too hung up on status, a single guy that can afford a 30k plus car wouldn't buy a g8 they are going to buy a bmw 3 series, woman are attracted to a bmw and guys know it. A married man will have the same trouble convincing the wife to buy a 30k pontiac saying i don't want my husband to drive a pontiac or i don't want to ride in one.

 

I largely agree. However, I do think there is one other important missing ingredient with the G8....personality in the aesthetic. This is where Chrysler's 300 excels and Pontiac's G8 fails miserably IMO. The 300 looks like Virgil Exner's take on a large Bentley saloon. The Pontiac G8 looks a great deal like a Vibe-style, Pontiac rebadge of what you could expect if Toyota ever decides to replace the Camry with a rwd car. The styling doesn't have a special bone in it's body, and in the segment the G8 was hoping to crack if you aren't a legend you d****** well better be a looker.

 

I think the G8 may take a little bit to build momentum, but by every indications, it is a fantastic drivers car -- a truly credible poor man's BMW 5 Series -- and at a great price. Unfortunately, it hits the market at a terrible time - soaring gas prices and plunging economy - but hopefully Pontiac has the backbone to stick it out with it a bit. I think Pontiac's overall stategy of making it a true performance car division is good and gives it a true marketplace distinction within the GM family.

I think a lot of people may have doubts, coming from Pontiac and GM, as to just how fine a car this is, especially those used to only finding such cars from European makers. Sure, while some by BMWs primarily for the hood badge, many others do buy the mid range European makes for their various qualities aren't found elsewhere whether from America or Japan. It will take a bit of time for Pontiac to establish its performance and dynamic credibility among this discerning enthusiast crowd -- especially after the slew of overstyled and underperforming sleds Pontiac's been purveying for years -- but the G8 itself seems fully up to the task and for those not smitten by hood badges, offers most or all the qualities they seek in a fine drivers car.

As for styling, I think it looks great, again, a sort of poor man's BMW without the Bangle weirdness. It is a different stylistic theme than the 300 -- a bit leaner, lower, tauter and more athletic than the 300's blockiness -- but very well rendered and very reflective of its excellent and athletic driving dynamics. It is slightly less flashy than the 300, certainly, but hardly boring and is even a bit sophisticated in its well executed restraint -- very European in that regard and given the large market for fine European cars, I think there is a large market for just such an aesthetic approach.

Were I in the market for a large 4-door sedan, this would be on a very short list and the upcoming GXP on a shorter one yet (presuming Pontiac maintains the same excellent affordability level). I mean, where else can you get a powerful V8 RWD sedan, with a stick shift none the less, with excellent dynamics and clean, athletic styling for under $50K?

 

To bad GM is buring through cash at a blistering rate and I'm willing to bet the situation is dire enough for them to kill anything they don't consider a grand slam or money maker.

I sincerely hope the F5 Camaro is at the very least profitable (but with the passing of the zeta based G8 that further narrows the bits and pieces shared by the zeta cars and increases cost )

 

I'll be surprised if Pontiac lasts that long.

It's pretty clear from the daily bad news that GM is shrinking fast - what emerges on the other side of this mess will probably be a much more efficient company consisting of only three North American marques or so.

Time to jettison Pontiac...and Buick, too, at least in North America. Keep building them for China (in China) if they want 'em over there.

 

And that's largely because GM - and American automakers in general - pissed away their reputations over the past 35 years, while the Europeans - and Japanese especially - got a toehold in our market. Now, finally, when Pontiac introduces a worthy car, nobody cares anymore because most prestige buyers don't see GM as a "prestigious" (or even quality) brand anymore.

It takes a long, long time to build clientele and customers, but a very short time to lose them. GM did the latter for too many years to expect things to turnaround even though they have begun building better, more appealing, vehicles. They would need another decade or so to reinstall confidence in buyers...and with their internal problems, plus this tanking economy, they just don't have it.

This game is over and GM is about to become a very different company.

 

I saw the headline and after a double-take, that thought about the Zeta platform popped--what does this do to the Camaro? Both the G8 and the Camaro share the Holden Commodore platform. If that platform goes away--what does Chevy do with the Camaro? New RWD? Limited production run for Camaro?

 

Too bad, I really like G8.

 

I wish I could say, the timing for the F5 is absolutely dreadful. I've heard GM is possibly looking at a smaller and lighter car for the F6 but if the F5 tanks this will be it.

 

Soooooo ...

Anyone still think Falcon in the USA is a good idea?

 

As long as I can get one,,yes!

 

Actually, it appears more and more likely that we will get it.....but not like people think. Blue II over on BON has long been reporting that our GRWD-based Taurus replacement alted to debut some time in the 2012CY may well be the next Australian Ford Falcon. How much input FOA might be expected to have on that car is still a good question, but my guess is they'll effectively be involved in an advisory role and nothing more since that is more or less the role they have received with GRWD.

 

One turn off for me is that the car has no name. I despise the whole letter number thing. If the car doesn't have a name, than it has no soul! If they gave it a distinctive style and a decent name and then did something like run the body style in Nascar - it would sell a hell of a lot better.

Say what you want about NASCAR - it does sell the car on Monday - GM forgot that and one by one as its divisions pulled out of NASCAR - the sales of their cars fell. Look at Buick, Olds and now Pontiac.

MY NASCAR rant - why the hell do they need cookie cutter cars - go back to stock sheetmetal and templates off of rental cars.

 

I strongly disagree with that statement.

 

Alphanumeric names haven't hurt BMW, Audi, Lexus, Infiniti and Mercedes too much.

 

Only if the man has allowed her to cut his ********* off.

 

I think that's because of reputation and not being American.

 

 

Hearing today about possible GM divisions being shuttered, it seems no Pontiac is safe right now. Personally, if it were me, I'd redesign the sheet metal and put a bowtie on it and call it Monte Carlo. Yea, I know, Montes are usually 2 door, but hey, the g8 is eons better than the last Monte and actually better than about any previous Monte I can think of. Letting this car die puts yet another nail in the not even born yet Camaros coffin IMO.