Topic: Another good G8 Review

[Mitlov]

Somehow I doubt that GM, or any manufacturer that has made an 8 cylinder vehicle, has targeted the product to a buyer concerned about gas mileage or price.
Maybe it's just me who thinks that......

Not to mention this car isn't actually expensive at all when you compare it to other high-power RWD sedans, particularly those larger than a C-segment car.  In the States, the G8 GXP undercuts the Infiniti G35 Sport 6MT in terms of price.  Yes, the G35 is more luxurious, but it's smaller and has 3/4 the cylinders and power output.

[Serniter]

Somehow I doubt that GM, or any manufacturer that has made an 8 cylinder vehicle, has targeted the product to a buyer concerned about gas mileage or price.
Maybe it's just me who thinks that......

Buyers of V8-equipped new vehicles may not have been concerned about price or gas mileage. Gas price may still not be a concern, but how about resale value? That has dropped dramatically increasing the cost of ownership.

[TopGun]

...the g8 has zero prestige for the well heeled crowd and the regular joe won't be able to afford the v8 sucking all those extra dollars out of his pocket. so who is going to buy this car?   gm should offer it with a variety of engines sizes like bmw does and see what happens.

The cycle time of a model introduction is measured in years...so while it's nice to say that the V8 is not chasing a large market...I don't hold GM 100% responsible for that.

They do offer the car with the high-feature 6...and in the Toronto Star story today, GM believes it will account for 70% of their sales.

http://www.wheels.ca/reviews/article/305454

In that same story, BMW is never mentioned as a direct competitor...they mention the Charger and the Maxima.

This car is what people have been clamoring for...an AMERICAN RWD, 250+ hp, large car with a quality interior for $32K.  The only thing I feel that is "wrong" with this car is that it arrives 5 years too late...

[Mitlov]

sorry but the people who buy merc, bmw, lexus, infiniti or audi won't even know or care the g8 exists. drive down any rich neighbourhood and count the ratio of imports to "american".  i would say it is 100 to 1.   the g8 has zero prestige for the well heeled crowd and the regular joe won't be able to afford the v8 sucking all those extra dollars out of his pocket. so who is going to buy this car?   gm should offer it with a variety of engines sizes like bmw does and see what happens.

I only mentioned Infiniti, and there's a reason for that.  Not everyone who buys an Infiniti G35 is a luxury-loving blue-blood.  I've met folks in Infinitis who are really just boy racers who wanted a step up from a sport compact, not your typical Merc-buying luxury crowd.

For someone who wants RWD, four doors, sharp handling, and great power for US$30k and change, the G35 and the G8 are the two cars to test-drive.  Though the Charger RT and Maxima could also be painted as competitors on different levels.

EDIT:  Don't get me wrong, the G35 also does pander to the luxury crowd, but it kind of plays to two different crowds simultaneously.  Cars like the C-Class, on the other hand, ONLY pander to the luxury crowd.

[safristi]

..walk this way please.....

[sirAQUAMAN64]

Spent some time in a G8 at the dealer and really liked the car. Seats were fantastic, controls were great, and the upgraded audio display (with full date/time) and menus is uber cool. But, the sunroof  impedes excessively on headroom - so much so that I don't fit in it. Tonnes of leg room, but with the roof (and I won't buy a car without one) I'd have to recline the seat somewhat which is shameful in a vehicle this large. Otherwise, still impressing me.

[ovr50]

"The Truth About Cars" guys just did a review of the G8 V8 and loved it. Gave it 5 out of 5 stars. And this from guys who usually dis just about everything they test drive.

Kind of surprised no one on here is talking about a new G8 V8 as one choice.

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2008-pontiac-g8-gt-take-two/

[Mitlov]

"The Truth About Cars" guys just did a review of the G8 V8 and loved it. Gave it 5 out of 5 stars. And this from guys who usually dis just about everything they test drive.

Kind of surprised no one on here is talking about a new G8 V8 as one choice.

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2008-pontiac-g8-gt-take-two/

I think the G8 is awesome.  People on this forum really tear into the Pontiac G8 V8 for being a gas-guzzler, but here's a fun fact (using US gallons):

Pontiac G8 V8 (automatic): 15 mpg city, 24 mpg highway, 18 mpg combined.
Legacy GT (automatic): 18 mpg city, 24 mpg highway, 20 mpg combined.

The far-smaller Legacy has a fuel economy advantage, but it's not exactly night-and-day.  And nobody is calling the Legacy GT a dinosaur unfit for the modern world.

[Zombie]

"The Truth About Cars" guys just did a review of the G8 V8 and loved it. Gave it 5 out of 5 stars. And this from guys who usually dis just about everything they test drive.

Kind of surprised no one on here is talking about a new G8 V8 as one choice.

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2008-pontiac-g8-gt-take-two/

I think the G8 is awesome.  People on this forum really tear into the Pontiac G8 V8 for being a gas-guzzler, but here's a fun fact (using US gallons):

Pontiac G8 V8 (automatic): 15 mpg city, 24 mpg highway, 18 mpg combined.
Legacy GT (automatic): 18 mpg city, 24 mpg highway, 20 mpg combined.

The far-smaller Legacy has a fuel economy advantage, but it's not exactly night-and-day.  And nobody is calling the Legacy GT a dinosaur unfit for the modern world.

The LGT is AWD so I wouldn't consider this to be a good comparison.
But you can you get similar numbers from a BMW 535 17 city, 26 HWY 20 combined.

So I guess I agree with you.
Either way you get a G8, fuel economy was not on your check list.

[Mitlov]

The LGT is AWD so I wouldn't consider this to be a good comparison.
But you can you get similar numbers from a BMW 535 17 city, 26 HWY 20 combined.

So I guess I agree with you.
Either way you get a G8, fuel economy was not on your check list.

The point is not that the G8 and the Legacy GT are the same car.  There are many differences.  But if AWD is significant for you, let's compare the G8 V8 to the Mazdaspeed3.

Mazda: 18 mpg city, 26 mpg highway, 20 mpg combined.
Pontiac: 15 mpg city, 24 mpg highway, 18 mpg combined.

Yeah, the Mazda is more fuel-efficient, but it's not night-and-day.  Yet nobody wrote off the Mazdaspeed3 as inappropriate for modern times, and tons of people have done that to the G8 V8.  I guess because looking at a compact FWD hatchback with a 2.3L turbo four, you'd assume it would be VASTLY more efficient than a large RWD sedan with a 6.0L V8.  But the reality is very different than what gut reactions and perceptions would lead you to believe.

[Allen]

Kind of surprised no one on here is talking about a new G8 V8 as one choice.

Ovr, as you know the majority of us on this forum don't buy from the Detroit 3 

[ovr50]

Kind of surprised no one on here is talking about a new G8 V8 as one choice.

Ovr, as you know the majority of us on this forum don't buy from the Detroit 3 

I understand that, but if the Detroit 3 do produce a good vehicle, shouldn't ppl consider it? Or is the ant-D3 bias so strong that even a good product is ignored? If so, the D3 have an unsurmountable hill to climb. 

[Allen]

personally I would never buy another D3, no matter what they build or what the reviews say, I long ago gave up on them and there are too many good cars out there,  so as not to have to take another chance on them

[ilovecables]

The LGT is AWD so I wouldn't consider this to be a good comparison.
But you can you get similar numbers from a BMW 535 17 city, 26 HWY 20 combined.

So I guess I agree with you.
Either way you get a G8, fuel economy was not on your check list.

The point is not that the G8 and the Legacy GT are the same car.  There are many differences.  But if AWD is significant for you, let's compare the G8 V8 to the Mazdaspeed3.

Mazda: 18 mpg city, 26 mpg highway, 20 mpg combined.
Pontiac: 15 mpg city, 24 mpg highway, 18 mpg combined.

Yeah, the Mazda is more fuel-efficient, but it's not night-and-day.  Yet nobody wrote off the Mazdaspeed3 as inappropriate for modern times, and tons of people have done that to the G8 V8.  I guess because looking at a compact FWD hatchback with a 2.3L turbo four, you'd assume it would be VASTLY more efficient than a large RWD sedan with a 6.0L V8.  But the reality is very different than what gut reactions and perceptions would lead you to believe.

Excellent point of view.

[Snowman]

The G8 GT is an awesome car but without official conformation that it will come equipped with a manual transmission it won’t be on my list.

[Mitlov]

The G8 GT is an awesome car but without official conformation that it will come equipped with a manual transmission it won’t be on my list.

There's always the G8 GXP, with 402 horsepower and three pedals...

[Snowman]

The G8 GT is an awesome car but without official conformation that it will come equipped with a manual transmission it won’t be on my list.

There's always the G8 GXP, with 402 horsepower and three pedals...

The four-door Corvette most likely will not be under $50k CDN 

[Mitlov]

For all the grousing about the G8's 1980's-esque battery gauge on the center console, it turns out that the primary gauges are excellent.  Edmunds just posted a blog entry about the speedometer on their long-term G8 blog.

http://blogs.edmunds.com/roadtests/2008/09/2008-pontiac-g8-gt-how-it-should-be-done.html

A few weeks back I harped on the wonky speedometer in the Nissan GT-R. The only part anyone'd regularly use without being hauled to the slammer is mired in the soup at the bottom, and steadfastly equal spacing throughout the 220 mph sweep means the daily-use part comprises less than 90 degrees. I scrounged an old Audi photo to show how it should be done.

Add our 2008 Pontiac G8 GT to the "done correctly" list. It's an 180 mph speedo--faster than any of us will ever go, yet Pontiac's use of unequal spacing--10 mph increments up to 100 mph, 20 mph increments thereafter--means that the usable portion is spread over 150 degrees. And the speeds at which we usually travel on the highway are right at the top, as they should be.

And it's not just the GT-R.  The EVO is another offender in my book: 0 is at 6 o'clock, and 80 mph is at 9 o'clock.  All street legal speeds are condensed to a mere 90 degrees of needle sweep.  http://blogs.edmunds.com/roadtests/2008/09/2008-mitsubishi-lancer-evo-x-mr-speedo.html

And a poster in the G8 blog stated, the G8 has a simple button that makes the mph markings disappear and km/h markings appear (for when you cross the border from the USA to either Canada or Mexico).  Remarkably handy way of making the speedometer display both without being excessively busy.

[ovr50]

"And a poster in the G8 blog stated, the G8 has a simple button that makes the mph markings disappear and km/h markings appear (for when you cross the border from the USA to either Canada or Mexico).  Remarkably handy way of making the speedometer display both without being excessively busy." - Mitlov.

I agree it's a great feature but not exactly a new one. We had a 1987 Toyota Cressida that had the same feature then. In fact, the speedo was digital (which I didn't like, likewise most of the car was so-so; only the engine was good IMO), and it would show the odo readings in either miles or kms also.

[Mitlov]

"And a poster in the G8 blog stated, the G8 has a simple button that makes the mph markings disappear and km/h markings appear (for when you cross the border from the USA to either Canada or Mexico).  Remarkably handy way of making the speedometer display both without being excessively busy." - Mitlov.

I agree it's a great feature but not exactly a new one. We had a 1987 Toyota Cressida that had the same feature then. In fact, the speedo was digital (which I didn't like, likewise most of the car was so-so; only the engine was good IMO), and it would show the odo readings in either miles or kms also.

I didn't mean that it was new.  In the G8 forum, folks pointed out that such buttons had been around on (at least certain GM) cars for a couple decades.  However, I have never driven a single car that has such a function. 

Nothing about the G8's speedometer is unique or truly new.  But it's a very well-executed speedo for day-to-day use in a day and age where many performance cars have very user-unfriendly speedos.