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Sedans Pontiac G8 2008 Pontiac G8
1266 messages, Last post on Dec 07, 2009 at 12:07 PM
You are in the Pontiac G8 Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
As amazing as it may seem... Yesterday, I stopped by the nearest Pontiac dealer to have my first in-person look at a G8. There were none to be found. So popular they can't keep 'em in stock - or so I thought. I asked a sales lady (may have even been the owner or wife of the owner, by the way she talked), "when are you going to be getting any G8's in?" "We're not. We're not going to stock those, and neither is the dealer over in Blairsville." "Why not?" I asked. "Because they are rear wheel drive. People don't want that around here because of the snow." I told her that that was indeed exactly what I wanted, and that front wheel drive cars handled like crap. She looked dumbfounded by the word 'handle'. I went on to tell her that it is equipped with traction control, and also pointed out that Dodge and Chrysler, not to mention BMW, Mercedes and Infinity didn't seem to be having too much difficulty selling RWD cars in the area. "Well, we're not going to be getting any." was the reply. She said I could order one through them, but it would probably take about 5-6 months for delivery, because they are coming from Australia. She looked even more dumbfounded and horrified when I said I would probably wait till fall, so I could get one with a manual transmission.  What is really ironic about the whole affair, is that sitting prominately on display in the showroom were a '68 Firebird Formula 400, and a '77 Trans-Am - both with manual transmissions!  No wonder American automakers are in trouble! Lincoln had the same kind of problems when they came out with the LS... The dealers had no idea what to make of them, or how to sell them.
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Seem like it may be a good idea to opt for the sport package, and get dedicated winter tires for the snow. I say this because of all the accolades on handling the G8 has received (seemingly all with the 19's and summer high performance tires), compared to the test notes from R&T's test of one with 18" all-seasons. To wit: The G8 lacks finesse in the handling department. It has quick turn-in but with an odd steering feel and unsettled suspension. Our slalom test highlighted these faults resulting in excessive body roll and a rear end that can get loose. But while a solid handler up to around the 7/10ths mark, our experience during more aggressive track testing like the slalom and the skidpad tells a different tale. While the suspension eats up the relatively light loading on city streets and freeway onramps, harder loading gives all four corners compliance indigestion. The slalom and skidpad numbers are respectable at 64.3 mph and 0.85g, but they are not as good as we expected. Plus, we had to work the car pretty hard in these exercises to achieve these numbers. Another limiting factor may well have been our track test car's 18-in. wheels, but more about that later. Due to scheduling, we drove and photographed a GT with the sport and premium packages — which feature 19-in. wheels and leather trim — and later tested a standard GT with cloth seats and 18-in. wheels.
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Replying to: wideglide (May 29, 2008 7:51 pm) My local dealer had around 5 G8 (2 GT's) but have pushed through their allocation until late summer. They had the MAP price of $3K on a base GT! Regards, OW |
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Replying to: wideglide (May 29, 2008 7:59 pm) Regards, OW |
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i live in the snowy northern plains and still wanted a RWD sedan with lots o power...shows you what the dealerships know!! the dealership here in my podunk town has never had a g8 in stock either. i didn't even visit them and went straight to minneapolis to get mine. as for the 18s vs 19s...the suspension tuning is exactly the same on ALL gts...so the slightly wider 19s would most likely handle better. i think they are even slightly lower profile then the 18s. anway, i've got the 18s and they seem a nice compromise between stable handling and a decent ride. |
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Replying to: rayainsw (May 29, 2008 11:48 am) btw, speaking of that upper crease, have any of u considered a pin stripe? just wondering as i did see a gray gt with a white pinstripe that started near the crease above the front fender side vents, and ran all the way back to the rear quarters. i must admit that it looked pretty sharp! i've been conteplating same for my panther black gt... |
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Replying to: white6 (May 29, 2008 12:32 pm) When you said "roomier" I assumed you meant all around. |
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But in addition to give the Hummer brand the boot, GM is also considering putting another brand on the chopping block. The front runner for extermination looks to be GMC, although Pontiac is also said to be in the mix. Here is the link. Perhaps GMC will be axed in favor of Pontiac but who knows? Either way, it's a long time coming and a no-brainer from my point of view either way! link title Regards, OW |
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Replying to: circlew (Jun 20, 2008 12:40 pm)
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Replying to: circlew (Jun 20, 2008 12:40 pm)
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