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2008 Pontiac G8
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Comments
initial impressions after 400 miles of driving. very stable ride, nicely weighted steering, fairly quiet inside at speed, v8 has copious amounts of grunt when you put your foot in it, brakes seem appropriately strong, driver's seat is comfortable.
couple gripes. the red digital displays are a bit difficult to read with sunglasses on, except for of course the oil and charge readouts which are very big and bright! gm's manual shift function doesn't work as well as infiniti's. my g35 would blip the throttle almost perfectly for downshifts...the 6L80E isn't nearly as smooth. and the headlights are nothing to brag about. they are okay, but could be brighter imo. and the car has a somewhat lumpy idle. otherwise so far i'm enjoying the ride!!
if you are really curious....
just trying to save ahead of time for the next oil change since the 6L takes 8.8 quarts to fill with filter change!
( from [ very ] un-official sources )
(Hold the enter button when turning the key on)
Software Version
GM Part Number
Battery Voltage
Battery Charge (%)
Remaining Fuel (gal)
Instant Fuel (gal/hr)
Coolant Temp
Speed
Tach
Tire Pressure
Engine Oil Life (%)
Parking Lights (on/off)
Switch Voltage
Current Gear
Active Fuel Management
Throttle Position
Trans Sump Temp
Self Test
While the G8 seems to about as attractive a piece of machinery as has been offered by American automakers in many years, the Pontiac never has been nor is it being currently marketed as a luxury marque. Just as the Chrysler is not a luxury marque. The G8 and 300C fall into that peculiarly American (Canadian & Australian) automotive category known as the muscle car sport sedan. Likely the only American make of car that directly competes with the M45 is the Cadillac STS Northstar (if you can call a car being phased out competition).
That orthopedic surgeon and trial lawyer just might have some fond memories of a second hand Pontiac Sunbird or Chrysler K car, that they drove while in medical or law school, which ran rough and was prone to corrosion.
To be sure the G8 directly competes with the Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300. It offers a RWD alternative to the FWD Toyota Avalon (Aurion which it competes with in the home Australian market) and the Nissan Maxima. Given the current state of the economy I believe the impact a offering V8 will have in this market segment is still being over-estimated by GM.
The G8 GT may try to steal some entry level luxury buyers of Acura TLs, Infiniti G35s, MB C-class, BMW 3s and Audi A4s, but those cars are firmly entrenched in the market. Each has just been redesigned and offers similar performance in a true luxury brand. I can conceive the G8 doing the most damage in the market place to the Cadillac CTS. The last generation CTS brought out a V spec model with 400 hp and that car made little market penetration in its segment (against the E39 BMW M5).
But to say the G8 GT competes with the BMW 550 and Infinti M45 (why not throw in the Audi A6, MB E-class, Lexus GS, and for good measure the new Jaguar XF) I find to be a fantastic claim.
It's just in that same way that neither the Infiniti M nor even a BMW 550i directly compete with a Maserati Quattroporte or a Bentley Continental.
That's where I see this car going. Folks who don't want a Maxima, Camry, Tarus, etc.
-mike
In the 1960s American Cadillac Fleetwoods, not Benzes (except in German speaking countries), nor BMWs, nor Audis, nor Jags (except in the UK) were the choice of the tycoons and heads of state. I dare anyone to name one celebrity or head of state outside the US who currently drives a Cadillac in their native land.
Current American made automotive products (including models made exclusively for the US market in the US by foreign car makers such as the Japanese and Koreans) have only one purpose. Making the manufacturer a quick profit and keeping Americans addicted to conspicuous consumption and that formerly inexpensive drug, gasoline.
Jeremy Clarkson, the BBCs Top Gear host, though himself no a stranger to hyperbole, came to the same conclusion in his "Good, Bad & Ugly" comparison of American cars and SUVs in California. He posed a reasonable question: How is it that the nation that makes the Nimitz class nuclear aircraft carrier, the Trident class nuclear submarine, and the Space Shuttle, can get it "so wrong" that 5.5 billion other people on the planet will absolutely not buy our domestic made cars? Except for a few Vettes and the Ford GT.
Manufacturers constantly use hyperbole such as comparisons to similar products beyond the market level of their own product to market. That is called commercial advertising. Even professional automotive reviewers will use hyperbole to extol the virtues of a product. Likely without such sensational comparisons, pure technical writing about what are basically machines might otherwise come across as ... well rather dry and technical.
Again while the G8 GT is attractive and has some positive attributes, as many professional car reviewers have written "it may be regarded by some as the Wrong Car at the Wrong Time" for both GM and American consumers. Only time will tell but my personal belief is that GM (and Ford which also has a global presence) can do a heck and a lot better at making what American consumers need, rather than merely what their passing fancies desire.
SEE:
http://www.cars.com/go/crp/research.jsp?revid=53137&indcriteria=ASSET_TYPE-A- - ffiliate+Review%2cBuying+Guide%2cVehicle+Profile%7cM-_40_%7cD-_8816_%7cY-_2008_%- - - 7cresultStructure-combined&revlogtype=19&makeid=40&modelid=8816&year=2008&myid=&- - - revlogtype=19§ion=reviews&mode=&aff=national
ALSO:
http://www.cars.com/go/crp/research.jsp?ASSET_TYPE=Affiliate+Review%2CBuying+Gui- - - de%2CVehicle+Profile&revlogtype=17§ion=reviews&makeid=40&modelid=8816&year=2- - - 008
Why did I buy a BMW in 2006? Exactly what you said...US autos have morphed into non desirable appliances for both quality and design AFAIC.
You can't tell me BMW, Audi and Merc-class cars can not be topped by the US. There is no desire to do so to date. That is what makes me so defiant.
In the 60's Caddy was KING. Pontiac was KING. Oldsmobile was HOT. Chevy was PASSION. What the heck happened?? Greed.
No passion, no sale.
Regards,
-mike
NOW, as a result of living that DREAM, Americans and American businesses will see REALITY. A reality which this generation will likely have to pay for by working well into old age because they cannot afford to retire. All in the name of "Disposable Consumerism".
the g8 is the first rwd car from gm in a long time that offers performance, reasonable nvh and good driving characteristics all in an attractive package that lists for around 30k. it's the rwd performance bargain of the year imo!
even though gm uses high brow bimmers in some of its comparisons, it's really the chrysler rwd cars that are it's competition.
Regards,
OW
And, your summation....GREED!
While other countries look 5+ years out, and are willing to take a short-term profit hit for a long term gain, US auto makers look primarily at the short term.
The proof is the recent re-introduction of low-mileage high performance cars when gas prices are rising exponentially. If gas prices stay at their current levels, all of these models will disappear in 2-3 years due to the limited sales potential.
Technically, however, there is absolutely NO reason the US couldn't be leading the pack...if the manufacturers were so inclined....
but, anyway, the real reason for this post is to point out that the costs to engineer/produce the g8 were likely relatively minor. the assembly plant was already in existence in australia...and several other vehicles are built at the same plant; and on the same platform/chassis. therefore, gm is not solely reliant on the success of the g8 to make a profit off this platform. the pontiac division needed some excitement, and i think the g8 helps in those regards...even if it isn't the most thrifty vehicle around...
The auto industry in the US merely wanted to continue to make profits using antiquated car designs until the moment our Government would drop the axe. This moment was inevitable. This was not the Myanmar cyclone, people.
It has been a reality for the last 30+ years since the OPEC Oil Embargo of 1973. When we are constantly in a state of beligerency with the Arab nations and Russia ( and now Venezuela) who control the spigot on the resource which our large displacement cars and SUVs need what other result would any reasonable person expect.
The Big Three have had to deal with it in Europe for 40 years because the fuel prices are so heavily taxed to offset their trade deficit based on oil importation from the Mid-east and to pay for public transport which can serve the vast majority of their population. Just look at the products that Opel, Vauxhall and Ford have offered there for decades. Fuel efficient. Else you pay a 35% tax (paid up front) and $2000 per year to register the car and another $3000 per year in insurance to drive a gas guzzler.
Exxon-Mobil and Shell have had to drill into the ocean sea beds at depths of 10,000 feet for the past 10 years. Those companies used to pay $100,000 per day to rent the drill rigs. Now they pay $500,000 per day to lease the same rigs. That doesn't even include the per day cost to actually run the rig. You really believe the Big Three do not have access to this information or the geological reports?
The Big 3 (and to be fair, foreign auto makers who exported mots of their gas swillers to the US) were just betting on our Government doing nothing about it because of their cozy relations and legislators living in the fantasy that Americans should have their fuel gulping toys and no one really cars about the state of public transport in the US.
$4.50 per gallon gasoline, my friends, is NO GAS PRICE SPIKE. Considering that the per barrel price of un-refined crude oil has jumped by 100% since 2 years ago, we should really be at $5.20 per gallon retail. So Exxon-Mobil and BP and Shell are not deceiving us when they claim they are taking less profit now than two years ago on the final refined product. With OPEC predicting $200 per barrel costs we should be prepared to pay $5.50 per gallon by next summer.
When the smoke alarm in your home goes off, you can smell the smoke and feel the heat of the flames, but you run to save your 30 year old beer can collection you are betting against the odds of surviving? This is precisely what the auto industry in America has done. And it has occurred largely because the American public preferred EXCITEMENT over ACCOUNTABILITY and RESPONSIBILITY. And the American auto industry was feeding it to the American public as it was financed by the consumers' tremendous personal debt.
No matter whether an addictive drug is expensive or relatively cheap, the withdrawal will always be expensive.
It's just in that same way that neither the Infiniti M nor even a BMW 550i directly compete with a Maserati Quattroporte or a Bentley Continental.”
= = =
I do not mean to suggest that the G8 GT is a ‘direct competitor’ to the BMW 550 or the Infiniti M45.
Perhaps I was not clear.
Basically, I see the G8 GT as providing a very large portion of the dynamic capabilities & related ‘goodness’ of the 550 & the M45 – at a relatively small portion of the price.
Anyone who really does want ALL that the 550 or M45 offers ( I freely admit that the M45 has a ‘nicer’ interior, for example ) must pay BMW or Infiniti prices. This seems fair to me.
If you want ( as I do ) the acceleration, handling, steering feel, braking and related aspects – in a package with comfortable & supportive seating for 4 adults – but do not also require ( or wish to pay for ) a plethora ( ? ) of luxury and amenities . . . well the G8 GT appears to fill the bill.
It is certainly not that I don’t appreciate or see value in many of the luxury aspects of such sedans as the 550 & M45 – merely that one cannot buy a “strippo” 550 or M45. Meaning: a 550 or M45 with all the ‘stop, go, turn’ stuff, but without all the associated BMW-ness and Infiniti-ness.
Although I am a professional,
( not a Dr. or Lawyer ) and although
( apparently, since I drive a $50K+ car )
I can ‘afford’ a 535 or M45 – or even a 550. . .
I ( strongly ) prefer the G8 GT’s approach.
Would I buy mine equipped with a HUD & cooled as well as heated seats, if those were offered as separate options?
Assuming a reasonable price: Yes.
But for just over $30K, I am very happy with what the G8 GT does offer – and at the price point, I can easily live without what it does not offer.
And that looks like my likely next vehicle – an ’09 in 4 or 5 months.
YMMV.
- Ray
Never intending to call the 550 or M45 direct competitors . . .
I don't doubt that those who constantly lease just to drive something unique every three years might try a G8 GT under a lease.
I'd like to know how many will feel BUYING a G8 GT to keep for the next 8 years if gasoline prices continue towards $6 per gallon.
GM cannot survive at its current level of expenditure (labor and debt included) relative to its market capitalization by producing niche cars at runs of 20-40,000 models per year.
GM is not in the financial position of Porsche (cash healthy) which can afford to make a few hundred GT-2s or GTs.
Of course it's not difficult to desire many niche cars like the Solstice or the G8.
However the future of RWD in mainstream mass market cars at GM in North America is in real question now that the Zeta platform will only be used by the Holden Commodore/ G8 and Camaro . In its home market Holden's Commodore line is getting clobbered in sales by its FWD competition, the Toyota Aurion and the Asian market Maxima. The STS has been canceled and GM just announce it WILL NOT produce a RWD Impala and Buick off the Zeta platform as it had claimed. Which leaves Cadillac's CTS, built of the Cadillac exclusive Sigma II platform, as the only other RWD passenger sedan in GMs stable with a foreseeable future.
As a bread and butter division Pontiac division has to sell a lot of bread and butter G5 and G6s to draw attention to the more exclusive Solstice and G8. And it hasn't been able to achieve that objective yet (despite the Pontiac G6 give-away debacle on Oprah). That's precisely why the LS-2 powered Monaro (re-badged) did not sell more than 13,000 cars in 3 years. With spiraling fuel prices and a slumping real estate market I believe that GM's future as a mainstream auto manufacturer future depends on whether it can sell hundreds of thousand of Epsilon II based next generation Pontiac G6s, Saturn Auras and Chevy Malibus.
Again I see it as filling the same niche in the sporty mid-size sedan market as a previous American sporty sedan that I actually bought and owned for 8 yrs., the Taurus SHO. Mainstream mid-size sedan with high-performance parts added. Undercut the German competition by 30% in price. Except that now the same segment has much more competition from Acura, Lexus and Infiniti (and even Cadillac) which it did not have to face then and gasoline is 300% more expensive.
My understanding is that GM is selling G8s
( under all different names ) world-wide,
at roughly the current plant capacity.
One open question is:
"Can Pontiac survive?"
With the replacement for the Grand Prix AND the Bonneville -
that is production-constrained?
Any references?
FYI, GM also sells the Commodore/G8 in China as Buick Park Avenue (considered upscale/on par with MB and BMW by Chinese) and in the middle east with a Chevy badge.
Also, Cadillac STS and DTS will be consolidated into one Zeta-chassis car in a year or two... and will probably retain the DTS nameplate. GM also has under development the "Alpha" chassis, which is a BMW 3-series-size rear-wheel-drive vehicle to be shared by several divisions. Speculation is that this chassis will spawn coupe, sedan and, possibly, wagon/hatch variations expected to start arriving by MY 2012. They will be limited to 4- and 6-cylinder engines.
It'll be my weekend and summer car, my LGT Wagon will continue as my daily and the Armada as my extended family and Toy Hauler.
-mike
Or you leased it and are getting out of the lease on the 335i?
While $5-$6 gasoline may not affect you, it will significantly affect the disposable household income of the average wage earner in the US (who earns $40K per year) who traditionally shops brands like Pontiac.
A neighbor of some relatives who owns a large Mercedes Porsche dealership on the affluent North Shore suburbs inChicago emphatically states that the only product that is currently selling well at their dealership is the SMART car. There is an 8 month backorder on the SMART car.
Since Pontiac has traditionally catered to the bread and butter American car buying consumer that wanted a little more sportiness than Olds or Buick offered but couldn't step up to Chevy Corvette territory, it is Pontiac's base clientele that will definitely be affected by the rising fuel costs. Gas prices are even affecting BMW's and Mercedes buyers. How else can one explain the sudden epidemic of threads on these and other forums which sport titles: "How will $4 and up gas prices affect you?" or "What kind of mileage do you get with your G35?"
I hate to beat it to death but selling 20-40K large displacement RWD re-badged niche cars will not ensure the survival of the marque. Only 500,000 + G5 and G6s can ensure Pontiac's future.
To move the Pontiac marque upmarket is commendable. Initially GM should have introduced an upmarket entry level car. The attempt to market the G6 as significantly upmarket from its predecessor, the Grand Am, has not worked well. Even the sharp looking Solstice didn't do the trick.
I remain convinced that were GM to have introduced the next generation G6 on the much lauded FWD Epsilon II (see Opel Insignia) platform in North America, that would have laid that missing foundation needed to draw entry level luxury sporty sedan shoppers into Pontiac showrooms.
BMW entry level E36 series changed that company's fortunes. That car's success (and relatively cheap gasoline in America) made the fantasy 650csi and the Z8 a reality.
In its infinite (pardon the pun, not Infiniti) wisdom, GM in this instance has done the converse.
Do you really think that the couple thousand Middle Easterners (looking for a car that is a bit of a novelty) buying Holden Commodores exported as Chevy Caprices brings the "Caprice name" to the market level of the Mercedes Benz S55 in say the UAE?
Can you guys take the discussion of the future of GM to the G5 or G6 board? As you mentioned, G8 is not the mass market car that provide the bread and butter of a pontiac franchise. But I fail to see how this discussion help me understand whether I want to buy a G8 or not. May be you guys can write to GM board of director and explain how they should have run their business? But what you are interest in discussing has very little to do with a msg board like ours here.
I have an 05 Mecedes CLK 55 convertible, an 07 Infiniti G35 and an 04 Honda Accord. And our lease for the CLK is up in next month, G35 up in May 09 and I am interested in a G8 (may be..) to replace the CLK or the G35.. Just because you won't make the same choice, please don't make the assumption that other won't.. That is a job for Pontiac marketing department and again has very little to do with whether a reader of this msg board want a G8 or not.
Regards,
OW
The Aurion is Toyota's attempt to muscle into the large car segment in Australia, though it's really only a 6 cylinder Camry. The Aurion has slipped downward in sales here since its launch last year and it's now selling at just over half the volume of the Commodore. As far as the Nissan Maxima goes it's never threatened anyone in sales volumes. It has never made the top 20 best selling cars list in Australia. I personally think the Maxima is a good car but it achieves very modest sale volumes here.
I certainly will not debate Pontiac's markeplace logic, as there are WAY too many variables that I could not possibly be aware of. I do know, however, that what we see on the showroom floor today was locked in at least two years ago, when gas was close to half the price it is now. GM has no crystal ball; they merely try to follow trends as they present themselves. People wanted and purchased (in large numbers) trucks and SUVs, therefore that's where GM put their emphasis. The market has changed rapidly and the domestic manufacturers are playing catch-up with european and asian automakers, who had the advantage of merely exporting vehicles they had been selling in their home markets for years because of artificially high gas prices due to high gas taxes.
And, in my opinion, the G6 is, for the most part, fine for the market it serves with one exception: the interior is a joke. They sell a bunch of them, but it should be better. Problem is there are just so many dollars and GM has a lots of "irons in the fire."
The cost to bring the G8 to the U.S. was practically nothing. Will it assure Pontiac' future as a successful car company? Of course not. But the return on investment will be good and it helps build brand recognition. The G8 GT could serve the same purpose as a Chevy Tahoe for most people and gets 40% better gas mileage.
Please see the definition of "Forum".
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/forum
"a medium (as a newspaper or online service) of open discussion or expression of ideas"
I thought I was participating in an intellectual FORUM, not a cheerleading section. And not a sales brochure. A means to discuss the merits and demerits of the topic: the G8 and it's place in the US/ global auto market.
Having an "Axe to Grind" implies that one wishes to express themselves based on anger. I express only disappointment and hope for something that will benefit all American consumers given the current perilous economic predicament rather than just a select few.
GM's B of D only needs account to me if it wishes to do business with me. It is not participating in this supposedly "open forum". I am neither an employee of the company nor do I hold stock ownership in it. It is to those people that the board of GM has to answer. It's just that lately the company (like so many others) hasn't done as good job of answering. I'd like to know how a loss of 50% of market share in 35 years has sat with those folks.
Yet I have heard of instances where some companies do observe the goings on and debates in forums such as these.
In years past GM's board likely only wanted to hear fawning and flattery. I think that nowadays GM's Board Members, employees and shareholders would rather hear debate of reason rather than pure unadulterated passion.
If anyone is really interested in the future of GM I suggest the following article which I have come across. It is thoughtfully written and insightful.
http://www.politicsandcurrentaffairs.co.uk/Forum/peak-oil-economics-environment/- - - 48680-gm-live-green-die.html
Cheers folks.
In this G8 ‘sub-forum’, it seems to me that the posts ought to be rather directly related to the G8. As opposed to more generic subjects, such as GM’s overall direction & market strategy & market share, etc. There are plenty of other ‘sub-forums’ here at Edmunds ( and elsewhere ) that are more broadly focused – and posts there may result in responses more like what you seem to want.
I have certainly posted ‘critical’ posts here – that would not be termed ‘cheers’. But I believe that they were related to things like: The G8’s relatively high weight, the GT’s six speed automatic behavior, the lack of some available options ( HUD, a lighter color interior ) that I’d prefer, etc.
If I wanted to criticize GM’s future, Pontiac’s future ( and use the G8 as one example ) I’d personally post elsewhere.
But waddo I know . . .??
- Ray
Seeing a $1,300+ increase in the GT’s MSRP for 2009 as rather excessive . . .
:surprise: LOL! Let's see how far removed we can get this, guys!
A neighbor of
some relatives who owns
a large Mercedes/Porsche dealership on
the affluent North Shore suburbs
in Chicago
a city in Illinois
a state in the U.S. of A.
a country in North America...
Keep it rolling, guys! Let's take this astronomical and back through time (but keep it granular so it'll last longer!) :P
The taxes placed atop the retail selling price of gasoline in Europe were intended to offset the cost to the economy of a trade deficit and to pay for new, clean and efficient public transport systems accessible to all.
In most European cities 70% of commuters travel by public transport on clean and efficient mass transit systems. In large American cities, most of which have crumbling mass transit rail systems, rail cars reeking of urine, the proportion of mass transit commuters is an appalling 30%!!!
See: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/14/us/14drive.html?fta=y
Only oil producing nations and the US have historically had artificially suppressed gasoline prices. In the Arabian peninsula, the governments which own the crude oil and the means of refining and distributing gasoline subsidize the cost. And in America relatively little tax is imposed on the refined product so everyone can afford pile in their cars for their commute (no car pooling please).
Look at Phoenix. Newer growing city. Population in Metro area jumped from 250K in late 1970s to over 2 million today. Only now they are implementing a limited light rail system. Yet dedicated car pool lanes on Phoenix area freeways remain empty. This is the direct consequence of historically artificial "Cheap Fuel".
As stated in my earlier post GM for many years has had access to the geological data on the exhaustion of the oil supply that would be readily and cheaply accessible. GM Chairman Rick Waggoner now all but admits that they (GM and other large auto making concerns) buried their heads in the sand over the issue of ever diminishing global oil supply. Now that that appetite is rapidly shrinking GM, it's domestic competitors ,and in the end consumers will have a significant price to pay for that ignorance.
For such a large manufacturing business concern such as GM, which employs several 100,000 employees globally, which has billions expended and borrowed for capitalization of its operations, it cannot simply jump from one trend to another. Product lines have to be planned for and invested in for a minimum of a half decade in advance. We are discussing real world tangible factors here.
Jumping from trend to trend every year might be in the purview of the fashion industry. It is not within the affordable purview of the mass market auto industry.
Accordingly, it is permissible for a contributor to propose that the G8 or any other similar product's excessive weight and high fuel consumption are of concern. Or to propose that there are a number of competing products exist in the market place which improve on the G8 in one way way or another.
Then it is also permissible reply posts to remark that those concerns are overstated or irrelevant It is further acceptable for some to reply that rising gas prices will not affect car purchases in many segments of the market
But it is not acceptable to request a reasonable articulation of such replies? Or to articulate the position which is denounced out of hand?
LOL
Huh.
I gotta wonder why, if that was a concern, you chose the 335i coupe over the sedan?
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
BTW, my 34K combined mileage is a religious 22 mpg on the hard stuff. The GT will say about 20 cents/gal so it's close to a wash regarding gas mileage if the GT combined is 19-20 mpg on the light stuff.
The big change for me would be the handling/steering feel downgrade but the $ difference is quite substantial and could make me move back to a V-8....mileage be damned.
Regards,
OW
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
If you want to talk about GM's world in general, go over to GM News, New Models and Market Share.
Thanks for your cooperation!
Wow, indeed.
Particularly when the Base only went up $400.
Odd.....
My current plan is 4 - 5 months from now.
Hoping the new Silver will be available by then.
We shall see.
- Ray
On topic...
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.
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.
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
Regards,
OW
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.
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...