I dunno about Commodore- there are folks in the US that still remember that as a Hudson.

Resurrecting Lumina is like bringing back Taurus: it only makes sense to someone deeply mired in Detroit myopia. Very few have good memories of the Lumina.

You may as well call the Cruze the Cavalier.

Plus import the Buick ParkAvenue from China to supplement Caddilac (wait, that’s a streched Commodore)

That pushrod 8 with tall highway gearing is awesome as a mileeater, and the only engine I’d take over Bmw’s blown 6.

Also, im not sure of the wisdom of selling a V8 car in the curent climate. Even tho gas is now 1.45 a gallon, tomowwow it could be 10 bucks. I’m buying a car that gets alot of milage.

One of GM’s biggest marketing mistakes has been the constant changing of model names.”

They do that partly to make you think the car is “ALL NEW” like they always say in the ads. They do it in hopes that you’ll forget how crappy the last GM car you purchased was. The Grand Am was a piece of junk, especially with blown head gaskets, but maybe you’ll buy the all new G6.

Don’t bet on this platform ever underpinning a Chevy. There were plans for such a beast to replace the Impala and complement the Camaro, but it was kiboshed. Here’s why, and I warn you, it upsets auto enthusiasts:

Rear drive is a bad idea for a consumer automobile. Oh, sure, there are dynamic advantages, but you lose traction, fuel economy, packaging/space and cost. The number of consumers who care about dynamics? Not much, given that Camrys sell nearly half a million per year. The number of people that care about the latter four? Very high. Improving the Malibu would be money better spent.

GM more or less realizes this. There’s no place in America for the budget rear-drive sports sedan of size. Anyone who wants a car like this is more likely to want a badge-snob sports sedan, or a genuine sports car–note that the CTS and Solstice satisfy the market far better. The overdone nose doesn’t help matters, either.

The real crime is the loss of the Solstice: that car had potential and the shot at a market. That car needs to survive and evolve.

On the bright side, wasn’t this a money loser anyhow? By not selling them they are probably saving money.

Before releasing cars like this they should have some solid bread and butter profit making cars. What the hell does another niche or halo car do for a manufacturer’s bottom line? How many billions has GM wasted on them?

If GM could get their collective shit together and consistently produce cars of this caliber (and the Astra for that matter), they would be a lot more credible threat to the imports.

As for manual transmission, they should have done a performance oriented model straight away with an optional manual, and introduced the rest of the fleet at the same time. Having a hero car like the G8 ST does not work unless you have cheaper models that will make up the bulk of your sales.

The Holden Commodore Wagon is a far better alternative for families than anything else in Pontiac’s range. It is a car, is faster than and hauls more than most mini-vans and SUV’s, uses less fuel than mini-vans and SUVs, and has none of the anti-SUV hate and mommie van dislike. GM made a mistake in not bringing this model in as soon as they brought the G8 over.

They should have brought this line up over, in this order:

G8 V6
G8 V6 Wagon with auto and family friendly interior
G8 V8 ST package (manual, hotter engine)

That way, more folks would have bought it during the fuel crisis, and those that few that really wanted a cheap performance car could get it.

I also think this is the nail in the coffin that folks care about FWD or RWD architecture. RWD – if it mattered at all – has clearly failed to sell more G8’s.

But Pontiac is a totally dead brand. The should have made the G8 an Impala. The Commodore / G8 is a far superior car to the Impala, from personal experience of the Impala rental borethon I had a few weeks back. But that would have required too much UAW involvement and plant closures unless they could make the G8 here in the USA.

Andrew

I wonder if Saturn will give up on the ‘one price’ model and start auctioning the Astra on ebay. At least we would all get a chance to see what the REAL worth of that car is. I’ve seen maybe 4 of them here in LA, and literally nowhere else.

This thing could have the best seats and interior in its class, combined with a great engine and exhaust note, but if you can’t get over the styling, you’re not going to move them. Does this sound familiar? GTO perhaps? I actually would prefer that they err on the conservative side – wait, this IS Pontiac – what am I thinking?

The back-end is fine – okay, lose the flashy, Japanese-like taillights. But it doesn’t look bad at all. The rear 3/4 is good, side is good (no plastic cladding – check). But, bam! that front-end. Deal killer. Pontiac needs a modern redesign of their grill and a rethink on the old hood scoops for it to work. And the headlights need some work. Hold an online contest to redesign these Pontiac elements and you’d sell this thing. Even with the Pontiac name.

I almost forgot about the lack of a manual transmission. Get real. Lose the GXP bullshit and get the Corvette engine in the G8, along with the manual and a redesigned front-end and you have a competitive car.

Pontiac has dropped a great name with the GTO and gone to this god-awful G naming crap. What’s with G5, G6, G8, and on and on? This is as bad as Lincoln with their ridiculous MKS, MKX, MKZ horseshit. What are these marketing people smoking? The capper is the huge Z on the MKZ. Take a look. I had to do a second take.

I test drove (kind words) the 05 GTO and was very impressed with the interior, particularly the seats and the quality of materials. Of course, great engine and exhaust note (better than the Corvette that I had at the time, although that’s not saying much). I thought, along with a few others, that the styling was too conservative. I didn’t feel good about the sub-par safety aspects of that platform either. But the GTO was closer to a sale for me than is this G8.

As long as a prospective buyer thinks GM will survive overall, they would still be able to get the car serviced at whatever dealer channel GM designates.

Parts might be an issue if GM drops Pontiac along with the G8’s platform altogether. However, if they make it into a Chevrolet then won’t only parts with Pontiac logos/badges/stitching on it be scarce?

If it were a SAAB those bad boys would have flew off the lots.

SAAB is more worth saving than Pontiac.

People buy Accords Civics Camrys and Corollas because Honda and Toyota have built these nameplates over the last 20-30 years, and everyone knows what the name means and what they stand for. If only GM and Ford and Chrysler would recognize this..

Nice try anyway….I’d still want one if I can get it cheap, even without a manual. That’s how good the reviews I’ve seen have penned this car.

I never see any ads for the G8, or any special financing or rebates or anything on it. Never did for the GTO either. I heard GM lost money on every Holden it sold in the US.

This is a beautiful car that I desire to purchase, but why no marketing suppport?

I remember Mazda sold the MX-9 and the Millenia, both nice cars, but most people didn’t even know they existed.

Every vehicle carried under the brand doesn’t sell well except the G6 and nearly half of it’s sales are to fleets.

That should tell everyone something about the health of the brand.

Like Lutz said himself years ago, it’s “damaged”. I prefer to call it “dead”.

I also agree, delaying the car by over a year from it’s Aussie counterpart (from everything I read Holden already designed it with US sale in mind and it was ready to go, but GM wanted to fiddle with it by adding cylinder deactivation and OnStar) was a mistake. So was not certifying teh L98 V8 and manual combo that so many G8 intenders were itching for.

This was another great product opportunity that GM completely squandered with bad branding, a bad delay and a bad mix of features.