Nah, it would have to be some lame three letter name in order to be consistent with the rest of the lineup (other than the ‘Sclade, of course).

May I suggest the POS?

radimus: “If Cadillac gets their version of the Aveo I want one. Just for the sheer rediculousness of it.”

Just think, they can give it leather seats along with a ‘deluxe’ grill, charge twice the price of an Aveo, and call it a Cimarron.

Could that 3500 motor do better? Probably not.

On the other hand, the rental Altima last week got 42 mpg for the same type of trip.

Oh well.

1)http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/f16/pontiac-g3-31632/
sure looks like “G3″ is a valid moniker – in Mexico right now anyway.

2)about the Impala mileage, with the 3.4 I can get 37mpg with it on the 401, cruising ~117 till I hit TO then I esentially get zero in the gridlock. I’ve measured this on numerous occasions. (Talking Imperial gallons now folks).

3)the very limited cross section of people I know personally with Equinox / Torrents (a grand total of two, wow) have experienced issues pretty much in line with the CU graph, in fact one wishes she never bought it (new) – it’s been in the shop that much.

“Yeah, but a Pontiac?”

He said nothing, just gave me a look that said, “What are you complaining about? I’m the poor guy who’s going to have to SELL the damn things.”

So there you have it.

GM has absolutely no plans of selling the G3 in the US. (check GM’s media site) If they were planning on selling it here, it would have been unveiled already.

GM may have gotten it approved for reasons beyond our knowing (I’ve tried to look at the Fed’s site, but its currently down), but it certainly isn’t going to be sold here.

23 models, only could claim to be exciting. Let’s be honest, Pontiac never was exciting. I know it’s heartbreaking to Poncho fans worldwide, but let’s be honest. Pontiac is the poster child for the horrors of badge engineering. Most Pontiacs were nothing more than Chevrolets with split grilles. It’s an exercise in dishonesty to say that Pontiac ever had any excitement to begin with. They never were excitement, and they probably never will be excitement. Sad, but true.

That someone must be awfully desperate. Especially when they learn that their G3 is just a an Aveo with a pyramid up its nose.

Its that same kind of “badge engineering” that GM in trouble in the first place.

Now, now, that’s not entirely true. The Vibe is a tarted up Matrix/Corolla…and it’s generally one of the few GM vehicles that gets decent reliability and resale numbers. Of course, that is probably because of it’s NUMMI bloodline.

BTW: Maybe the Vibe will become the G4, when they finally run out of “Vibe” badges.

The Fit is not exactly tiny. In many respects, it’s similar in size, weight, and power to the old late-80s Civic Wagon, just not quite as boxy looking. People have the perception of it being Geo Metro tiny, but it’s really what used to be a C-segment car.

The Fit has a disadvantage over the Civic in rated highway mileage because of its shorter gearing (which has its engine spinning faster at any given speed) and higher aspect ratio — the way it’s packaged makes it 3.5 inches taller than the Civic, because the front passengers are essentially sitting on the fuel tank. The hatchback profile is also less aerodynamically efficient. On the highway, the Civic might even win out, but in real-world mixed driving, the Fit is going to have an advantage over the Civic in mileage, just because of its 300-pound weight advantage and 300 cc smaller engine.

One of the main virtues of the Fit, though, is not just fuel economy, it’s packaging. The front and rear seats are almost as roomy as the Civic, and with the fold-away rear seats and hatchback, it’s a lot more useful for schlepping stuff than the Civic sedan (and certainly the Civic coupe). It’s also almost 20 inches shorter, which makes it easier to park in crowded city streets.

By the way, I used to own a Hyundai Accent, and averaged around 36mpg in that as well. I imagine the Aveo/Wave/G3 would get similar. I think I’ll stick with my Impala.

FWIW, the Pontiac Chevette was the T1000. Aside from that or the Astre moniker, they could always call it the LeMans.

rottenbob : Regarding people buying the Honda Fit despite it’s relatively lackluster fuel economy (The Honda Civic is larger, more powerful, gets similar MPG) is due to the perception of getting great gas mileage, or people preferring a loaded Fit to a base Civic. The Fit is an aging platform and the next generation should place it closer to the Yaris as far as gas mileage goes.

Seriously, what better idea than to rebadge the only subcompact economy car in the U.S. whose sales are plummeting?