In Search of… the Pontiac G8 GXP

The marching orders from TTAC Central were clear: get my hands on a Pontiac G8 GXP and give the B&B a story. Locally, there were nine manually-transmission’d prospects in GM’s online inventory locator. But as Mr. Karesh later warned me, the hi-performance, rear wheel-drive muscle cars I found were nothing but a time sensitive mirage.

The chances of scoring this review didn’t look good. I was somewhere near Sugarland, on the edge of a receptionist’s counter, when the plan unraveled completely.

She was positively engrossed in a hardcover novel, little else was on her desk. I soon met a salesperson who offered the G8 GT and some advice on finding a GXP in town. He (supposedly) called another dealer to verify that the Aussie-sourced metal hasn’t reached showrooms. They remarked that the system is wrong because “the cars are not on the ground.” So I mentioned a nearby, stand-alone Pontiac/GMC dealer.

Supposedly, it is on the verge of liquidation. If that was meant to keep me from leaving, his delivery lacked the expected passion. That, and he gave my contact information to the person on the phone before saying goodbye.

Maybe I missed the point, and it was one helluva shell game. Or it all made sense: on Wednesday, the venerable Lawrence Marshall dealerships pulled a “Bill Heard” and kicked the bucket. And never before had I witnessed this cocktail of candor, depression and utter detachment from a dealership meeting a well-dressed “up” (that’s me) who breezed in with a nice set of wheels.

As an automotive journalist, I want to drive a G8 GXP and have “an obligation to cover the story for good or ill.” So, after months of putting it off, it’s no coincidence that today is the day I grabbed “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” from the library. And why I cannot stop reading it. No matter, things are getting ugly on the showroom floors and people know it.