[lib]

Since a few people on here liked the G8 GXP I thought I'd pass this on....

http://apps.detnews.com/apps/autorev...x.php?id=34818

It's officially dead and will not live on under another brand.

[c0nstant]

damn, what a shame. i really have to give it up to pontiac for their work on the G8, though

[vAnt826]

Who wants to guess where the resale value goes?

[quagmire]

Originally Posted by jh valley

damn, what a shame. i really have to give it up to pontiac for their work on the G8, though

Give the credit to Holden. They did all the engineering. Pontiac just slapped the grill and badges on a Holden Commodore.

[rcracer_tx]

Originally Posted by vAnt826

Who wants to guess where the resale value goes?

(commence roadrunner cartoon cliff falling noise)


Interesting choice to drop Pontiac of all brands... They were my favorite of the GM brands

[Year's_End]

Originally Posted by rcracer_tx

They were my favorite of the GM brands

What'd Pontiac have worth noting besides the G8 models?

[rcracer_tx]

Originally Posted by Bimmer Loyalist

What'd Pontiac have worth noting besides the G8 models?

The pontiac solstice with an aftermarket turbo and fueling would be a fun car... I'm not a fan of a most domestics as many have noticed

[Year's_End]

Originally Posted by rcracer_tx

The pontiac solstice with an aftermarket turbo and fueling would be a fun car... I'm not a fan of a most domestics as many have noticed

Haha true. I always considered the Solstice to be an ugly version of the Sky (which is hot imo).

[ptack]

Originally Posted by Bimmer Loyalist

Haha true. I always considered the Solstice to be an ugly version of the Sky (which is hot imo).

Both of which are dead since GM is shutting the factory where they are made. Too bad to. GM could use 1 roadster in its lineup, but I guess you can't keep a factory for just one niche model.

[quagmire]

Originally Posted by ptack

Both of which are dead since GM is shutting the factory where they are made. Too bad to. GM could use 1 roadster in its lineup, but I guess you can't keep a factory for just one niche model.

Yeah, most of the plant in Wilmington was still tooled for the old Saturn L-Series.

The roadsters were going to die anyway by 2012 with no replacements. GM just accelerated those plans. Plus, they were huge money drains. Back when they came out, they would lose $10K on each roadster. I don't know what are the numbers currently though.

[c0nstant]

Originally Posted by quagmire

Give the credit to Holden. They did all the engineering. Pontiac just slapped the grill and badges on a Holden Commodore.

[jeremyc74]

Originally Posted by quagmire

Give the credit to Holden. They did all the engineering. Pontiac just slapped the grill and badges on a Holden Commodore.

That's not entirely true. The entire driveline is US designed (GM corporate) and Pontiac had a whole team of engineers in Australia for the entire development of the vehicle. The car was designed as a "World Chassis" from the very beginning. Holden has become the RWD specialist within GM though, since they never completely went to FWD back when the push was on. Hopefully GM will use more of their stuff here in the future.

[Ramos]

I would actually consider buying one for the right price... i.e 12-15K under sticker..
Can I find such a deal?

[quagmire]

Originally Posted by jeremyc74

That's not entirely true. The entire driveline is US designed (GM corporate) and Pontiac had a whole team of engineers in Australia for the entire development of the vehicle. The car was designed as a "World Chassis" from the very beginning. Holden has become the RWD specialist within GM though, since they never completely went to FWD back when the push was on. Hopefully GM will use more of their stuff here in the future.

Pontiac is just a brand that does zero vehicle research and development. Gone is the day they once did. GMNA provides them with vehicles much like GME does with Opel. Yes, Zeta was meant to be a global chassis( dead now), but Holden did most of the engineering. They had the US market in mind due to orders from GM Corporate to GM Holden.

Originally Posted by Ramos

I would actually consider buying one for the right price... i.e 12-15K under sticker..
Can I find such a deal?

Yes, you can if you have everything played well. An admin from the GM forum I go to got $10K off from GM card, GMS pricing, incentives, etc.

[jeremyc74]

Originally Posted by quagmire

Pontiac is just a brand that does zero vehicle research and development. Gone is the day they once did. GMNA provides them with vehicles much like GME does with Opel. Yes, Zeta was meant to be a global chassis( dead now), but Holden did most of the engineering. They had the US market in mind due to orders from GM Corporate to GM Holden.



.

It's a global chassis, and a global powertrain. I love how you guys like to give all the credit to anyone but domestic GM, but gloss over the FACT that the US developed driveline is responsible for a good part of the performance and value that makes the Holden what it is. GM's domestic engineering had a HUGE amount of input into the design and production of that chassis. How much do you think Holden's engineers knew about federalizing a car? Zero.

[quagmire]

Originally Posted by jeremyc74

It's a global chassis, and a global powertrain. I love how you guys like to give all the credit to anyone but domestic GM, but gloss over the FACT that the US developed driveline is responsible for a good part of the performance and value that makes the Holden what it is. GM's domestic engineering had a HUGE amount of input into the design and production of that chassis. How much do you think Holden's engineers knew about federalizing a car? Zero.

I know GMNA developed the V8 and transmission in the G8, but the chassis engineering, suspension tuning, etc was done largely by Holden. You know the Sigma platform that the first CTS rode on? That was initially a Holden platform until Cadillac took it. I wouldn't be surprised if Holden put in some of the things they put into Sigma into Zeta.

Like you said, GMNA had some input into the development of the platform as it would be used for the Camaro and G8. But, Holden still did most of the engineering behind the platform.

[jeremyc74]

Originally Posted by quagmire

I know GMNA developed the V8 and transmission in the G8, but the chassis engineering, suspension tuning, etc was done largely by Holden. You know the Sigma platform that the first CTS rode on? That was initially a Holden platform until Cadillac took it. I wouldn't be surprised if Holden put in some of the things they put into Sigma into Zeta.

Like you said, GMNA had some input into the development of the platform as it would be used for the Camaro and G8. But, Holden still did most of the engineering behind the platform.

GM's global RWD team is lead by an American, Doug Houlihan (who was also the chief engineer for the G8 and the Camaro). The platform was engineered jointly in all three major markets. Holden gets the credit because they got the first version. I know people personally who worked on the project, and there are chassis components from all three markets being used. The ABS system is an American design, as well as the stability control modules.

Don't take my word for it though, read it for yourself.

As Global Vehicle chief engineer for General Motors's RWD vehicle architectures, the buzzy idle is Houlihan's problem. In fact, every nut, grommet, and screw in the thing is Houlihan's problem. GM has restructured its ginormous worldwide engineering machine into what's now, and finally, a true global organization. That presents opportunities. The ability to draw on vast resources. An engineering entity that operates 24/7, because somewhere in the world, someone's always at work. Taking advantage of the best parts and practices, wherever they come from. And the potential to save millions if not billions of dollars. There are possible downsides, too. The company must ensure that programs aren't compromised by the need to satisfy a variety of markets. And the fact that things are happening 24/7 means long days for product teams that may be conferencing with one continent early in the morning and another after the kids go to bed.


Pontiac's upcoming G8 will be good news for North American car buyers. We already gave you a look at it with our first drive of the Holden Commodore SS-V (Motor Trend, April) but in brief, it's based on the above-noted global rear-drive chassis architecture that first came to market as a Holden, but will ultimately be spread over at least a half-dozen brands worldwide (see sidebar). Unlike previous products involving reworked imports (Cadillac Catera, Pontiac GTO), the G8 was part of this platform's plan from its barest beginnings.

A validation team of American and Australian engineers, led by Houlihan, and a variety of test cars will hit the road from Arizona and go through Las Vegas, Death Valley, and other locales before ending up in San Diego a few days later. One of the primary missions of this sortie is to make final calibrations of the AFM application, as I check in with the team on a Monday night in Phoenix.
That plan is on a wrecker by 8 a.m. of the next morning. New calibrations for the V-8 engine are coming from Australia, so the car is pulled off line and sent to the nearby GM Proving Grounds. There are also some new bushing materials for the rearend, so the differential is being swapped. This is common on such deals. No time in the V-8 car for me today, which is fine because it'll be similar to the SS-V I drove in Australia late last year. Houlihan and I set out in the V-6.