Clarkson on the Pontiac G8

OK so it's not the Pontiac, but the Euro version of it. Hillarious and make sure you read all the comments too.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/driving/jeremy_clarkson/article6388209.ece?token=null&offset=0&page=1

"hey mikey...he likes it!"

His compliments made me happy...

Then I read the comments at the end:

Mark, Tahoe City, USA wrote: Even if it's over the top, having a choice to have 500 hp dosen't mean that you have to use it every foot. It's just a good feeling to know that you at least have the Freedom to own one. We are now loosing that here.

The truth made me sad

4cylndrfury wrote: "hey mikey...he likes it!" His compliments made me happy... Then I read the comments at the end:

Mark, Tahoe City, USA wrote: Even if it's over the top, having a choice to have 500 hp dosen't mean that you have to use it every foot. It's just a good feeling to know that you at least have the Freedom to own one. We are now loosing that here.

The truth made me sad

How do you figure that? I don't see the Corvette being pulled from the market, or the Shelby Mustang and I haven't heard the administration anyone sending letters to Porsche, Ferrari, Lambo, Bently, BMW, Merc etc etc saying 'Please stop selling 500hp cars here in America"

So Pontiac is dead as the brand sold itself out long ago and attempts to revive it came too little too late on top of the economy imploding. No 500hp G8 doesn't mean that anyone is 'loosing the right' to sell, buy or own 500hp cars.

I think he meant the G8 Specifically, or at least thats the way I took it, and Pontiacs demise is what makes me sad. I like the G8's styling/practicality more for daily use than the Vette, although I definitely wouldnt kick a Vette outa the garage if it was my only choice.

The Pontiac G8 has 560hp!?!?

I think I agree with him on the looks, it is a bit much:

Hopefully we just get a Chevy version then...w/560hp.

From CARS

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/03/top-7-good-cars-from-bad-gm/

Yes Alex, I'll take "Cars that will never come to America" for $2,000.

With 564 hp this car is a far cry from a G8.

Will wrote: With 564 hp this car is a far cry from a G8.

Indeed. That sounds more like the CTS-V or ZR1 motor. It's supercharged. And the styling of that car is a bit more extroverted than the G8. Same chassis, I suppose.

Maybe I should have made the chevy badge bigger.

From CARS

I hate that they are shutting down Pontiac.

Hey GM please send me a discount coupon thing on a Solstice GXP. I'm not interested in the G6.

Tom_Spangler wrote:

Will wrote: With 564 hp this car is a far cry from a G8.

Indeed. That sounds more like the CTS-V or ZR1 motor. It's supercharged. And the styling of that car is a bit more extroverted than the G8. Same chassis, I suppose.

Dude, In Oz we just make them stronger, it is the same engine just tweaked a mite............hehe

What you hear is the supercharger. It’s not a whine or a whistle, as you might expect. It’s as though someone is feeding a million squirrels into an industrial wood chipper.

There are other good things too. For something that produces an almost insane 564 horsepower, it is surprisingly easy to drive. You put your foot down, the squirrels die, and you expect you’re going to spend the next five minutes wrestling with the ship’s wheel, trying to keep in a straight line.

aircooled wrote: The Pontiac G8 has 560hp!?!? I think I agree with him on the looks, it is a bit much:

The GTO was too plain, now the G8 (and variants) is too much, damn you guys are hard to please.

I liked the styling of both...

Didn't read any reviews-whats under the car suspension wise? Does it corner even reasonably well?

MrJoshua wrote: Didn't read any reviews-whats under the car suspension wise? Does it corner even reasonably well?

Yep: http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/hot_lists/high_performance/american_performance/2009_pontiac_g8_gxp_short_take_road_test

Final chassis tuning was done at the Nürburgring in Germany, and the result is a truly likable machine with deft, Euro-sedan handling. The steering is lighter and less communicative than the best racks from, say, BMW, but it still manages to instill confidence in hard corners. Placing the nose is easy and reassuring as the compliant suspension soaks up bumps and pitching pavement without disturbing the body, which is well disciplined by the shocks to remain steady. Grip from the conservatively sized tires is unexpectedly good, no squealing or understeer to report; we recorded 0.85 g on the skidpad. Lurid slides of oversteer are only summoned with a heavy right foot, and then easily controlled.

For the record, I did think the GTO was bland (though inoffensive) looking. The G8 looks just fine to me. The Vauxhall is a bit over the top, though.

Conservatively sized tires. They're 245/40-19s!

Smaller than the fronts on most REAL performance cars.

2009 Corvette Z06 275/35-18, 325/30-19

2009 Dodge Viper SRT10 Coupe 275/35-18, 345/30-19

2009 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 Coupe 255/45-18, 285/40-18

I LOVE the GTO for it's sleeperness. That is all.

John Brown wrote: Smaller than the fronts on most REAL performance cars. 2009 Corvette Z06 275/35-18, 325/30-19 2009 Dodge Viper SRT10 Coupe 275/35-18, 345/30-19 2009 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 Coupe 255/45-18, 285/40-18

None of which are 4 door sedans the real comparison is the M5

I love the way the car looks but I generally like sedans with big flares and over the top aggressive styling like the AMG Black Series.

2009 BMW M5 Sedan 255/40-19, 285/35-19

I know that most ubersedans are running ridiculous rubber sizes, but I still have trouble thinking of a 245/40-19 as "conservative". Maybe if I was a road tester that had manufacturers dropping off supercars on a regular basis.