The Pontiac G8 was a full-size sedan produced by Holden in Australia for export to the United States. In the U.S., it was sold by Pontiac. The Pontiac G8, a rebranded Holden Commodore, was released in early 2008 and stopped production in 2009 when General Motors discontinued Pontiac. By December 2008, the Rear Wheel Drive Pontiac G8 had not become the expected sales replacement for the previous front-drive models, with 11,000 unsold G8 cars in the inventory. Only 13,000 sold. During the 2009 global economic downturn, all cars were hurt, including the Pontiac G8. Are you interested in these cars, although Pontiac was discontinued?
Pontiac G8 Body Designs
Image of Erik Mclean, Courtesy of Unsplash
The base Pontiac G8, referred to as the”G8 Sedan”, is available with a 3.6-liter V6 engine, producing 256 horsepower. The transmission was a five-speed General Motors automatic. Important fuel economy was officially rated at just 17 miles per gallon city/25 miles per gallon highway.
The Pontiac G8 came standard with six airbags, traction control, electronic stability control, dual tailpipes, 18-inch alloy wheels, sports body kit, fog lights, power windows and locks, cruise control, black cloth seats, and a seven-speaker audio system, including a front center speaker, single-disc CD player, and auxiliary input jack.
A “Comfort And Sound” package was available on V6-powered Pontiac G8S, which upgraded the seven-speaker audio system to an 11-speaker audio system and an automatic climate control package. The “Premium” package upgraded the Sedan’s cloth seats to leather seating surfaces, driver and passenger heated seats, a six-way power driver seat adjuster, a 6-way power front-passenger seat adjuster, a rear center armrest, a leather-wrapped shift lever, and a leather-wrapped steering wheel. Both the base G8 and the GT utilize the “FE2” suspension package.
The Pontiac G8 had a GT version with a 361-horsepower V8, which featured a 6-speed Active Fuel Management with o-60 times of 13.4 seconds. The G8 GT averages a fuel economy of 15/24 miles per gallon, suffering somewhat. A few changes were made in the 2009 model year, including an additional pair of catalytic converters, Bluetooth, and rear cup holders.
A Pontiac G8 GXP version was shown at the New York International Auto Show in March 2008 had a 6.2-liter 402-horsepower V8 engine and a six-speed manual transmission. The six-speed automatic transmission was standard, while a six-speed manual transmission was available. The GXP achieved 60 miles per hour in 4.5 seconds, a quarter-mile time of 13.0 seconds at 109.6 miles per hour. It was this version that General Motors announced would be a Police Patrol Vehicle.
Following the cancellation of the Pontiac brand, the Pontiac G8 went the way of the dodo, except it did not initially. It was reported that Holden, an Australian company, planned to sell 1,500 limited edition versions with the Pontiac G8 front-end fascia and other trimmings. Unlike the G8, which was offered only as a sedan, Holden would offer utility, sedan, and wagon body variants of the G8. Production versions were sold as VE Commodore SS V-Series Special Edition (Sedan, Sportwagon) and as the Ute SS V-Series Special Edition.
Conclusion
The Pontiac G8 had a very short production life. Nevertheless, the car had some valuable currency. It was powerful and had a variety of uses, including as a police cruiser. General Motors promoted the car heavily on December 31, 2007, and January 1, 2008. The car was the official sponsor of the Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball Drop and Countdown and the Rose Bowl. The Pontiac G8 was the primary vehicle in the 2009 driving video game, Wheelman. There were more video games for the car. In March 2008, a commercial based on the 1980s arcade game Spy Hunter ran nationally.
