Pontiac G8 Will be Dead in 5 Years...Is the End of Pontiac Near?

Pontiac launched the G8 earlier this year and received positive reviews from the automotive media, but it looks like Pontiac's most exciting model in a long time is going to be short lived.

According to sources the rear-wheel-drive Pontiac G8 will be dead in five years. InsideLine is reporting that Pontiac will not receive the next-generation platform that underpins the Australian Holden Commodore. GM is going to reposition the Pontiac brand due to the rise in fuel economy standards and consumers' increasing demand for fuel efficient vehicles.

There will also not be a new Pontiac Solstice/ Saturn Sky. This means that Pontiac will no longer have any rear wheel drive vehicles in its lineup. What's left is the boring G6, G5 (rebadged Cobalt) and G3 (rebadged Aveo), none of which are particularly sporty. The G6 is also not going to receive a full redo for about another five years.

Related posts:

• Radical SR8LM: Lord of the Ring
• Holden’s 570-hp HSV W427 Rebadged as Vauxhall for UK Market: Pontiac Jealous?
• An honorable mention goes to Varouj, who originally said “Mercedes-Benz ...
• Beginning of the End for GM?
• 2009 Pontiac Solstice Coupe Unveiled in New York

Related posts:

• Like Always: Saturn Still Committed to No-Haggle Pricing
• What is causing the disparity in sales between Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky?
• Saturn Prices Aura Green Line Hybrid Sedan
• Saturn Green Line Hybrid: Does the affordable price make it appealing enough?
• 2007 Chicago Auto Show: 2008 Saturn Vue Green Line

Solstice Christmas Continues To Provide A December To Forget [Pontiac Solstice]

We were wandering around downtown Detroit this weekend and ducked into GM's Renaissance Center to warm up only to find they left a gift-wrapped Pontiac Solstice under the tree.

It's clear this nicely installed display at the base of the central tower of the RenCen borrows from two sources: the perennially obnoxious Lexus "December to Remember" ad campaign with it's bows and yuppies, and the incessantly played American Express advertisement where some random dude wins a pair of Solsti and gives one to his fainting wife for Christmas.

Somewhere in the dream the two were mixed together and a giant spidery bow that seems to be pooping out the Solstice was added. This whole thing would've worked a lot better if it wasn't parked next to considerably cooler cars like the Riviera and Impala. Something tells us even though they're pushing a Solstice at GM employees and fancy restaurant goers, the display won't be doing a lot of convincing in this, the December of our despair.

Related posts:

• 2009 Mercedes-Benz A-Class Unveiled in Leipzig
• 2010 Mercury Milan, Hybrid And Lincoln MKZ: Live Cars For The Pulse-Free [2010 Mercury Milan]
• Super Snake for Sale: ASC-McLaren Dodge Viper NAIAS showcar
• 2009 Audi RS 6 Unveiled with a Price Tag of 105,550 Euros
• First Official Image of 2010 Chevy Camaro SS Unveiled Thanks to Fergie

Related posts:

• 2008 Canadian Motorsports Expo Review (Part 1 of 2)
• mystery fiberglass coupe spotted in junkyard
• The Hurricane That’ll Bring Down the Auto Industry (But We WILL Rebuild)
• Ferrai Scuderia Spider 16M Completes Run In Under 1 Minute
• Chrysler sales drop 18% in April

2009 Pontiac Solstice Coupe Unveiled in New York

Pontiac is going to officially unveil the all-new 2009 Pontiac Solstice Coupe at the New York Auto Show today.

Related posts:

• Radical SR8LM: Lord of the Ring
• Holden’s 570-hp HSV W427 Rebadged as Vauxhall for UK Market: Pontiac Jealous?
• Last month will go down in the record books as the first month that Detroit's ...
• An honorable mention goes to Varouj, who originally said “Mercedes-Benz ...
• Beginning of the End for GM?

Related posts:

• Consumers want their Hummers…? Pontiac and Hummer take top spots on list of GM brands auto consumers want to survive.
• Pontiac: 1926-2010
• The show creators wanted to use a Pontiac G8 in the role of K.I.T.T., but ...
• 50 Cent Unique Special Edition Pontiac G8
• Pontiac G8 vs. BMW 5 Series Video Bashing

Holden’s 570-hp HSV W427 Rebadged as Vauxhall for UK Market: Pontiac Jealous?

Even the “refined” tastes of the UK appear poised for the arrival of some Holden horsepower & design as the HSV W427 and its 570-hp fresh from their Melbourne debut are getting rebadged as the Vauxhall VXR8 for the UK market. Powered by the new Corvette ZO6’s LS7 7.0 liter V8 engine the HSV W427 has been stated to have 570 hp, the Holden HSV W427 is aggressively targeted at the BMW M5 and the Audi RS6. Why should they aim for less?

The Holden HSV W427 (not the easiest name to say) is priced in the area between $140,000 to $170,000 Aussie dollars and will have its rebadged Vauxhall version in the UK priced at 55,000 Pounds ($110,000 US).  The HSV W427 is certainly a brute force sedan with reclassed styling and refinement for a GM product, but at a price similar to the M5 will the Holden/Vauxall name plate win against a BMW head-to-head. Judging by Automobile Mag’s comparison of a G8 GT to a BMW 550i…. maybe.

The Pontiac G8 GT is based off the same Holden Commodore design as the HSV W427, and with its 361-hp engine it competed nicely against the 550i of BMW at nearly half the price. The only disparity was in the interior where the GM plastics, while much improved from prior attempts, were really no match for the classic elegance of the BMW’s.  However, at half the price some disparities can be forgiven. By pricing the Vauxhall VXR8 too close to the BMW M5, and despite the Corvette power, it could be a tough sell in a Euro-first market. As long as they can keep the US executives/designers hands out of the rebadging process the Vauxhall VRX8 will have a better chance. (more…)

Related posts:

• Radical SR8LM: Lord of the Ring
• The German Car Blog: Now with classifieds!
• Last month will go down in the record books as the first month that Detroit's ...
• An honorable mention goes to Varouj, who originally said “Mercedes-Benz ...
• Beginning of the End for GM?

Related posts:

• All-New Audi A3 Cabriolet Caught Naked in Germany
• Audi A5’s price will be in the range of $30,000 and the limited S5 edition ...
• In the Autoblog Garage: 2009 Pontiac G8 GXP
• Audi A1’s Leaked Sketches Look to Rain on the Mini’s Parade
• Audi goes topless with their TT Speedster and R8 Spider designs

Last month will go down in the record books as the first month that Detroit's ...

Last month will go down in the record books as the first month that Detroit's Big 3 (Ford, GM and Chrysler) sold less vehicles than their foreign competitors. Sales from Ford, GM and Chrysler only made up 48.1 percent of all vehicles sales in the U.S. last month, while foreign competitors made up 51.9 percent.

Related posts:

• Caterham releases teaser for Superlight R500
• The company says every Ford, Lincoln and Mercury car and truck will have ...
• According to Ford , just becase a car is subcompact doesn’t mean that ...
• Regardless of Ford’s later influence, though, in 1905, H. Piper, an engineer, ...
• The 2006 versions of the Ford Fusion and Crown Victoria both received Poor ...