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Detroit, 3:51 AM
Tue Dec 1
29 posts in the last 24 hours
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09/09/09
09/09/09
09/09/09
no..
Pontiac G8 Safari GT....thats better.
09/10/09
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09/10/09
Good lord I want that wagon. Seriously got an erection from the pictures. Its interesting, its curving away from its normal direction, must have something to do with the car being from Australia...
09/10/09
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09/09/09
"Maloo" is my new favorite word though.
09/09/09
09/09/09
So GM says they don't like rebadging (their reason for not keeping the G8 as a Chevy or Buick)... HYPOCRITES!! GM is already talking about bringing over the Opel Astra as a Buick.
09/09/09
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09/09/09
[www.autoblog.com]
From GM Inside News:
[www.gminsidenews.com]
I HATE FRITZ!!
09/10/09
09/09/09
However, this car is being generally panned here in Aus for simply being a very tacky update and generally being quite ostentatious.
Quite a large number of people are complaining that all this car is doing is reinforcing the stereotype that is associated with the brand, that it is aimed at bogans (Australian rednecks).
Other than the massive image problems associated with this car, its is god damned awesome.
Good memmories too of doing a 235kmh (about 145mph) run at 3 in the morning on a motorway while listening to classical music in an older one of these last year. Rolling acceleration at 180kmh (110mph) is brilliant.
But if anyone asks, that never happened.
I swear, I was at home sleeping.
Like I should be right now.
Good night.
09/09/09
09/09/09
Now, Pontiac is dead and the G8 is too. But why? In 2008 there were about 15,000 G8s sold. Not bad. Not bad at all. Through the first half of 2009 over 15,000 G8s were sold.
So, why is it dead? Why not restyle the front end and sell it as an Impala. A real Impala, not the bland diluter of the Impala name that exists now.
It's dead because GM is stupid. It's dead because they couldn't figure out a way to make money on it. It's dead because GM perceives Americans want dull appliance-cars.
Why does GM believe that? Look at Toyota sales.
09/09/09
09/09/09
@RandomGuyWithaMazda: Your grasp of the '80s is fantastic. However, GM quality -- particularly that of the G8 -- is on par with Toyota quality. Maybe you should pay attention to the world as it is today rather than hold on to outdated perceptions.
09/09/09
Well, Toyota has since learned rustproofing, mostly.
09/09/09
As the voice of reason, let's look at what the best selling cars are in the land down under, shall we?
1) All Versions of the Holden Commodore, but mostly to fleet buyers (Co Cars, Rentals)
2) The Mazda 3
3) The Toyota Corolla
4) The Ford Falcon (again mostly fleet)
5) The Toyota Hi-Lux Pickup 4X4
6) The Toyota Yaris !!!!
7) The Hyundai Getz - Smaller than Accent
8) The Mitsubishi Lancer
9) The Toyota Camry
10) The Hyundai i30 - our Elantra Tourer
11) The Nissan Navara 4X4
12) Subaru Forester
13) Toyota Hilux 4X2
14) Mazda 2
15) Subaru Imprezza
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If it weren't for the oppressive heat, I swear...
09/09/09
1. Holden Commodore vs. Ford F-Series, 1-0
2. Mazda 3 vs. Chevrolet Silverado, 2-0
3. Toyota Corolla vs.Toyota Camry, tie
4. Ford Falcon vs. Honda Accord, 3-0
5. Toyota Hi-Lux vs. Toyota Corolla, 4-0
6. Toyota Yaris vs. Honda Civic, 4-1
7. Hyundai Getz vs. Nissan Altima, 4-2
8. Mitsubishi Lancer vs. Chevrolet Impala, 5-2
9. Toyota Camry vs. Dodge Ram, 5-3
10. Hyundai I-30 vs. Honda CR-V, 6-3
Over ten rounds, the judge's scores: Australians 6, Americans 3. Now for the analysis:
Well, I think most Jalops will tend to agree on this, though there will be minor quibbling over the tie and some of the Australian strategy. Is the Corolla actually a lesser, more practical beige evil? Could the Camry have defeated the Impala with a different lineup order? The Yaris-Civic matchup was closely fought; the Americans have never attained proper performance versions of the Civic, but there was the warm Si sedan to counter the Yaris's stripper charm.
Back to the studio.
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09/09/09
Combine the best features of America and England = You get Australia. Mostly.
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09/09/09
Yea right, GM never listen to their customers. That's why their in such a shitty position right now. If they ever have hope of getting back up, they better start by bringing the G8 back.
09/09/09
09/09/09
Now: Fuck 'em. Clearly, GM hates North America. Instead of wasting money on that piece of crap that is the Impala, bring the tooling over here, and bring this lineup out as the Impala SS.
Impala has, historically, been an upmarket label within the Chevrolet brand; if they hadn't been screwing the pooch with it recently, there would be no problem bringing it out as a near-luxury car.
This is, of course, accepting that Pontiac has been scrapped as a brand. Which, honestly, I'd be okay with, if we could have a proper Impala.
The fact that we can't have these cars, when Ford has consented to bring us their excellent European lineup, says that my mind is made up.
GM, you are DEAD to me. Ford, I embrace you as a brother, and welcome you into my family.
09/09/09
As I said downthread, Americans won't buy cars this expensive unless they have a premium badge.
Americans get the cars they are willing to buy. This is about the market, not GM.
09/09/09
You know what, I'm not typing the same comment over again. The answer to your question is "yes".
09/09/09
09/09/09
I guarantee you, if Chevy introduced a $45,000 Zeta-based Impala SS today, every enthusiast on the planet would whine about how overpriced it was, and it would lose a bunch of comparison tests to the 335i and G37 because of a lack of interior refinement and a premium badge.
It would still sell a few thousand copies a year. That's not enough to make it profitable or sustainable.
Even at $40,000, an unsustainable price, the G8 GXP would never have broken the 5000/year mark.
09/09/09
@Deartháir II: The Return: Good thing you aren't asking anything from Ford of Australia.
09/09/09
Remember: the Commodore is not a competitor for the 3-series. It sits between the 5- and 7-series in size. Factor that in, and it makes a bit more sense.
So let's go back to my original comment. Again.
The current Impala is overdue for replacement. The Commodore is mid-way through its cycle. I'm recommending retooling the production of the current Impala to make Zeta-based (or its successor) Impalae in North America, thereby bringing the costs down. I'm not sure what's so difficult about that concept, but I can go through it again. There are two models that need replacement, and one that should be here: Impala/SS and DTS, and the Buick Park Avenue. Impala is the Commodore. DTS is the Senator Signature, and the Park Ave is, uh, the Park Ave. Economies of scale bring the costs down and make it no less viable than, say, the CTS.
09/09/09
To sell one as a Caddy, both the interior and the chassis would need to be entirely redone from scratch, because currently they're just not refined enough, even in Signature form. (Compare a Signature interior with a CTS interior and you'll agree.) That might be worthwhile, except that Caddy is already headed upmarket with the current CTS platform -- the next CTS is likely to be close to Zeta-sized.
The platform is completely wrong for Buick's current direction. Buicks are not driver's cars -- they're soft and cushy with gorgeous interiors. A platform as expensive as the Zeta is not needed to perform that mission well. The LaCrosse, built on a cheaper platform with a very expensive and well-executed interior, is the direction Buick should be taking. With a Zeta platform you could not afford that interior. And as for the Park, a larger sedan than the Lacrosse is not needed in the current CAFE environment.
And I maintain that, even with reduced costs that allow GM to make a profit at $40,000, you can't sell more than a few thousand Impala SSes. You are never going to get 40,000 sales like you did in 1996. Even the G8, at an effective price point of $28,000 or so which would have generated losses even if the car were built in Canada, could only sell about 20,000 per year total.
Look, I love my G8 GXP. But Zeta in America in 2009 is simply not a good business proposition.
09/09/09