TRAMS_AM

You talk like it's a bad thing to have well made, inexpensive performance cars as part of your lineup.

McDonalds hamburger? No, that's what GM North America's cars are compared to. It's Holden that has played a strong influence on getting GM back on track, and they're the ones that serve Filet Mignon.

Call it a GTO, El Camino, or even Corvette and I'll buy it because it's a great car, not because it has a name tainted by a redneck image.

TRAMS_AM

I love the El Camino AND the GTO. Re-badged Holden's are a poor and insulting attempt at recreating these great cars. I am saddened by the thought that my young son won't know what these brands once represented. Luckily, between hs Grandpa and I, we have a 1964 Skylark, 64 Olds F-85, 70 Chevelle , 68 Camaro, and 67 Firebird. If GM can't keep it's legacy alive, I guess we'll have to.

skylark64

ab3

MeDuh

schinbone

As an aside, every one I've ever known to live in that densely populated section of the state all but refuses to ever leave it for any reason, regardless of transportation mode.

I think the media outlets that actually produce a physical product should refrain from journalism that complains about a niche "gas guzzling car".

Why do I have a feeling that the pollution generated from all the NYT's plants, the excessive waste of paper printing a ton of articles that most people will never read, the fuel cost associated with delivery, and on and on, is probably sooo much more than the whole of US G8 cars will generate. And for disposable information. Newspapers and magazines. Aren't they fantastic?

That's why I love Jalopnik. My computer's on anyway, just waiting to fill my brain with arcane trivial knowledge. Why do I need print?

avarno

Of course it's a bit cheap on the inside. There's a reason it's almost as good as a 5-series BMW, yet costs about half as much.

That said, I won't support it until someone imports a manual gearbox. Automatic? WTF?

Spasticteapot

Mr. Rubber Burner

+ Watch video

TRAMS_AM

pffffft

Peteski

Schm is not particularly sure what he is ranting about. . .

Gram's Caddy

Gram's Caddy

In regards to the G8 Camino, Ulrich hasn't a leg to stand on. I can't think of any excuse for him other than intellectual laziness. (Is he a conservative, by any chance? ;) Regardless, his opinion on the matter certainly deserves to be ridiculed severely and at great length on message boards far and wide.

I'm also with you on the point of the potential of the vehicle itself, and especially if it has the option of being ordered with that proper diesel.

lascauxcaveman

Gram's Caddy

halfshafter

Im sorry I was so libral in ma little letter. I dont want to get into politics, but its hard not to. I consiter myself a right-leaning moderate. And sorry, I dont listen to Rush.

Anyways, @elhigh: I agree that the G8 ST would be a good truck for NYC, instead of a regular pickup. Smaller, and with Cylander deactivation would be more fuel effecient. Even better with a diesel. :)

Im not trying to diss democrats, or even librals. Only the type of fun-suckers like Ulrich who, in his all-knowing automotive knowledge, disses the G8. He calls it pointless. Well, thats an incredably asinine thing to say. As it was pointed out earlier, a UTE like this has tons of useage, and I really hope that the G8 will sell, and not go the way of the Magnum.

Anyways, I like the G8. A lot.
Here is Herr Ulrich's resume: [www.moneymediakit.com]

Schm is not particularly sure what he is ranting about. . .

funkshway

I don't subscribe to the Times, but I do pick it up often enough to recognize in it a uniformly high standard of writing and journalistic excellence. Especially when compared to other daily newspapers from, well, anywhere.

Opinion and 'thought pieces' are just that - opinion. Its not as if Ulrich is trying to write a technically detailed, factual article on the development of the vehicle, or even an inside look of the machinations of the marketing process that brings its unlikely self to America. They probably thought, "Well here's a writer from an interesting background who can be relied upon to produce an entertaining 'thought piece' on whatever we throw at him. Howzabout a car show?"

As for the definition of 'liberal,' classically it has always meant large, generous, (e.g. "She served me a liberal helping of pie.") or broad, wide ranging ("She was blessed by a liberal education; encompassing maths, literature, the sciences, and travels through Europe and the Orient.")

Given those definitions, I guess the NYT does meet the standard. However, when any individual writer is asked to form a quickie 800-word opinion on an area outside their field of expertise, it may not be as liberal-minded as a more informed analysis will be.

By the way, "Liberal" didn't become a conservative swearword until the 1980's when it was given a meaning roughly equal to "well educated."

Which of course is a very bad thing indeed, for conservatives.

lascauxcaveman

tonyola

crevans

beercheck

dulcamara

Smells_Homeless

I drive a low-slung car. If I had my way, and for obvious reasions, I'd replace every single pickup truck on the planet with a Ute.

brandegee

Jeb_Hoge

Mad_Science

IamZardoz

al_beaton

And this guy is covering a car show? Because????

Novaload

One thing that I will comment on in reference to @elhigh: slam dunk COTD, is that the Gentlemans Pickup is a memory, and this re-interpretation isn't even American. We shall see if it turns into a disaster, or a success.

UDMan

avusone

And whoever mentioned the much slipperier aerodynamics of the Sport Ute compared to your average truck has the right idea.

Especially if they give us the cylinder deactivation feature, this thing will probably get pretty nice gas mileage.

Make it burn E85 too!

I'll take one to haul my dirtbike and UJM.

87MustangGT

PhoneticLorin

"Liberalism in the United States is a broad political and philosophical mindset, favoring individual liberty up to the point people start having excessive amounts of fun, create threats to the environment both real and imagined, and there's metric shitloads of money to be made, and opposing restrictions on liberty to our faces, whether they come from established religion, from government regulation, or from the existing class structure."

I'd find the one for conservatism, tweak it and post the results here as well, but I'm already depressed enough for one post.

Tomsk

JoSCh

smoke~

AllenK

thatguy01

Seriously...haters...as someone who grew up in a suburban/rural (subural? ruruban?) here's the true "niche" of the ElCo. When you work in contracting of any type that requires equipment, the foreman of the crew has to go from jobsite to jobsite checking on the progress of the job and bringing items to the site that were forgotten or overlooked. Before SUVs and 4 door pickups got luxurious, said foremen needed a vehicle that would carry things like air compressors, generators, or small items needed on the jobs - and yet still provide them with the luxury befitting their station. Thus the car/truck was born. It's pointless now, but it its day it was quite the perk. Kind of like when you move from a big cubicle to a small office, now.

Y'all.

lemondriver

I'm not a huge El Camino fan,but there's nothing wron with the interior of the new one.

AllenK

BTW when are we getting the "Vote El Camino" T-shirt?

weatherman

I'm old enough to remember when "liberal" wasn't an insult.

from, er, wikipedia: "Liberalism in the United States is a broad political and philosophical mindset, favoring individual liberty, and opposing restrictions on liberty, whether they come from established religion, from government regulation, or from the existing class structure."

dolo54

clank-o-tron

Evidently Audi already does that. That would explain all the leather.

Elhigh

Elhigh

Elhigh

thatguy01

reefer

Euromobile

YankBoffin

Dear Herr Whatevr your name is,

I understand you write for a newspaper that many, actually most, consiter a liberal rag with dumb liberal, lefty, eco-nazis on staff. But the Pontiac G8 ST aka Wallaby is not a car for liberal, lefty, eco-nazis like you. Why dont you go buy a prius and wank-off, as we say down under. Becouse thats what you did, you pissed off all of Australia. You, and your liberal newpaper pissed off an entire contient. You might as well just say "Excuse me, Fosters is actually not Australian for Beer." They may have even a little less pissed.

The Pontiac G8 is not a car for New Yorkers. Its not a car for people who use Mass Transit regularly, and ride in Ford Transit Connects and drive Prii (?). Its a car for hard working people, who work hard days, make a pair of boots last 30 years, haul boulders up dams, backwards in the snow. Its a car for drunk canadians who enjoy the occacional car-mounted-couch race. Its a car for fun loving Jalopniks, becouse they cant buy the estate version.

And If I may pose a question to you, good sir. What sort of car do you drive? And what automotive knowledge or degree do you have? Well, sir, I am a doctor of Potonology, with a minor in hoontastic studies, and I say that the G8 carries on the tradition of the Bakkie, as well as the famous El Camino and Ranchero, and I think there IS a market to buy it, even with the current economic forcast and gas prices. The G8 is ready, and I think Amur-ica is ready too. Now, if only pricks like you would go off and hug a bunny insted of ruing the muscle-ute goodness for all of us.

Have A plesant day.

Dr. Schm

Schm is not particularly sure what he is ranting about. . .

Wha?...

Bumblebee

LuciferV8

@danio3834: Not even close

Buckster

avusone

It also hauls or tows what most people use real gas guzzling trucks for without any of the overkill and it performs the same as any red, white and blue American muscle car.

Sounds pretty good to me.

TriShield

And that's the paradox. Better give it a name or something..."Lar's Law"? "Ulrich's Razor"? I got nothin'.

bzr the paranoid android

Tomsk

Most of America buys them buy the millions already, dumbass.

badco/LoJ

wyatt_1st

Get with the program, you heidelbergensises.

bugattatra

But, lets all go pitch-fork-and-torch syle on his ass!

TexanIdiot25 [Hunting for Lemons]

Game, set and match, Elhigh.

lascauxcaveman

deckard98

Good thing he has the NY Times as a fall-back.

Bumblebee

POLAЯZSMAЯTAMINO

Euromobile

Mr4speed

FreeMan

danio3834

CharlzR

someone just likes to pour Hatorade on the El Camino fever

danio3834

Ash78

DrJeffie

On the other hand, I like "Pontiac Wallaby".

boosted-lego-wagon

Mokers

htrodblder

An open letter to Mr. Lawrence Ulrich:

The country in which you live, evidently blindered, is crawling with two-seat, gas-guzzling pickups. Who, indeed.

Is the G8 pickup a gas guzzler? Well, I can't answer that; I don't have its EPA test results in front of me. However, I'm willing to hazard a guess that as a smaller, lighter, and arguably much aerodynamically smoother platform than any typical truck, its fuel efficiency will be considerably better than a typical truck.

Who, indeed? With so many pickups on the road, most of them larger and more powerful than any of their owners are likely to need, as an answer to a perceived call for stout, muscular-feeling vehicles that portray an image, the answer to that question is clear: Americans. I don't have a guess as to how many of those trucks actually are used for their cargo ability - that way lies madness. But many trucks are bought for the simple fact that they are distinctly American in their demeanor. Toyota's and Nissan's examples of full-size trucks are proof of this: these two companies struggled hard to meet the demanding criteria of the market, and continue to fail at beating the American companies at their own game. Do I say they are inferior trucks? No.

The bygone and beloved El Camino and Ranchero were answers to the gentleman farmer's need for a vehicle flexible enough to carry feed in, that was still presentable enough to drive to church. The G8 truck revisits that fine paradigm: tough, yet civilized. Clark Kentian in its duality, it is representative of the American motoring history. And if you are dismissing the vehicle out of hand, Mr. Ulrich, you have dismissed an awfully large segment of that history.

Reconsider your dismissal of the vehicle's target market. Just because you aren't in it doesn't mean it isn't there.

Elhigh

FightingChance

HansStuckJr

Ash78

Buckster

graverobber- Same great taste, new low price!

No, three. At least three.

lascauxcaveman

Mad_Science

FatBraff

lascauxcaveman

Also, can someone who writes for the NY Times be expected to understand the cartruck?

Euromobile