Happy times for American hoons. Number minus-one from a first-year batch of 30,000 Pontiac G8s just crawled out of its shell. That is, the first Pontiac G8 — an engineering prototype not among the first production models — rolled off a Holden assembly line in the South Australian town of Elizabeth. Essentially, the G8 is a re-skinned Holden Commodore VE, which has collected reviews in several shades of awesome. To recap: A few months back, the General, spooked by the prospect of rising CAFE standards, said it had "pressed the pause button" on its rear-wheel-drive plans. Then, whoops, it pressed play again. Back on track, the G8 is the first American domestic market vehicle built off GM's RWD platform known as Zeta. (The Camaro will likely be #2.) A nearly 400 horsepower (391 hp) 6.0-liter V8, along with and six-speed manual, will be standard fare on the GT model. Good on you, GM.
Holden holds on to U.S. [Adelaide Now]
Related:
Chicago Auto Show: Pontiac G8 GT Show Car; Random Appearance Of A Red G8 In Wisconsin; GM's Wagoner: Rear-Drive Cars Still on Track [Internal]