2008 Pontiac G8 GT: Flat-out, Belly to the Ground

The G8 makes the 5 Series seem as inert as a lump of depleted uranium? Michael, Michael, Michael! Your writing lately is as inert as your senseless meandering into hyperbole! I don't think anyone -- fan of the roundel or hater -- would call the dynamics of the 5-Series "inert." It's okay to not like the car, but at least make sense. The G* is great, I'll grant, but my goodness, not to the point that it makes the 5 "inert."

Seriously, what is wrong with you lately?

Not necessarily disagreeing, sgude, but have you driven both? Just wondering.

DO IT! GOLD WHEELS! Slap some Gold Ultraleggerras on the G8, it'll be glorious.

And I second felonious' comment. As much fun as it is to pretend that we know how all cars drive, unless you've spend a hefty amount of time in both a 5 series and a G8, we really have to leave it up to the people who have, the journalists, to compare between the two.

Michael, you sound like anything but a journalist. You've just proved that you HAVEN'T driven both 5 series and G8 because of the statement (which is entirely false btw) you made: 'lean and quick in a way that makes a BMW 5 Series seem as inert as a lump of depleted uranium.' Hence my question. If you haven't done the proper research on those two cars why in the world would you comment on one against the other? For crying out loud NOBODY SHOPPING IN 5 SERIES SEGMENT WOULD EVEN GET A SLIGHTEST OF THE HINTS TO CONSIDER G8! I'm so sick of stupid comparisons between these two cars. They are of different classes! You know what? BMW M5 is lean and quick in a way that makes a Pontiac G8 seem as inert as a lump of depleted cow dung. Hell, even 3 series is.

I really like the G8. I see one in my garage a few days a week and it looks great in person. The GXP should be great. Big fan of a hearty motor in a comfortable and sporty car. I have a 550 now but would consider ANY car with the aforementioned attributes. A good drive is a good drive.

Any post with a Smokey Yunick Pontiac reminds me of why I got started in this ridiculous business..
Smokey inspired me as a young kid of sixteen, I read his memoirs of all the on and off-track adventures, and a ton of new and interesting variations all those 4 letter words real mechanics learn over time.

I love the way Smokey was a an innovator but his biting sense of humor was his real gift. Putting the number 13 on a race car is like having a black cat driving with you, but Smokey did it anyway.

My cars have the blue oval with "Smokeys, Best Damn Garage in Town" in big block letters.
Get one for the G8!!!

I have a hunch Micheal has driven both thus his opinion of the G8 over the 5 series is very valid.

Perhaps people considering a 5 series should test drive a G8. They are both large 4 door sports sedans with great performance, why be blinded by image?...(and no I haven't driven either one but the G8 looks much better)

if we're going to drift off topic, let's do so. I feel like listing all the differences between 550 and g8, but there are far too many. Apart from the curb weight, horsepower, and driving dynamics (yes, that too) there are no similarities. However, if you use this argument to justify choosing g8 over 550 to someone looking to buy in the 60K market you'll get laughed at. And please don't call 5 series a large sedan because it's almost identical to malibu dimensionwise. You said they both have great performance, yet you claim that Michael has a valid point when comparing these two cars. This is what you would call contradicting yourself.

sorry for trashing this discussion with irrelevant posts though. I'm done here.

Actually, I have driven both. I would never make a comment like I did if I could not back it up. I'm definitely NOT blinded by image; I like the G8 -- it is a solid, rapid car that handles well. But to disparage the 5 the way Michael did is ridiculous. In size and performance, it's obvious the 5 was one of the G8's bogeys. I have read Jordan's writing since the 1980s, and these past couple of weeks he has really been cranky. Some of the stuff he has written has made me think he's gone over the edge.

I agree with Deutschcarny -- a good drive is a good drive, no matter the source. The G8 is a good drive, but in no way does it make the 5 seem as inert as a lump of depleted uranium. That's absolutely ridiculous and puts Jordan's credibility into question.

I'd calling the driving of the 5 series inert. Even the M5. And the 3 series is gaining on it, too.

Inert compared to what, mozzz?

I'll step forward as someone who has looked at both a 2003 BMW 540i 6-speed and a G8 GT. There are people who actually care about performance and luxury enough to look at both.....one is more weighted towards bank-account-performance, the other towards sports-sedan-luxury....but they are definitely on the same spectrum.

If Michael feels the latest 5-series feels inert (and by the way people, he may have driven a 2005 BMW 525xi with automatic and no sport package, for all your know....there ARE inert 5-series), leave it to his opinion. Maybe not the fairest comparison in the world, but BMW chooses to build the 5-series in both fun and blob-like configurations.

I thought it was a good post about what Pontiac used to be and how it's been over 30 years since it was anything nearing good. A mid 90's trans-am copycat of the Camaro SS is no replacement for an actual, you know, unique ride.

Pontiac made the decrepit Aztek, transplanted vibe/matrix which was terrible, decades of crappy sunfires, questionable-quality Grand Prixes, brand-engineeered and good from 10 feet away Solstice....the list goes on and on.

During that time, they made some decent cars. I liked the 1990 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP and some of the later GTP models (even if they were terribly built). The GTO of recent years was ok, if underappreciated.

But for the most part, Pontiac has been built around brand-engineered front wheel drive terrible-ness that wasn't selling sufficiently at a Chevy dealership. They haven't been driving excitement in forever.

Pontiac was the place for the unique car...the place for GM to try out performance variants. It should've had one of the early sport compacts in the 1990's....maybe been one of the first out of the gate with a turbocharged 4-cyl. It should've had rear wheel drive in 1/2 or more of it's models. It should've been the American version of pre-2000 Saab....maybe not a big seller, but uniqueness, performance, and brand loyalty.

Instead it's another reason why GM should never, ever be considered for a bailout. Because it's not a bailout, it's a taxpayer funded band-aid on a wound that hasn't started healing and only rots further...

Joe

Joe, I understand what you're saying, but given the possible scenario you presented -- "he may have driven a 2005 BMW 525xi with automatic and no sport package, for all your know....there ARE inert 5-series" -- why in God's name would he compare something like that to a G8 GT (a RWD sedan with a sport suspension, 18" wheels stock and 19s optional, and a powerful V-8 engine)? That doesn't make sense. I believe he drove a BMW that at least had the sport package.

I'm not necessarily saying the G8 GT V8 compares directly to the 550i (because I think they appeal to different demographics), but car-to-car, there are similarities in size and performance numbers, and if Michael is going to compare the G8 GT to a 5 Series, then he has to have compared it to a 5 equipped with the sport package. It is then when his assertion becomes ridiculous. Any 5-Series with a sport package, no matter the motor, is not "inert."

I am just saying, and this is assuming that he is comparing the G8 to a sport package-equipped 5er, that Michael has jumped the hyperbole shark. As I have said before, I have read his stuff for a long time and respect(ed) his opinion, but with postings like this, the whining about the M3's shifter and the one about the Smart being a hoot to drive (!), he has lost a lot of credibility with me.

Sgude - We don't know which 5-series he was referring to. He may have driven a recent 535i w/o sport package (plenty of them around).

So it's kind of ignorant for us to assume. In a perfect world, he'd be comparing a 545i or 550i sport package equipped model, but we don't know one way or another.

I've driven some crappy cars that I thought were fun to drive....when I was going balls out in them. Vs. normal driving.

I thought the M3 thread was hyperbolic meandering of someone who didn't seem to understand the truth about cars.com :)

Joe

Joe, you reiterated what we both said. No, we don't know, but ignorant or not, I will make the assumption that Michael Jordan at least had the good sense to compare the G8 to a 5er with a sport package.

If that is the case, my issue is his assertion that such a 5er is inert as a lump of depleted uranium. If he is going to make assertions like this, knowing the clear difference between sport and non-sport BMWs, then he needs to be clear what type of 5 he is comparing the G8 to.

While I own a BMW, I am by no means trying to "defend" the 5. It's not even a car that's on my radar to own. What I don't like is disparging a vehicle so ridiculously in order to make another appear better, which is what auto writers used to do to maddening effect in the dark days of the 70s and 80s. Automobile Magazine (which ran plenty of Jordan's writings) was a hyperbolic mess in the 90s (to the point I stopped reading it), when many of the other rags went away from that type of writing. The G8 is an excellent car and stands on its own merits; there is no need to bring back that style of writing in order to make it appear better.