2008 Pontiac G8 GT: Yeah, what this guy says.

Oh. I see the retraction now. Good game, GM.

"The guy pictured above is not The Mechanic."

Yea, sure it's not.

Gloss - Yes. Lutz returns to the new GM (of course) and say that (not a terrible idea, and I think the G8 would be a great platform for a new GM cop car.

Oh, and that is SOO the mechanic up there :)

If GM had sold a G8 GT 6-speed manual, I'd probably buy it right now. But I don't want to step up to the GXP.

So even when they succeed with something and truly bring a great RWD car to the market GM has to screw it up? They obviously bask in the glory of failure, on all levels.

If this is going to be the direction the "New GM" takes I want my $400 back from them. I don't support STUPID companies with my tax dollars, I don't care how American they are.

Come on Kurt, which editor is it?

Now maybe its because I live in Arkansas, but when I look at that picture, I see nothing wrong.

Sure, I'm a little intimidated. Maybe even a little envious of what appears to be a virile He-Man, chocked full of brawn and animal magnetism.

In addition, he's clearly an accomplished speller (by Arkansas standards). But I think his intellectual leanings substract nothing from the otherwise Herculean machismo that he projects.

Am I wrong here?

I can see how they were unhappy with the G8's numbers, but they came to the wrong conclusion. They could have fixed the problems and enjoyed similar success to the Chrysler LS, and presumably the new Taurus. Or look at the success of the new Camaro, they can't sell that with more useful (better, imo) packaging?

The G8 was given to a brand consumers had already spurned, and got an ugly makeover as part of the deal. Even wanting to call it a Caprice shows they still wouldn't have given this car its best shot.

When you've spurned enough consumers that you are in this sorry position, sometimes you just have to keep running your quality products out there despite lack of instant success. Eventually the consumers will catch up. Even if they never buy a Caprice, it shows people what the best of GM means and improves the brand. Or they can let consumers form their opinion from that Impala rental they got on their last vacation. That will turn out well.

No surprise actually. Because "performance" in the future will command a premium and an "eco"-tax. Therefore, G8 will be reborn as Cadillac and Buick large sedan instead.

Sometimes the only way of filling your cup of water IS pissing into the wind.

disappointing but not surprising.

(ps that picture is riswick)

I'm not a big fan of that fake hood scoop and some of that sub-par quality of the interior of the G8, however, can you name a better domestic car that competes well (performance wise) with a BMW M5 than the G8 GXP, while costing less than 50% of the price of the M5?
This state of economy didn't stop Mercedes from making the AMG products and BMW from making the M series...
I think Lutz should retire again.

If you read Lutz's comments the decision makes sense.

I think they should transfer the car to Chevy, GM needs all the good selling cars it can. But Lutz is right, GM is now a government owned business and the government doesn't like fast, gus sucking cars.

Moving the G8 to Checy was an open invitation to criticism and interferance from the government.

Lutz is smart enough to understand which way the wind os blowing. Don't lay this at the feet of GM, lay it at the feet of the Obamessiah and the Dem's.

"(ps that picture is riswick)"

Sometimes it takes a Canadian to spot a Canadian.

So Jriz is The Mechanic? I knew it!

"Sometimes it takes a Canadian to spot a Canadian."

The Oakville Ford Plant in the background gave it away.

I think it is Olham or Jacquot myself, not someone from Canaduh. They don't have baseball up there.

crowb, you're probably right. Ar-KANSAS isn't know for its edumacation or barbers.

Stupid stupid GM. Good thing I already have my G8, because at this rate I'll carry my anti-GM bias through my life and never get one again. Next stop (in however many years) probably Japanese.

What's a "MORAN..."? All I know is that sign that guy is holding is makeing him look like a "MORON". How ironic.

...and now I've made myself look like a moron for mispelling "making". Gosh, this day is just full of irony.

ahh ha... moran's...lol...classic...moron...

and I thought Morans was his name...

This picture was going around the internet before the internet was even invented.

So lets summarize the journey of the Commodore in the U.S.:

GM takes a very good RWD sedan from Australia (where they do them right) and decides to give it to a non-luxury brand. So far so good. However, they decide to give it to the soon-to-be-dead, stigmatized, niche Pontiac brand. They don't advertise it, and they add on these awful tacky fake hood scoops. They assume low sales have nothing at all to do with the very poor brand decision, and must indicate the car itself isn't any good, despite it being one of the most critically well received GM vehicle. As a result they decide to kill it off. Then they decide to give it another shot as a Chevy (ding ding ding WINNER!) but then they demonstrate a remarkable ability for pulling defeat from the jaws of victory by choosing Caprice for the name. After subjecting such a spectacular car to such horrors for years, they finally put it out of its misery.

Now I've been believing in GM for some time now, but I'm beginning to side with stoppre75. I don't want to see an American institution like GM go, but they just can't make a good decision to save their lives. I want my tax money back too.

"...and now I've made myself look like a moron for mispelling "making". Gosh, this day is just full of irony."

And then you misspelled 'mispelling.' =)

I'm sure our cousins down under at Holden will eventually give us some more cool cars that will be badged as Chevy's sometime in the future.

It sounds like most of you don't realize the degree to which the bureaucrats in Washington are involved in GM's decisions. I think GM would have done a lot of things differently if they hadn't sold their soul last fall, but now that that has been done, they've closed the door on themselves.

Funds from the federal or state governments never come without strings attached.

cwc1- Have you seen this?

http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NjE1NWI4OTYwODc0OTQ4NjQ3MjhjYTJkZjkyNTVjNzQ=

Welcome to British Leyland: The American Edition

On the GM Fastlane Blog, B.Lutz said
- paraphrasing -
his product self was very unhappy by his marketing self deciding there was no valid case for the G8 to continue as a Chevy.

The Pontiac G8's still here. Those who want 'em today can buy 'em and enjoy them for years to come.
Or have the G8 supplies completely dried up at this point?

roadburner,

It's reprehensible that some members of Congress are emboldened like that to go even further, but not surprising either. That is who the great majority of them are. They don't care about constitutional limits and principles at all; just preserving and acquiring more power for themselves. And many Americans have been fooled into letting them get away with it, believing that what happens in Washington won't affect them. They could hardly be more wrong.

cwc1,

You are exactly right. Who knows how many sectors of the economy will be destroyed before this is all over?

Disclaimer: G8 GT (sport, premium, sunroof) owner since February.

I really wish I could see the numbers that GM marketing got to see to determine it's not viable. I agree, the Caprice name isn't the best choice. I'd like to see it as a Chevelle (V6), Chevelle LTZ (or something along those lines), and Chevelle SS (i.e. GXP). I am not nostalgic for muscle cars of days past, but Chevelle is a lot cooler name than Caprice in my opinion.

A couple of changes would be needed though (besides Chevy cosmetic changes): 3.6 DI V6 in the base model, HID headlights and memory seating in the premium package, manual in the lower end V8 model (heck, even the V6 since there is one in the Camaro), better cloth material in the base V6, autodimming mirror. This car would need to be slightly more upscale than the Impala, so it needs to have a few extra features.

The platform is being killed? Did anyone tell the Camaro that? How could someone NOT know that camaro is on modified zeta platform. Its not being killed, just the G8.

"Welcome to British Leyland: The American Edition"

British werent great car builders before government intervention. Its not the same thing- not that you would be able to understand why. Unlike 70s Brits, Gm has state of the art engineering and production practices that are on par with top global competitors.
In England they never were able to catch up to the rest of the world in quality control or efficency. Thats why they dont have much of an industry left today.

"It sounds like most of you don't realize the degree to which the bureaucrats in Washington are involved in GM's decisions. I think GM would have done a lot of things differently if they hadn't sold their soul last fall, but now that that has been done, they've closed the door on themselves. :"

What does any of that have to do with the G8? Nothing. Government has not told them what brands or models to cancel, only to shrink the number of brands to a manageable size. Conspiracy theories are nice- how about some proof.

"So even when they succeed with something and truly bring a great RWD car to the market GM has to screw it up? They obviously bask in the glory of failure, on all levels.

If this is going to be the direction the "New GM" takes I want my $400 back from them. I don't support STUPID companies with my tax dollars, I don't care how American they are."

Stop being emotional. I like the G8 but this is all about making money. Period. If the G8 isn't profitable or close to it they cannot keep importing it from Australia. Its that simple. The G8 is not a "success"- in fact its been handily outsold by the more expensive CTS. The G8 is a success in the minds of people who read car magazines, not the general public. Most months they couldn't even sell 2k units which is extremely poor considering its affordable price. The Maxima sold about 6k units last month by comparison. GM cannot make cars just for the sake of making them these days.

"British[sic] werent[sic] great car builders before government intervention. Its[sic] not the same thing- not that you would be able to understand why."

Per your usual practice, you simply cannot resist letting everyone know how smart you are and how dumb those who disagree with you are.

"Unlike 70s Brits, Gm[sic] has state of the art engineering and production practices that are on par with top global competitors."

Which explains why GM was on the verge of collapse and required large infusions of cash merely to survive- just like BL.

"In England they never were able to catch up to the rest of the world in quality control or efficency[sic]. Thats[sic] why they dont[sic] have much of an industry left today."

The only difference between BL and GM is that the pre-Gubmint Motors GM actually DID get their act together, but by that time their brand equity was in the toilet.

"The only difference between BL and GM is that the pre-Gubmint Motors GM actually DID get their act together, but by that time their brand equity was in the toilet."

Agreed about the BL similarities, but I'd call it a continual work-in-progress, as GM still has some lousiness to purge from their portfolio. It's disappointing to read about things like the Camaro's quality problems and the return of the 'ol blowhard (Lutz) - so my question is, will GM keep the pace and really start to build positive brand equity? A side effect of the restructuring could be loss of talent and engineering muscle that has yet to be realized.

"Per your usual practice, you simply cannot resist letting everyone know how smart you are and how dumb those who disagree with you are. "

Actually I was just talking to you. Hit a nerve with that comment?

"Which explains why GM was on the verge of collapse and required large infusions of cash merely to survive- just like BL."

The collapse was due to debt and a market that had shrunk by 35% in a matter of months, not due to uncompetitive production methods or quality. These things may be a little too complex for you to grasp. Name 2 successful, independent British car companies in 2009. Thanks.

"Agreed about the BL similarities, but I'd call it a continual work-in-progress, as GM still has some lousiness to purge from their portfolio. "

No car company can replace all of its vehicles at once, not even the ones you love. The vehicles GM needs to purge are the older ones that are scheduled to be replaced anyway. Thats an issue every automaker faces. The real question is have all their recent vehicles been competitive or class leading? The answer is yes.

"Actually I was just talking to you. Hit a nerve with that comment?"

1487 thinks hes brilliant and thatI'm stupid. Yeah, that really keeps me up at night. Don't tell my editors- they might fire me and hire you.

"The collapse was due to debt and a market that had shrunk by 35% in a matter of months, not due to uncompetitive production methods or quality."

And yet Ford didn't need to be purchased by the Feds and the UAW.

"These things may be a little too complex for you to grasp."

Arrogance and/or envy are such attractive character traits.

"Name 2 successful, independent British car companies in 2009. Thanks."

Name two successful US automakers who aren't owned by the government. You are welcome.