for the import lovers...a question?

[seasoned vet]

- im an old school american guy myself. ive always found the claim "no one wants american cars" laughable. but what has puzzled me for the few yearssince i found these, is why GM wont bring these cars over here?


- so to the import heads, this is a car GM produces overseas, is this car appealing to you? im honestly asking.

* 270 kW= 361 HP

 

[mangudai954]

Isn't that a Holden? Looks like one. For year I always wondered why they wouldn't bring it over and finally they did. That car looks dope, I wonder ifit uses an LS.

 

[lex rockhead]

Looks kinda like a civic. I'd cop. Btw is the NT bacground white for anyone else?

 

[seasoned vet]

Mangudai954 wrote:

---

Isn't that a Holden? Looks like one. For year I always wondered why they wouldn't bring it over and finally they did. That car looks dope, I wonder if it uses an LS.

- yep.

- the thing that i dont get is since the car is already in production its as easy...or at least should be, to just bring it right overhere. thats why im asking because im not into imports, so i dont know what they're looking for.
- one thing i hate is for someone to come with the brainless response of "it all about money". well duh? thing is if their profits have been goingdown every year because (as the import heads claim) "people dont want american cars" they want imports. and this falls right in line with the popularimports i see on the road, why wouldnt GM bring these over here? makes no sense to me

- another one i dont get is the Caprice. the hood would eat this up if it was over here, so what gives? who's making thesedecisions at GM? i dont make cars for a living but i can see this, whats the problem?


* 260 kW= 361 HP

 

[czur1127]

real dope.... n naw its regular for me

 

[pntgio]

RWD? AWD? I'd need a little bit more info on the car to pass judgement but the car is pretty easy on the eyes. If it was a turbocharged V6 awd I could seeit passing the sti and maybe even evos.

 

[mangudai954]

That looks very nice and from the specs it definitely uses an LSx I wouldnt mind have that as my main car.

 

[i3allistic]

i dont think its about the looks of the car and performance, i agree some of the american cars look sweet, but its there quality and longevity of a americancar ...compare to a import

 

[wickedxcl]

they tried it with the GTO and sales weren't that great...they are trying it again with the G8 and hopefully sales are good cause the G8 is a very nicelooking car...there was talk about an Impala SS using the same platform of the G8 which IMO would be very hot car...in order for GM to be competitive againstthe Imports in the car market, GM needs to keep Bob Lutz in charge of these decisions...

 

[seasoned vet]

WickedxCL wrote:

---

they tried it with the GTO and sales weren't that great...they are trying it again with the G8 and hopefully sales are good cause the G8 is a very nice looking car...there was talk about an Impala SS using the same platform of the G8 which IMO would be very hot car...in order for GM to be competitive against the Imports in the car market, GM needs to keep Bob Lutz in charge of these decisions...


- thats not what im talking about. the GTO you're refering to was a concept they brought out. the cars i posted have been selling well already for at least13 years overseas. there is a difference between briging a car to one market from another thats already successful, and starting to bring a car to market froma concept. it doesnt take nearly as much money to do one vs. the other.

- besides the GTO you refer to looks like an attempt from american car makers to get into the import market, where as the cars i posted looks like everythingout there already. it doesnt appear that they are trying too hard, just doing what comes naturally.

- meaning, that GTO looks like a Pontiac. those cars i posted do not look like GM cars....

- to the ones that said they'd cop the cars i posted would you cop the GTO? exactly.

Originally Posted by i3allistic

i dont think its about the looks of the car and performance, i agree some of the american cars look sweet, but its there quality and longevity of a american car ...compare to a import

- no one said it was about looks alone. however i do understand looks do play a part. thats why i posted pics as well as specs, because i know when it comes tothe import guys performance means alot.

- longevity? i dont see how anyone can even begin to compare longevity when you have to own a car long enough to put over 100,000 miles or more on a car toeven begin to talk about longevity. meaning i fully understand the civics and accords of the 80's being able to do that over american cars, but today? wehave'nt gotten there yet.....if you know what i mean.

 

[drjordanfreak88]

the first car posted in already marketed stateside as the Pontiac G8. Hell i just saw one in a parking lot earlier today while I was out in a dark marooncolor, very nice car

But they should bring that caprice and rebrand it as a buick or chevy but not a cadillac cuz it'd probably be too costly to sellunder that brand. I just checked the epa gas mileage ratings for the G8 with either V8 and its pretty low at 13-15 mpg. With that said I hope they can sellwell here, cuz i know for sure they're very popular in the native market.

 

[finnns2003]

Lol, ask your precious american car company ceo's why they continue to make poor decisions. In the meantime, I'll keep riding in my evo, a car that isproven in both durability and tuning.

 

[keepzdasneakz]

No, it doesn't use the LSX. It uses the LY7 engine. By the way there is an American version, look up the Pontiac G8 GT. There's a faster one out calledthe G8 GXP, though which uses the LS3. You're welcome.

 

[seasoned vet]

Originally Posted by finnns2003

Lol, ask your precious american car company ceo's why they continue to make poor decisions. In the meantime, I'll keep riding in my evo, a car that is proven in both durability and tuning.

- wow. i guess someone didnt take the time to read the thread. NT

,boy i tell you

.

 

[SVNTI]

I really do like the styling of the G8.

 

[finnns2003]

Originally Posted by seasoned vet

Originally Posted by finnns2003

Lol, ask your precious american car company ceo's why they continue to make poor decisions. In the meantime, I'll keep riding in my evo, a car that is proven in both durability and tuning.

- wow. i guess someone didnt take the time to read the thread. NT

, boy i tell you

.

no I read the thread. You know these vehicles won't be released in the states. I'm guessing these companies believe there is too small a market. Look how long it took for the wrx, sti, and evo... I'm not a fan of the plasticky interior in those cars, but they are better than what's offered here currently. Still... Evos and sti's are proven for 100k+ miles, that's huge.

 

[theraygunz]

That teal one looks like a Pontiac G8.

 

[mangudai954]

Ah, I see. I dont pay attention to American cars anymore

 

[bananaboy2601]

The new Malibu, Tahoe/Yukon/Escalade, G8, Cruze, Volt, Enclave/Traverse, Solstice and current future developments look good. As well as Ford's entirelineup minus the Focus. It's about time the American automakers improved design and quality, the French and Italians are looking to re-enter the Americanmarket, as are the Chinese.

 

[cadillacflow]

That Caprice up there is nice.

 

[dirtylicious]

Although they're in the minority...there are a bunch of American cars that have some really nice styling..

What kills the US cars is the reliability that Japanese cars have.

 

[cris77stan]

Well first off nice post for noticing these cars

the cars you posted are actually GM brand cars although through another country Australia

the companies down under are Holden/Vauxhall and Opel is in Europe iirc

so with that said, the Holden Commodore / Pontiac G8 are they exact same cars. Which also does the underpinning (although a little shorter wheelbase) for thenew Camaro which should start production in a few weeks (March 2009)

same as the Holden Monaro Coupe / Pontiac GTO (not just a concept, it went into production from 2004-2006)

Pontiac Solstice / Saturn Sky / Opel GT


but to answer your question(s). yes i would buy 1 of these, currently waiting to see if GM does release a 6spd manual G8 GT later this year or early next year.

 

[seasoned vet]

Originally Posted by cris77stan

Well first off nice post for noticing these cars

the cars you posted are actually GM brand cars although through another country Australia

the companies down under are Holden/Vauxhall and Opel is in Europe iirc

so with that said, the Holden Commodore / Pontiac G8 are they exact same cars. Which also does the underpinning (although a little shorter wheelbase) for the new Camaro which should start production in a few weeks (March 2009)

same as the Holden Monaro Coupe / Pontiac GTO (not just a concept, it went into production from 2004-2006)

Pontiac Solstice / Saturn Sky / Opel GT


but to answer your question(s). yes i would buy 1 of these, currently waiting to see if GM does release a 6spd manual G8 GT later this year or early next year.

- thanks.

- so the question still remains, what's taking GM so long. that Caprice has been selling over there for 13 years! im sure the Commodore has had a similarrun over there as well. point being, im sure they have people on payroll to predict what the public wants. and if its so clear to the import heads over herewhy couldnt they get it?

 

[drjordanfreak88]

Originally Posted by finnns2003

Originally Posted by seasoned vet

Originally Posted by finnns2003

Lol, ask your precious american car company ceo's why they continue to make poor decisions. In the meantime, I'll keep riding in my evo, a car that is proven in both durability and tuning.

- wow. i guess someone didnt take the time to read the thread. NT

, boy i tell you

.

no I read the thread. You know these vehicles won't be released in the states. I'm guessing these companies believe there is too small a market. Look how long it took for the wrx, sti, and evo... I'm not a fan of the plasticky interior in those cars, but they are better than what's offered here currently. Still... Evos and sti's are proven for 100k+ miles, that's huge.

I think there's a pretty good market for this type of car, considering that japanese and german automakers are constantly competing to offer more potentengines for their midsize cars. It just so happens that GM doesn't have the same brand reputation with these aussie imports yet like the germans andjapanese do with their established offerings. I think that G8 GT is a hell of a buy at that price point compared to other car makers. As far as the plastickyinterior comment, explain plasticky because I don't know any other automaker outside of premium brands that don't make extensive use of plastics. Whilethey may be of different grades of quality and used in different designs, its still plastic. Also you can't completely knock these cars that GM isrebranding, given that the chassis underpinnings are based of cars sold in markets all over the world and have been sold and established in those markets forsome time now so I don't think reliability should be that much of an issue if automakers are purposely using the same base for a multitude of modelsdepending on the brand. It just so happens that domestic auto makers are now introducing the fruits of their investments with foreign auto makers to thedomestic market so this should be a good thing as far as market variety...so I don't think this should be another opportunity for nay sayers to knockdomestics because of past brand image and (imo) garbage product. With all that said, I think Chrysler will tank first out of the big 3. Ford and GM should beok if they bring more of their world cars stateside to replace their current stagnant models.

 

[broke on nikes]

That's a G8 pretty much, dude.
I hear they're VERY responsive to mods too.
The only thing they're missing is a manual transmission.

G8 is, hands down, the best looking American road car right now. Of course, I don't consider the Corvette Z06 or ZR1 very practical.