I've been a long time viewer of gminsidenews, but this is my first comment.
...I felt compelled to register membership just to share how disappointed I am with the GXP.
It lifts your heart to see an Australian product do well in the States. From what I gather on forums, the response to the g8 has been enthusiastic, even in the United Arab Emirates and UK.
So for a long time i kept thinking "Just wait till they get the up-spec HSV derived GXP!. It should blow them away."
the HSV GTS comes with
-Magnetic Ride Control Suspension (ala 599 GTB ferrari, corvette, audi TT)
-its own set of LED tail lights (to differentiate it from the commodore) situated lower which looks slightly sportier
-its own set of side vents (again to differentiate it from the commodore) behind the front guards to advertise its sports-spec credentials; albeit non-functioning.
-20” shadow wheels
-larger spoiler; I know this has ricer connotations in the US (it’s derived from Australian V8 touring car culture) so I can understand the product change for the market taste.
But I can't understand why the Pontiac deleted these other options.
It looks tame to me.
In Australia it was common and too easy for entry-commodore owners to put HSV body work on their rides and HSV developed the rep of being simply a rebadged commodore – that was until the product differentiation HSV decided to invest in with the VE series.
Also, HSV owners felt ripped off even after paying the extra premium.
I feel the same thing could happen stateside.
The GXP looks no different to a g8