GM announces Canadian pricing on the Pontiac G8

[dindak]

Oshawa, Ontario - GM of Canada announced that its new rear-wheel-drive Pontiac G8 performance sedan will go on sale at Pontiac dealerships in June. The V6-equipped G8 has a starting MSRP of $31,995 and the V8-powered G8 GT model starts at $36,995.

http://www.canadiandriver.com/thenew...w-g8-sedan.htm

[paul8488]

Starting price of $32,000? Yikes. This sure doesn't fill the Grand Prix slot. I don't care how much better it is... that price point is going to scare alot of people. The G6 starts at $23,540 (and apparently has a $1750 adjustment for Canada)... that's a difference of close to $10,000 between base G6 and G8 sedans. I could be wrong, but I worry that Pontiac fans are going to suffer sticker shock (again, despite how good the G8 is). I hope I'm wrong!

[paul8488]

Wait, looking further at the G6 website... there's no manual transmission available with ANY engine? Not even the 4-cylinder? And why are there 3 V6 options... one of which is only available on the convertible (3.9L)? How can GM rationalize 3 V6 choices but no manual choices? How off-target is Pontiac with this car?!? This should be challenging Altimas and Mazda6s for the performance sedan buyers dollars. How can it do that with 4-speed automatics?!? Sheesh!

Okay, looked even further:

The 3.5L SFI has 219 hp / 163 torque
The 3.9L has 222 hp / 166 torque.

The make the 3.9L an optional engine ONLY on a low-volume variant (the convertible)! How does it make ANY sense to offer this engine?!? What is the point? How can GM get some things so damn wrong? How bungled is the poor G6? I thought that simplifying available vehicle configurations lowered the cost of manufacturing... why does GM throw a random engine with almost the same output as another V6 in the G6 hardtop convertible?!? Grrrrrr! At least the 3.5L VVT has significantly more power (252 hp / 188 torque). The 3.9 is just silly, and shows that, once again, GM doesn't have a clue what to do with Pontiac.

At least they got the G5 right with the 2.0L turbo 260 hp GXP versi... oh, wait, nevermind.





Horsepower (hp / kW @ rpm): 164 / 122
@ 6400 219 / 163
@ 5900
217 / 162
@ 5800 (convertible) 252 / 188
@ 6300 222 / 166
@ 5600

[Sinner]

Originally Posted by dindak

Oshawa, Ontario - GM of Canada announced that its new rear-wheel-drive Pontiac G8 performance sedan will go on sale at Pontiac dealerships in June. The V6-equipped G8 has a starting MSRP of $31,995 and the V8-powered G8 GT model starts at $36,995.

http://www.canadiandriver.com/thenew...w-g8-sedan.htm

That's about $6-8000 less than I figured it would cost. Cars are stupid expensive here.

[Chet]

Ha, what a rip. I'm so glad that I didn't put my purchase off a couple of months for this car at those prices. Good work GM...

Edit: the morons at GM Canada still haven't updated the G8 page on the web site. They are still showing the same pages from over a year ago (concept pics!)... for a car that goes on sale in two months.

[dindak]

I am a bit disappointed in the $4500 premium we have to pay for the base vs. the U.S. I'd be ok with a grand or two but $4500??

That said, given a 3.6L Malibu LTZ lists for $33K, it seems like a bargain. I may buy one if they offer a decent loan rate. I love the look of the car and it's a good size for our family of 4.

[IAMCANADIAN]

The V6 is priced rather high in my opinion, however I figured it would start around that price. The V8 is priced right in my opinion; it's the same price as the Grand Prix GXP and it's a much better vehicle.

I am considering the G8 for my next car and with the way fuel prices are and pricing, I am definitely going to go for the V6.

[Jimmy Jive]

Safe to assume a $40K GXP price tag then?

[dindak]

Originally Posted by IAMCANADIAN

The V6 is priced rather high in my opinion, however I figured it would start around that price. The V8 is priced right in my opinion; it's the same price as the Grand Prix GXP and it's a much better vehicle.

I am considering the G8 for my next car and with the way fuel prices are and pricing, I am definitely going to go for the V6.

My wife has a guzzler, don't need another. The G8 would be a replacement for my 8 1/2 year old Intrigue. You are right though, it's a much better car than the Grand Prix which I really don't like (mainly the interior).

[SV6]

GM missed the boat...again

[give_it_all_]

I was thinking it should be around $29-30k for the V6. I think a lot of people will get sticker shock as well. And the dealers will probably order high end, fully equipped models...

[montrealvue]

$32 grand for a Pontiac???? uh, no thanks!

[dindak]

Originally Posted by montrealvue

$32 grand for a Pontiac???? uh, no thanks!

In GM's defence, the pricing is in the context of the market. Any quality performance sedan will run you low $30's. Accord, Malibu LTZ, Aura XR etc.

This is a nice Pontiac, believe me. It's no Grand Prix!

[montrealvue]

I completely agree with GM's reasoning, the costs are there and the price has to be at that level. Unfortunately, it is higher than some other competitors that offer sports sedans of this size. I hope the market responds well to the G8 as it is a really great looking car. The challenge will be getting people to pay that amount of money for a Pontiac. The brand hasn't been known for much "excitement" for a long time. I'm still bitter Maximum Bob killed the wagon version

[Kamshaaft]

The Sportwagon had more potential that that Cadillac POS.