Pontiac G8: The World's Best Car Nobody Was Buying

[ksr]

Damaged brand or not, good product and good marketing could have turned Pontiac around.

The G8 was a good product. They didn't have the marketing dollars. Even now, few people know what a G8 is. I think calling it a Grand Prix or Bonneville might have helped. It's tough to put a product out there with a new name when you don't have the marketing dollars to implant that name in the public consciousness.

I wonder how the G8 and Pontiac overall would be doing now if there was a new Firebird along with the new Camaro. The Firebird would also be generating interest and would have a waiting list. There would be more dealership traffic. One buzz-generating car like a Firebird can do much to turn around a brand.

[vcs2600]

Originally Posted by SierraGS

How does an unknown car from a troubled auto company and a cancelled brand outsell all of these established vehicles???

Per Fritz Henderson, GM is liquidating the inventory of this car.

I don't really see the point in bragging about sales #s, Holden has stopped building G8 and (with whatever incentives) eventually every car sitting on the lot will be sold.

[Minarets]

i dont really dont get where some of you get your feelings for the G8. this, Americans wont buy it until cash is on the hood or boring car, cant fool the public.


the reason it wasnt a "success" was b/c as soon as it was released gas went to $4 followed by a failing economy short there after. very few and i mean very few cars "succeeded." in fact i believe Suburu was the only automaker to continue in the right direction profit wise.

the real problem was one that GM couldnt really help (well, i think you know what i mean....of course there are things GM should have been doing for many years to help their situation) and that was bad timing.


the size, the engine, the value--its all there.


think about this. we are not too far off from the hammer GM dropped, "no more pontiac"
the G8s are almost gone already. yes, "your" dealer might have some (cause someone will think "my dealer has a ton!", but do a search. no dealer has a ton and more dealers have none. there arent many dealers that are running low on G5s or anything else pontiac.

if you want to say the G8 wasnt successful, then you have to admit it wasnt given a chance. remember, no non niche vehicle has been successful in recent days.


all things considered, i think you know where i stand on this car. that is why i am looking for one now.

[Idler Arm]

It's funny that as Pontiac is closing I seem to be selling more than before it was announced. I sold two G8s this week and 4 G6s. WIth the clunker program now in effect, I have 2 G3s going next week, not much regular commission but there is a spiff on them.

[DollarBill]

The G8 needs to stay as an impala/lumina/etc., simple as that.

[Klay]

Originally Posted by SierraGS

Some "actual facts":

The G8's 2008 sales of 15,002 was better than the BMW 1-series (12,018). Acura RL (4,517) and nearly tied with both the Infiniti M (15,618) and Lexus GS (15,759).

YTD 2009 sales for the G8 are HIGHER than all of 2008 15,691 vs 15,002 and is outselling the BMW 1-series (which it is close to in price) nearly 3 to 1 (15,691 to 5,621) and nearly 5 to 1 vs the Lexus GS (3,556) and is even outselling the much advertised Lexus IS (15,581), sells nearly the same as the Audi A4 (18,101) and one on one outsells all other Audi models at near 5 to 1 ratios. The G8 is probably close to the Infiniti G37 Sedan since coupe and sedan combined sales are 21,203. The G8 also outsold the Mercedes E-Class (12,701 YTD) and closing on the 5-series (20,807).

How does an unknown car from a troubled auto company and a cancelled brand outsell all of these established vehicles???

What I don't understand is why you quote sales numbers when the car has nearly $6000 in incentives? You do realize those other cars that the G8 outsold probably actually make money on their vehicles. I bet if you threw the same incentives on each of those respective cars then they would outsell the G8.

The car is obviously good in more than one way, the article states as much. However, the market conditions, brand reputation and bankruptcy all hampered this vehicle which, in turn helped cause it to need massive incentives.

Although, the fact that GM needed that much in incentives to move it is troubling. I don't blame GM for canning it.

[Type34]

There are many good points here. One that is missing I think is that for any GM vehicle to be truly a sales success, it needs to appeal to buyers from across the automotive spectrum, not just loyal GM owners. Non-GM fans/owners are very skeptical of the Pontiac brand (and for good reason, it's now defunct).

Prior to buying my TSX, I test-drove a G6 GT convertible at a local Pontiac-GMC-Buick dealership here in Orange County, CA. It drove like a rental car and had cheesy dealer-installed 18" aftermarket chrome rims. The salesman was just as cheesy and the dealership looked like it was partying like it was 1999. I couldn't wait to get out of there.

A few months ago I saw a G8 GT with 19's next to me on the road. I'd seen it in pictures, but in person I thought it was unreal...the pseudo-545i body with the sonorous V8 underneath...I truly fell in love with this car. Although I love my TSX with its killer handling, rev-happy I-4 VTEC, and vault-like build quality, I could easily see me behind the wheel of a G8.

Then I saw that it doesn't have navigation (I'm a tech geek)...okay, I could look past that and get an aftermarket unit. Then I thought about the Pontiac salesman (okay, the G8 is still worth it). Then I thought about the dealership and that this was the place I'd have to get it serviced (okay, well...I guess it's still worth it). Then I thought about resale value, build quality, how long will the G8 be built, etc. (okay, I was getting nervous...)

Bottom line: the G8 had a tremendous uphill battle in trying to lure non-GM owners into the showroom. It's by far (IMO) one of the best automotive bargains out there. If someone gave me $30K and said "get anything you want"...it would be a G8 hands down. However, using my own hard-earned money, I'm not so sure...and therein lies GM's problem...

I still want a G8 though!

[JBsZ06]

The G8 GT is an awesome car. it needs the incentives because just about every car on the market has incentives..

The g8 GT is a smokin hot ride.

Worth the 30 odd grand without a doubt..

[T'Cal]

I can't get past the thought that had the G8 been given a traditional Pontiac name (Grand Prix, Bonneville, LeMans, etc.) it would've sold better. The last several Pontiac models have simply looked boring and, what with the switch to alphanumeric names, they sounded boring too. Apparently, GM execs forgot about the T1000, J2000/2000, and 6000 of the 80s.

Say what you will about the styling of the Pontiacs of the 80s and 90s but they sold really well. The Grand Am was frequently GM's best selling car and it was usually in the top ten bestsellers. It offered unique styling that looked considerably sportier than the Barretta, Skylark, Calais, Tempo, Topaz, and Chrysler's boxy K cars. While performance usually wasn't much better than the others, the perception of performance was strong in the Grand Am, Grand Prix, and Bonneville; that was enough for a lot of people who were on a budget and could afford only a reasonably priced car. Image was (and still is) important.

[88Fiero]

Originally Posted by toddr19

G8 failed for two reasons.

1. Boring styling

2. Boring name. G8 is so.........BORING!

Your name toddr19 must be your age. I guess you have no tastes other than what's in your mouth. Study the classic cars over the ages. Really look at them.

[Jamo]

Why don't they just put a Bowtie on it and call it a Chevelle? You have to be a management genius like me to think of that?

[chinamonty]

Because it already gets a bowtie and is called a Lumina or an Omega depending whether you are in Arabian countries or Brazil. I guess an extra name wouldn't hurt -it would keep a badge manufacturer happy.

[Neanderthal]

Originally Posted by Perian

It's never too late...find a G8 here:
http://www.gmbuypower.com/byo/build....rType=GMSUPPLR

Nothing personal, Perian, but every GM search engine I've ever used sucked the big one.

I can find more doing a random aol search than I can at GM's sites.

So far AutoTrader has located far more Grand Prix GXP than all the GM sites put together.

At least I guess so, I don't waste my time with them because they can't even go model-specific.

I just pulled up two local GP base models at the above link. The local yokel is asking more for them than most comparable GXPs I've seen nationwide.

Site cannot discern between GP base and GP GXP.

It truly puzzles and exasperates me that GM simply does not get it regarding helping potential customers find cars.

Is there ANYONE @ GM in a decision-making position who has a frikkin clue regarding the web? Or are they so busy yukkin it up with Howie schLong that they don't have time for webmasters?


This is not a GM-exclusive problem. But you'd think that by November 2009, after the last disasterous year, someone would f****** get it.

[AusCalais]

Originally Posted by Neanderthal

I just pulled up two local GP base models at the above link. The local yokel is asking more for them than most comparable GXPs I've seen nationwide.

Site cannot discern between GP base and GP GXP.

It truly puzzles and exasperates me that GM simply does not get it regarding helping potential customers find cars.

You are correct, it is a pretty painful site.

I just used a zipcode in Va and looked for GT and GXP (it will let you choose between them) and it gave me five dealers to choose from in the area (without saying how big the area was). One dealer had 2 GTs both about $1300 less than MSRP... pretty poor runout price. Trouble was I had to click on EVERY dealer to see what was in my area and find that only one dealer actually had stock.... surely they could display the cars and at which dealer on one page.

Unfortunately many sites are not tested fully by 'normal' people prior to it going live... they are tested by insiders that are knowledgeable of the product and unconsciously skim over areas that may be problems.

The other problem is that the developers use the latest and greatest tools, sometimes before they know how they work or the public's browsers haven't caught up with or are incompatible with.