Talk me out of a Pontiac G8?

Jinx

when in doubt, upgrade!
Location
So Jordan, Utah
Other than Pontiac being gone and getting parts down the road might be an issue and probably get expensive, I really like the look and it seems like they had great reviews and high HP for a 4 door family car.

Oh and I don't think it will handle the trails very well. :D
 

rholbrook

Well-Known Member
Location
Kaysville, Ut
I want one. When you can't get parts for it down the road is when you will really love it. Then you have the perfect drivetrain for a really cool project. Do it
 

mbryson

.......a few dollars more
Supporting Member
It's a late model Pontiac. The motor is awesome, but it's surrounded by Pontiac.


....I'm ready for something NOT Chrysler based. The 5.7 Hemi Charger was considered but it's still a Chrysler and I don't have the best track record with those as we all know. (wish the Taurus was a 5.0L RWD car...I'd be all over that :D) I'll keep the 7.3L and the trail Jeep and use the 25+mpg sedan to drive to work and back/forth to Logan
 

mbryson

.......a few dollars more
Supporting Member
There's a G8 that rips up and down my street. It doesn't look nearly as tough as it sounds... but man, it sounds pretty healthy.

6.0 LS motor.... you can probably make as much power as you want. Stock the motor is not any kind of wheezer at all. I'm really surprised how much that sedan seems to fit my "non-Jeep" part of my lifestyle. It knocks down over 25 mpg and it's totally not slow (this is a bit of a concern as I like my current insurance rates). Trunk fits some golf clubs and such. Comfortable seating for four. I'd like to drive one for a while and see how my knees do after a couple hours. Maybe I'll rent a 5.7L Charger for the weekend? (assuming they're new enough I could rent one)
 

Rock Taco

Well-Known Member
Location
Sandy
You should totally do it! They will be a collector car in the future for sure.

Another gym product sure to be a future collector car is the SS. It looks like a Malibu but handles and performs like a BMW M5. It's mostly from the Holden division of GM which I hear is going away as will the SS when that happens.

[video]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YbLweooe3aM[/video]
 

Troop92

Well-Known Member
Location
Layton, UT
The G8 might have looked like a Pontiac, but the platform was developed and built by Holden in Australia for GM. They exported out to the States and reskinned it a Pontiac. Holden has a solid reputation in Australia.
 

Tacoma

Et incurventur ante non
Location
far enough away
If the G8 was the end of it all, I'd maybe say no, because oh no you can't get parts BUT the drivetrain is all available and I'd say, get one. I'm not sure how much the new SS/cop car shares w/the G8 but that's sexy too, and maybe worth looking into. The cop car version looks to be runnign around $15k last time I looked, and I've seen a couple on the road....

DO IT
 

mbryson

.......a few dollars more
Supporting Member
Well, this happened VERY late on Thursday night. Had to head up to Cache Valley early Friday morning and just got back home in time to check out a few trucks to tow my Jeep around (been looking at those for weeks) today. I found some really solid deals on pickups but kept coming back to one of the last Indians to roll off the line. Tim Dahle has a white G8 that I drove twice and know the number they'll sell it at. It wasn't quite where I wanted to be so I bought one almost sight unseen out of St. George. This G8 is as CLEAN as I was led to believe. Maintained very well in all aspects. There are a couple scratches but it has 69k miles. Nothing serious at all and I haven't found a dent on it even after hand washing today (I had to go buy a chamios...haven't had one of those for quite a while). It has all kinds of niceties I didn't expect but is lacking some I did kind of expect (no bluetooth?).
IMG_3282.jpg


I was pretty apprehensive even immediately after handing over the $ for the car. I haven't daily driven a car since 1998. I've got about 250 miles on it so far and am really starting to warm up to it. I 'think' I'll be able to contain my inner 17 yr old (most of the time). Woods Cross to Smithfield, golf course, errands, errands, errands, wash the car, Hyde Park to Woods Cross I got an average of 24 mpg. That's even me doing a few full throttle blasts here and there (you know, to get up to traffic speed or merge or something).

Observations: It's LOW to the ground. I've not noticed the lug nuts on semi-tractors before but have the past couple of days. It's not BRUTALLY fast like a 60-70 something big block muscle car. However, I think it would SMOKE most of those cars as it puts the power down and scoots. 6.0L @ 361 HP is pretty damn fun when it's knocking down that kind of mpg. I'd liken the early muscle to a 3 lb hammer and the G8 to a nice Eastwing (I'm sure there are cooler hammers out there?) hammer sized right for the job. It certainly gets the job done.

That takes care of commuter car. I sold the JKU and the 7.3, took the cash, bought a CLEAN '98 Cummins for a price I could probably flip and make a couple thousand on and put a significant amount of $ down on the G8. I call it a win. Since I haven't had the JKU, I think I figured out it bugged me that I was commuting as far as I was in it. I really do like the platform and it's proven itself a few times to me. It's also had a couple of steering wheel centering related brake issues and a few other things. I'm not sure if I'd buy one again without going one ton and 38-40" tires but for what they are, they are pretty dang impressive. Driving a rig across NV, running the Rubicon, airing up and driving home is pretty impressive. I drove an XJ for a day in between not having the JKU and the G8 and the JKU is SO much better than an XJ that it's not even funny. (shocker, eh?)

I SERIOUSLY considered a new 6.7L Cummins (Dempsey is the man!) and QUITE a few 6.7L Fords from 70-150k miles varying in price from $25-35k. With systems SO complex on the F350, I decided to bail on those. I almost threw $ down three times on three different trucks. The K*I*S*S thing is GONE from a modern diesel pickup (well, anything honestly----gadgets and gizmos aplenty out there----some useful and some are in the "huh" category). Seems like the older diesels, if you get a check engine light it's $200-3000. On the newer emissions era diesels, I think you're looking at $200-10,000. That's more than I like to keep on hand esp to cover my ass on a car repair. The F350 or 3500 would be a commuter. Seems like a dorky idea to buy a SPENDY truck like that and have it get 97% of it's miles just getting my fat ass to work. I don't weigh that much so the commuter car won out. The G8 has a 6.0L GM V8 and knocks down 25 mpg. That's almost 10 mpg more than anything I've had in the last 20 years. (I've even had the "magic" 555 Cummins and it didn't get more than 18 mpg on the freeway). The JKU with 4.88 and 35" tires got about 16-17 on the lie-o-meter. Lie-o-meter is probably pretty accurate from my spot checks here and there.

MPG isn't really the major cost of commuting. Insurance is about 50% of the fuel cost (at least in my case)..... I think the G8 and older "yard truck" is a good combination. As in all things, time will tell.


As most of you know, I have a very understanding wife
 
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mbryson

.......a few dollars more
Supporting Member
Looks sharp! You need a silver tow rig, now.



LOL, I'll post up a picture of what followed me home last night. I did NOT want to buy this truck but it's the "old man" truck you always look for when you're buying....





my neighbor calls this the "cowboy" to the "Indian" (the G8)
 

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bryson

RME Resident Ninja
Supporting Member
Location
West Jordan
You said the truck is a '98, right? I can see that it's a Quad Cab rather than an Extended Cab, but is it a 12 valve, or a 24 valve? I can't see the engine badge on the door well enough to tell...

Either way, I like it. Maybe just because I'm familiar with that generation of Dodge truck...
 

mbryson

.......a few dollars more
Supporting Member
You said the truck is a '98, right? I can see that it's a Quad Cab rather than an Extended Cab, but is it a 12 valve, or a 24 valve? I can't see the engine badge on the door well enough to tell...

Either way, I like it. Maybe just because I'm familiar with that generation of Dodge truck...


24 valve. Has all the "fixes", FASS pump, injection pump, fresh trans, redone trackbar, steering (that one looks stock to me but what do I know) etc. Interior is in REALLY good shape for the miles/age.... couldn't turn it down. I can flip it if I don't like and make a couple thousand?
 
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