Photo: Instagram | tuningcar_ps
When General Motors revived the Hummer moniker a few years back with an emphasis on electron-sipping machines, some thought they might eventually do the same to Pontiac. The company founded in 1926 has been dead for nearly 13 years, and despite how much some may wish to see a brand-new Pontiac alongside the respective dealers nationwide, it looks like it's not going to happen.
General Motors has other things on its plate. Like most mainstream automakers out there, the main focus is on expanding the offering with additional crossovers, SUVs, and trucks and making more electric vehicles. We wouldn't go as far as stating Pontiac will never be revived, as anything can happen, especially since GM can tie some future models to certain iconic nameplates. Mind you, we're not convinced that the G8 would be one of them, though.
The muscly sedan crowd may remember the G8, otherwise marketed in Australia as the Holden Commodore, as it reached our shores in early 2008. However, some one and a half years after it touched down in the United States (and Canada), production ended altogether. The decision was directly tied to the killing of the Pontiac brand, and it quickly spread to other vehicles signed by the defunct automaker. Therefore, the G8, which was made Down Under and exported to America, only lasted until mid-2009.
Based on GM's Zeta platform, the Pontiac G8 shared many components with the Buick Park Avenue, Chevrolet Camaro, and Caprice. It had a 114.7 inches (2,913 mm) long wheelbase, which made it a bit shorter than the aging Dodge Charger, and the engines of choice were a V6 and a pair of V8s. These were connected to a six-speed manual, a five-speed automatic, or a six-speed automatic transmission, and in the top form, it enjoyed a little over 400 horsepower from its Corvette-sourced lump. It could do the 0-60 mph (0 to 97 kph) acceleration in four and a half seconds, and the quarter mile was quoted at 13 seconds dead back then.
Over the years, there have been several unofficial attempts at breathing new life into the Pontiac G8. The latest that we stumbled upon came from tuningcar_ps on Instagram, and imagines the muscly sedan with a new face. The rendering artist gave it a pair of new LED headlights with integrated DRLs, rearranged the pixels of the bumper, and made the hood vents a bit deeper. They rounded off the project with new wheels and a few black accents, including those on the side mirror casings. There's no doubt that we wish Pontiac brought back the G8, stuffing the C8 'Vette Z06's engine under its hood, but do you think that would be a good idea money-wise, considering that high-riders dominate new car sales?
The muscly sedan crowd may remember the G8, otherwise marketed in Australia as the Holden Commodore, as it reached our shores in early 2008. However, some one and a half years after it touched down in the United States (and Canada), production ended altogether. The decision was directly tied to the killing of the Pontiac brand, and it quickly spread to other vehicles signed by the defunct automaker. Therefore, the G8, which was made Down Under and exported to America, only lasted until mid-2009.
Based on GM's Zeta platform, the Pontiac G8 shared many components with the Buick Park Avenue, Chevrolet Camaro, and Caprice. It had a 114.7 inches (2,913 mm) long wheelbase, which made it a bit shorter than the aging Dodge Charger, and the engines of choice were a V6 and a pair of V8s. These were connected to a six-speed manual, a five-speed automatic, or a six-speed automatic transmission, and in the top form, it enjoyed a little over 400 horsepower from its Corvette-sourced lump. It could do the 0-60 mph (0 to 97 kph) acceleration in four and a half seconds, and the quarter mile was quoted at 13 seconds dead back then.
Over the years, there have been several unofficial attempts at breathing new life into the Pontiac G8. The latest that we stumbled upon came from tuningcar_ps on Instagram, and imagines the muscly sedan with a new face. The rendering artist gave it a pair of new LED headlights with integrated DRLs, rearranged the pixels of the bumper, and made the hood vents a bit deeper. They rounded off the project with new wheels and a few black accents, including those on the side mirror casings. There's no doubt that we wish Pontiac brought back the G8, stuffing the C8 'Vette Z06's engine under its hood, but do you think that would be a good idea money-wise, considering that high-riders dominate new car sales?
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