Pontiac G8 GXP 2009 Review

Saying that the launch of the Pontiac G8 GXP has been poorly timed is to flirt recklessly with understatement.

On the eve of the GXP's American debut as the most powerful of the VE-based Pontiac G8 line-up, the US car market is slogging through its worst sales slump since 1983 and General Motors is estimated to be around six months away from running out of cash.

If the next logical step happens - American cities collapsing into a cannibalistic anarchy ruled by flesh-eating mutants - the GXP will at least be remembered as the most powerful factory-job ever to wear a Pontiac badge.

Think of the GXP as a somewhat watered down - and considerably less pricey - version of the HSV GTS.

As with the GTS, the GXP's Corvette-derived 6.2-litre LS3 V8 (309kW to the GTS's 317 due to a quieter, more restrictive exhaust) is paired with either a Hydra-Matic 6L80 six-speed auto or a Tremec TR6060 six-speed manual, the only stick-shift offered in the Commodore-based Pontiac G8 range.

To simplify production and hold down prices - base is about US$40,000 including a $2000 government fuel-guzzler charge - GM pruned the expensive magnetic ride suspension off the HSV. To cater for the average American's desire for a slightly waftier ride, the FE3 suspension pack has retuned shocks that allow for ample wheel travel. This prohibits the use of the HSV's 275 rear tyres and 20-inch wheels. Four-piston Brembo calipers do the stopping.

The bodywork and interior upgrades from the base G8 are quite subtle: a chunkier front fascia with Pontiac's trademark flaring nostrils, a trunk lip spoiler, seats and dash accented by GXP logos and a unique squared-off steering wheel. Polished 19-inch wheels wear somewhat conservative 245/40 W-rated Bridgestone Potenza RE050As.

Options are few: a sunroof, all-season tyres for colder climates, and a dealer-installed 'Track Pack', that includes an upgraded transmission and engine oil coolers. The colour choices are even the same as the base G8.

The net effect is a composed, if slightly soft, black-top cruiser, the LS3 rumbling and roaring with just the right bent-eight swagger. Sound familiar?

Yet, unlike the hand-finished HSV, the GXP is completed on the Commodore line at Elizabeth. General Motors is hoping to move 5000-7000 per year, but sales of the G8 have been off the mark by over 50 percent since its introduction last February thanks to high fuel prices and America's Twinkie-soft economy.

Tough times lie ahead for the Pontiac GXP, but as Rick Blaine from Casablanca might say, "The problems of one little car don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world."