Damn You Australia: Aussies Get Revived G8 GXP and G8 Sport Truck

[cjforumadmin]

http://www.bangshift.com/blog/Damn-You-Australia-Aussies-Get-Revived-G8-GXP-and-G8-Sport-Truck.html

[prlafayette]

Damn You Australia: Aussies Get Revived G8 GXP and G8 Sport Truck

Why can't GM build the same cars for the US as Australia? Isn't part of the problem GM had too many models under too many brands with too much overlap? This car could easily packaged with some Chevy badging.

Chevy should build cars
GMC should build trucks
Caddilac should build the high end stuff

[38P]

Re: Damn You Australia: Aussies Get Revived G8 GXP and G8 Sport Truck

Blame our Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards for the dearth of new RWD V8s in the USA. With 35.5 m.p.g. CAFE (cars and light trucks combined) by 2016, nobody is going to invest in federalizing a moderately-priced RWD sedan or Ute that could only be sold in limited numbers.

Given that Buick is a core GM brand (and was William Durant's foundation for GM), it's not going away. I would probably consolidate all truck sales to GMC (could be sold by any GM dealer). Of course, I would have moved all high performance models and motorsports to an elite, niche-brand "tuner" version of Pontiac (including Corvette). I would also have resurected the GTO and/or Grand Prix names on the G8. And I'd have styled and branded the plump new Camaro as a Firebird/TransAm instead.

[ferrarimanf355]

Re: Damn You Australia: Aussies Get Revived G8 GXP and G8 Sport Truck

Speedzzter, I should also point out that Buick is a volume leader for GM in China.

[BangShift McT]

Re: Damn You Australia: Aussies Get Revived G8 GXP and G8 Sport Truck

I'll say it before and I'll say it again: Australia always seems to get the better toys. >

[oldrustycars]

Re: Damn You Australia: Aussies Get Revived G8 GXP and G8 Sport Truck

They gave us the GTO and we didn't appreciate it. It performed well, but lacked styling, in my opinion. If they could have made it look like a new 1965 Goat, maybe Pontiac would still be around.

[Hemidog]

Re: Damn You Australia: Aussies Get Revived G8 GXP and G8 Sport Truck

Note that the HSV vehicle being badged as GXP don't have the Pontiac nose as the gold G8 in your post.
Holden is selling a specail edition SS-V model that does have the Pontiac front end on both sedan and truck

[Super Sport]

Re: Damn You Australia: Aussies Get Revived G8 GXP and G8 Sport Truck

I wonder out loud if anyone has ever tried to end-around the CAFE standards by playing a shell game with production vehicles. So for instance...

You build, and certify a... V-6 model of whatever. Ship the appropriate paperwork to the feds, here it is, yes, you built a v-6 model car with a CAFE-happy fuel efficiency rating. And then, either before or after retail sale, you ship it off to your designated "Factory tuner", where it undergoes a powertrain swap, with a fresh warranty, etc. Sort of in the same mold as what AMG is to Mercedes, or similar.

I am sure the legality is complex. But as a retail purchaser in California, I can make modifications LIKELY to have a detrimental impact on my fuel economy, so long as they come with a E.O. number from CARB, or do not otherwise run afoul of emissons. Apparently, I can even buy this new E-rod crate from GM and graft it into ANY? pre-'96 vehicle, and it is legal. I don't have to answer to the Feds or state on that. So at which point is a manufacturer considered "Off the hook" for a car meeting CAFE?

[Brian Lohnes]

Re: Damn You Australia: Aussies Get Revived G8 GXP and G8 Sport Truck

Interesting question.

The E-Rod motor comes with cats attached and all other emmissions systems as well, that's how it got the CARB number. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, just why it's legal.

Brian

[gimp4930]

Re: Damn You Australia: Aussies Get Revived G8 GXP and G8 Sport Truck

Well we also have a dual cab version of the pickup, 4WD versions (avalanche and ah poop I forget the other one, a station wagon anywho) the 4X4 system is a modified M2 hummer setup. 4X4 sedans and coupes.

[38P]

Re: Damn You Australia: Aussies Get Revived G8 GXP and G8 Sport Truck

I wonder out loud if anyone has ever tried to end-around the CAFE standards by playing a shell game with production vehicles. So for instance...

You build, and certify a... V-6 model of whatever. Ship the appropriate paperwork to the feds, here it is, yes, you built a v-6 model car with a CAFE-happy fuel efficiency rating. And then, either before or after retail sale, you ship it off to your designated "Factory tuner", where it undergoes a powertrain swap, with a fresh warranty, etc. Sort of in the same mold as what AMG is to Mercedes, or similar.

I am sure the legality is complex. But as a retail purchaser in California, I can make modifications LIKELY to have a detrimental impact on my fuel economy, so long as they come with a E.O. number from CARB, or do not otherwise run afoul of emissons. Apparently, I can even buy this new E-rod crate from GM and graft it into ANY? pre-'96 vehicle, and it is legal. I don't have to answer to the Feds or state on that. So at which point is a manufacturer considered "Off the hook" for a car meeting CAFE?

EPA rules to be issued March 31, 2010 will regulate CO2 emissions in new vehicles for the first time under the guise of the Clean Air Act. So the legality is about to get even more complex.

As to the "shell game," uncertified "tampering" with new cars can lead to huge "civil monetary penalties" (ordinary folks just say fines). That's why new car tuners such as Shelby, Roush, Saleen, SMS, Hennesey, Lingenfelter etc. undertake such Herculean efforts to certify their street packages and small fry dealers in the vein of Baldwin-Motion, Mr. Norm, Mecum have been out of the game for nearly four decades. (Historical footnote: here's the EPA memorandum that put an end to all of the dealer-built hot rod fun back in the day: http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resour...per-memo1a.pdf

Of course, once a tuner certifies his mods, the "shell game" is over. However, unless the tuner is part of an OEM, any CAFE "gas guzzler" penalties incurred would be the responsiblity of the tuner, not the OEM. And different rules may apply. For example, Saleen and Shelby are classified as "small manufacturers" (http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/staticfiles...2008_PRIA.pdf) and would be responsible for their own NHTSA/EPA compliance and CAFE averages. Small
vehicle manufacturers making less than 10,000 vehicles per year can petition NHTSA to have alternative standards CAFE averages set. Thus, most small vehicle manufacturers are not required to meet current CAFE standards. Moreover, as anyone who has followed the tuner market has observed, there is a bit more latitude for post-title modifications in the states that do not follow CARB rules.

E-Rod is, of course, wholly irrelevant to any OBD-II vehicles (Post 1996). But it does suggest a possible growth area for the OEMs is production of emissions-legal retrofit packages. For example, I predict it won't be long before you'll see Coyote V8 retrofit kits for a host of FoMoCo products . . . perhaps even some in the OBD-II era.

[Super Sport]

Re: Damn You Australia: Aussies Get Revived G8 GXP and G8 Sport Truck

E-Rod is, of course, wholly irrelevant to any OBD-II vehicles (Post 1996). But it does suggest a possible growth area for the OEMs is production of emissions-legal retrofit packages. For example, I predict it won't be long before you'll see Coyote V8 retrofit kits for a host of FoMoCo products . . . perhaps even some in the OBD-II era.

I am sure they have plans in the works, it only makes sense. GM has to be pleased with the reception the LS motors have had with the aftermarket and enthusiasts, and it was pretty obvious that the 4.6L V8 was not pulling any sort of organic following in the aftermarket, for whatever reasons. If they can package it in a similar, straightforward manner, (here's your turnkey engine, ecu, emissions hardware, etc) and maybe toss in a couple of sensible extras, like some engine mount templates and reference material to facilitate grafting the new engine into earlier generation FoMoCo stuff, or mating it to earlier transmissions, then they will almost certainly have a winner.