I was checking out this sweet late-model Pontiac on the eBay (as one is apt to do), and the engine bay photos caught my attention. “Whoa, somebody swapped in a Northstar V8 from a Caddy” I said in my best young Keanu Reeves impersonation. After a quick internet search (using a browser that isn’t beholden […]
Words and cars for this next feature comes from Erik202: While i liked that Accord Touring posted recently and am willing to go along with the suggestion that its the best way to go fast while powering only the front wheels, having 4doors and staying in the DT price range, I’m curious which of these […]
I’ve been looking at prices of the Pontiac G8 since they hit the market in 2008 (and were discontinued after the 2009 model year) but they’ve managed to avoid the usual depreciation…in fact, the G8 GXP versions with the LS3 and 6-speed manual are worth more than MSRP. So, what’s the deal, are all mid […]
The 7th and final generation Pontiac Grand Prix (2004-2008) was a far cry from the original Grand Prix released in 1962. But the boys at Pontiac (soon to be looking for jobs when their entire GM brand was shuttered in 2008) decided that they could still build a classic American muscle car. So here is what they did, they started with the mid-sized front-wheel-drive Grand Prix Sedan and then they GXP’d it by adding an LS4 V8 mated to a crisp-shifting 4-speed automatic, Bilstein shocks, big PBR brake calipers, cross drilled and slotted brake discs, Magnasteer II sport steering control, and the craziest part — staggered wheels/tires, wider in the front. They pulled every trick from the front-drive sport compact hot rodder’s handbook to build what is probably the best front-wheel-drive American sport sedan ever built…about 10 years after it should have been built. With the GXP, Pontiac was literally competing in 2005 with the 1996 Ford Taurus SHO. Despite that…I can’t help but want to drive one of the 17990 examples of the Grand Prix GXP built from 2005-2008, just for the fun. Find this 2006 Pontiac Grand Prix GXP offered for $4,500 in Oregon, WI via craigslist.
The Pontiac G8 GXP isn’t the fastest car you can buy for the same amount of money, or even the fastest sedan you can buy with 400+ horsepower that’ll hit 60 mph in 4.5 seconds (similar to a 2005 BMW M5 for reference). There are all kinds of European super sedans that are just as fast, if not faster…but they’ll all drain your bank account faster than a 22 year old trophy wife with a Louis Vuitton habit. The G8 GXP however, is powered by an American 6.0 liter LS3 V8 that’ll make donuts till the cows come home AND it doesn’t have a fancy self leveling air bag suspension (cough cough AMG E63) or turbos that are harder to replace than Batman’s parents (ahem, RS6). What it does have is some ridiculous Pontiac styling and an interior sourced from the leftover plastic at the McDonalds beverage lid factory and power..sweet..raw…American…power, assembled by Aussies. Find this 2009 Pontiac G8 GXP offered for $19,500 in Hattiesburg, MS via craigslist. Tip from Ramjet.
In 2008 Pontiac released a special version that Pontiac called the T2 Championship Edition to commemorate their 2007 podium sweep in the T2 class in SCCA club racing. Total production of the T2 GXP is under 100 cars (some say 88, others 90), but it was only available for 2008, all were yellow with light grey stripping on hood and on trunk, T2 stripe/badge on sides of hood, and had T2 SCCA Champion stitching on the two-tone seats to replace the standard GXP script. If you are one of those straw hat wearing SCCA cone chasers, this is the car for you! Find this 2008 Pontiac Solstice GXP T2 SCCA Edition offered for $12,995 in Dallas, TX via craigslist. Tip from Brad.
The Skystice (Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky) was Detroit’s answer to light weight sports cars like the million models sold Mazda MX-5 Miata. Typical GM feature bloat meant the Solstice/Sky wasn’t as lean a fighting machine as the MX-5, but the podium in SCCA club racing in T2 class for 2007, 2008, & 2009 gives […]
The Pontiac G8 was a Holden Commodore covered in Pontiac badges (and body cladding) imported to the US market from Australia for only two years, 2008 and 2009. There was a base V6, a V8 powered GT model, but the good stuff was saved for the GXP, a MY2009 only LS3 powered brute available with […]
If you’ve got $20k to spend on a late model roadster for driving enjoyment, you could start looking at a new MX-5 (hey, what happened to all the MX-5 competitors — MR2, Skystice, S2000?)…but you’ll run out of budget because they start around $25k before options/taxes/etc…so you are going to need to get something a […]
When GM first announced the Pontiac Solstice concept car in 2002, everybody rejoiced. Here was a fun, rear-drive, light weight, sportster, from GM. When it was released for the 2006 model year the reception was less than enthusiastic because it had porked up a bit since the concept, and was given a typically GM 4X4 […]