As I am from Australia which is where the Pontiac G8 is made, (Holden Commodore), I am interested to hear of what you guys think of this car. The Holden Commodore is the best selling passenger car down under, and although 80% of its sales are fleet dominated, it's very popular in the used car market among the private sector. The G8 is actually bigger than the 5 series, and here in Australia, a new Australian luxury version Holden Calais 3.6 litre, 6 cylinder costs about AUD$55,000, a new BMW 530i costs AUD$130,000. However to keep things in perspective, a Pontiac G8/Commodore's refinement is no match for a 5 series.

In addition, we have very strict road laws, with speed cameras everywhere and conservative speed limits, the maximum speed on most of our freeways is 110 kph.

So all you Americans are very lucky that BMWs are generally cheap compared to AU prices and even luckier that you don't have speed cameras. And you Germans on the autobahns have it the best.

The G8 is not yet on sale here in the US. I believe that it will be released in the next couple of months. It looks good on paper and will even be available with a stick by the fall. As you've pretty much said, I think that we're expecting an inexpensive, less refined version of the 5er. That's not necessarily a bad thing - especially for GM.

From a financial standpoint, I think you've answered yourself there Stavro.
I drove the Commodore when I lived in Australia and while it's not bad you're right on the refinement argument > it can't match the 5er's level.

:thumbsup:

The G8 sure looks like it has the potential to be a very good performance sedan for the price. A new commercial on during the bowl games today is saying the V8 version will start under $30K in the US.

Living in Michigan and working in the auto industry it would be better for me to drive an American vehicle. I was going to get a CTS-V, but found this 530 with low miles for a good price. I really would have liked a GTO, but needed 4 doors. The G8 basically being a sedan version of the GTO should be a nice balance of performance, function, and price. If I still feel like I need a larger sedan for my next car I will give it strong consideration - -- plus it would look good sitting in the garage next to my 1969 GTO convertible!

I can not speak to the refinement level of the Holdens, but I would imagine that if you happen to be into aftermarket styling/performance upgrades (despite the low speed limits), they must be readily available at a reasonable price. I follow Australian V8 Supercars on Speed Channel, and on local channels when I travel in Asia a few times a year, and am amazed by the performance of both cars and drivers--very aggresive. Garth Tander's Toll HSV Commodore VE pumping out 620 BPH from a throaty 5 litre V8 as he flies around the course is a rush to behold. It looks like there is a lot of sponsor and fan support, so I can only surmise all those "street" Commodore owners want a piece of the action.

Isn't that some great racing! Reminds me of Trans Am in the old days. I just discovered it over the past couple of weeks and have been trying to record when ever it's on, but so far keep getting the same 2 races. I found video clips at bigpondvideo.com, but even with high speed internet it buffers too much to watch. Any suggestions for how to be able to see more of this series? (or maybe I just have to wait till Speed broadcasts more events)

The V8 Supercars sound awesome too.

It is a great spectator form of racing with big cars, big sound, and close racing. The series is always very tight and Bathurst (the 600mile race at Mount Panorama in October each year) is right of passage for all young Aussie racing fans.

The V8 Commodare SS costs about US$45k plus a couple of $k to put it on the road here in Oz.

Good bang for your buck but not in the same class as a 5er.

Yes, I too love the style of racing. Seems more grass roots and the drivers tend to mix it up a bit without too much steward interference for every little infraction. I wish I had more information on how to view it here in the US. I generally just look at the Speed Channel schedule online and record the races since they tend to be broadcast during working hours. I think it's on SKY or an affiliate in Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, etc., so that may be a distant connection possibility. As you probably know, the interest level is just so much higher there for racing in general. F-1 and A1GP are huge, so the races are broadcast several times. Since the time difference is 12-13 hours, I often find myself unable to sleep and end up watching races all night. I could not find any A1GP races broadcast stateside (didn't look THAT hard), and if you miss viewing/recording an F-1 race you're screwed since the regulations (or $$) prevent them from showing it again. Gotta make room for NASCAR!

Well, when I finally make it to Australia, I will try to time it for the Bathurst event! Thanks for the info. Looking forward to watching the series opener in Adelaide next month--assuming Speed Channels shows it.