The Pontiac G8 Was One Stylish and Smooth Goodbye for the Brand 

I didn't know about that, I'll tell my buddy. I love little easter eggs in cars like that. I actually think that's a silly cool feature. It would be even cooler if it blacked out all the exterior lights too and they called it "cop chase mode", ha, but that would be way illegal.

Are these pretty pricey to maintain over the years?

Not to my knowledge but to be fair, I haven't heard of many people having problems even as they get high in mileage. The L76 that comes with the G8 GT has an aluminum block and can take a beating from what I've seen. I'm not sure about parts availability otherwise.

@@SammyBoy806 it's a GM V8.,.which they've been making since the 50s.very reliable , affordable maintenance, bulletproof transmission, and alot of parts avail some LS stuff is interchangeable. L76 was DOD hybrid of LS2/LS3

It’s like 5 around my city that I see almost everyday, we got sideshows all the time I never heard about anybody having problems

So underrated....the only downside (for those that wanted a GT) was that it was ONLY available with an Auto trans. I have manual trans Liquid Red GXP myself. The LS3 6.2 litre mated with the 6 speed stick is an altogether fabulous beast!! I will never part with it.....even as it's value skyrockets!!!

Joshua J-man ima Delong one exactly like the video but v6 let me know

I have the 04 grand prix and will trade in a heartbeat

The g6 gt coupe was my first car! Just upgraded to a 08 g8. got the 397th g8 v6 ever made with 43k on the dash. It’s in the shop right now getting it’s timing chain replaced :/

That seems like low mileage to replace a timing chain, but I'm no mechanic, that's for sure. Good purchase though, enjoy it!

I have a 07 g6 v6 and I love it but I love this one even more

It really is, very underestimated. The owner of this just picked up a new Buick Regal Hatch, also nicer than I anticipated. I'm going to do a review on that next, but it's no G8.

Nice! It's a good feeling keeping a car for that long still looking factory fresh. Enjoy it bro, thanks for watching!

And thank you for checking out my other videos bro! I think you might like my 59 Vette video, so few views on it and I can't see why.

@@Altek1 I will check them all, one by one. Thank you for the quality of your reviews!! I'm in Montreal, in 2018, I wrote a book about Cars. Quiz Auto, under my name. Let me know if you speak French. Best!

Looks like it'll last you forever at the rate others have lasted. You're a lucky man!

I want a wagon one of these so bad, but we didnt get them in the states

@@travistoole You could import an Aussie wagon and hand it over to the guy who converts utes to LHD. I think the company is called "LeftHandUtes". You can pick up a good V8 wagon down here starting at $20k, US. For the 3.6V6 (honestly probably all you'll ever need) you're looking at a couple of grand less. If you want one that is almost new (there are still a few out there) then add about four grand to the price in USD. Check out CarSales.com.au

@@tripsadelica Thanks, I found a new website to obsess over lol

Thanks bud, much appreciated. Whenever I see it in the parking lot at work now, I always do a double take. Glad you enjoyed the video.

Thanks bud! Me neither, I really expected to dislike it but I don't mind being wrong in this case.

Bro, your words are much appreciated. I try to capture the car in the best light and that red really popped against the green. Hopefully one day I'll hit that million sub level, but for now I'll just keep at it. Thanks for watching Will!

JadXtreme I saw one around town the other week, I was in my SS but couldn’t get the guys attention to give him the thumbs up. But it did have paper plates on it and the guy looked like he was still admiring his interior. Totally understood.

Nice.color

@@frankramos4695 where

Nice

Mine is the gray

Bro, that would be the highest honor, I appreciate the feedback. Glad you like what I do, more to come in the future and hopefully you see me on Top Gear one day 😁

Thanks! And thanks for watching!

I really didn't think I was going to like it as much as I did but I do love being wrong in those cases. I've been hearing a lot of stories with high mileage and no issues so I say you got yourself a keeper as far as looks, drive, and reliability. It seems pretty easy to get more power out of that engine from where it is but yeah, the LS2 would have been quite the treat for that car. Enjoy it bro!

The L76 is an LS2 block with LS3 heads and a small cam for DoD. Remove the DoD change the lifters and put a factory LS2 cam in and you have a better flowing LS2

the g8 GXP comes with the LS3 6.2 with 415 HP

Definitely. And even though the look is similar, I still think this G8 looks better. Still both some of the better products towards the end of Pontiacs run.

I agree with you, very well put together cars. It's sad when some corporate misdirection destroys a solid company, but at least these remaining G8's aren't going anywhere since they were built so damn well.

@@Altek1 Yes, your friend should get many years motoring out of his car if he maintains it regularly. Tell him that the most important thing in servicing the VE (G8) and VF models is making sure you use the exact grade of oil mentioned in the handbook. In the V6 models this is a synthetic motor oil of 5w30 grade. I'm not sure about the V8s. I have watched a few YT videos where American owners have "debadged" their cars, removing either the Pontiac or Chevrolet badges and attaching Holden badges instead. Tell your friend that should he want to do that he best do it quickly. The badges are still relatively plentiful as they were made in abundance for the factory but they will start to dwindle soon. They can be bought on Ebay from here. The symbol, a rampant lion with its paw on a rolling stone represents a lion rolling the ball of progress. It's an instantly recognisable symbol in Australia as the Chevrolet bowtie is in the US. Good luck to both of you. Yes, you are right...it's a great pity how GM is now in a bad way. I really feel for those workers who are about to be without a job...especially so close to Christmas. If you have some time to kill and you're interested this is a two part special program about the history of Holden right up until the company decided to use Nissan straight 6 motors in their '86 model VL Commodore (that only lasted a couple of years before they went over to using a Buick-sourced 3.6 V6 which altered from front wheel drive usage to rear wheel drive. The entire engine was re-engineered in Australia to improve the smoothness and fuel economy and also to add an optional supercharger.). Here's the link: (Part 1) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-IR8BhiiAWTo.html (Part 2) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-EvU13TvzQ_M.html

I had no intentions of reviewing the car until I started checking it out. And I didn't know how to exit the engineering menu once I enabled it, but maybe I just didn't press enough buttons. That GXP must have been fun with the extra 54hp, great last hoorah for Pontiac really. Thanks for the support and for watching as always bud!

@@Altek1 The later model Commodore has an electric handbrake (that's what we call the E-brake) with a switch near the gear lever. The engineering menu in the VF can be brought up on the infotainment screen, from memory but I may be wrong. My car is the 3.6L V6 and I don't bother with that sort of stuff. The only thing which irritates me is the black paintwork. It shows any speck of dust or water droplets. It's a bugger to keep clean and I'm an old fart! LOL!

The electric e-brake is pretty common on new cars here, I assume you're in Australia? It's kinda sad to see the handbrake go but that's what old cars are for. And tell me about it! I have a dark gray WRX and it can stay clean for about 7 hours. Spring with the pollen and winter with the salt, it's a losing battle all the time, hah!

I can't say I've ever seen one in white, but to be fair, I rarely ever see these. Enjoy the ride buddy! Thanks for watching.

Thanks bud. I was happy to be completely wrong about the car, what a great drive. Keep the Pontiac name alive and thanks for watching!

Thanks bruv! Audio is getting better and better too. And yeah, the interior was mint like the rest of it.

Altek audio def sounding great dawg

Thank you as always! I'm not very good at marketing myself without seeming like a scummy salesman so any help is greatly appreciated. The blooper was from a take I did where I really messed up the word "suspend", glad you liked it! I'm going to keep this going just trying to figure out how to post when it's 20 degrees out but I have some ideas. My next easily accessible car is an Integra that's been converted to right hand drive with a JDM front end. It's a real looker so stay tuned! Thanks again for the support. I'm sure I said it before but it's comments like these that keep me moving forward with this.

Dude you’re solid! I’m happy to hear you’re moving forward with this. I know it’s time consuming, but it’ll pay off in the end when you get to 1 million subscribers and you’ll be going cross country reviewing cars lol! Idk if this helps, but when it’s cold out you can talk about the handling in the weather conditions thrown at you during the recording. Maybe along the lines of the safety features it has from slipping, or something to do with the suspension. Either way man, you’re entertaining to watch and believe me when I tell you this, you’re beating cable and satellite by a long shot lol! It’s fun to see a new post from you because it’s like a new episode of your favorite series that airs on tv. 😂 Anyway brother, good see you’re still at it and I look forward to that Integra video as well! That’s going to be fun 😄

Man, if I got that many subs I don't know what I'd do. I'd definitely try to move to Cali to make sure I can do year round videos, that's for sure. I was thinking the same thing for winter videos, especially with my Subaru WRX getting some upgrades. Could be some snowy fun for sure. I was actually thinking of making them feel more episodic but I'm still learning my flow. It's always great to see you pop up in the comments section. If I blow up, I'll never forget people like you who supported me through the start of it all. Stay awesome bro and thanks!!

Altek 😂😂😂. Anytime brother, you’re the one doing all the hard work and WHEN you become successful, it’ll be 100% well deserved. All I can tell you is have fun with it. It doesn’t matter what you want to do, if people are interested then they will watch. If not, then there’s plenty of other channels to choose from. Lol Do your thing, and do what makes you happy. Trust me, the real fans will appreciate anything you post and just know we appreciate your hard work! 😃. Have a good one brother! -Steve

Hahah! Oh the Sundance!! I wish I had that exact car right now to do a review on it, you wouldn't believe how much a car could fall apart. Thanks for the support! I'm excited to see where this all goes.

Glad you liked the video and I'm jealous of your ute. I hope to own a El Camino one day, it's the closest thing to it here in the states.

I think GM made a huge mistake never selling a "ute equivalent" in the US. They missed a big $$ opportunity, but then again they're not known for managing $$ well. They could have just imported them with some modifications.

Hah I can see that as a car that you'd miss if you're without it too long. At least you can try to drive an R34 while you're out there to experience some serious Japanese fun. Thanks for watching and enjoy your car when you get back!

Thank you for your service!

And thank you for watching, I'd like to try an SS out just to see the difference. If I get my hands on one I'll do a review for sure.

You got good taste bro!

Thanks bro!

The GT was awesome, I can only imagine the GXP. Not to mention it pretty much kept all of its value which is incredible. Suffice it to say, I'm jealous buddy. Thanks for the subscribe!!

@@Altek1I know this comment and video are old but seeing your comment about the GXP made me want to leave a comment on the model itself. My Step Father has made a 2009 GXP his daily driver since new. Up until a hailstorm brought the car down to what we call "the hail car". A car only taken out when bad weather is in the forecast. It's beastly, but the only issue I should point out in the car is in the automatic.( Manuals were a rare option to get with the GXP with and dealer Mark ups made it ridiculous to get one) I don't know if it's his car or just a general thing with the transmission but it lags when putting the power down. An bucks as well when shifting into gears. Past 40 the power will come down more smoothly, and it goes like a ludicrous freight train all while threatening to throw out the rear if you so challenge it in the corners. He has gotten so well in tuned with that car. That what he happens to do in that car is nuts. I'm talking blasting it up to 80 and dropping the speeds like a rock with the assistance of brembos. I always admired this era of muscle cars or performance cars because while they didn't have any high tech features. It made more of a driving machine because of the lack of focus you had to have on the technology or anything else that wasn't the performance of the car. An oh, I almost forgot to mention. He's taken the cats out so not only does it sound like Daytona 500 everytime you get on it. The car vibrates gently at idle like a eager to go jack rabbit.

Hunter Robertson they didn’t make a gxp in 08, it has to be a 2009

@@BlueCollarBen that's right, I went back and made the correction in my post. Thank you

Hunter Robertson Right on, I have a G8 GXP with the manual, white with all black interior, a couple of modifications and I’m at 560hp (475 at the wheels) and it’s my daily. Absolutely one of my favorite cars

Still looks sharp as hell over a decade later, that's for sure.

That’s nice

I misread that, thought you had a G8 GXP, but still, I had a drive in a Grand Prix GXP some time ago and it was proper fun. And I saw one with an old lady behind the wheel, showroom fresh it was, she had no idea what she was driving.

Indeed you are! If it has low mileage and was cared for, just do the maintenance and it'll last you a good while.

Hah, I hope if you have an actual child, it never reads this comment. Thanks for watching!

@@Altek1 haha I'm only 22 so let's hope not for awhile 😂

😂 you're a smart man!

Haha I do that when I'm watching videos too. I'd love to get my hands on a El Camino, just a classic Ute. Thanks for watching bud.

Beat up but still kicking, my kinda car. Thanks for watching bud!

Hah, really, worst car I've ever owned hands down.

It looks sharp as hell in gray too

You ever end up getting one??

I just wish the LS4 cars came with a better transmission

Hah glad you digged it buddy. I bought that Sundance for $200 and it was worth about half that really, ha! I miss the drive of that G8, so smooth. Thanks for watching!

I'd love to pick up a 2004 TL Type S but I haven't found any in good condition. The G8 is hard to come by at a low price, but it's pretty clear it'll be the last car you'd need to buy for a while. Glad you liked the video, thanks for checking it out.

@@Altek1 of course! Do you mean 2003 or 2007/2008? 2004 was the first year of the 3rd generation TL, so there wasn’t a Type S.

Touche, my father had an 04 with the OEM body kit which mocked the Type S minus the quad pipes and manual. I'd go for the 2007/2008 option, but again, nearly impossible to find in a condition I'd want to buy. And those leather seats didn't hold up well even if treated well.

@@Altek1 Funny enough I own an RDX and love it but I missed having a car. I owned a 06 TL a few years ago while in college and loved it. Well, even with the crazy car market I met someone who had a 2008 TL Type S in Kinetic Blue. Color I’ve always wanted. He recently had the timing belt and water pump done. I don’t use as my primary, but got a crazy deal on it and love it as my weekend car.

Talk about a success story there. I bought one for $200, ran it as long as could and then drove it to a junk yard where I got $100 for it. Didn't make out that bad in the end but the car died at around 120k. Shoot me shots when you can, I'm curious to see a perfect one. Thanks for watching bud!

@@Altek1 it's still in perfect condition. It's a 1992 and 3 speed auto, 2.5 l engine. The car really struggles on hilly areas since the spacing between second and third gear is huge. My dad bought it used back in 1999 for $1000. It has around 120,000 miles. It has a lot of scratches over the years, but it's hardly noticable. I had a guy at around age 60 looking at it in Mexico and was telling me if I was selling it. He never seen a good shape Sundance in a while. You still see Sundance / Shadow cars in Mexico, but they're really beat up and on to its last leg. I'll send you pictures and maybe upload a video of the car.

I got to say, I never expected a response on the Sundance, but anything is possible, ha! My coworker had a Shadow, the turbo and all hooked up. It was actually a decent looking car all jazzed up. I can see the gearing being a bit annoying but something you'd get used to. Mine died due to a bad head gasket, not sure if that was a common problem for the car. I called it Jiminy Cricket since the car squeaked in every imaginable way possible. Still a good memory in the end. If you manage to get some shots, shoot them my way.

@@Altek1 the Sundance rattles like crazy when it comes to uneven surface. The suspension is a bit horrible. My dad tried replacing the struts and control arms, but it still clunks on uneven surface. Chrysler made those as an inexpensive vehicle. Basically a disposable car, like the Neon.

Mine rattled like hell too. I'm remembering now that I actually installed a sound system in that car, it was definitely worth more than the car but it sure didn't help the rattles. One day it was raining and I was at least happy it didn't leak. I drove 5 feet and hit the brakes and about 2 gallons of water came in from the roof and soaked me. One of the most comical cars I've ever owned.

Thanks bud. It was nice to be impressed by a Pontiac.

The GXP for that price actually seems like a good deal and considering where they're at, I can only imagine them going up in value down the road. I don't trust Tesla's build quality for the long run but the Model 3 is at least at a price I can somewhat get behind. Two totally different cars though, I think you'd love the G8 if you had a chance to drive it.

I think they would have kept slapping their badges on imported cars like they did here. It's what Buick is doing at least with their Regal these days. I don't disagree with you though, I think they would have found a way to differentiate themselves from other brands.

It's really what makes the look, without it, it would have been one bland looking car.

Thanks a lot bro! I learned a bunch while making this as well. I went in ready to hate on it and was happy as hell to be wrong in the end. As a fellow owner, I'm glad you think I did a good job, much appreciated.

@Phrozin yeah, just a GM car made by an australian car company for 2 years. totally normal.

Haha I'm with you, kinda like the new Buick Regal that's also an Opel, totally normal. But to an Australian fella that's used to Holden's, it might just be normal.

@@Altek1 yeah it's pretty normal. I own a 2009 SSV Commodore with the Pontiac front end. Commodores are everywhere here but the Pontiac front isn't very common, so makes mine a bit different.

I'd imagine it would stand out much like a Commodore front end would stand out here in the states. My buddy wanted to rebadge his car to the Holden model which I go back and forth on.

Thank you!

I didn't anticipate liking this car as much as I did. One of those situations where I was happy to be wrong. Holden made some damn good cars.

Exactly

Besides the center display with scrollable feedback from the car like gas mileage and odometer, it had a large tach and speedometer. I liked the setup though, basic but sleek. Thanks for binging some of my videos buddy!

I was under the impression that was only to shift manually since it didn't feel like it changed the speed of the shifts or throttle response. Hell, the thing was plenty responsive when in automatic mode and it chose the gear appropriately which is not common in my experience. I didn't see anything in the heads up indicating that it was sport mode but it's possible I missed it and didn't notice since I only drove it a few times. Great car overall though, I'm a big fan of it after making this video. Thanks for watching!

@@Altek1 you are very welcome and no nothing shows up in to indicate "sport" mode I noticed that was a trend in the 2000s cars since the 2000s were the perfect blend of mechanical and technology mixed together I guess the "feeling" the driver experienced was good enough to indicate sport mode no fancy menus and buttons to sith through to activate it

I've heard about the DOD failing, I'll pass that info on to my buddy. Yours must be a beast! Thanks for watching!

😍 490 not bad I love g8 I cant wait to get one silver with the red and black interior

Wow, you're the first I've heard with so many issues. Is this the same model, the G8 GT?

@@Altek1 2009 Pontiac G8 GT

@@strokerace427ace5 you have a 7 liter g8 ?

@@tylercouture216 6.0

GXP's do not come cheap at all. But at least if you pick one up and keep it nice, it should either maintain or increase in value. Happy hunting!

Nice color choice, I'd wonder how it would look with a little black lip around the body. I'm still shocked at the prices these go for used, even then, don't sell yours. Thanks for watching buddy.

@@Altek1 for a car 10 years old I still get compliments,I live in Michigan and here you have chargers and challengers everywhere lol when they pull next to the g8 they show respect for the speed but then again they try me alot too but I still drive like a grandpa lol

Haha that's great. Keep driving it like that and it'll last forever for sure. As you saw in the video, the speed was a bit alarming once I put my foot down even slightly, so I bet grandpa driving still feels spirited enough. I assume it's garaged and not your primary ride since those winters must be rough. Just saw you subscribed. Much appreciated!

@@Altek1 definitely brother it's in the garage as we speak...I had to sub brother the delivery of this video gave me chills you nailed it.

Smart man, I love me a garage kept car. Awesome to hear I nailed it, especially from an owner. Expect more in the future bro.

Haha you got a lot of things to buy my friend. I'd scoop up a GT or GXP if you can find one, I feel like they won't be easy to get for a long time.

In about 4 years realistically

I can only see the price increasing so just keep that in mind.

Honestly, I'm shocked you've had no problems with the Ford Focus so far. From my understanding and from what I've read in forums, if properly maintained, the car is rock solid. It's essentially a Holden Commodore from Australia with a Pontiac badge on it, and those cars are well built.

Very nice Peter, that would be the equivalent to the GXP here I would imagine. I'm familiar with the different terms since I've watched countless hours of Top Gear but I have to say, I think I like the bonnet on your version better. It might just be me wanting what I can't have though, either way, great car overall. Glad you enjoyed the video, means a lot coming from an owner of one! Thanks bud!

Most definitely.

4411825 the old el Camino

Haha no, you da man. Got some good opportunities coming up, excited to see where this goes. Thanks bruv.

Great choice for a daily for sure. I'm surprised to hear that about the headliner, seemed like everything was made pretty solid. How many miles on yours? I bet it's no comparison to the ws6 in all areas besides speed. Thanks for watching!

Altek just hit 130,000 miles. Only oli changes and brakes. Corsa catback. Love it. Does pull harder than my ws6.

Nice, keep the Pontiac name alive my friend!

Marco...that is really unusual. I am an Aussie and I own the station wagon version of this car. I think what has happened in your case is that the cold temperatures coupled with the humidity you get in the States (in Australia, apart from Alpine regions, it never snows) may have caused the adhesive to go bad. Easily fixed with high strength building adhesive.

I miss my ws6 so im getting a g8gt now to keep

There seems to be a good community of people upgrading the car, so aftermarket parts should be relatively easy to find. Also it's a GM L76 V8, so not only should parts be readily available, it's also a highly dependable block. I'd check forums to see if there are any known problems down the road but like I said in the video, water in the headlights seemed to be the primary complaint over time with this car. My buddy Tony has had zero problems over the last decade.

I’ve owned one and will probably own another one. Service it at a Chevy dealer. The Chevy Caprice PPV is the same vehicle with a stretched wheelbase. The Chevy SS is the next and last generation of the Holden Commodore. Common problems are lifters and front control arms.

That's a good one to start with, thanks for the subscribe!

@@Altek1 your welcome this car out performs my ford fusion 2017.

Thanks buddy!

I'll let my buddy know he can expect another worry free 80k on the car. Those are just about the best problems you can have after that many miles. Let me know when you hit 200k! Thanks for watching!

@@Altek1 how expensive are repairs whenever they come due though? Heard the Australian based manufacturing negatively affected availability/inexpensiveness of repairs, but it must be at least decent if a pretty fair share of police cruisers (the caprice is also the exact same as this & the SS, right???) out there are these; could imagine reliability AND infrequent/inexpensive maintenance being top priority if buying whole fleets of these...

I have two 09 gts in my bookmarks with less than 60k miles for $16-17K.. I will pull the trigger if they’re still available in May-June

I missed this, sorry. I'm not too sure about repair costs. If it is expensive, it certainly doesn't sway people from buying it. But you're right, the Caprice and SS we're pretty much the same car, that definitely had to help availability of parts. The biggest concern I'd have would be the Active Fuel Management, it shuts a cylinder off to save gas. Just seems like a part that can go wrong for no reason down the line.

@zbib43 I'd do it, that's baby mileage considering some success stories I've heard.