Goddamn, these are expensive...

"Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo" (thetomselleck) 01/14/2020 at 17:10 • Filed to: G8

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According to CarGurus, there are only two manual Holden Commodore   Pontiac G8 GXPs for sale nationwide. One has three accidents reported, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Compare to the also Holden Commodore Chevy SS, where there are 8 manual-equipped specimens for sale nationally.

But wait: it gets worse.

Manual was not an option — AT ALL — on the base G8, nor the G8 GT. Yes, the only way to get a stick is to get the G8 GXP, many of which were of course automatics. They only sold 1,829 GXPs. I suspect very few were manual ... I was very disappointed to learn that no G8 GTs came from Australia the factory with a stick for the Pontiac brand.

Who cares?

I do. The Pontiac G8 GXP 6MT was sold with the 6.2L LS3 V8 making 415 horsepower, paired to a Tremec 6-speed manual transmission.

But finally offering something interesting was all too little, too late for Pontiac. Heap on the recession and *poof* down goes the brand.

But still... pretty cool car, I’ll be happy if I ever see one in the wild.

Oh — and did you know GM was thinking about !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! under the Pontiac name ? Hurts, don’t it...

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/14/2020 at 17:13

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My local dealer had a Chevy SS towards the end of 2017. It was awesome and sad at the same time. 

Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/14/2020 at 17:15

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They still look fantastic despite being out of production by about a decade.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. 01/14/2020 at 17:17

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It almost looks like you could sell it today. It’s almost 12 years old...

CB > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/14/2020 at 17:17

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We didn't even get a manual G8 in Canada as far as I know.

412GTI > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/14/2020 at 17:18

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Funny, I just watched that MotorWeek video last weekend and was thinking about how cool the GXP was. Would I want one today? Heck no, expensive and I can imagine it’s difficult getting parts for the car. 

ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/14/2020 at 17:23

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Stop reminding me of cars that I cannot buy :((

Chariotoflove > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/14/2020 at 17:31

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Enthusiast-oriented models like this were never going to keep Pontiac alive, recession or no, on their own. They could only have helped as halo cars if Pontiac had kept their down-range cars performance minded and with some obvious DNA from the halo.

But aside from that, would having a manual have meant anything for the G8 halo effect anyway ? I mean, I always saw these as more muscle car than sports car, and wouldn’t most muscle car buyers as a demographic choose an auto anyway? Put another way, even if the G8 had sold in droves and revived Pontiac (in some parallel universe), wouldn’t you think the manual ones would still have sa t on lots waiting for the occasional weirdo like you find on Oppositelock?

FrankAtlanta > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 01/14/2020 at 17:33

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I’m disappointed the Chevy SS didn’t sell...I was in the market this year and looked at used SSs, but the prices didn't make sense for what I needed...but they sure were tempting!

Wacko > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/14/2020 at 17:35

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Still newer than any dodge.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Chariotoflove 01/14/2020 at 17:39

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I guess any brand whose best car was a Corolla hatchback was doomed anyway.

The lack of manuals lamentation is not a criticism of GM or any business model; it’s just an inconvenience for *MEEEEEE* who is a weirdo on Oppo.

Chariotoflove > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/14/2020 at 17:41

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I guess any brand whose best car was a Corolla hatchback was doomed anyway.

How can you say that about the brand that created the fire chicken?

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Chariotoflove 01/14/2020 at 17:46

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Pontiacs lineup 2003-to-death I believe featured no such Flaming Rooster 

Danimalk - Drives a Slow Car Fast > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/14/2020 at 17:56

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InFierority Complex > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/14/2020 at 18:05

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Just saw a G8 today which had me looking at prices earlier . Even the GTs seem to be holding their value pretty well. The v6 base would probably be enough for me but you can’t get a manual with that either.

The cheaper option would be to go for a manual GTO, I guess, but that isn’t as practical day-to-day.

Danimalk - Drives a Slow Car Fast > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/14/2020 at 18:08

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Your best bet is looking at these instead :

Chariotoflove > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/14/2020 at 18:12

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That’s probably what doomed them more than anything else.  They lost the fire.

404 - User No Longer Available > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/14/2020 at 18:19

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Manual was not an option — AT ALL — on the base G8, nor the G8 GT. Yes, the only way to get a stick is to get the G8 GXP, many of which were of course automatics.

Sometimes GM gets way too ahead of itself... BMW only discontinued manuals on base cars this year and started implementing the formula of forcing you to get the most expensive one for a manual.

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/14/2020 at 18:44

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I’d seen the Commodore Sport Wagon Down Under and absolutely yearned for that car with the LS3, manual 6MT and this color...

It never made it up here. RIP.

Thank all that is holy. I can only get so hard.

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/14/2020 at 18:45

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FWIW, I always like the styling on that Pontiac G8 MUCH better than the Bloated-Malibu look of the later SS... even with the LS3 and Tremec.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Chariotoflove 01/14/2020 at 18:49

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Your subtle puns are no match for my burning hatred.

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/14/2020 at 19:02

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It's no easier to find a manual gearbox version in the land of their birth either...

Chariotoflove > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/14/2020 at 19:07

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Subtle?  You give me too much credit.

RangerSmith > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/14/2020 at 21:12

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First one I ever saw was on Highway 26 between Othello and Colfax in 2008 or 2009. I was doing 100mph. And it passed me like I was standing still. It was red, and the noises still get me all hot and bothered.

shop-teacher > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/14/2020 at 21:26

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Yeah, I laughed very hard at everybody who didn't buy one new, because they were going to wait for depreciation and snap up a used one. Riiiiiiiight.

Saracen > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/14/2020 at 21:29

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A used Chevy SS is considerably newer and only a little more expensive.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > shop-teacher 01/14/2020 at 21:32

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I bet someone who bought one at the end of ‘09 new got a nice deal though...

shop-teacher > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/14/2020 at 21:37

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That would have been a really good buy.

pip bip - choose Corrour > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/15/2020 at 03:36

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ah, Commodore

StndIbnz, Drives a MSRT8 > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/15/2020 at 09:01

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My friend has 1 of these as well as 2 G8 6 speeds.  He has an addiction.

LJ909 > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/15/2020 at 13:57

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I was in sales at a Pontiac-Buick-GMC dealer during the Recession, cash for clunkers and when Pontiac was on its deathbed. We had 3 Pontiacs in our entire inventory. A yellow G5, which if anyone remembers was pretty much a badge engineered Cobalt for Pontiac, a G6 hardtop convertible , and a bright ass blue G8 GT. No one would touch it. The damn thing was fantastic to drive. But we couldn’t get anyone to buy it.

Some suspect it was the color. Others like myself, thought that the fact that people knew the brand was getting shuttered scared customers away. But it sat. Never sold. Even when the dealership eventually was shuttered a short time later under the GM bk it was still there. I always wondered what happened to it.

Time has shown though that the last rare & performance cars from Pontiac, the Solstice coupes and any V8 model G8 have held their value to some degree. Most though are CP priced.