G8Nation » Holden

Atari Gauges Out, Shelf In, Shelf Out???

G8Nation — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 01:09:44 +0000

Before you go any further, note that the 2009 Pontiac G8 GT interior photo above is an official photo from Pontiac that was taken at a Pontiac photo shoot 2 weeks ago. Note the date on the display. This photo will likely be used in the 2009 Pontiac G8 brochures and on the Pontiac web site once it’s updated to show the 2009 G8. Thank you Pontiac for providing this photo to G8Nation.

Since the G8 was introduced, one of the biggest complaints was the Atari style gauges that sat atop the center stack. Those who cross-shopped the base sedan know that on that vehicle the display is used for radio and DIC information. Once you step up to the up-level radio on the base (which is standard on the G8 GT), you get a much bigger, better radio display, so Pontiac decided to leave the smaller display in place, showing oil pressure and battery status.

Well, Pontiac heard your plea to remove the useless gauges. Back on June 12, we reported that the digital voltmeter and oil gauges were being removed for the 2009 Pontiac G8, and everyone rejoiced; that is until they found out that the gauges were being replaced by nothing more than an empty space.

G8Nation has been informed by Pontiac Communications Manager, Jim Hopson, that Pontiac is currently “exploring other options for the best use of the space”. Can we suggest the trio of analog gauges found in the Holden HSV W427?

If you want your voice to be heard, register now for the “YOU ASK PONTIAC” program right here on G8Nation.

Register Today & Be Part of “YOU ASK PONTIAC”

[Source: Pontiac]

Discuss this post in our Pontiac G8 Forum - (1) Posts

Pontiac G8 News Week in Review - July 25

G8Nation — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 02:43:35 +0000

The last seven days have been pretty busy. G8Nation published nine articles and unfortunately that wasn’t enough to keep up with all of the G8 new in the media this week.

We’re happy to announce that we had our first featured Pontiac G8 with owner. Check out Jay’s 2008 Ignition Orange Metallic G8 GT. Any Pontiac G8 owner can have their G8 featured on G8Nation.

We published three Pontiac G8 reviews this week. The first G8 review of the week came from CNET, the technology-centric site that is more concerned with gigabytes than horsepower. Our first review from a Canadian publication came from John Turley-Ewart of the National Post reviewing both the G8 V6 sedan & GT. Finally, the reviews wrapped up with the Fox News review of the 2008 Pontiac G8 GT.

Not wanting to leave the spotlight of stupidity to Robert Steinmiller, we had a couple of G8 shenanigans in the news this week. The first incident involved a stolen 2007 Gold Pontiac G8 and the other was the owner of a G8 with a stolen license plate stealing $27.99 worth of gas from Sheetz in Carlisle, PA.

G8Nation gave our friends at Precision Motorsports of Florida a hand by helping them find a Pontiac G8 V6 to be featured in an upcoming issue of High Performance Pontiac Magazine with G8 #001.

Holden announced the availability of the HSV W427, the G8’s Australian sibling packing the powerful 7.0 liter LS7 V8.

Finally, we just found out the Jimmy Kimmel and Ed McMahon have teamed up to do a series of Pontiac commercials for the G8, G6, G5 and Vibe. The first commercial will air the night Monday July 28 during Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC.

Keep sending us your Pontiac G8 news and questions.

Holden HSV W427 In Production and On Sale

G8Nation — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 07:33:36 +0000

Holden today officially revealed the W427, previously revealed as a “concept” at the Melbourne Auto Show. The car began production at the company’s Clayton based facility this week and sales of Australia’s fastest street legal production car have begun. Production of the W427 is limited to only 427 units, and the entire 80 units for 2008 have been pre-sold and will fetch a price of $155,500.

The HSV W427 is powered by a 7.0 liter LS7 V8 engine with specific HSV calibration that delivers 502 hp. The engine is mated to a Tremec TR6060 six-speed transmission that won’t be in the 2009 Pontiac G8 GT.

It features: Front Driving lamps, Projector headlamps, 3 piece rear spoiler in carbon fiber, Unique W427 front fascia, Quad exhaust outlet with active bi-modal rear mufflers and Metallic Paint.

All of this and us Yanks are still waiting for the comparatively decaffeinated Pontiac G8 GXP. sigh

[Source: Holden]

Discuss this post in our Pontiac G8 Forum - (2) Posts

Pontiac G8 News Week in Review - July 11

G8Nation — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 02:54:10 +0000

G8Nation introduced two people to the Pontiac G8 community this week. First was Warrack Leach, designer of the 2010 Pontiac G8 ST. Second was Christine Kozlowski who won a 2008 White Hot 11U Pontiac G8 after being crowned Ms. Mississippi.

There were two notable Pontiac G8 reviews in the news. First was the NY Daily News review of the Pontiac G8 GT and then Car and Drivers review of the G8 V6 where Mark Gillies noted the G8 V6 sedan as a compelling alternative to the Toyota Avalon, Ford Taurus and Chrysler 300 Touring.

Cars.com reported that the Pontiac G8 spent an average of 30 days sitting on dealer lots in June before being purchased by some lucky owner. The time on lots increased significantly from the May report of only 16 days.

Finally, G8Nation was responsible for breaking two related news stories this week. Both stories were focused on the colors of the upcoming Pontiac G8 GXP. We first reported that the G8 GXP would not be made available in the orange show car color. Finally, Jim Hopson let us break the news that the G8 GXP would be available in every color of the G8 color palette.

Keep sending us your Pontiac G8 news and questions.

Pontiac G8 ST Designer - Warrack Leach

G8Nation — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 11:46:45 +0000

The Pontiac G8 ST made its way back into the news in a big way last week. First with the story of the El Camino nameplate still being considered for the Pontiac G8 ST and then with the announcement that Pontiac is considering a V6 engine choice on the G8 ST.

As one of the most highly anticipated vehicles to come down the Pontiac pipeline, the 2010 Pontiac G8 ST will be the catalyst that shines the international spotlight on Warrack Leach, a lead designer at GM’s Holden unit.

Based on his work with the Australian Holden Ute and his American GMC Denali XT Hybrid concept, he was tapped to develop the American interpretation of the Holden Ute…..enter, the 2010 Pontiac G8 ST. We wonder if his experience with the Denali XT concept will lead the way to a hybrid Pontiac G8 ST, especially since Holden has already decided make the Commodore go green in 2010.

Warrack Leach, now in his early thirties, joined Holden’s design team in 1999 whi;e attending Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Design. During his tenure at Holden he has designed the interiors of the 2002 Holden SSX concept, VE Commodore sedan, and the Holden-powered 2003 Elfin Clubman/Streamliner before moving over to the exterior side in 2005.

Leach has a straight forward approach design, focusing on maximizing the dimensional limitations of the vehicle architecture and exaggerating key design elements. Leach’s designs are influenced by classic automobiles, particularly those penned by Bill Mitchell, GM’s design chief from 1958-1977. “One of my favorite Mitchell designs has to be the ‘66 Oldsmobile Toronado. That was an inspirational vehicle to me because it has a lot of modern cues that still stand out today, even though Mitchell designed it more than 40 years ago,” he says. Leach adheres to Mitchell’s penchant for designs with sharp, razor-like edges, and enjoys developing vehicles with “dramatic, yet realistic, proportions. I tend not to over-wheel a car or cut the roof to limit headroom; my goal is to develop great proportions within production dimensions based around real-world engineering and I think that adds credibility to a design.”

His inspiration from 1858-1977 Chevy’s is evident in the design of the 2010 Pontiac G8 ST. Now if GM could just decide on a name for the Pontiac G8 ST, we’d all be much happier.

[Source: Automotive Design and Production]

Pontiac G8 News Week in Review - July 4

G8Nation — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 23:43:47 +0000

It’s been a busy week at G8Nation with 9 big stories. We’re happy to say that G8Nation broke some big Pontiac G8 news this week that quickly spread to the top car news sites. It’s been a while, but the Pontiac G8 ST made its way back into the news in a big way thanks to G8Nation. Even though we’ve all been expecting the results to the Tame the Name sweepstakes, Pontiac is still trying to decide whether or not it would be wise to consider the classic Chevy El Camino nameplate for the Pontiac G8 Ute. Not quite as many choices as the number of names being considered, G8Nation informed the Pontiac G8 community that the Pontiac engineers and marketing teams are considering adding V6 engine option for the G8 ST.

Since Pontiac parted ways with NASCAR a few years ago, there is no chance we’ll ever see a Pontiac G8 in the Sprint Cup, however, the next best thing is watching Dale Jr. drive a Holden Commodore in Australia this December.

GM reported their June sales this week and to date they have sold 6,270 Pontiac G8s this year, with 1,536 Pontiac G8s being sold in June, down from Pontiac G8 sales in May. We expected a slightly higher number considering the Pontiac G8 was the most reviewed car in the Month of May. However, as Clint Williams of the Washington Times pointed out in his Pontiac G8 GT review, gas prices are rising sharply. It was a rough month for GM with their stock price dipping below $10.00 a share for the first time since 1954 and now considering eliminating employee pricing on the 2009 Pontiac G8.

For the second week in a row, G8Nation broke some more news regarding the 2009 Pontiac G8 colors. Contrary to previous reports, Pontiac is considering letting Magnetic Gray Metallic (18U) remain for the entire 2009 model year.

In the spirit of America’s favorite holiday, Edmunds InsideLine asked readers to vote for the most American car in their long term fleet. Of course, despite its Aussie roots, the Pontiac G8 GT is one of the All-American candidates.

Keep sending us your Pontiac G8 news and questions.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. to Race Holden Commodore in Australia

G8Nation — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 13:40:32 +0000

Since Pontiac parted ways with NASCAR a few years ago, it doesn’t look like we’ll have a chance to see a Pontiac G8 run in the Sprint Cup any time soon. How about the next best thing….Dale Earnhardt Junior racing a Holden Commodore in December 2008.

According to Wheels Mag, Dale Jr. will make his Australian racing debut at Sydney’s Oran Park behind the wheel of a Holden Commodore V8 in the junior feeder category in the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series.

Scott Loadsman, Fujitsu V8 Series team boss, confirmed the purchase of another car for his team. The team just purchased a Holden Commodore, nicknamed ‘Gidget’ from Paul Morris Motorsport. Series leader, Steve Owen will drive ‘Gidget’ and will hand over the keys to his previous car to Dale Jr. Coincidentally, the Holden Commodore that Jr will be driving is nicknamed ‘Earnhardt’.

“I know that Dale Earnhardt Jr. wanted to drive in the last race and Paul Morris is organizing for him to come out,” said Loadsman. “That’s confirmed. “We’ve already got the car from Morris, we got the sister car to ‘Earnhardt’… we bought ‘Gidget’. So he’s going to drive in the last race out there so he’ll probably drive that [Earnhardt] car.”

Dale Jr. first visited Australia at the 2007 V8 Grand Finale at Phillip Island during his end-of-season holiday as a guest of former V8 champ Marcos Ambrose. Morris gave Earnhardt a test in a V8 Holden Commodore car at his facility on the Gold Coast, and Earnhardt has since remained in contact with the V8 driver. With the final NASCAR Sprint Cup race being held on November 16 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Earnhardt will be able to fly to Australia in time for Oran Park on December 4- 7.

[Source: Wheels Mag]

Pontiac G8 News Week in Review - June 27

G8Nation — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 01:51:08 +0000

It’s been an exciting week for Pontiac G8 news. Unfortunately, one of our biggest stories this week was our most disappointing. Contrary to reports last week of the 2009 Pontiac G8 GT getting an optional 6 speed Tremec stick, G8Nation confirmed with Pontiac Communications Manager, Jim Hopson, that the 2009 G8 GT would only be offered with a 6 speed automatic. If you want a stick, you’ll have to wait for the 2009 G8 GXP.

There were a few changes in command reported as well. Dave Gibbons will be overseeing Pontiac G8 production in GM’s Asia Pacific region and Holden Executive Director of Manufacturing, Rod Keane, announced his retirement, just as Holden announced the HSV W427, the fastest street legal car in Australia.

Scott Burgess of the Detroit News published his second review of the Pontiac G8. This time he spent a week with the G8 V6 sedan in Florida.

Shortly after getting his driver’s license, Chicago Cubs right fielder, Kosuke Fukudome was spotted driving a 2008 Panther Black Metallic (80U) G8 GT at Wrigley Field. Kosuke took it nice and slow as he exited the parking lot, unlike our friends from GM High-Tech Performance who tuned a stock Pontiac G8 GT to go 0-60 in 5 seconds flat.

Finally, our good friends at GM supplied us with the official 2009 Pontiac G8 colors and color chips.

Keep sending us your Pontiac G8 news and questions.

Holden HSV W427 - Fastest Street Legal Car in Australia

G8Nation — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 19:10:24 +0000

The Pontiac G8’s more powerful brother from down under; the Holden HSV W427 is Australia’s fastest street legal car. The G8 sibling is outfitted with the Corvette Z06 7.0 Liter V8 pushrod making 503 ponies and a spine-crushing 472 lb-ft of torque.

The clever marketing guys at GM Holden have decided to do a limited run of only 427 units of the W427, all built to order. Each beast will cost you $150,000 Australian or approximately $142,000 U.S.

You’re not “just” getting a Z06 heart for your money; you’re also getting the stunning 20 inch wheels, a new front fascia and rear spoiler crafted from carbon fiber, 14.9-inch, six-piston front brakes and Tremec TR6060 six-speed manual.

The W427 should hit New Zealand dealers in August 2008.

Below are the most recent details from Holden (note, measurements and pricing reflect home market):

Price

$150,000

Volume and Distribution

HSV will build, to order, up to 427 W427s.
Each Australian and New Zealand dealer (around 64 in total) will be entitled to one HSV W427 in the first production batch, provided they have a firm retail order.
Further 2008 allocations will be prioritized to dealerships according to 2007 sales figures.

Exterior

All new Front Fascia exclusive to W427
All new 3 piece rear spoiler in carbon fiber
All new 20 inch wheel

Interior

HSV E series performance seats in full red hot trim with W427 logo
HSV steering wheel, gear shifter and console lid in full red hot leather trim
HSV specific trim panels

Powertrain

7.0 Liter, LS7 Engine with HSV specific calibration

• 375kW @ 6500 rpm

• 640Nm @ 5000 rpm

Over radiator style cold air induction system - with high flow air filter.
Dry sump lubrication system with 2 stage pump.
Hand fabricated aluminum oil reservoir, with baffles for high G loading.
Front mount, 13 row engine oil cooler
Ceramic coated, high flow 4 into 1 extractors
High flow catalytic converters and exhaust system (3″ into 2 ¾”)
Active bi-modal rear mufflers
Exhaust back pressure management
Improved noise quality
High strength limited slip differential
New high strength 6 speed manual gear box (TR6060)
GMPT LS7 Clutch with new actuator and pedal assembly for high clamp loads

Suspension

New springs, 30% stiffer than GTS
Revised ride height - 20mm lower than GTS
New stiffer rear suspension bushing
All new MRC calibration to suit new springs, ride height and bushing

Brakes

New 6 piston front braking system (50% increase in pad area)
Strap drive, 2 piece floating front rotors (380 x 35mm) compared to 365 x 32mm one piece on GTS
High friction pad material

Testing and development

GMPT requirement for race track testing
Full ‘Normal Durability’ cycle
Hundreds of hours of engine dyne testing
Full static and dynamic rig testing of critical components

[Source: Holden]

Rod Keane Retires - GM Holden Executive Director of Manufacturing

G8Nation — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 14:05:41 +0000

GM Holden has announced that after over 35 years of service, Rod Keane, Executive Director - Manufacturing will retire effective 1 September, 2008. Rod has enjoyed an impressive career with GM Holden, joining the company in 1972.

During his time with GM Holden he has overseen some extraordinary change, perhaps the most significant being the consolidation of the company’s domestic vehicle assembly operations from facilities across the country to a single vehicle assembly plant at Elizabeth, South Australia.

Rod became Assembly Plant Manager at Elizabeth at the age of 34 and in 1987, was instrumental in converting the plant from a single shift operation to double shift, representing a significant expansion in capacity.

Among his career highlights were the introduction of the VN Commodore in 1988, the opening of a $150 million paint shop at Elizabeth in 1994 and the 1997 introduction of the VT Commodore - a model he notes as particularly significant.

“The VT was a hugely important car for Holden - in addition to it being an all new model, it really formed the cornerstone of Commodore’s twelve year run as Australia’s best selling car. It was also a critical model for Holden to show our manufacturing capability to new export markets and since that time we’ve transitioned successfully from a domestic manufacturer to compete and win on the world stage.”

Rod left Holden Vehicle Operations, Elizabeth in 2000 for the position of Executive Director of Powertrain and Chassis Components in GM Europe. He quickly progressed to the role of Manufacturing Vice President for Fiat GM Powertrain, a joint venture company with 17 plants in nine countries across Europe, Asia and South America.

Rod returned to Australia at the end of 2004, to his current board level position of Executive Director - Manufacturing, overseeing operations at both Elizabeth’s vehicle assembly plant and Holden Engine Operations, Fishermans Bend, Melbourne. Since his return he has overseen the introduction of the $1billion VE Commodore and WM ranges, the Pontiac G8 export program to the United States and the most recent addition to the VE range, the Sportwagon which went into production at Elizabeth last week. He believes that he leaves Holden’s manufacturing operations in a strong position. He says:

“This is undoubtedly a challenging time for the Australian automotive manufacturing industry but we continue to do well. We are running the plant at full capacity, Commodore was number 1 in May, we are doing well in export markets and of course we are just launching the new Sportwagon and several new export models.

“We’ve got great product, great people and a great plant plus a proven ability to adapt thanks to the flexibility shown everyday by our workforce. I feel confident that this stands the manufacturing facilities in both South Australia and Victoria in good stead for the future.”

Two executive appointments to the Holden Senior Leadership team will become effective 1 August.

Dave Gibbons, currently Plant Manager of Shreveport Assembly, Louisiana, USA will join GM Holden on 1 August as Executive Director - Manufacturing for Vehicle Assembly Operations in Elizabeth.

Martyn Cray, currently Plant Manager Holden Engine Operations will be appointed GM Powertrain Lead Executive for GM Holden.

[Source: GM Holden]

G8Nation » Holden

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