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The 2008 Pontiac G8 might be just the kind of car that our friend Sir Isaac Newton could get his head around. Unveiled at the 2007 Chicago Auto Show, the 2008 Pontiac G8 has physics on its side.
Physics as in rear-wheel drive.
We never really took Isaac Newton for a Pontiac guy. The long-haired brainiac always struck us more as a dude who might drive a perpetual motion machine, or some super-low-rolling-resistance vehicle. Or maybe he'd pilot a really sweet hovercraft, his luxuriant locks flowing in the breeze.
But ol' Newt would surely appreciate Pontiac's new rear-wheel-drive sedan.
Front-wheel drive has its place, but as one of Newton's most important laws of physics points out: "Ultimately, a big, nose-heavy front-wheel-drive car with a powerful engine kind of sucks compared to an equally high-powered rear-wheel-drive vehicle." (We're paraphrasing here).
We build torque steer
Pontiac did its best with high-performance front-wheel-drive sedans, but Isaac Newton could have warned the engineers that physics has its limitations. Our recollection of the V8-powered 2005 Grand Prix GXP still resounds in our memory: "Clumsy handling, overpowering torque steer."
It turns out that putting the weight of the entire powertrain over the front wheels, then trying to get the front tires to both put all that power on the ground and tell the chassis which way to turn is just more than Sir Isaac's physics can bear.
Fortunately General Motors learned a lot from this experience, and kept alive enough of Bob Lutz's plan for the Zeta worldwide rear-wheel-drive platform so the Holden engineers in Australia could create a more affordable version.
The Pontiac G8 introduces a new vehicle platform that will also furnish the underpinnings of the upcoming 2009 Chevrolet Camaro, a return of the Pontiac GTO, a rethought Chevy Impala and possibly more. For GM, much rides on this new platform, both literally and figuratively.
But is it a widetrack?
The 2008 Pontiac G8 seems to be up to the task. How does a choice of 261-horsepower 3.6-liter V6 or a 362-hp 6.0-liter V8 strike you? What about a choice of three transmissions: a five-speed automatic, a six-speed automatic and a six-speed manual? How about a balanced 50/50 weight distribution? And what about a four-link independent rear suspension?
Of the G8's competition, only the Dodge Charger really measures up as a first-class ride. We like the Charger quite a lot, yet it carries a range of less powerful engines (aside from the SRT8's 425-hp Hemi, of course), and there's no manual transmission available. So our expectations are high for the G8.
The proportions of the G8's bodywork hint at its rear-drive configuration. The short front overhang and the relatively long distance between the center of the front wheels and the base of the A-pillar are a signature of rear-wheel drive that the design guys learn in art school.
The phalanx of twin-inlet nostril-like air intakes on the G8's front end speak to Pontiac's historic (though less than subtle) styling flourishes. The vent integrated into the front fenders is a relatively new fad, although one that's already becoming a bit of a cliché.
Article from Dan Pund, Senior Editor, Detroit Edmunds INSIDE LINE
