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I would really like to hear what you guys have to say about american cars, I that just moved here from Europe have to buy one or two cars to get around. Therefore I would really appreciate some pros and cons on the different brands. I'm pretty open minded when it comes to what car to buy, but something with 4 doors and a V8 under the hood are 2 things that would be nice. Pricerange, well depends on, but not brand new or older than 5 years.
So far the only thing I can say about US cars is that the 2006 Buick I drive right now already have rusted more than my old 1999 Opel/Vauxhall that I sold before i moved here - and opel is not a brand known for it´s good rust protection that´s for sure.
My US colleges here says - don't buy american cars - it´s says built to last, but it´s not really true..
So, convince me guys, otherwise i'll pick up something european/japanese next weekend for my wife to drive.
I would really like to hear what you guys have to say about american cars, I that just moved here from Europe have to buy one or two cars to get around. Therefore I would really appreciate some pros and cons on the different brands. I'm pretty open minded when it comes to what car to buy, but something with 4 doors and a V8 under the hood are 2 things that would be nice. Pricerange, well depends on, but not brand new or older than 5 years.
So far the only thing I can say about US cars is that the 2006 Buick I drive right now already have rusted more than my old 1999 Opel/Vauxhall that I sold before i moved here - and opel is not a brand known for it´s good rust protection that´s for sure.
My US colleges here says - don't buy american cars - it´s says built to last, but it´s not really true..
So, convince me guys, otherwise i'll pick up something european/japanese next weekend for my wife to drive.
pontiac G8 GXP is where I would start my search
This isn't your grandfather's Wide-Track Pontiac Ventura. It's far from your older brother's Widely Cladded Bonneville GXP. The only exterior visuals betraying the Corvette 6.2-liter, 402-horsepower LS3 V-8 under its hood are the new front fascia with big foglamps, 19-inch wheels, new rear diffuser, two badges on the side, and one on the decklid. Pontiac considered a kid-racer rear wing and replaced it with the GT's lip spoiler at the last minute. Who had the good taste to make that change?
Before GM vice chairman and car guru Lutz arrived, the "Excitement Division" measured said excitement by how much cladding and "performance" spoilers it could trowel onto a car. Lutz ordered all that stuff stripped off and worked on making Pontiac the poor man's BMW. It hasn't been smooth going. Lutz earnestly compared the handling of some sporty front-drive Pontiacs with BMW's best. His first Pontiac-Holden hybrid was the quick but crude 2004 rear-drive GTO. And even now, the 2008 G6 GXP suffers some residual big-hair cheesiness. The front-drive G6's styling comes off as a bit common, Shipman thinks, so "we had to do something to maybe bring that out a little more. When you look at the G8 styling, the profile, the whole stance of the vehicle is unique. So we don't need to do the same thing to make this car stand out.
Like Teddy Roosevelt, or the sublime M3, it walks softly and carries a big stick. Pontiac estimates the LS3 will scoot from standstill to 60 mph in 4.7 seconds, 0.6 second quicker than the G8 GT (which was 0.2 second quicker than the Dodge Charger R/T, as tested in our April issue). We have to bench-race the GXP for now. A 4.7-second 0-to-60-mph time would trump the Charger SRT8's 5.0 flat. Thanks to better handling and much better refinement, that 425-horsepower Charger won a two-car battle over the GTO in our December 2005 comparison, despite the LS2-powered Pontiac's quicker 0-to-60 sprint of-wait for it-4.7 seconds.
I would really like to hear what you guys have to say about american cars, I that just moved here from Europe have to buy one or two cars to get around. Therefore I would really appreciate some pros and cons on the different brands. I'm pretty open minded when it comes to what car to buy, but something with 4 doors and a V8 under the hood are 2 things that would be nice. Pricerange, well depends on, but not brand new or older than 5 years.
So far the only thing I can say about US cars is that the 2006 Buick I drive right now already have rusted more than my old 1999 Opel/Vauxhall that I sold before i moved here - and opel is not a brand known for it´s good rust protection that´s for sure.
My US colleges here says - don't buy american cars - it´s says built to last, but it´s not really true..
So, convince me guys, otherwise i'll pick up something european/japanese next weekend for my wife to drive.
Well, if you want 4 doors and V8, youre pretty much screwed if you buy Japanese because youll end up with one of these choices: Nissan Titan Crew Cab, Toyota Tundra Crew Cab, Lexus LS430/470, Infiniti QX45, etc.
There are several good German 4 doors with V8s, but theyre generally expensive to buy, and ridiculously expensive to maintain.
For American cars? You can get cars like the Pontiac G8, Lincoln Town Car, Pontiac Bonneville V8 (FWD), Chevy Impala SS, Mercury Maurader, etc, etc. And if you really want to spank the pants off of anything Japanese or German, buy a Caddy CTS-V or a Cherokee SRT-8. American V8 sedans are the cheapest to own and maintain. They might not have the total reliability of some German and Japanese V8 cars, but they sure have more personality and are cheaper to fix (if they break down). You have one life to live, make it exciting.
there is also the dodge charger SRT8 but it only comes in automatic
http://www.cardotcom.com/cars/images02/06charger-srt8.jpg (broken link)
This all-out performance version of Dodge's already-bold Charger sedan features an AutoStick five-speed automatic transmission, 20-inch alloy wheels with performance tires, sport suspension, dual chrome exhaust pipes, plus aerodynamic body kit with hood scoop and rear spoiler.
But the heart of the car is certainly the 6.1-liter SRT Hemi V8 engine. This powerplant puts out an impressive 425 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 420 pound-feet of torque at 4,800 rpm. The rumbling exhaust note alone gets the adrenaline pumping.
Power is channeled to the rear wheels, accelerating the Charger from zero to 60 miles per hour in under five seconds. The top speed is 165 mph.
Fuel economy reflects this engine's performance characteristics, rating at 14 miles per gallon on the city cycle and 20 on the highway cycle.
The Charger also comes equipped with brake assist, an Electronic Stability Program, four-wheel anti-lock disc brakes and fog lights.
Badges for Charger, SRT8 and Hemi are sprinkled about to show the world just what this performance machine is all about.
Interior comfort and convenience items are well represented, too, with leather seats, a six-speaker Boston Acoustics audio system, cruise control, air conditioning, plus full power amenities (windows, door locks, heated mirrors, front seats).
Other features include a back-seat SIRIUS satellite video system, 20-gigabyte MyGIG infotainment system, plus illuminated cupholders and map pockets.
The Charger is built at the same Brampton, Ontario, Canada factory as the Chrysler 300. Both vehicles share many parts and the same overall proportions. And both come in high-performance versions from Dodge's in-house Street and Racing Technology (SRT) skunkworks.
there is also the more conservative styled HEMI 300C
The sedan delivers a zero to 60 mph in the low five-second range, 0-100-0 mph in under 17 seconds, and 0.89 g on the skid pad. Of course, the engine isn't the only part of the SRT model tuned for performance. The chassis has been tuned by Chrysler's Street and Racing department, including SRT-tuned dampers, specially tailored spring rates and suspension bushings, and large-diameter anti-sway bars. Revised front and rear suspension knuckles contribute to a ride height that's lowered one-half inch from the Chrysler 300C.
The SRT-8 comes standard with an Electronic Stability Program and Adaptive Cruise Control. Brembo brakes contribute to the car's safety and overall performance, thanks to 360 mm x 32 mm vented rotors up front and 350 mm x 28 mm vented rotors in the rear.
For 2008, the Chrysler 300C SRT8 offers an improved interior with a dark slate gray palette, revised instrument panel, new center console and LED lighting in the cup holders and door-map pockets.
Like the regular 300 C, the SRT 8 can be ordered with Sirius Satellite Radio, a DVD-based Navigation System, a 20 gigabyte MyGIG hard drive for storing music, a rear-seat entertainment system, Sirius back-seat TV, and the UConnect hands-free cellphone system.
An exclusive feature to the SRT 8 is Chrysler's Reconfigurable Display (RCD) in the cluster -- providing performance data, control over Adaptive Cruise Control, Kicker premium surround-sound, and Sirius back-seat TV.
Since the GXP is made in Elizabeth, South Australia.. is it still considered American? The v8 engine is built in Mexico, the v6 is an Aussie unit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GTOlover
pontiac G8 GXP is where I would start my search
This isn't your grandfather's Wide-Track Pontiac Ventura. It's far from your older brother's Widely Cladded Bonneville GXP. The only exterior visuals betraying the Corvette 6.2-liter, 402-horsepower LS3 V-8 under its hood are the new front fascia with big foglamps, 19-inch wheels, new rear diffuser, two badges on the side, and one on the decklid. Pontiac considered a kid-racer rear wing and replaced it with the GT's lip spoiler at the last minute. Who had the good taste to make that change?
Before GM vice chairman and car guru Lutz arrived, the "Excitement Division" measured said excitement by how much cladding and "performance" spoilers it could trowel onto a car. Lutz ordered all that stuff stripped off and worked on making Pontiac the poor man's BMW. It hasn't been smooth going. Lutz earnestly compared the handling of some sporty front-drive Pontiacs with BMW's best. His first Pontiac-Holden hybrid was the quick but crude 2004 rear-drive GTO. And even now, the 2008 G6 GXP suffers some residual big-hair cheesiness. The front-drive G6's styling comes off as a bit common, Shipman thinks, so "we had to do something to maybe bring that out a little more. When you look at the G8 styling, the profile, the whole stance of the vehicle is unique. So we don't need to do the same thing to make this car stand out.
Like Teddy Roosevelt, or the sublime M3, it walks softly and carries a big stick. Pontiac estimates the LS3 will scoot from standstill to 60 mph in 4.7 seconds, 0.6 second quicker than the G8 GT (which was 0.2 second quicker than the Dodge Charger R/T, as tested in our April issue). We have to bench-race the GXP for now. A 4.7-second 0-to-60-mph time would trump the Charger SRT8's 5.0 flat. Thanks to better handling and much better refinement, that 425-horsepower Charger won a two-car battle over the GTO in our December 2005 comparison, despite the LS2-powered Pontiac's quicker 0-to-60 sprint of-wait for it-4.7 seconds.
Since the GXP is made in Elizabeth, South Australia.. is it still considered American? The v8 engine is built in Mexico, the v6 is an Aussie unit.
true it is a rebadged holden but holden is owned by GM and if you can find a nice G8 GXP with a 6-speed manual it would be alot of fun to drive and the only four door car you can get the LS3 corvette motor in which makes it great bang for the buck in a RWD V-8 performance car that rivals the BMW 5-series for performance at half the price.
I would really like to hear what you guys have to say about american cars, I that just moved here from Europe have to buy one or two cars to get around. Therefore I would really appreciate some pros and cons on the different brands. I'm pretty open minded when it comes to what car to buy, but something with 4 doors and a V8 under the hood are 2 things that would be nice. Pricerange, well depends on, but not brand new or older than 5 years.
So far the only thing I can say about US cars is that the 2006 Buick I drive right now already have rusted more than my old 1999 Opel/Vauxhall that I sold before i moved here - and opel is not a brand known for it´s good rust protection that´s for sure.
My US colleges here says - don't buy american cars - it´s says built to last, but it´s not really true..
So, convince me guys, otherwise i'll pick up something european/japanese next weekend for my wife to drive.
If you want 4 doors and a V8, go for the Pontiac G8 GT or G8 GXP, 360 and 400HP respectively. Plus it's available with a manual transmission, a rarity here especially in its segment. Not sure you can really call it an American car because it's a rebadged Holden. But the parent company is American no matter how you look at it. It's also sold in the UK as the Vauxhall VXR8. I don't know if there's an Opel version for continental Europe.
Last edited by Drover; 11-07-2009 at 10:44 PM..
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