| Pontiac intends to beef up performance; this is why | | | | and GMC. |
| the automaker will be unveiling two new rear-wheel | | | | Pontiac, the struggling brand of General Motors Corp., |
| drive powerhouses at next week's New York | | | | is freeing its high-performance G8 family to bang |
| International Auto Show. But experts say the beefing | | | | sales doldrums and to repair its image. But the new |
| up was made at the wrong time. | | | | corporate average fuel economy (CAFÉ) |
| Amid rising gasoline prices and the intensifying global | | | | standards could hinder the plans. |
| warming issues, shoppers' appetite for gas-guzzlers | | | | Aaron Bragman, an auto analyst at Global Insight, |
| are curtailed. Timing couldn't be worse. | | | | now considers the maker of Pontiac radiators the |
| At the New York show, Pontiac will showcase the | | | | most at-risk of General Motors' brands. "The |
| 2009 G8 GXP featuring the new 6.2-liter small-block | | | | renaissance was on the books, but it's basically been |
| V-8 engine generating 402 horsepower. According to | | | | thrown into confusion with the new CAFE rules," |
| the automaker, the G8 GXP sedan, set to go on sale | | | | Bragman told MSNBC. "The future depends on what |
| this year, will be able to go from zero to 60 mph in | | | | they can do with Pontiac. Can they make it a |
| 4.7 seconds. The new sedan is also equipped with a | | | | four-cylinder, turbocharged brand, or are Americans |
| specially tuned suspension and an optional new | | | | so set on it being the rumbly, rear-wheel-drive V-8 |
| six-speed manual transmission. | | | | division that anything else is not going to fly?" |
| Aside from the performance sedan, the automaker | | | | Jack Nerad, executive market analyst for Kelley Blue |
| will also introduce the 2010 Pontiac G8 sport truck, a | | | | Book, said Pontiac's return to its performance roots is |
| two-seater built on the G8 platform with a 73-inch | | | | a positive step, but years of lukewarm vehicles have |
| cargo bed. The sport truck, which will arrive in | | | | made the brand irrelevant to many consumers. |
| dealerships late next year, has the same | | | | "They're on the brink of either great success or |
| 361-horsepower, 6.0-liter V-8 used in the G8 GT | | | | marginalization," he added. |
| sedan. | | | | "Pontiac has always been about style and |
| "There's simply nothing else like the G8 sport truck | | | | performance. There have certainly been times that |
| on the road today, and we definitely believe that | | | | we've fulfilled that mission better than others," Nerad |
| there are customers who will be excited by its | | | | concluded. "We're again getting the vehicles that fulfill |
| distinctive design, performance and cargo capabilities," | | | | that mission very clearly. |
| said Jim Bunnell, general manager of Pontiac, Buick | | | | |