thegriffon

The "Acura" is a photoshop of the G8 Mr Krinkle, that is what they mean by it being the same car.

You can't do the same in reverse though—GM has done a very good job at turning the Commodore into a Pontiac IMO, it looks even better than the Commodore. What design traights can you add that aren't more "retro" than specifically Pontiac? Speedlines instead of honeycomb pattern grille?

Err, no, same number of doors. Reminds me of the 5-door Aveo. Not too bad on the outside, but like the new xB a horrendously bad interior.

You said it.

At one time? The (Toyopet) Corona was only in production from 1957 to 2001. The last generation was the Corona Premio, which was replaced by a new sedan called simply Premio. The current model and it's Toyota sister car the Allion (formerly the Carina), and the corresponding Caldina wagon are at present lwb compacts like the new Civic—they fill the same niche and price segment at Toyota and Toyopet dealers as the Corolla does at Corolla dealers. The Scion tC, like earlier Celicas, is a coupe version (there was also a corresponding Corona coupe before the last Celica, which though nominally T-body like the Allion/Premio/Avensis was actually an E-body Corolla coupe like the earlier Levin). While Corolla dealers get the Camry and Netz dealers the European Avensis, Toyota and Toyopet dealers get either Crown or sportier Mark X (in it's first iteration the Corona Mark II—exported as the Cressida) rwd sedans respectively.

VW is eventually offering a diesel Jetta—you can't get a new one anymore until they can get the emissions sorted.

Video from the Chicago Show and Running Footage of the Red Car in Australia (which is left hand drive: http://auto-report.net/WordPress/?p=325

I was suggesting that perhaps the hood scoops will only be on the GT. complain loud enough and GM may even make them a delete option on the GT. The red car is in the running footage I have uploaded to AutoReport. Unfortunately it sounds a bit sick.

BTW I'm in the process of uploading quicktime movies of running footage and some show video of the G8. Running footage should be up by 4am, Chicago 4:15 am. Unfortunately there seem to be sound quality issues with te running footage. I would have shot it again. The G8 really shouldn't sound like that.

G8 V6?

That's all very well, but neither Laser Blue nor Arrival Blue are part of the paint palette at Opel Belgium, and Royal Blue and Ultra Blue are much darker, and Metro is a blue-gray metallic. This may not be a standard option for the Saturn Astra, but it does look like Arden Blue. Choices offered: 10U-Casablanca White, 4DU-Royal Blue, 63U-Power Red; Metallic: 2AU-Star silver, 3KU-Moonland gray, 4AU-Light silver, 4XU-Metro; Pearlescent: 12U-Arden Blue (OPC only), 1RU-Pannacotta, 2HU-Sapphire Black, 4CU-Ultra Blue, ACU-Petrol/Peacock Green. Vehicles assembled and painted in the Ukraine or South Africa add Pearlescent 4KU-Papyrus, Metallic 4QU-Digital Green, and 80U-Breeze Blue, and brilliant 79U Magma Red. GM will do as Holden does and simply limit the choices to make repairs easier.

Looks like Arden Blue, also an interior option in the Opel versions (black/Arden Blue leather Recaro seats).

The Maxima does not offer a V8. The G430 is much, much smaller (an LS460 is a better comparison). Cargo volume is incorrect, that's VDA cargo room, always a bit higher than SAE numbers, although not everyone bothers to do both measurements. The difference is even harder to guess than JIS to SAE horsepower (for which you can write a conversion formula), but you can figure on an actual SAE volume of between 14 and 16 cu-ft.

I think you'll find the G8 starts a couple of thou above the current G6 GTP. Depending on pricing for the GXP you may be able to get a G8 around the same price. If it comes a little under a Maxima (nearly $29K incling D&H) pricing will be competitive. Around $27K sounds about right.I have no doubt an enterprising tuner will soon drop in either an LS2 (a la HSV) or an or a 6.2 L L92 from the Escalade, if GM doesn't do something like that themselves.

Info from Road and Track indicates a base V6 GT model and a tope V8 model arriving in August 2007, not early 2008. Expect a healthy premium over the 3.6 L G6.

Elizabeth, SA (South Australia, not South Africa).

It's unlikely to even start below $35K. Loaded it will easily stretch into the mid $40s. Figure pricing similar to the 300C rather than the Dodge Charger.

Except for the 2.2 DI all the Astra's engines use cheaper cast-iron blocks, although the Dual-VVT system will not be cheap. GM's Family 1 and the Global engine alliance are the first 4-cylinders to offer Dual-VVT in a mainstream (non=luxury) compact, with Toyota following with a new engine family similar to GM's family 1 (a 1.8 to be joined later this year by a 1.6 L). BMW has developed a Dual-VVT 1.4 and 1.6 L based on the Chrysler/BMW Tritec design the Mini was designed around, and which will also be built and used by Peugeot, and has several more expensive engines used in the 1-series and 3-series.

Don't forget it's only a 4-speed auto, and that these are just estimates., however the Z18XER does use significantly more fuel than the 1.8 L Honda Civic sedan (7.3–8 L/100 km v 6.6–6.7 L/100 km for the Civic). The most economical gasoline engines in the Astra are the 1.4 TwinPort (88 hp 5.9–6.1), and 1.6 Dual VVT (113 hp 6.3–6.. The 2.2 DI engine uses 8.9–9.3 in the Australian test, v 6.9–7.2 for the 1.8 L Civic sedan. The Astra is also thirstier than a Chevy Optra when both are using are same, older 1.8 L Ecotec, despite the fact that the Astra has a 6-speed manual. I can only assume the 1.8 Dual VVT is geared more for performance in the Astra, while the Civic is geared for economy, except that the Civic is also quicker (9.0 s 0–100 km/h v 10.1 s for the Astra). The 1.4 L Astra is quicker and more economical than a 1.4 L Civic hatch, no help to Saturn Astra buyers. On another subject, wheel choices offered in Europe are nicely detailed here. Choices shown in the GM press photos of the Saturn appear to be 17" 5-Speichen-Design (5-door) and 18" 5-Speichen-Stern-Design (3-door/GTC), but you can also get a good look at the 16" designs, one of which will be standard on the 5-door Saturn.

GM's 2007 price list.

It will be a few years before anyone offers a compact diesel in the US again.

Those are optional wheels, 7 J x 17s on the 5-door and 7½ J x 18s on the 3-door. The 18" Star-design wheels are something like $1500 for the set in Europe and both the 17 and 18" wheels use a different brake hub to the 16" wheels, adding to the cost. The standard wheels on the 5-door are 6½ J x 16s, probably the steel 5-Structure-spoke design. The 3-door does get standard 17" alloys, probably those shown on the 5-door.

Interior measurements for the 3-door are incorrect. The figures are actually: 37.7" 36.6" 42.3" 35" 53.9" 52.7" 51.3" 51" Cargo volume is 340/1070 v 380/1300 for the 5-door and 350/1305 for the Rabbit, 275/1045 for the Reno, 289/— for the Versa and 230/— for the new xB, 275/- for the Yaris, 380/- for the Fit, 184/- for the xA and 220/980 for the Aveo 5-door (VDA for all).

1.753 m, which is an even 69 inches.

Pay attention now. A V6 Grand Prix is $22430 (including D+H)? Fine, that's only $530 less than a V6 G6. Want more power? A supercharged Grand Prix will set you back $25,350, but a 3.6 L G6 will cost you $25,230. Pretty close huh?. I imagine that if they stuck a V8 in the G6 it would cost—at least as much as the Grand Prix GXP. Looks like the G6 replaces the Grand Prix to me.