http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/07/04/1969420.htm?section=justin


From Australia's National Broadcaster

Mike

On a related note: http://www.autoblog.com/2007/07/04/pontiac-g8-prototypes-roll-off-the-line-in-oz/

Prototype in early july. Start production in August. First ones land in the USA in mid September... sound feasible?

Thanks for posting the links!

Prototype in early july. Start production in August. First ones land in the USA in mid September... sound feasible?

Only if they were shipping them one by one by Qantas.

I expect a couple boatloads to be built prior to shipment for a full and thorough quality control. Even US built Solstices sat for weeks and weeks. I know this basic car has been in production for a full year but GM dares not take chances with the fickle American consumer.

Even though shipments commencing in September would be nice I half expect first boast to leave harbor in November, and what is it, 5-6 weeks on teh water and customs hold and then ground shipment from San DIego or wherever they dock to another distribution point to get loaded onto same trucks as othe GM products going to dealers. That is why they keep saying early '08, as in January. An early Christmas present would be most welcome but don't hold your breath.

The pilots are on their way - I wouldnt expect any on dealer show rooms until Late Novemer. However the guys at Pontiac have said they will tell me how the cars are being allocated and when they will be on the lots.

Now something that I've been thinking of is potential production. Max of 620 /day. I know they can't hit that immediately nor can they maintain that on a full yearly basis. So just assume 500/day and 5 day week and maybe 40 actual weeks of production in a 52 week year and that is roughly 100,000 G8s to rep[lace a car that sold about 50,000 units in teh first 6 months of both this and last year (GM's official July report). This is good news as I was struggling with the thoughts that Oz might only be able to spit out 35,000 - 45,000 cars for our consumption.

The pilots are on their way - I wouldnt expect any on dealer show rooms until Late Novemer. However the guys at Pontiac have said they will tell me how the cars are being allocated and when they will be on the lots.

And the timeframe from when the A6's arrive vs the M6's is ~6 months? So early next summer before the M6's arrive at the dealerships?

Now something that I've been thinking of is potential production. Max of 620 /day. I know they can't hit that immediately nor can they maintain that on a full yearly basis. So just assume 500/day and 5 day week and maybe 40 actual weeks of production in a 52 week year and that is roughly 100,000 G8s to rep[lace a car that sold about 50,000 units in teh first 6 months of both this and last year (GM's official July report). This is good news as I was struggling with the thoughts that Oz might only be able to spit out 35,000 - 45,000 cars for our consumption.

From the way the first article read I believe that the 620 vehicles a day includes all of the other Holden/Chevrolet/Buick vehicles that are produced at the factory for domestic(austrailian) and foreign markets. They are bumping up the # per day to make room for the G8. The article did say that half of their production, 310 a day, would be for export. Then split that 310 up between the US, Middle East and East Asian Markets. Although it will be interesting to see if they can sell 35,000 G8's. I hope they do b/c Holden produces excellent vehicles.

And the timeframe from when the A6's arrive vs the M6's is ~6 months? So early next summer before the M6's arrive at the dealerships?

damn thats not good news, i was hoping for a manual around march...Why the hell is GM doing that, i still dont understand. The manual should be available right off the bat:The_Villagers:

And the timeframe from when the A6's arrive vs the M6's is ~6 months? So early next summer before the M6's arrive at the dealerships?

I would not assume anything until you see it on paper from Pontiac - or from me :p .... I only relay info from high sources.

damn thats not good news, i was hoping for a manual around march...Why the hell is GM doing that, i still dont understand. The manual should be available right off the bat:The_Villagers:

Yea, that really makes no sense. I know the past hasen't been favorable for manual trannys in sedans but this has too be different.

Okay, I've seen other indications that G8 totals for US will be somewhere between 35k and 50k, so certainly 620 /day allows plenty of room for all COmmodore based production. A more interesting number would be how many hours it takes to produce one car. (This is a number bandied about the industry so that you can compare for example GM at 32.36 hours to Toyota at 29.93) http://www6.autonet.ca/News/story.cfm?story=/News/2007/05/31/4224050-ap.html

More on the same topic.

http://www.worldcarfans.com/print.cfm/ID/2070704.002/lang/eng

Super High Res Image - [LINK] (http://www.g8board.com/G8_Adelaide_58.jpg)

Yea, that really makes no sense. I know the past hasen't been favorable for manual trannys in sedans but this has too be different.
It took 4 months for the manual Commodore to reach the dealerships here (middle east), so I would expect the same thing for the US MT G8.

I too heard 35-50k a year. I'm holding out for the GXP, if and when it is available. Hopefully for the next model year. Give me time to get my Trailblazer SS paid down a little as well.

Video of the intro on July 4th down under:

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=248153&cl=3249986&ch=248153&src=y7news

Interior shot in the video looks excellent. I tried to capture a snapshot as I believe there is a bluetooth icon on the steering wheel controls.

I saw the bluetooth button on the steering wheel as well. Lets hope it is indeed available.

Man, is that RED, HOT. :gr_devil: Me likey. That might be the color I have to get. Wife hates blue. Black is too hard to keep clean (and nice), I have several silver cars already. SO I just have to wait to see a RED and an ORANGE next to each other.