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I'm very glad for you, but I'm double jealous of you - lol. 1) you have a great looking G8 and, 2) it's all I can do to get into and out of a G8. :-) BC

The G8's only got Bluetooth in 09.5, so only the last thousand or so made had it.

Yeah, I followed the instructions in the manual on how to get to the Bluetooth, but instead of saying "Bluetooth Ready," the system kept saying "Welcome to OnStar."

According to Carfax, this G8 was constructed/sold in late 2008, so that means this was not one of the last few made.

There are probably 5-8 thousand 09.5s out there. If I tell my Onstar "bluetooth", it just says goodbye and hangs up. No "Pardon?" or "Huh?", just a glorified screw you. lol

00Beast wrote:IMHO, the few miles I drove a G8, the sport mode was a lot better than the "manumatic" as far as predicting shifts and firmness, etc.

This. The Caddy is this way, and it is NOT tuneable to adjust. But basically, it dials up a ton of torque management timing when using manumatic. So you use it, hitting the next gear, then wait for it go through all it's parameters of TM, then it finally shifts.

It's just quicker and less painful to leave it in "D", select "competitive driving mode", and let it do what it wants...

This is why I love the DSG in our Passat. It is the best (self-shifting) transmission known to man, if I'm honest. Manumatic is like a manual without the clutch, but a LOT quicker, and even regular driving is fantastic.

Yea, big diff between DSG and a lever with the option to shift on your own making you "feel" like you're actually doing something.

Yeah. I'd love a manual, but especially for trips and city driving, the fact you can throw it in D and not worry about it is very nice...

I'd love having the manual as well, but as I mentioned in another post, a GXP was way out of my price range, and truth is, the extra $12,000+ price tag for a GXP just wasn't worth it in my opinion. So, this is the closest I can get.

But as Ed said, it is nice having the automatic, because I usually have to spend a good deal of my attention watching out for other drivers (as so many out there are just not paying attention to what they are doing), and since I grew up driving autos, I'm more comfortable with them, and I would have to spend too much of my attention working with the manual. That would probably be only for a little while until I got used to it, though.

Anyway, around here, the only real options for G8's are the V6 models (very many of them), and the GT's - and those are still hard to find (especially in white).

I used to be a big "manual only" on cars like my Camaro or GTO because it's the "essence" of "Driving" the car. However, these new auto's, with the manual shift options have come so far, it's very hard to argue that anymore. Looking at selling the GTO and getting a CTS-V coupe or wagon as a replacement "toy"/"garage queen", and for once, I'm seriously considering A6 cars.

A CTS-V Coupe was what I was staring at for a long time. Even went to the website (several times) to customize one. That was pretty much the replacement car I was looking at since GM decided to stop bringing the Holden's here to the US. I guess I don't have to think about that now - for awhile anyway.

Anyway, a CTS-V would be such a sweet car.

Chevy SS, coming to a showroom near you next year. Mildly refreshed G8 wearing a bowtie.

That is to be the VF. The G8 and current Commodore are the VE version.

Ok, maybe moderately refreshed.

J Wikoff wrote:Chevy SS, coming to a showroom near you next year. Mildly refreshed G8 wearing a bowtie.

Yeahhhhhhhhhh that one's tempting...

It's nice to see GM bringing the car back (in a way). From what I've seen of the Chevy SS, I think I just like the look of the front end of the G8 over the SS.

I still find that very cool, though. Might just have to look at one once they hit the streets, just to see it against the G8. This is something I actually loved doing with the older H-bodies when I'd visit the junkyard - seeing how parts were different or similar in the Oldsmobile's and Pontiac's, compared to my Buick.

I do like the G8, and when I am ready to replace the Bonneville next year, or the year after, the G8 is on my shortlist. Along with the 2002-06 M5, 2003-07 E350 and 2003-07 Jaguar XJ8 Sport.

I'm thinking the G8 will be the cheapest to own....

For engine and transmission, yes. For anything aft of the transmission as well as any body parts, not necessarily. It all has to come from Australia. If you scratch the paint on any of these Holden products, insurance pretty much totals it because the body part needs to come from down under and shipping it here isn't cheap.

Great, now you got me paranoid!

Yeah, from what I remember the cars were built in Australia and then shipped almost complete (or complete?) here to the US. I plan to take real good care of this car (I've been doing good with the LeSabre and Bonneville), but you never know with the unexpected.

Guess I don't have much to worry about at the moment, since I don't drive it much yet - it's been almost 2 weeks since I had it out.

Yes. Built in Elizabeth, Australia, shipped over the big pond to Benecia, Ca. Not sure about the G8, but our GTO's were shipped with the spoiler in the car, and it was then attached at the yard in Benecia. Car is then distributed through the country via rail and truck from there.

As the VE is phased out (what the current gen Commodore and G8 are), and the new VF is made, expect that regular parts will be difficult to get. I've faced this with the GTO. In some cases, some parts aren't even made anymore (heater hoses and such), and you're left to your own devices. Anyway, you have to order them from a GM dealer as Napa, Autozone, and Advance certainly won't carry them. DON'T buy parts that are listed for your car, but also listed for others, like a Nissan Titan pickup (my upper radiator hose), it won't fit! You need the OEM part from GM. Which means ordering it and it being shipped from Australia, again if it's even made anymore.

Body parts? Many guys have wrecked GTO's over the years, and as the G8's age, I will expect the same treatment. But the fact that parts aren't readily available in the North American SPO network (lets face it, former Pontiac dealers weren't stocked up on fenders and doors and we know what happened to Pontiac...), any of these larger, fragile, body parts will need to be ordered from Australia, and then shipped here. Which isn't cheap! As such, these two hurdles have factored in many a GTO being totaled for seemingly minor damage.

It's just one of the downside to this great car.