庞蒂亚克 revisits the rear-wheel-drive sport sedan

The 庞蒂亚克 G8 concept car, the spiritual successor to one of 通用汽车’最著名的性能轿车，于2007年2月7日在芝加哥车展上亮相。

The all-new performance sedan from 庞蒂亚克, the 2008 G8, introduced an all-new rear-wheel-drive platform -- dubbed Zeta -- shared with the 霍尔顿 Commodore from GM’的澳大利亚子公司。

Ronald Reagan was president the last time 庞蒂亚克 sold a rwd Grand Prix.

庞蒂亚克 initially sold two G8s: a base model powered by a 3.6-liter V-6, rated at 261 hp and 250 pounds-feet of torque, with a five-speed automatic; and a GT packed with a 6.0-liter V-8, rated at 362 hp and 391 pounds-feet of torque, mated to a six-speed automatic.

两种变速箱均具有手动变速模式。发射后，V-8配备了六速手动变速器。 V-8还配备了气缸停用技术。 GT提供了标准的限滑差速器，以改善牵引力。

庞蒂亚克’s Chicago show car, while representative of the production GT, also featured some tuner touches: 20-inch chrome wheels (18-inch wheels were standard, and 19-inch wheels were available), lowered ride height, high-performance brakes with painted calipers, custom interior trim with leather-wrapped dash, a Phantom Grey paint job and a conceptualized version of the 庞蒂亚克 badge.

评论家说通用汽车的鲍勃·卢茨（Bob Lutz）’当时的全球产品开发负责人’G8偏离了他过去的宝马时代’s bold styling cues. The clean, muscular lines and wheels-at-the-corners stance made an impressive design statement in this latest take on the Wide Track 庞蒂亚克 tradition, 汽车周刊 说过。内部，G8’s uncluttered twin cockpit was highlighted by large, round gauges and 庞蒂亚克’的标志性红色照明。

G8是北美首款通用汽车应用’Holden开发的新型全球后驱架构。四轮独立悬架在前部使用MacPherson撑杆，在后部使用四连杆盘绕式减震装置。制动力来自带有通风转子的四轮防抱死盘式制动器。 GT车型使用了1英寸大的制动盘。

“The rear-wheel-drive engineering team has put together a simply spectacular car that captures the essence of 庞蒂亚克,” 庞蒂亚克 General Manager John Larson said at the Chicago debut. “We believe that the 庞蒂亚克 G8 will rival competitors costing far more.”

The 2008 庞蒂亚克 G8 was GM’的第二次尝试，是在美国销售澳大利亚组装的汽车。

The first, the 2004-06 庞蒂亚克 GTO, failed to reach sales expectations and was dropped. The coupe was based on the 霍尔顿 Monaro.

卢茨（Lutz）将GTO归咎于三个因素’在美国的销售乏善可陈：

• 车子’的造型并不新鲜。车身样式已在澳大利亚市场上销售“大概持续了七八年。因此，如果您要携带汽车，则应该在设计周期的开始而不是结束。”

• “We overpriced it.”

• The wrong dealers were targeted. Initial GTO distribution was based on historic 庞蒂亚克 sales, which were heavily in the Midwest. But Midwest buyers did not want a rwd car. Instead, California should have been targeted at the beginning, he said.

“这次我们不会犯那个错误，”卢茨在发布G8时表示。

U.S. sales began in March 2008 and peaked at 23,157 in 2009. But the widely praised car was too much, too late, and did little to reignite 庞蒂亚克’s fortunes.

庞蒂亚克 was mothballed as part of GM’s 2008-09重组。 G8的骨骼曾短暂地作为雪佛兰Caprice警察追踪车和雪佛兰SS生存。