The Contenders - 2009 Pontiac G8 - 2009 Motor Trend Car Of The Year

2009 Pontiac G8

What They Did Right: Performance and handling, big back seat, stylish two-tone interior. And the base model with a 3.6-liter V-6 performs decently, too.

Room For Improvement: Fit and finish, unfamiliar switchgear. GM didn't spend the time or money to make the G8 a proper Pontiac.

The Pontiac G8 GT easily beat its close competitor and sibling to the 2005 Car of the Year Chrysler 300, the Dodge Charger, in our April 2008 comparison. It's a high-value sporty sedan, the rear-drive Chevy Impala we'll never get, for about $30,000. Think modern musclecar with more refinement and better handling than the Dodge Challenger. The full-size Pontiac reminds Stone of an E46 BMW 3 Series with a big, family-size back seat. Indeed, that would make the coming 402-horsepower GXP (the only G8 to be offered with a manual gearbox) a larger, everyman's E46 M3. The only retro note, Markus notes, is the way the 6.0-liter small-block rocks the car at idle.

With sharp, precise steering and a firm suspension, it's easier to point around turns than the Challenger, with just a bit of jiggle on the bumpiest of roads. It's comfortable at high speeds, although with more wind noise than the other sedans here.

So it should be no surprise that the G8 had enough supporters to nearly make our cut into the list of 10 finalists. Unlike the 2005 Chrysler 300, though, the Pontiac G8 isn't a car for our times and it won't sell in 2005-2007 300 or Charger numbers. The other problem is that the G8 really isn't a Pontiac. Like the 2004 GTO, the new G8 is little more than a Holden Commodore with Pontiac split grille and trim. Together with the Toyota-based Vibe, the two Pontiacs in our competition are badge-engineered cars for GM's value-priced sporty car division, with nothing more than that nose to connect them to their Solstice/G5/G6 showroom brethren.

In the case of the Australian-built sedan, the G8 comes with a Blaupunkt radio sans XM. Power window buttons are inconveniently placed between the front seats, and in general, the car will leave Pontiac and GM faithful with a feeling of unfamiliarity. Poor fit and finish, including body panels

- Todd Lassa