Autoblog

click on the above image for a bunch of high-res shots showing the new Pontiac G8

The last decade has been difficult for General Motors enthusiasts who desired an affordable V8 RWD sedan (we love the V-series Cadillacs, but alas, they're not exactly budget rides). With the introduction of the Pontiac G8, however, all is forgiven, for this muscular four-door appears poised to offer a blend of attitude and sophistication appropriate for the brand that claims to build excitement.

This Poncho is based upon GM's new Zeta platform, and the base model offers up a 261-hp, DOHC 3.6L V6. GT models get the 362-hp, L98 OHV 6.0L V8 with Displacement on Demand. No bonus points will be awarded for correctly guessing which we'd pick. The V6 will come with a five-speed slushbox, while the V8 will initially be backed with GM's new 6L80 six-speed auto, and a row-your-own manual with a half-dozen ratios will follow at a yet-undetermined later date. Naturally, the GT gets a bigger wheel/tire package and larger brakes, and a sport package will be offered for either engine type. Under the skin lies a McPherson strut suspension arrangement in the front and multi-link in the rear, with the full array of adjustments available at each corner.

Elements of the show car that won't make it to production include the big brakes, lowered ride height, 20" wheels, and custom interior trim. Note the new badge design; what we're seeing here is a concept version of a new Pontiac logo that eschews the traditional red coloration for a metallic sheen.

Click on the photo above for a gallery of Pontiac G8 live photos and studio shots! Also, check out the exclusive VIDEO of the G8 and Bob Lutz introducing the new rear-wheel drive sedan after the jump.

When Automobile got their paws on a six-speed manual version of the M5, they were none too pleased that BMW's engineers wouldn't allow drivers to fully disable the traction control. At the time, we assumed that BMW's legal boffins pictured overly enthusiastic Americans, stomping the go pedal and promptly winding up in a ditch.

Not so, according to Car. The magazine learned that the M division had no way of controlling clutch plate actuation, which would normally quell the axle tramp caused by the V10's prodigious power delivery. Acceleration times would rise and drivetrain components' lifetimes would fall. Hence, the only conceivable solution was to make the DSC a permanent fixture within the Bimmer's brain.

Still, you can partly disable the system in M Dynamic mode within iDrive (if you dare), but that may not be enough for those who want to test the limits of adhesion of the 285s in the rear.

[Source: Car]

According to new information complied by the research firm CSM Worldwide; six-speed automatics will be the norm for domestic manufactures by 2015. Currently, the standard four-speed automatic has dominated the marketplace for the past several years, but as fuel efficiency becomes more of a factor in consumer purchases, the addition of two more gears will become a necessity to remain competitive.

The research is centered around Ford and General Motor's plans for auto-offerings over the next decade, with three-quarters of GM's lineup to be equipped by 2012 and half of Ford's fleet rolling with six-speeds by 2015. Fuel consumption is said to decrease between four and eight percent on vehicles equipped with the new gearbox.

Many other brands, including Toyota and Chrysler have six-speed automatics already in the works or currently on the road, with Toyota's luxury brand, Lexus, stuffing eight speeds into its new LS460 luxo-barge.

Interestingly, CSM expects a very small (one to five percent) increase in the use of continuously variable transmissions (CVTs) over the same time period.

[Source: Edmund's Inside Line]

Announcing Tuesday a $170 million investment in GM Powertrain's Ypsilanti Transmission Operations and its satellite vendors and support infrastructure, General Motors made a strong commitment to its new family of six-speed automatic transmissions. The new investment follows the more than $450 million invested in the six-speed development and in the Ypsilanti plant.

GM is launching the six-speeds in nearly 40 GM models around the world in 2006 and 2007. By 2010, the company plans a total of 10 new variants of the six-speed design, with annual production reaching three million units.

The first six-speed model, the Hydra-Matic 6L80 (shown at right), debuted in on GM's 2006 performance models and full-size SUVs, and the investment announcement coincides with the launch of its second six-speed variant, the 6L50, which will debut in 2007 Cadillac STS rear- and all-wheel drive sedans, and in the SRX V8 crossover.

Compared to a four-speed automatic, the new six-speeds provide both better performance (through a lower first gear) and better highway fuel economy (via two overdrive gears).

The 6L50 also features "Driver Shift Control," which allows the driver to shift the transmission like a clutchless manual 'box. Another nifty feature is transmission calibration to override automatic gear selection during closed-throttle and high lateral acceleration maneuvers (think aggressive corner entry), rapidly downshifting with nearly synchronous engine speed for quick power-up when the driver comes back on the throttle.

[Source: GM]