2009 Pontiac G8 GT price rise
June 19, 2008 by George Skentzos
Pontiac has boasted its adopted Australian G8 GT model as the most powerful car under $30,000 in the US.
However its claim to fame has been lost following a $1,365 price rise which pushed the base model G8 GT to $31,360.
This is apparently a result of the strengthening Australian dollar increasing the nominal cost of the exported Commodore-based G8 GT in the US.
The change applies to all 2009 model G8 GT’s, however GM has added XM radio and Bluetooth connectivity as standard to offset the price change.
The starting price of the Pontiac G8 V6 has also been affected by this increase, rising by $400 to $27,995.
Regardless of the price increase, the Pontiac G8 still arrives in the US for significantly less than it’s locally made Australian doppelganger.
Print it: 
whats xm radio?
Americas number 1 Satellite Radio Service.
makes you feel real warm and fuzzy when it’s openly declared how much GM are ripping us off locally. and they must think we don’t mind……yeah, right. $ parity, you’d never know.
Still a bargain to buy and run(fuel costs).
Greenroom – most of the price difference is government taxes and charges. Don’t forget australia and the US have a free trade agreement and as such the G8 incurs significantly less tax then a holden commodore does.
The rest of the price difference is down to the fact that because the US is such a larger market, they are able to sell cars in significantly larger volumes then here in australia and therefore are able to lower the price as a result.
You have to factor these things in before you start running around blindly accusing GM of ripping aussie consumers off when in actual fact, its a combination of over the top Australian taxes, fees and charges as well as the generally different market dynamics that create such a large price discrepency.
it is still too much for a Commodore which ever way you look at it. when the Americans have these cars start to show all the problems that the local ones have they will lose their enthusiasm for them. Poor build quality and reliability doesnt disappear on the boat trip over…………and the current move away from gas guzzling V8’s will kill them anyway……..
WOW what a shame! The American’s still get a Commodore alot cheaper than we do!
Far out… Holden rip us off so much!! what a joke!
^But if you think about it, if Ford export the Falcon to the USA it will be the same like the Holden Commodore to Pontiac G8 price difference.
Isn’t it more to do with government taxes? All cars here are proportionately expensive.
Tom – exactly mate, its incredible how someone will go to the effort of explaining something like i did, only for mindless idiots to just completely ignore it and go “nyaaaaaaa rippoff!!!!!11!11!!11″
richo, i find your argument about economies of scale in the US to be absolute bollocks when it comes to the pontiac G8.
the G8 has been selling around 2000 units per month since the start of 2008, compare to around 4000 units per month sold of the commodore range in australia year to date…(google for stats). Pontiac is selling half as many, at around a third cheaper than in australia, in a market thats 15 times the size. are you seriously telling me that pontiac are selling these by the shitload in the US so they can charge less, when the stats say otherwise? its selling twice as fast here, our prices should be lower shouldnt they?
well market economics tells us that isnt the case. we’re buying twice as many, at 33% more, why the hell should holden drop the prices for the faceless fanboys in australia? theyre creaming all that profit on top.
the reason theyre cheap in the US is because they simply wouldnt compete if they cost the same there as they do here. americans would just go off and buy a dodge charger instead (well, they already are).
i find it a bit strange that you openly agree with GM that aussies should be ripped off and deserve to be, though, trying to hide behind arguments such as sales volume and taxes which are wrong…in most states of the US, registration, stamp duty and related taxes when buying a car are the same or very similar to australia. keep in mind that most states have a 10 – 15% sales tax just like we have the GST.
yair holden are rippin us off, man, what a joke bla bla wiy dunt they sell Commodore SS here for the same price should be 30 grand tops bla bla bla
Richo, sorry, i skimmed over your comment. I assumed it would all be people complaining mixed in with some mindless Holden bashing.
Sanjay – can’t help but notice you conveiniantly glossed over my comments about the different taxes and fees and so forth.. didn’t you sanjay! didnt you! (end apu voice..)
and as for my “little economics argument” how about the fact that GM sells over 100,000 cars in the US?? Thats about how many cars IN TOTAL are sold in australia! Yes they can stretch their margins a liiiiiiiittle bit further in the US sanjay, and yes, they can spread it between different models in their model range too!!
Now Sanjay, its not just GM either which have such large price discrepencies either! BMW sell their 318i here in Australia for the same price they sell their six cylinder 5 series in the US! Merceedes sell their C-class in australia for the same price as they sell an E-class in the US! Oh sanjay sanjay sanjay, its not just GM which sell their cars in the US for considerably less then they sell them in australia, its actually accross the board my friend! COULD IT BE? JUST MAYBE? That its the excessive taxes we have to deal with here in australia that is the problem? OMFG IT JUST MIGHT BE!!!!
In short, IF its not the taxes and its just GM ripping us off, then i assure you its not just GM, its also BMW, merceedes, kia, hyundai, toyota, honda, mitsubishi, audi… why, all of them! Because ALL cars in the US are comparitively cheaper then they are here in Australia! oh but stuff doing some research and have a bit of a think about things, much easier to go NUP MATE THEYS ARE RIPPIN US POOR BUGGAS OFF AND ITS NOT FAIR! LETS GO TELL THE UN-YUNS AND HAVE US A STRIKE OVER IT!
also, i realise we sell alot more vehicles in australia then 100,000, i was just using a bit of dramatic effect, taking a few liberties if you know what i mean… all the aussie car bashers seem to feel its ok to do that so why not me? yes i believe i’ll do it too!
Infact bugger it, lets do a little research shall we?
Kia Sorento, sell in the US from $16,725, thats right! $16,725!!! Hmm, in Australia $35,900… oh dear.. thats more then double, but nope must be those bastids at holden still, lets try suzuki!
Suzuki Grand Vitara starts in the US from $19,499.. what the? in australia its $30,990? No i still refuse to believe that this issue is accross the board.. its DEFINETLY just Holden!
Honda CRV? $21,900 for a 4wd one (did you know you can get a 2wd one in the states?) in australia? 29,990!
But no thats right, Sanjay said they only sell the G8 for 30k cos it couldn’t compete with any other cars if it was any more expensive! Well what company does the G8 have in the 30k segment then. Mercedes C280? No surely not, at the same price a G8 could surely never compete with a Mercedes C280, its far too low brow, i mean a Mercedes C280 for example costs nearly 85k here in Australia! wait a minute.. holy jesus! It only costs $32,475 in the US! Thats the same money as a G8! I guess that blew your little “they only sell it at that price so it competes with lesser cars” argument clean out of the water doesn’t it sanjay?
Defence rests your honour.
incedently, mercedes calls the C280 the C300 in the US? But don’t worry, i did my research, its definetly the same car, before anyway goes “NO YOUR WRONG BUDDY!”
Richo,
why must you try and ruin certain individuals efforts to have a big whinge?
Well done, Richo. Hopefully, you’ve killed this “SS commodore sells for 30 grand in the US” thing once and for all.
The main conclusion that can be gathered from American pricing is that ALL car manufacturers are ripping us off, some more than others. Holden has no choice but to sell the Commodore in the US at that price or it wouldn’t sell at all.
The thing that sticks out the most is that European cars which normally compete with Japanese cars on price in America cost a hell of a lot more than those same Japanese cars in this country. Just goes to show that European manufacturers have us well and truly over a barrel.
Uh oh. None of your good work paid off, Richo. See above.
No barrel Chucky – you could always buy a gas guzzling Australian car. check out VW’s pricing, you’ll find they are cheaper in Australia than Europe (UK) along with some Volvos.
Hey you lot get over pricing, different market different rates. Stop Bleating
Correct me if im wrong but aren’t US list prices exclusive of sales tax?
& GST isn’t payable on exports out of australia so on a 45k commodore SS that accounts for another $4500 difference.
Although the boat trip cant be cheap.
& i’d be interested to know how much holden are invoiced for the Engine & gearbox’s that are imported from the states & just how much they are invoiced back for the whole car.
Transfer pricing anyone?
Good points Richo & Trackdaze. Finally some sense on the subject instead of mindless bleating.
Guys, you missed the obvious ones though:
Corolla: Australian price is 30% more than USA price.
Camry: Australian price is a whopping 50% more than USA price. ($19 k vs $29k)
As I said still a bargain to buy and the V8 is cheaper to run than a SUV!
RICHO:
You do mean over 1,000,000 vehicles are produced by GM US?
With $30,00 us you can get a Nissan 350z or a Mustang Gt I rather buy any of thoses car than this Pontiholden car.
I brought my G8 GT back in late May 08 and all I can say is that it’s a great car to own & operate! What’s even better is that you can use regular gas and still achieve 24-27 mpg on the highway at consistent speeds of 65-70 mph. If you are in a serious hurry, cruise at 110-120mph and the car remains stable while managing 13-16 mpg! In the City of “Killadelphia” I get around 11-13 mpg if driving civil. Also, did I mention that when at consistent engine speeds 4 of 8 cylinders shut off to give you 4 cyl. gas mileage?!
GM has made a great family sports car I must say! My family of 5 seat so comfortable in the G8 and the trunk space always amazes people when loading groceries or packing for vacation trips. What’s even better is when you decide to stop “Driving Mrs. Daisy” & go “Fast & The Furious” for alittle while, you can do so at the drop of a hammer! Even more exciting is that the G8 is faster than the Hemi! Now for some reason them Mustangs give me some trouble?!
A side from the many things that I like, what can be worked on by GM is a quicker more precise tranny, better brake feel, confident controls (It takes all day turning the volume knob down when someone asks you for directions) and a more aggressive exhaust note! With a 6.0L V8, one should be able to hear a mild deep growl at low engine speeds and a tuned monster roar when full throttle!
Overall though, the G8 GT still is a very nice work of art. For the price, performance & certainly maintenance cost, one can’t complain very much! ($44.00 for a oil change! Now try that with a BMW or Benz!) I repeatedly take my GT to the Gov’d 140 mph & it feels so great until a Benz AMG or Lotus Twin turbo show you up! (It’s happened!) I call my Gray G8 GT “The Four Door Knight Rider” due to the custom installed Knight Rider red light behind the bottom honeycomb grill, so please move out the way when he’s coming or prepare to street race! I plan to put in tuned headers & exhaust, aftermarket air intake, and a performance chip- that’s all folks!