MotorWeek: Pontiac G6

[ragingfish]

I'm an avid watcher of MotorWeek, and have eagerly been awaiting their coverage of the G6.Tonight, finally, they did it. Overall, they seemed very pleased...which makes me want a GTP even more...*drooooooools*Here it is, for all to enjoy!Dial-up warning! This file is MASSIVE!PLEASE DO NOT KILL MY BANDWIDTH! Right-click, Save As...!Run Time: 6:43Format: Windows MediaHigh Quality: 24.8 MB || Right Click To Download(REALLY) Low Quality: 2.49 MB || Right Click To Download

[ColonelPanic]

Finally got around to watching this tonight... Very good review! I'm beginning to become interested in this car... Didn't think I would have been, but something happened.

[Mavrik]

Well just wait a bit on getting one. No probs yet that we're seeing at the dealership but this is its first release, next year's models won't have as many bugs.

[ColonelPanic]

That's probably not bad advice, especially with my luck...

[ragingfish]

My parents told me tonight they've decided to get a new car...and this is what they're looking at...Im so fricken jealous.

[ColonelPanic]

Well, look at the bright side, I guess... You'll be able to keep your Vibe which you've invested so much time and $$$ into, and maybe have access to a G6 to play around with every now and then... If they let you drive it! If they do end up getting it, think of it as a long-term test drive for you - when you want to finally trade the Vibe you'll know if you're going to be happy with the G6.

[ragingfish]

Ok, I searched but couldn't find my answer.Does anyone happen to remember if the Malibu/G6 platform (aka Epsilon) is drive-by-wire?

[ColonelPanic]

With the complexity these cars seem to have, I'd say it is a safe assumption that the G6 has a drive-by-wire throttle control. As for steering, they do have electric power steering instead of the typical hydraulic power steering pump running off the engine. Still has mechanical linkages between the wheel and whatever else I think, just uses a different means to provide assist. I've heard that later on when the big engine gets here, they'll be using a standard hydraulic power steering pump on the top-of-the-line G6 to avoid the "artificial" feel that is associated with EPS. Can't say if that's valid, I've never driven anything with EPS.

[Stang2Vibe]

Not to be contrary, but I'm going to say that it employs the usual throttle linkage, although I haven't seen one yet. My cousin was telling me on Christmas about a magazine review that he read recently about the G6. He said that they mostly liked the car, but just kept constantly bashing it because they were using an old pushrod OHV V6 engine in it when GM has much more modern powerplants available.

[ragingfish]

I double checked at the dealer today...It's a traditional linkage on the throttle, but is in fact drive-by-wire in the steering.

[ColonelPanic]

Whaddya know... So much for me assuming. Turns out completely backwards of what I was thinking! lolAnd yeah, Stang, I've read plenty of pushrod bashin' with this car too. Not modern, but they get the job done, I suppose. I've wondered myself why they just bumped up the displacement on an old engine (I'm thinking the G6's 3.5 is the latest incarnation of what dates back to the old 2.8 V6, which turned into the 3.1, which turned into the 3.4) and installed it into an entirely new platform. They had the perfect opportunity to try out a new engine... I could be off on the 3.5's heritage, not sure... But anyway, looks like they will have some more "modern" powerplants in the not-so-distant future from what I gather.But I will say this - the loaner GA's from the dealer that I've recently driven with the 3.4, although a dinosaur of an engine, put a smile on my face when I didn't have to wind it up past 4K to get anything out of it like my base Vibe's high-tech engine. Enough tourque to pull a friggin' tree stump out of the ground. (removed)