[ssj71]

Jim,

I'm sure the low profile tires contribute to the firm ride, but I think it's more in the spring rates and the stiff Bilsteins. All in all, each component is contributing to the firm ride and great responsiveness.

Make sure you give those PBR brakes a "test". You won't believe how hard this car stops.

Did you find any time to test drive one? Take your checkbook when you do!

[JimFB400HO]

Went to our local Pontiac dealer and they didn't have a GXP on the lot to get a drive. We will have to go to another dealer. We did talk with a sales guy for a long time and poked around on a vanilla GP.

I wonder how much price leverage I will get on them dealing? I don't see any incentives on the horizon.

[miltmilton]

The wife spends gobs of time on the road out here in West Texas. Two lane blacktop with 70 mph speed limit and lots of farm/18 wheel traffic. She punches it and she around them easy as pie. She's extremely happy. Not a single maintennace issue. I've driven it HARD a few times and can't find a single complaint with the exception of the torque steer. Time behind the wheel and you learn to anticipate it. The wife has been challenged a couple of times and has put some folks in their place. Get one and live with the excitement!

[JimFB400HO]

You guys are correct. That car is very responsive. Drove one today. It had just been unloaded from the truck and some of the plastic had to be torn off before we could drive it. I tromped down on it a couple times and thoroughly enjoyed the surprise power. I didn't get a chance to try tight curves because of the area but got the idea of the steering responsiveness on a few normal turns and some zigzagging down a side road. I like it a lot.

One big issue: At the time, I adjusted the seat but perhaps I missed the right controls???? The headroom was really disappointing and questionable for me. I am only 6' but I have less than inch headroom. I feel real closed in compared to my Bonneville. What is confusing: My Bonneville has 39.2” headroom and I have a measured 5 ½ inches of space above me to the roof. The 2007 GP has 38.8” headroom and I’m close to touching the roof. The specs show less than a half inch difference yet I measure more than 4”. Did a miss a seat adjustment? There were a lot of new controls and new places for controls so perhaps in the confusion of “discovering” all of them I missed a second seat control???

[ssj71]

The seat is adjustable vertically (horizontal button - push straight down on it), and, people have complained about the sunroof cars and the sacrifice the sunroof assembly/headliner causes. I'm assuming you test drove a sunroof car??

My white GXP does not have a sunroof and I have a very good amount of headroom. I'm 5'11" and I can also wear a ball cap with minimal interference.

If headroom is an issue, try a non-sunroof car and see what you think (assuming you haven't).

Did you get an opportunity to use the paddle shifters?

[JimFB400HO]

First, thanks for all the discussion. I know that I often fall into paralysis by analysis on major decisions.

Yes, it was a sunroof car that I test drove but that particular feature is one that is quite attractive to my wife and she will be driving this car a lot too. We have both leaned toward the stealth grey metallic, which looks like a blue-gray. I plan to stop by a dealer and spend more time playing with some buttons, especially the seat adjustment.

I messed with the paddle/manual shifter in the parking lot only just to see how it worked. My mind was mulling over the acceleration, steering, brakes, and ride so much on the drive that I didn't play with the shifter. Perhaps on the next run. I know I want to better understand a lot of the five info panel buttons and critique the radio options.

And the ride was OK. It was worse than my Bonneville when new but better than it now that it has 145,000 miles. It is a cushioned stiff ride.

[ssj71]

That 5-button computer has some really neat features, including lateral g's, accel g's & decel g's. Also calculates average mpgs and instant mpgs (neay when the 4-cyl kick in and the number goes high). You can also check tranny temp fluid, battery volts, trip counters, oil life remaining, etc...

Keep me posted.

[JimFB400HO]

I guess all I can say right now is, “oh crap”.I’m really bummed out right now. Recall that earlier I said that I often get “paralysis by analysis on major decisions.”

I have been real excited about buying a GXP and we have picked color, options and about to go negotiate price as soon as my wife gets past a bad cold.

This morning I may have happened upon a showstopper. An interesting selling point on the car has been the special wheel/tire design for great traction and handling. Unfortunately, living in the Chicago area, a little detail in the brochure fine print caught my eye and sent me into additional data gathering: The 2007 brochure asterisks the tire with a note: “… may not provide the traction you would like, or at the same level of performance as winter tires on snow or ice covered roads…..” so I wrote my main sales guy with a question about it. and am awaiting a reply.

Perhaps I have researched the wrong tire but.... Further digging and I have found the following note about the GXP’s Bridgestone Potenza RE050 tires: “The Potenza RE050 was developed to provide good traction along with responsive and predictable dry and wet road handling. It is not intended to be driven in near-freezing temperatures, through snow or on ice.”

Unless I’ve analysed something wrong here, there is a major design flaw for making a GXP, as designed, a daily driver in over half of our nation. I cannot put my wife behind the wheel of a car that cannot handle Chicago weather. I will research alternative rubber for the car but……

I drove a 335hp '68 Firebird for thirteen years in the snow (with snow tires and Safe-T-Trak) but don't see driving in today's traffic in a car without good traction. I won't buy, store, and remount alternately winter and summer tires, as one Canadian magazine suggested, again when great all-weather M&S rated tires are standard on most vehicles these days.

[ssj71]

Jim,

Go here: http://www.clubgp.com/newforum/tt.asp?appid=35

There has been much discussion about snow traction on the clubgp website, and if I remember correctly, the GXP is very capable in snowy conditions. It may not be "recommended", but actual users have posted surprisingly good results in the snow. Other tires are an option as well.

Sorry. I can't give you any personal data since it last snowed here in Tampa in 1977...

[JimFB400HO]

Thanks for the link. I did a lot of reading over there last night. I think we may put off purchase until we can do a test drive in the snow. It probably won't be long.

You guys in the south are missing out on all the winter driving fun.

[JimFB400HO]

Harvey, After a couple days perusing the GXP area on that site that you referenced, I can say there is a lot of good information there. The FAQ summary offers discussion on a number of subjects that I was wondering about. It appears that a couple of those guys are GM engineers who work on the GXP? Time to join that site and work on negotiations with a dealer. I can still hear that 325 cube V8 from the test drive.

[455RM]

I wonder if I can adapt that type of Driver Info System into my Cutlass... That would be awesome.

Kick a** GPs guys (and ladies!)!

[ssj71]

Originally Posted by JimFB400HO

Harvey, After a couple days perusing the GXP area on that site that you referenced, I can say there is a lot of good information there. The FAQ summary offers discussion on a number of subjects that I was wondering about. It appears that a couple of those guys are GM engineers who work on the GXP? Time to join that site and work on negotiations with a dealer. I can still hear that 325 cube V8 from the test drive.

The one guy on that website was heavily involved in the GP GXP development & engineering, but I haven't seen him post there very much lately. If you do a search on his screen name (RLSEdition or something like that), you'll read a wealth of information directly from a guy who knows what he's talking about...

That site is loaded with information and details on the GXPs...

Harvey