News of Technology

The 2008 Pontiac G8 is a product of the ever-growing practice of Globalization. You know, the modern phenomenon which has given us fifteen dollar blue jeans and forty-nine dollar DVD players. The general practice works like this; pay someone overseas, usually somewhere in the far East, a pittance to build a frivilous product so we can have it shipped here to America, and consume it for an equally appalling pittance. Nevermind how long it lasts, because it?s so  inexpensive, that when it falls apart we can just go buy another one. It?s a relatively novel and cost-effective creation of modern technology and manufacturing, but one which has fueled a hyper-consumer society. Of course this is the downside of Globalization. But what about the upside?

Not to be confused with the moniker of the eight most powerful countries worldwide, the G8 is the first Pontiac performance sedan in more than 20 years to derive it?s rubber-melting brawn from the rear wheels. In the late 1980?s, GM abandoned rear-wheel drive architecture in North America, but its Australian brand, Holden, didn?t let it go so easily. Viewing themselves as a performance sedan brand, Holden kept rear-wheel drive cars alive down under. And in 2004, when Pontiac felt they needed to have a rear-wheel drive super coupe, they turned to good ole Globalization and gave Holden a call. The result was the ill-fated GTO, a car which was a failure only in its branding. Had it been named anything but the lofty GTO, it probably would have survived and sold many more units. The Aussie version, the Monaro, was wildly successful before it landed on American shores.

The 2008 Volkswagen R32 is a high-performance two-door hatchback version of the Golf. The R32 has a 6 speed automatic transmission, 3.2-liter V6, 250-horsepower engine, and after a four-year hiatus, the R32 returns for the 2008 model year completely redesigned with more power, performance and styling.