GM has been going off track with its performance division Pontiac for a number of years, and I’m not talking off-roading SUV’s here. Back in its heyday, cars such as the Trans Am and Firebird meant performance with a capital P, yet in recent years that’s somehow all gone to hell in a hand basket.

Let’s take a look at the current lineup...If we set aside the G5 and G6 for a moment, as they are quite sporty vehicles, what are we actually left with?

Well, I’ll tell you... the Pontiac Wave (A re-labeled Daewoo), a handful of CUV’s (Which can carry a lot of Pontiac decals but don’t deserve to have one attached), and the Vibe. Well actually, the Vibe is a pretty good little vehicle as it goes, possibly better suited to the Chevy logo, but it’s still not a bad little machine.

However, what I’m really getting at here is, Pontiac is no longer the home of the power and performance brigade, is it?

Now before you go thinking that this is just another journo bashing the American car company in troubled times, let me go on to say something else...I have just driven one of the best Pontiac products in decades, and one truly worthy of its famous logo. Not only is this true, but the vehicle which I tested was the Base V6 version and not one of the stomping-honking V8 models (The G8 is available with a 256hp 3.6L V6, the GT carries a 361hp 6.0L V8, and the GXP boasts a whopping 415hp 6.2L V8 under the hood).

Oh yes, GM has finally given us what we’ve been yearning for, a true rear wheel drive road ripper!

Actually the term “Ripper” fits in rather well here as it actually means “great, fantastic” in Australian slang, which is precisely where the new Pontiac G8 hails from. In fact, if you look closely at the new GM muscle car, you’ll notice the name Holden (GM’s Australian division) appears frequently.

Oh yes, the Aussies don’t spend all their time roaming around the outback (The interior of Australia) in their utes (Utility vehicle, pickup truck) herding jumbucks (Sheep). Nor as some would have you believe, do they spend their days hitting the surf, throwing shrimps on the barbie (BBQ), and guzzling coldies (Beer). Well actually, they do spend quite a lot of time doing that, but in their spare time, they also busy themselves designing and building some pretty wicked automobiles, and now they’ve decided to ship one of them over here for us to enjoy.

The Australian’s (And don’t worry, I’m going to drop the Aussie slang now), are well known for being a tad throttle pedal happy. Yes, the boys and girls down under enjoy fast cars as much as they do the sun and surf, and Holden understands this only too well.

Sold as the Holden Commodore in Australia, the VXR8 in the UK, and now the G8 here in North America, this vehicle is starting to get around, and there’s a very good reason for that.