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R.I.P Pontiac????

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There is a new rumor about GM making an announcement this coming Monday about officially killing the Pontiac brand.

I hope this isn’t true.

I love cars. And I hate to see any brand being killed off.
Especially one that has some really good cars to offer.

The Solstice isn’t for everyone, but it is one of my favorite car on the market.
It looks great and put a smile on my face every single time I got to drive it for the week Pontiac gave me one last year.
I would hate to see it disappear.

I also got to drive both versions of the G8. They are really nice cars. Well but together and fun to drive.

I even like the G6.
Sure, it could use a new interior. And the Malibu is even better…
But it is still a good looking affordable sedan that is also a very nice driver.

The death of Pontiac would be a real shame.
GM hasn’t moved fast enough to turn it into a real sporty RWD only brand.

It would be just too bad…

They are thinking of making Buick an American version of Opel (Unless Fiat grabs the German brand first).
So why not make Pontiac the American Holden.
Just bring over RWD Holdens as Pontiacs. Just like the G8

(A smaller Holden sedan is around the corner, and it would make a great new G6…)

Why do they have to just kill things…

Conversation 14 comments

  1. I thought Saturn was supposed to be the American Opel. Now they’re switching it to Buick? I don’t like that, Buick needs to be friggin distinctive. With a global portfolio… Buick should be the American Buick…

    Friggin blockheads at GM acted too late. If they did this 10 years ago they wouldn’t be in this situation…

  2. Pontiac People, Pontiac Tribe… So proud to live… So proud to die! Maybe someday when we learn, The Pontiac Nation will return!

  3. It is a shame, because there is a market segment for Pontiac. Pontiac is supposed to be GM’s performance division. But they failed to successfully define their brand or respond to changing consumer tastes. As a performance brand, they sent out mixed messages with cars like the Vibe, rebadged FWD Chevy Cavaliers and terrible minivans. It is a brand that, for years, has existed primarily to keep UAW workers working… since they’re contractually entitled to get paid no matter what. Building unwanted and unloved vehicles for zero-margin fleet sales is not a winning formula.

  4. If GM ever wants to get it together, they need to kill some brands. What good does it do to sell the brands, and then have a new competitor? Better to shut them down and focus the money saved on the remaining brands.

  5. GM destroyed the Pontiac name. I have never thought of Pontiac as performance. When I hear Pontiac I think of the Aztec, Sunbird/Sunfire, ugly body cladding, awful red/orange dash lighting. It’s a shame that they have to get rid of the brand but it’s their own fault. The name is tainted so even if they tried to make it a nicje brand it wouldn’t succeed.

  8. Branding is a very expensive thing these days and brands are often linked to market segments like Lexus is luxury for Toyota, AMG is performance for Mercedes-Benz, M is performance for BMW and so on…

    Now do the exercice for GM:
    Chevrolet=Base division? Why can you get the most incredible sports car (Corvette ZR1) there?
    Pontiac=Sport division? Why can you get a G3 in this line up that is nothing more than the Aveo.?
    GMC=Truck division? What’s de difference between a SIerra and a Silverado?
    Saturn=??? Pure competition to the other brands
    Cadillac=Luxury division. Did not always had good vehicules but always kept the right image.
    Buick=??? With only 2 or 3 models that could have been easily addressed with the other divisions.
    Oldsmobile=Already dead but much to late

    It’s so obvious that you could’nt sell all those brand in the same dealership so they splitted them “Chevrolet-Olsmobile-Cadillac” and “Pontiac-Buick-GMC”. And of course, avery dealers wanted the same models in their lineups to attract the same customers. So let’s build clones!!

    This business model has existed since I was a little boy and growing up I always wondered what point was I missing? Today, I understand more and more every day… Detroit’s suits where simply incompetent.

    And ne1butu was right, they wanted to save a few UAW workers… now how are they going to save rest?

  9. I guess it’s cheaper to just get rid of it than to turn it into something else. I also heard GMC may be on the chopping block too. Fortunately, if GM survives, they can keep the more popular models and just slap Chevy emblems on them. To me all GM needs are 2 divisions, Chevy and Caddy. All others are an unnecessary redundancy that costs the company money. I just can’t believe they’re going to close some factories for the summer. Too many cars and not enough sales I guess. I’ll bet there will be some killer sales this summer and fall, maybe even on the Pontiac Solstice….did you hear that Vince?

  10. Pontiac hasn't done anything distinctive, other than the Fiero, since John Delorean was in charge.
    That's before most customers were even born!

    You can't expect to sustain a brand when your R&D staff consists of a room full of chimps sticking PlayDoh on Chevys.

  11. If true, killing Pontiac is going to be a dumb decision for GM. DON’T DO IT GM!!! I think they need to kill Buick and GMC. What’s the point of having Buick be a semi-luxury brand when they have Cadillac!? GMC is nothing but badge-engineering with their trucks. Its all redundant. I hate that they are killing Saturn but its a sacrifice that they have to make. The products from Saturn can trickle down to Chevy or Pontiac. If GM kills Pontiac, how about turning the G8 into the Chevy Lumina or Chevy Caprice!!! That is an amazing car that is worthy of saving. The Solstice can trickle down to Chevrolet and become the Stingray!! GM, I know money is tight but its time that you start listening to your consumers for a change. If you kill Pontiac, you may as well kill Buick and GMC and have two brands-Chevy and Cadillac!! Buick may be doing well in China but I seriously doubt it will be enough to save GM in the US. For Buick to survive and be relevant in the US, its direction needs to be changed from “Old people’s car” and “lexus fighter” to “youthful, performance oriented, and great value”. Buick needs to embody everything Saturn and Pontiac stood for! You disappoint me GM! You disappoint me!

  12. Yes, its a shame but GM needs to get leaner and meaner. There is no need to have so many brands in an already flooded car market. If they keep the name and just come out with a “special edition” model from time to time, that would be nice but otherwise, I think they should let it go.

  13. vibe, g5, g6, g8, solstice. nothing great here cept the g8 and solstice. and both could be a great Chevy. too much redundancy and cost. which is why the govt pretty much has told GM to cut it down to Chevy/Cadillac…..kind of like toyota/lexus, honda/acura, nissan/infiniti….

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