Pontiac is Dead

[Tinton]

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/04/27/offi ... s-pontiac/

Looks like, as part of GM's restructuring plan, Pontiac's going to be killed off .

I still don't think this is the right idea, GM should specialize its brands and cut back models instead of just outright killing brands. For instance, Pontiac should just produce the G8 GXP, GTO, and Solstice, with the family cars and other bs getting killed off. Chevy should stop building trucks and fast cars and just focus on family vehicles. GMC should be the only truck/SUV producing brand in all of GM. Buick should also be killed, Cadillac reformed as a performance-luxury brand similar to BMW (with only RWD or AWD cars, no trucks or SUVs), Saturn should focus on economy cars, and everything else should be sold or killed off (like Hummer and Saab). It shouldn't be about bailing water out of a sinking ship, it should be about patching the f*cking holes in the hull. From what it looks like, GM is going to just kill brands without killing all the models, selling them under Chevy/GMC/Buick/Cadillac. I can't believe they're so stupid . The U.S. government and UAW also own controlling shares in GM now so they'll have the say when designing new cars. In 10 years GM will just be another Toyota, without any sports cars, and I'm pretty sure they'll fail with that business plan. Eh, oh well, at this point I just want them to get it over with and say GM/Ford/Chrysler are discontinuing all operations and going out of business .

Thoughts?

[noob5,000,000]

Maybe I should keep my Pontiac now. Maybe it'll be worth something someday. I doubt it though.

Yeah, just like all the old Plymouths floating around out there

The 'cudas are selling for a literal fortune nowadays.


That's about it though

Edit: and the reliant....I think everyone here would love a K car.

That is true, but I was talking about the Plymouth Neon (WTF, they didn't even bother renaming it when they rebadged it?) and other Plymouth econoboxes from the '90s. If you think about it, Plymouth and Pontiac are very similar; they both sold rebadged models of cars built by their parent company.

[4onthefloor]

Yeah I knew what you meant I just felt like being stubborn, although now that I think about it there was the Prowler as well.

It's too bad about Pontiac though. I had high hopes for the G8.

[noob5,000,000]

It is pretty weird to hear. Pontiac, a well-established household name is now just gone. Hopefully things pick up soon...

[94Corolla5Speed]

In the Manuals In the News thread

[VTECaddict]

agreed. GMC is totally useless. yeah yeah "commercial grade." whatever. ford does just fine without a separate brand for commercial oriented vehicles. i dont know why buick (and mercury for ford) exist at all. better than the "plebian" brand, but not quite as luxurious as the luxury brand. oooooookkkk.....

[VTECaddict]

FAIL.

[Tinton]

I forgot that forum even existed, sorry.

Edit: a mod wanna delete this?

[Tinton]

That is true, but I was talking about the Plymouth Neon (WTF, they didn't even bother renaming it when they rebadged it?) and other Plymouth econoboxes from the '90s. If you think about it, Plymouth and Pontiac are very similar; they both sold rebadged models of cars built by their parent company.

Honda, Toyota, and Nissan do the exact same thing with Acura, Lexus, and Infiniti respectively. Only difference is that the Japanese automakers actually differentiate brands based on a specific attribute, as I know Acura, Lexus, and Infiniti are just luxury versions of the base Hondas, Toyotas, and Nissans aren't they? GM made the horrible mistake of taking basically the same exact car, changing the outside a little, and selling it under 3-4 different brands. Back in the day, each division of GM made their own specific cars, and even made their own engines and possibly transmissions and other parts. Sadly, bean counters killed that because its cheaper to make everything in bulk to spread costs out a little more.

Saturn's gone, Pontiac's gone, personally I give GM 10 years max before they're completely gone. Same with Ford and Chrysler. Their business practices just don't work and they're too conservative, the changes proposed by the government aren't enough and will only prolong their deaths. I think I'm pretty neutral now when it comes to foreign-domestic, the Fiero is one of the few domestic cars I like, its been dead for 20 years, I don't really care if GM dies completely. I don't like any of their new cars anyways. Honestly, I think that when we look back, 20+ years from now, the 80's-00's will be seen as a major golden age for cars, along with the 60's-73. From what I've seen, the future doesn't look that bright for performance cars or standard-driving enthusiasts . Oh well, I think older cars are better anyways .

[VTECaddict]

rebadging =/= platform sharing.

rebadging is literally putting different badges on the exact same car, save for maybe slightly revised light clusters and front/rear fascias. there are a few examples of rebadging with import brands, but no where near as much as the big 3. acura csx = honda civic, lexus lx470 = toyota land cruiser, infiniti QX56 = nissan armada

platform sharing is completely different. an acura TL and honda accord are closely related, but all the body panels, dash, seats, interior panels, glass, electronics, etc are all completely different. same for lexus ES and toyota camry, lexus RX and toyota highlander, acura MDX and honda pilot, etc, etc.

[Leedeth]

Goddamit. The G8 is a good car, but now it's going to be gone, just like the GTO? What the hell man, all the good cars are disappearing!

[wannabe]

so what happens to all the pontiac warranties and such? will GM still honor them?

[jomotopia]

i'll just merge them

[theholycow]

I still don't think this is the right idea, GM should specialize its brands and cut back models instead of just outright killing brands. For instance, Pontiac should just produce the G8 GXP, GTO, and Solstice, with the family cars and other bs getting killed off. Chevy should stop building trucks and fast cars and just focus on family vehicles. GMC should be the only truck/SUV producing brand in all of GM.

Your ideas are intriguing to me, and I would like to subscribe to your newsletter.

Seriously, that's a really good idea.

Buick should also be killed, Cadillac reformed as a performance-luxury brand similar to BMW (with only RWD or AWD cars, no trucks or SUVs),

Buick is the best selling car in China, the world's fastest expanding automotive market. Buick still sells decently in the US, no need to chop off a profitable limb. Buick is entry/mid-level luxury, and Cadillac is full luxury / performance luxury already. Heard of the CTS-V?

I know the Escalade isn't a race winner, but it's a profit maker and cutting off profitable models would be dumb.

Saturn should focus on economy cars, and everything else should be sold or killed off (like Hummer and Saab).

Agreed. Saturn should also get back to its roots, the "different kind of car company" that it started as. That seemed to be quite successful.

The U.S. government and UAW also own controlling shares in GM now so they'll have the say when designing new cars.

That probably isn't going to help matters.

In 10 years GM will just be another Toyota, without any sports cars, and I'm pretty sure they'll fail with that business plan.

It won't happen. But, Toyota does pretty well with it!

[theholycow]

That is true, but I was talking about the Plymouth Neon (WTF, they didn't even bother renaming it when they rebadged it?) and other Plymouth econoboxes from the '90s. If you think about it, Plymouth and Pontiac are very similar; they both sold rebadged models of cars built by their parent company.

The G3 is the only badge-engineered Pontiac I know of. The rest have different sheet metal, different interiors, and even different mechanical configurations than Chevies on the same platform...same as Toyota/Lexus and VW/Audi platform sharing and better than Honda/Acura does.