Pontiac to die on Monday

[McLaren]

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/04/23/report-general-motors-to-kill-pontiac-monday/

According to a report from InsideLine, General Motors could axe Pontiac as early as this Monday. Although IL isn't citing its source within GM, it did contact the General's PR man, Tom Wilkinson, who said, "There's nothing I can share with you at this time... Officially, nothing has changed with Pontiac's niche-brand status, until you hear differently." Not very clear, but not particularly positive either.

The line about Pontiac's "niche-brand status" has been floating around since last December, when GM began to focus on its four core brands – Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC – while readying the rest (Saab, Saturn and Hummer) for execution or extradition.

Pontiac's focus has been ill-defined (at best) over the decade, with solid products like the G8 coming to market alongside other less-than-stellar offerings (cough, G3). There was talk of reigniting Pontiac's performance heritage or even refocusing the brand as a Scion competitor. Regardless of past plans or intentions, there was no doubt that Pontiac was in the cross-hairs, and come Monday, we might know it's final fate.

Hopefully, it's just false information. Killing off Pontiac & keeping GMC is nothing more than Epic Failure imo.

 

[MinoltaMan89]

NOOOO!!! Pontiac is GM's best division, along with Chevrolet. They've been around for 90-something years (correct me if I'm wrong).

And the stupidest thing about this is that GM is making 10 mpg 100 grand ZR1s at the same time that this is happening. Just ridiculous.

 

[JCE]

If they do I will never buy another GM product again--this includes the 5th gen Camaro.

 

[MinoltaMan89]

If they do I will never buy another GM product again--this includes the 5th gen Camaro.

Be prepared to sell the Camaro, then.

 

[Northstar]

This is old news, in December 08 they announced that they are ending Pontiac & Saturn(as well as Hummer possibly) and selling Saab.

 

[JCE]

Be prepared to sell the Camaro, then.

I said ANOTHER GM product. Not my exsisting one.

 

[Philly]

This begs the question:

Why Pontiac? Just kill off HUMMER, Saturn and Saab. They mean a lot less to GM than Pontiac. At least Pontiac has some things to offer that the rest of the company doesn't already have three of.

 

[JCE]

So does that mean that some of Pontiac's models will be badged as Chevrolet? The G8? The Vibe?

 

[Northstar]

Well the Vibe is just a re badged Toyota Matrix, but I would like to see the G8 live on in some sort as it looks awesome.

 

[buickgnx88]

If they kept the G8 and badged it as a Chevy, it should be the Impala.

 

[Joey D]

Hopefully, it's just false information. Killing off Pontiac & keeping GMC is nothing more than Epic Failure imo.

Why? GMC has medium duty commercial vehicles which are actually worth something, Pontiac is nothing more then a rebadged brand since they lost the Firebird/Trans Am.

GM could easily restyle the G8 and make it the new Impala and do something with the Vibe to make it a Chevy as well. I suppose they could make the GMC commercial line Chevy's but why would they when they already have a commercial reputation?

 

[Perfect Balance]

GM has been "dying" for the last 2 years or so already. When will it actually happen?

 

[88c-v Racer]

If they kept the G8 and badged it as a Chevy, it should be the Impala.

if they re-badged the G8 as a Chevy i think they should make it a new Monte Carlo. a car that's supposed be a performance car doesn't sound an Impala to me.

 

[Rotary Junkie]

Why? GMC has medium duty commercial vehicles which are actually worth something, Pontiac is nothing more then a rebadged brand since they lost the Firebird/Trans Am.

Thing is, those medium duty trucks are ALSO sold with Chevrolet badges with little to no spec difference.

And Pontiac... They were a "rebadged brand" when the Firechicken was around too, so point is null

 

[Northstar]

The only probelm is that the G8 is a sedan while the Monte Carlo has always been a Coupe, plus I doubt they would bring it back after canceling it 2 years ago. I think they should bring back the Chevelle name.

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

NOOOO!!! Pontiac is GM's best division, along with Chevrolet. They've been around for 90-something years (correct me if I'm wrong).

And the stupidest thing about this is that GM is making 10 mpg 100 grand ZR1s at the same time that this is happening. Just ridiculous.

Why do MPGs matter so much in a sports car. GM probably isn't losing much if anything on the ZR1s.

GM has been "dying" for the last 2 years or so already. When will it actually happen?

It started in 2005, so...it will be a while.

 

[MinoltaMan89]

Why do MPGs matter so much in a sports car.

Supercar, man. Get it right. Anyway, it just seems weird with the fact that we're running out of oil (we're not really, we just can't afford to drill more) and with this economical crisis and such, we still have 200mph supercars. The world is in a HUGE mess.

 

[buickgnx88]

if they re-badged the G8 as a Chevy i think they should make it a new Monte Carlo. a car that's supposed be a performance car doesn't sound an Impala to me.

*cough*

 

[Leonidae]

Supercar, man. Get it right. Anyway, it just seems weird with the fact that we're running out of oil (we're not really, we just can't afford to drill more) and with this economical crisis and such, we still have 200mph supercars. The world is in a HUGE mess.

ZR1 is just a trim level of base Corvette. Hence, it is a sportscar.

 

[JCE]

The only probelm is that the G8 is a sedan while the Monte Carlo has always been a Coupe

Tell that to Dodge...

 

[McLaren]

This is old news, in December 08 they announced that they are ending Pontiac & Saturn(as well as Hummer possibly) and selling Saab.

Actually, in December, they said that Pontiac & others would continue, but the main core would remain Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, & GMC.

Why? GMC has medium duty commercial vehicles which are actually worth something, Pontiac is nothing more then a rebadged brand since they lost the Firebird/Trans Am.

Except Chevrolet has the exact same thing.
http://www.chevrolet.com/mediumduty/

There is no reason for GM to keep GMC. They're nothing more than overpriced Chevrolet Trucks in every way. If GM wants to keep them, bring GMC into Chevrolet as new trims & options in current Chevy products.

 

[YSSMAN]

Guys, keep in mind that it is all just a rumor. The problem here is that GM is neither confirming or denying it, but it otherwise seems as though either GMC or Pontiac will get the axe. GMI had made it seem as though GMC would get it a few weeks ago, then news popped up that it was the exact opposite according to GMC folks.

...No word from Pontiac people, yet...

So does that mean that some of Pontiac's models will be badged as Chevrolet? The G8? The Vibe?

I would assume that the good-selling vehicles would be sent off as Chevrolet models, eventually. The Vibe, as I recall, is one of GM's best-selling vehicles. The G8... It hasn't been what it should be. But, seeing as how the car is getting another set of updates this year (particularly the use of the 300-ish BHP DIG V6 from the Camaro, CTS, etc), its part of what makes me think Pontiac will be sticking around.

I mean, if they do Pontiac as a niche brand what models are left? The G8, Solstice and Vibe. That's it.

 

[Philly]

I don't understand why GM is picking on GMC and Pontiac. They are the company's second and third best selling brands. If the brands are working, why get rid of them? Unless it costs significantly more to keep those brands running, it just doesn't seem smart to have those two and the ones to close down.

Why aren't they just dropping Saturn, Saab and HUMMER?

 

[CyborgGT]

I read that Pontiac's sticking around as a niche brand (RWD and/or 'youth' models), with most of it killed off. That's what I think should happen. The US needs some performance cars outside of the Corvette, Camaro, and Mustang (I assume the Viper's already been killed off, as I haven't heard of Chrysler selling it).

 

[Nicksfix]

(I assume the Viper's already been killed off, as I haven't heard of Chrysler selling it).

Unless somebody buys the rights to the Dodge Viper,rumour has it that 2011 will be the last year for it :

http://jalopnik.com/354292/the-dodge-viper-is-dead-in-lieu-of-flowers-please-send-rd-funds

 

[Philly]

2011 is pretty wishful for the Viper. I'm thinking more along the lines of it being shut down next week.

When it comes down to Pontiac being a niche brand, I think that's mostly thinking about when the economy turns around. Putting money into a performance brand honestly isn't the best investment at this point. Pretty much everybody needs to concentrate on making the bread and butter volume sellers as good as possible to compete well. Sporty cars have their role, but that mostly comes when the economy is doing well and people have the extra money to spend on buying a slightly cooler car. However, if the brand becomes a part of the issue of whether or not the company will survive, kill it. Because a GM with no Pontiac is better than no GM at all.

 

[mPWRD]

Going down the pontiac lineup...

G3 is a rebadged Aveo
G5 is pointless
G6 is apparently one of the worst cars ever
G8 is the only one worth keeping
Torrent is a rebadged Equinox
Vibe is a rebadged Matrix
Solstice is a rebadged Saturn Sky

So aside from the G8... nothing much worth saving IMO

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

Going down the pontiac lineup...

G3 is a rebadged Aveo
G5 is pointless
G6 is apparently one of the worst cars ever
G8 is the only one worth keeping
Torrent is a rebadged Equinox
Vibe is a rebadged Matrix
Solstice is a rebadged Saturn Sky

So aside from the G8... nothing much worth saving IMO

The Saturn Sky is a rebadged Solstice. And GM doesn't own Toyota, so the Vibe should stay.

 

[YSSMAN]

If the brands are working, why get rid of them?

One word: China

Second word: Sustainability

The Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac trifecta, for the most part fit into those well enough to keep them around no matter what. Buick is the big brand in China, Chevrolet is the major brand across the world, and Cadillac functions as the flagship in Asia and North America. Outside of the US and Canada, Pontiac and GMC mean diddly, and if Opel is in fact going buh-bye, they're going to have to rely on the three primary brands to carry the entire company on a global scale.

I think most of us agree that the rumored loss of Pontiac is a major disappointment, especially to die-hard GM fans like me. I have to keep hope that there is some level of decency within the company to keep a few of the Pontiac products around, and to operate it as a small-numbers brand. Perhaps after the market resets itself, and the new products come in, sales will pick back up enough to justify adding more models again. Who knows? The possible death of GMC is sad as well, but again, if people are going to complain about the redundancy of GM in general... Clearly, GMC has to go. Thinking that those buyers will not convert to Chevrolet is rather silly, just as it would be to think that Chevrolet won't alter their trim levels to mimic the outgoing GMC models. Truth be told, a GMC buyer is likely too loyal to GM to go to a Ford, Dodge (assuming there is one) or Toyota for a different truck. If Buick and Cadillac will be picking up the crossover sales (Chevrolet as well)... Again, the redundancy becomes a problem.

*sigh*

It would be great if someone at GM would create an idea and stick to it.

 

[Jay]

Solstice is a rebadged Saturn Sky

On that note..... the G8 is a rebadged Commodore.