Is Pontiac gone?

I heard yesterday on a national radio broadcast that G.M. has pulled the plug on Pontiac. This is the only thing I've heard about this so far. Has anybody else heard this or can confirm it?

This I have not heard.....I'd rather they kill of the Chevrolet , Buick, and GMC names

Nov. 27 (Bloomberg) -- General Motors Corp., working to cut costs to win $12 billion in government loans, is studying whether to shed its Saturn, Saab and Pontiac brands in addition to Hummer, people familiar with the matter said.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=aG4DMF2aEKWA

Saab might be a nice addition to Tata to go along with their Jaguar and Land Rover brands. Saab coulds be the low end of their luxury line.

Hummer is a no brainer. Loosing both Pontiac and Saturn seems like a tough call. If they both go then say goodby to the Solstice and Sky. I bet there are more Pontiac dealers vs. Saturn. I would kill Pontiac and make Saturn the brand that is Euro-GM. That Euro-GM angle would fit the Belgum Astra and the Holden models from Oz. The Sky could stay as well in their sporty line up.

The G6 line would be lost but the Aura is basically the same. There could easily be an Aura Coupe and Convertable. The Pontiac Vibe could easily be rebranded as a Saturn. While at it push for a sedan version of the Vibe (can you say Corolla.)

Kill GMC as well. That could put some more business into the Chevy doors.

I'd toss Hummer. They're just modified GM full-size trucks. Except the Humvee, which is now military-only and built by AM General, not GM. Saturn could work for bringing in the smaller cars from Europe, like Opel. I'd keep Pontiac and make it a more sporting division and avoid obvious rebadges.

Might as well, Pontiac nowadays is anything but what it used to be.

Performance division my ass, now they're getting a pickup truck and not a Trans Am.

Shawn

I really hope Pontiac doesn't go. I have always been a Pontiac guy and it would be sad to loose the brand. Also for no real reason I can think of I have preferred GMC over Chevy. But I guess desperate times call for desperate measures if G.M. is going to survive.

JeepinMatt wrote: I'd keep Pontiac and make it a more sporting division and avoid obvious rebadges.

I think there going in the right direction with Solstice and G8. I have no idea why they gave Saturn the Sky. I have no idea what they thought they could gain by doing that.

^^^^ Pontiac could stay and Saturn could go just as easily. Afterall, Saturn is really no long what it was concieved to be. I will say it again, they killed Oldsmobile and made Saturn into exactly what Olds was (re-badging) rather than what Saturn was supposed to be (a different car, a different way.)

If Pontiac stayed, their former sporty image (excietment) could be re-done through a euro-sport approach, but more real this time (as in drop the BMW-posser grill.)

There are complexities to be sure, and I could be wrong...

but I don't see how GM cares whether they sell 7 Chevy trucks and 3 GMC Trucks or 7 GMC Trucks and 3 Chevy Trucks.

Same with most of the divisions. Yes, there are division specific models, but not all of them are, and if rebranding them results in more overall sales, then what's the point in the calls for eliminating them?

There is probably a limit to how many divisions can sell essentially the same product, but I don't see any big savings except in marketing.

Could GM have sold as many Cavaliers back in the day as Cavaliers, Sunfires, Cimmarons, Skyhawks, and Firenzas???

The point is it may make economic sense to sell the same thing under various names, even though it's not very exciting to enthusiasts.

-James

jrw1621 wrote: If Pontiac stayed, their former sporty image (excietment) could be re-done through a euro-sport approach, but more real this time (as in drop the BMW-posser grill.)

I wouldn't mind owning a new G8, especially when they come out with a manual transmission model next year. And, Pontiac has used the split grille design theme since 1959.

I'd rather they drop Saturn. Always been a Pontiac guy. They need to drop Nascar, that'd be the smart(er) decision.

I am also hanging out for the 6 speed G8

I, for one, would like to see SAAB liberated from GM, assuming they could resume their previous Scandinavian quirkiness.

I'd hate to see Pontiac go, but at this point all GM divisions are basically peddling the same badge-engineered crap (with a couple of exceptions). I don't see that ditching Pontiac does any harm, but I don't get how it helps either.

Trans_Maro wrote: Might as well, Pontiac nowadays is anything but what it used to be. Performance division my ass, now they're getting a pickup truck and not a Trans Am. Shawn

Not a pick up, a UTE. Think El Camino SS.

Saturn is turning in to Euro GM while Pontiac is turning into Ausie GM. Not at all bad, but definitely a different market.

My wife has this odd hatred for Pontiac. She is indifferent to most cars, but makes a point to hate pontiacs. All she really wants is to get from A to B So I don't understand her pontiac hate.

I for one, want a formula 350 firebird in green thank you.

Trans_Maro wrote: Might as well, Pontiac nowadays is anything but what it used to be. Performance division my ass, now they're getting a pickup truck and not a Trans Am. Shawn

Pontiac hasn't been Pontiac since they started using the "corporate" small block.

berkeley it, kill Chevy. I've always been more of a B-O-P guy anyhow.

GM really needs to shed redundancy in it's lines. GM and Chevy trucks? Redundant and costly. Maybe they should have a Pontiac upscale car line, a Chevy truck line, then Saturn or Chevy for bread and butter moderate to inexpensive car line? Maybe they could stop redundancy in that fashion like Honda has Honda and then Acura?

I had a good dinner conversation on this very topic. Reduce the redunancy. Keep Saturn and make it the entry-level GM, much like Scion. Keep Cadillac and allow the Escalade to be the one multi-branded vehicle. Kill Buick in the US (sure, it's big in China, but do they really care whether we have Buick here?). Kill Pontiac, kill Hummer, sell Saab for whatever they can get. Either kill GMC or keep GMC and move all trucks to GMC.

So now we have Saturn, Chevrolet, GMC, and Cadillac. Saturn gets to keep the Aura and the Vectra and the Vue, move the Aveo/G3 to Saturn, loses the Sky. Chevy keeps the Malibu, loses the new Impala, gains the G8 and renames it Impala, keeps the Vette, gains the Solstice and new Camaro, loses all trucks. GMC gets all the trucks except the Escalade which is allowed as a special case for image purposes.

Slim, trim, and each division has a purpose.

bamalama wrote: Pontiac hasn't been Pontiac since they started using the "corporate" small block. berkeley it, kill Chevy. I've always been more of a B-O-P guy anyhow.

Amen brother!!

I like my Pontiacs to be ALL Pontiac.

GM head office:

"Hmm, the retro thing is really big right now, let's build a new Camaro. No Firebird though, nobody like them anyway. The F-Body stereotype is pretty bad as well"

"Lets import some kind of half-truck thing from Oz and give it to Pontiac instead, there's no redneck stereotype for those things is there?"

"Yeah, Chevy and GMC never had any car-truck sorta things, There's no retro marketing value there so let's give it to Pontiac. The did so well with the new GTO after all."

Shawn

Lugnut wrote: I had a good dinner conversation on this very topic. Reduce the redunancy. Keep Saturn and make it the entry-level GM, much like Scion. Keep Cadillac and allow the Escalade to be the one multi-branded vehicle. Kill Buick in the US (sure, it's big in China, but do they really care whether we have Buick here?). Kill Pontiac, kill Hummer, sell Saab for whatever they can get. Either kill GMC or keep GMC and move all trucks to GMC. So now we have Saturn, Chevrolet, GMC, and Cadillac. Saturn gets to keep the Aura and the Vectra and the Vue, move the Aveo/G3 to Saturn, loses the Sky. Chevy keeps the Malibu, loses the new Impala, gains the G8 and renames it Impala, keeps the Vette, gains the Solstice and new Camaro, loses all trucks. GMC gets all the trucks except the Escalade which is allowed as a special case for image purposes. Slim, trim, and each division has a purpose.

+1

There are a lot of crazy rumors floating around but the most persistent seem to be the killing off of Pontiac, Saturn and GMC and selling Saab and of course Hummer. One rumor I have heard more than once is selling the Corvette model off, much like Dodge is attempting to do with the Viper. One of the potential interested buyers is...........Toyota. Hey, I am only the messenger, it sounds crazy to me too!

they can't kill saturn, the sky is way better looking than the solstice.

i understood ditching olds - it was a redundant line with buick. and if they mixed up caddy a little to have a more entry level luxury car that old farts would like they could off buick here as well and let it run wild in china. caddy is pretty well set, chevy is fine but i fail to see the need to make chevy and GMC trucks - exactly the same two lines with different grilles. kill GMC. pontiac could be around as the "our stuff really can kick bmw and jag ass people just don't realize it" line - the corvette is a no brainer as it has been gm's flagship for over 50 years.

Feedyurhed wrote: One rumor I have heard more than once is selling the Corvette model off, much like Dodge is attempting to do with the Viper. One of the potential interested buyers is...........Toyota. Hey, I am only the messenger, it sounds crazy to me too!

Corvette is pretty well-engineered to be a Chevy. Toyota doesn't have a sports car. If nothing else, it would be an oppotunistic jimmy-blocking move on Toyota's part, to ensure that Chevy loses the one car that gets credibility. A swift kick to the crotch while Chevy is down?

I don't think it will happen... Corvettes and trucks are GM's last toe-hold on relevance.

Saab isn't going to move the needle much: dump it.

Move trucks to GMC, melt the rest down and completely re-brand to Chevy/Saturn/Caddy , al 'la Toyota/Scion/Lexus.

And fer the love of God, spend more than $.02 on the insignia in the middle of the steering wheel. It looks like its made from the bottom of a beer can, only cheaper.

GMC trucks are to Chevy trucks like Cadillacs are to Chevys. Dumping GMC and/or Chevy trucks will result in sales losses, so it won't happen.

Dump Hummer, Saab, and Buick then it's all good. (Saturn/Chevy/Caddy for entry/mid/luxury cars, Chevy/GMC for entry/premium trucks, and Pontiac as the Dark Horse to fight BMW/Lexus)