RIP Pontiac

[ccracin]

:hail: It's a damn shame!

http://www.comcast.net/articles/finance/20090426/US.GM.Plan/

[Jay Hilliard]

unbelievable! I bet the new G8 GXP's will be in big demand. I saw one up the other day and its a very nice car for the $$.

[PonchoJohn]

Yep, just when it looked like the Chief was getting it's legs back under it. I was silently optimistic that a niche brand of Pontiac would allow PMD to reestablish it's self as GM's high performance and experimental division- with strictly RWD offerings.

[Ummgawa]

Why in the wide wide world of sports would they kill Pontiac over Buick? amazing.

[BBC71Nova]

Buick is big in China so that is why it survived. At least that is the word on the street.

I love our new G8 GT. It seems to be a really nice car thus far. May be a different story at 75k miles but that is a ways off :-). I've got my fingers crossed.

I think they'll keep the G8 but just rebage it. They already sell it as other models around the world. I think it would be super awesome if they brought it back as the Chevelle. Instead of GXP it would be Chevelle SS. But of course they'd need to make a 2 door coupe though. They had a Holden coupe concept I think but I doubt they'll do it to keep away competition from Camaro. Not to mention the G'ment wants us all to drive lunch boxes :rolleyes: .

John

[96z28ss]

I don't understand the thinking behind giving the Unions such a big chunk of the company. If GM ever got profitable again they would just give more to themselves.
They need to file bankrupcy. Get rid of the unions and go back to regular workers with a fair wage.

[PonchoJohn]

Why in the wide wide world of sports would they kill Pontiac over Buick? amazing.

That's what all the Pontiac folks want to know. Pontiac was GM's third highest selling division. Buick wasn't even close.

[PonchoJohn]

As far as that goes, why would you kill Oldsmobile and not Buick??

[Hdesign]

I wonder if the G8 Platform will find it's way into Chevy's lineup as an Impala SS. Turn lemons into lemonade!

[fleet]

I wonder if the G8 Platform will find it's way into Chevy's lineup as an Impala SS. Turn lemons into lemonade!

Or they could give it to Buick and revive the Gran Sport.

[dropit69]

that sucks ive been looking to pick up a used gtp for a DD..love those cars..

[70rs]

I hate to see Pontiac go away. Even more I'd hate to see the rear drive platform get dumped. I can't imagine they would do that as well. I was thinking of picking up a G8 on the used market next year. I wonder what that will do to prices? Makes me wonder who was in charge the day they decided Buick was better to keep than Pontiac?

[SS1156]

I don't understand the thinking behind giving the Unions such a big chunk of the company. If GM ever got profitable again they would just give more to themselves.
They need to file bankrupcy. Get rid of the unions and go back to regular workers with a fair wage.

YOU ARE SO RIGHT THERE MY FRIEND. Giving the profits right back to the very part of the problem is STUPID!!! I'm sure some UAW workers will bash what I'm saying but I don't care. $55.00 and hr is ridiculous for production work!!! I have a friend of a friend that works for Ford at the Super Duty planet and they would all take off Friday to come in on Sunday for triple time!!! Who do you think pays for all this?????? WE DO!!!! Stop being so MFing greedy. Would you rahter have a job for $25-30 and hour or NOTHING??? Because that's what is going to happen and I can't wait to see what happens then.......MAJOR ECONOMIC DEPPRESSION. Remember the 20's???? Just wait it's coming people

[Ummgawa]

Which one sounds better?

( ) Buick Gran Sport

(X) Pontiac GTO

My vote.

[chr2002ca]

If GM ever gets their act together and starts turning a solid profit again, I wouldn't doubt that they could bring back the Pontiac line as a 'niche' market as they wanted to keep it in the first place. Pontiac has just gone 'cold' as far as popularity even though they're making some decent cars now(G6, G8), so being gone for a while and then re-emerging as a performance GM division(G6, G8, Trans Am) would be a great way to make them 'hot' again. Maybe, maybe not, but I sure hope so. I owned a '79 Pontiac Trans Am in high school and a '73 Trans Am in college and have always been a big Pontiac fan. A '73 TA road-racer will actually be my next project. Their new G8 GXP is a really sick ride and it seemed like they were heading in a good direction with it. They're just not making any money unfortunately. What a bummer.

[PonchoJohn]

They're not "cold", I made the mistake of listening to another source when I commented that they were the third highest selling- in 2008 Pontiac outsold Cadillac and more than DOUBLED Buick's sells. That would put them in the number two spot.
The only thing cold is GM's chicken$#!t way of handling them. Can you imagine being a Pontiac dealership- when GM was all about the "We're not changing anything" last Friday, now this on Monday??!!!
Chief Pontiac was stabbed in the back and died, now GM stabs Pontiac in the back. Hmmmm... history repeats it's self.

Government Motors comradski

[tyoneal]

Which one sounds better?

( ) Buick Gran Sport

(X) Pontiac GTO

My vote.
=================================

My Vote

(X) Trans Am

[tyoneal]

The Damn Government going to Ruin the Auto Industry in the US if it isn't careful.

Those Jack Asses want us all to be driving "Volts" or Hybrids of one kind of another.

The only kind I Hybrid I want to be associated with is a Corvette LS7 in a 69 Camaro, I might even settle on some really hybrid like a HEMI Powered Camaro, that would be cool.

Ty

[67rsconvert]

Buick is a very prestigious brand in China. In 2007 Buick sold more than twice as many cars in China(well over 300,000) then they did in the U.S. It is very likely China will be the largest car buying country this year and next, supplanting the U.S. Hard to believe.

[J-440]

Call me a conspiracy nut but listen up. About 2 weeks ago, the UAW got 2 BILLION dollars (of our money) from the Feds. Just a few days ago, GM announced that Pontiac, Hummer, and Saturn will be axed. Now I know the UAW is in the Dems pocket and vice versa but are you telling me that the Unions are willing to bankrupt their own companies?
And why does our beloved socialist dictator insist that Chrysler merge with Fiat in order for them to get their bailout money (again, our tax dollars)? Man I'm waiting for the 2nd Revolution.

[3gservice]

Buick is big in China so that is why it survived. At least that is the word on the street.

I love our new G8 GT. It seems to be a really nice car thus far. May be a different story at 75k miles but that is a ways off :-). I've got my fingers crossed.

I think they'll keep the G8 but just rebage it. They already sell it as other models around the world. I think it would be super awesome if they brought it back as the Chevelle. Instead of GXP it would be Chevelle SS. But of course they'd need to make a 2 door coupe though. They had a Holden coupe concept I think but I doubt they'll do it to keep away competition from Camaro. Not to mention the G'ment wants us all to drive lunch boxes :rolleyes: .

John

He is right!
Buick is big in China.
They took the Buick regal (midsized) and made it into a limo. They did a RH drive and added a little leg room in the rear. Most coporate types all have limo drivers and this allows them to still get luxury and drive into parking structures at a lower cost. We did the Redesign when I was employed at a small engineering company in Troy Michigan. I had to make a few trips to California for the clay modeling along with the engineers.
It was a nice car.