[fielderLS3]

GM did the right thing for GM. Badge engineering had a time in automotive history when it worked quite well, but times have changed. Granted, there still is some badge engineering going on today, but the type of badge engineering today is different than what was done in the 1980s and 1990s.

First, today's platforms are a bit more versatile, and there is a lot more differentiation possible from one car to another on the same or similar platforms....think Cadillac ATS and the next Camaro, or Cadillac XTS and Malibu. These cars certainly aren't carbon copies of each other despite their similar underpinnings. The same can't be said for Pontiac's 2008-2009 lineup.

Second, the market is much more global now. 10 to 20 years ago, as many as 6 (in the Trailblazer's case) almost identical versions of the same car were sold in the same market. Today, you are more likely to find 6 versions of the same car are tailored for 6 specific different markets, with only one version within any given market. This is a much more efficient way of getting higher sales numbers....single marketing in multiple markets instead of multiple marketing in single markets. And think about it...people in Europe are familiar with Chevrolet and Ford, but how many of them are familiar with Pontiac, or Saturn, or Mercury?

Ultimately, the classic form of badge engineering everyone thinks of when the term is used no longer works today. So the only way Pontiac could have survived without being a drag on GM would be if they had something unique to Pontiac that sold in high enough numbers to pay for itself despite the uniqueness. It did not, and partly because it did not have enough presence or brand recognition overseas to really sell outside the US, as Buick did with China, for example, so it had to go, and Buick got to stay. It isn't unique to Pontiac, either....Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Saturn, Mercury, Plymouth (and if Ford doesn't get their act together with the brand fairly soon, maybe Lincoln) all had the same cause of death. I agree, sad to see all these classic nameplates go, but the business world is always evolving, and the business case for these brands just isn't there in today's world.