GM to drop Pontiac

[Crowley]

And here
http://money.cnn.com/2009/04/24/auto...ion=2009042414

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- General Motors is preparing to announce that the Pontiac car brand, once marketed as GM's "Excitement division," will be killed off, according to a source familiar with the decision.

An official announcement is expected Monday. GM spokesman Jim Hopson declined to comment on Pontiac's fate, saying the automaker has no announcements to make at this time.

In its most recent "viability plan" - which will be updated to reflect this new brand cut - Pontiac was not named as one of GM's four "core brands." Those are Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac. But Pontiac was also not to be killed or sold off, as were Saturn, Saab and Hummer.

Instead Pontiac was to continue on as a "niche brand" focusing on just a few models.

That was already a step down for Pontiac which, in 2008, was the third-best selling brand behind Chevrolet and GMC. That year the brand sold more than Cadillac and twice as many vehicles as Buick. Cadillac is a high-profile - and high profit - luxury brand while Buick is a hugely popular brand in China and is seen as seen as resurgent in the U.S.

Today's Pontiac is part of GM's Buick-Pontiac-GMC brand channel, created in 2002, with the plan being that all three brands would be sold in combined dealerships. GMC would, as always, sell trucks and SUVs, Buick would sell value-oriented luxury models and Pontiac would sell less expensive, fun-to-drive cars.

In 2005, GM (GM, Fortune 500) vice-chairman Bob Lutz referred to Buick and Pontiac as "damaged brands" during a conference at the New York Auto Show. That set off speculation that one or both of these brands was doomed.

Buick's hopes have been revived by models like the popular Enclave crossover SUV which has eye-catching curvaceous styling. Improvements in Buick Quality, which earned a top ranking in a recent J.D. Power dependability survey and a public acknowledgement by Pres. Obama, have also helped Buick keep its place in the shrinking pantheon of GM names.

Pontiac performance
Pontiac's association with performance dates back to the late 1950s and early 1960s. Pontiac cars were designed with wider bodies for cosmetic reasons and the wheels were pushed out to match. This "wide-track" design became a selling point and was advertised as giving Pontiac cars a distinct cornering advantage over other cars.

But the idea of Pontiac as a performance brand was solidified in 1964 with the creation of the Pontiac Tempest LeMans GTO. That car quickly evolved into, simply, the GTO and is often credited with creating a new class of American car, the muscle car.

Under Lutz, plans were formed to bring back some actual excitement to the Pontiac brand, which hadn't seen much since the Firebird - a flashier Pontiac version of the Chevrolet Camaro - ended production in 2002.

One strategy floated for Pontiac was to sell only, or mostly, rear-wheel-drive cars. That would set it apart from other GM divisions, and most cars sold in America. Rear-wheel-drive is associated with performance brands like BMW.

Unfortunately, the re-introduction of the Pontiac GTO name on a performance coupe imported from Australia didn't result in big sales. So far, the Pontiac G8, a rear-wheel-drive four-door sedan also imported from GM's Australian Holden division, hasn't been a sales success either, despite good reviews.

Pontiac's most popular products remain the G6, a decent but unexciting midsize car available as a sedan, coupe or convertible, and the Vibe, a small wagon shared with Toyota, which sells it as the Matrix.

Any plans to return Pontiac to the heavy-horsepower days of the '70s ended as gas prices rose and Congress prepared stricter fuel economy rules for the industry.

Those pressures resulted in GM quietly introducing the Pontiac G3, which had been sold in Canada only. Once again, Pontiac was selling a rebadged Chevrolet product, this time the Korean-built Aveo subcompact car.

Pontiac's current role in GM seems mostly to be to support GMC and Buick by providing a brand under which Pontiac-Buick-GMC dealers could sell non-luxury cars, filling out what then becomes a full-line showroom.

The brand-channel strategy now makes it easier for GM to phase out the brand because it would cause less harm to dealers, independent business protected by strong state franchise laws. When GM phased out Oldsmobile in the early 2000's, it cost GM more than $1 billion to buy out the contracts of Oldsmobile dealers who were left with nothing to sell.

This time, most Pontiac dealers will have other products to sell.

[lordfriday2]

A lot of people are hoping that a new firebird will come about because of the Camaro's return... I am seriously doubing it will unless GM lables it as a Chevy..

[vm1971]

Originally Posted by lordfriday2

A lot of people are hoping that a new firebird will come about because of the Camaro's return... I am seriously doubing it will unless GM lables it as a Chevy..

i think it would be trite.
camaro is all we need. again – i love the firebirds...
but...

all eyes on camaro. i think throwing ANOTHER one out there, .. especially NOW.... would kinda muck it up and be viewed as frivolous and irresponsible.

long live CAMARO!

[AZCamaroFan]

Well this is sad, and i also wonder what becomes of the G8? Doesn't seem like GM would make it an Impala. That's the only other car in the U.S. that has the Zeta platform, and it's not even built on this continent. To me, that puts even more pressure on the Camaro to sell a lot.

[BigSlik]

http://money.cnn.com/2009/04/24/auto...ion=2009042414

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- General Motors is preparing to announce that the Pontiac car brand, once marketed as GM's "Excitement division," will be killed off, according to a source familiar with the decision.

Sad day..

[vega$]

Yeah, I just saw this too..

GXP is so nice too!!!

[Hooy]

At least we still have Chevy... :(

[BigSlik]

I just came across this. Interesting.

[vm1971]

Originally Posted by azfan

Well this is sad, and i also wonder what becomes of the G8? Doesn't seem like GM would make it an Impala. That's the only other car in the U.S. that has the Zeta platform, and it's not even built on this continent. To me, that puts even more pressure on the Camaro to sell a lot.

but didnt we see/read.. somewhere (sorry, im losing track!)...that the idea for the "G8 Impala" is a possible reality? i think i read it in the GM Insider forum.

and i think the emphasis was on this (turning into a reality) so that the Impala could finally be on a contemporary rear-wheel drive platform.

and again - i think if they were careful, they could nail ANOTHER home-run design with this one.

[Riderover40]

I never liked Pontiac or Buicks !

There is a huge positive to this eh......Chevy development will get wwaaaaaayy more attention!

Hence .... the Camaro will get some more real engineering feats !!! to top the latest ones !!

[vm1971]

Originally Posted by Riderover40

I never liked Pontiac or Buicks !

There is a huge positive to this eh......Chevy development will get wwaaaaaayy more attention!

Hence .... the Camaro will get some more real engineering feats !!! to top the latest ones !!

thats what i mean... its sad, but aside from the G8 GT and GXP, pontiac has been a snooze. so even though it sucks to see it die,

it WILL be cool to see MORE goodness come out of chevy, and IT WILL.

this huge forum is LIVING PROOF OF THAT!
v

[ShnOmac]

G8 coming over to the Chevy side would be pretty easy... Look up Chevy Lumina.... They are all over overseas right now.... G8 with a Lumina badge..

[Cessna510]

I'm pretty bummed about this, this will cut tons of jobs!

[LosXC451]

Yes i believe they already said they were, didn't they?