Pontiac: officially RIP?

I can't say that I'm surprised to se pontiac go, but I am more surprised that GMC is staying! What purpose does GMC serve that chevy trucks don't serve better? I bet buick will eventualy be an export only brand too.

come to think of it....hard to believe its been 5 years since they killed the oldsmobile line

I have been waiting for the G8 GXP and now they kill the line off when it finally gets here..........

P71 wrote: I am *so* tired of the new GTO vs old GTO argument. The original 64 GTO was *nothing* special to look at, and with the exception of the Judge sticker package, no GTO was flashy. They were meant to go fast and be unassuming. I can't believe that so many people think only of a bright orange 69 Judge as "the GTO" when they were made fun of for so long. You're telling me that a 350 or 400HP car with a real 6-Speed manual, RWD, good handling, and tremendous performance for the price isn't a GTO because it didn't look 40 years old already? In 2005 the C6 Vette came out with 400HP and the LS2. The GTO had the exact same engine and rating. That will never happen again (see 430HP Vette vs 426HP Camaro). Pontiac was always the "innovator" of GM, often telling corporate to shove of. They had the turbine-powered Firebird show cars in the 50's, the original "Wide-Track", the Super Duty race cars, the original muscle car in the GTO, the rear-tranaxle Tempest, the original luxury GT in the Grand Am, the better of the f-cars with WS6 suspension packages, the unique Fiero, the Banshee show car, supercharging the Grand National V6 and making power available to the masses in FWD cars, the 4-seat Vette (new GTO), the M3 fighter G8, etc, etc. It will truly be a sad, sad day when Pontiac closes up. Probably the most significant closure since AMC.

Let me elaborate on my previous post because I agree with p71's above post. They brought a car that looked like an inflated grand am and called it a gto. Thats the problem I had with the car. I realize that the original one was not flashy and what not, but it didnt look like a crappy outdated car when it first appeared either. Thats my opinion. I dont think anyone will discount the GTO on pure technical data, because you'd need a new z06 or more to do that.

I wonder how much it would cost to buy the brand and associated intellectual property?

One reason they are keeping GMC is that most Buick, Pontiac dealers sell them also. With the loss of Pontiac and Buick downgraded, there would be a lot of very unhappy dealers.

Screw the dealers. If GM goes Ch11 they won't have an agreement to sell anything anyways.

Make all dealers "GM" dealers and have access to Chevy, Pontiac, and Buick. The high-end dealers can have Caddy and Corvettes as well.

The original GTO was an economy car tempest with a big engine. it may not have looked "outdated" then, but it did look like an economy car. In fact, it looked IDENTICAL to an economy car because that's really what it was. the new one only superficially had a bit of family resemblance to an economy car, so complaining that it looked like an economy car is really complaining about nothing. Sorry.

Grtechguy wrote: come to think of it....hard to believe its been 5 years since they killed the oldsmobile line

If a tree falls in the woods...

I just feel bad for all of the Pontiac dealerships who have been selling Pontiacs since the dawn of time and now they're left holding their genitals. Hopefully, they're able to re-invent themselves by selling another brand.

I agree w/ everything P71 said about the closure, except that the new GTO simply didn't evoke the emotions that the original did. It was a nice car, but it was pretty innocuous. Not much of any "wow" factor to speak of. Just a heavy 4-seat Vette or a less-nimble Firebird. Thus--no one bought them.

G8 had WAY more wow factor, but is anyone buying those??? (honestly--I don't know). I can't recall seeing any on the road.

Was never a "looker". That was the point...

Does this mean we won"t see the Solstice Coupe?? Aww, I was looking forward to that car. Might have made me buy a new car!!!

ok, I was trying to say is they couldnt put eny less effort when they brought the "NEW GTO".

Suit yourself. I think this looks just spot-on.

wlkelley3 wrote: Does this mean we won"t see the Solstice Coupe?? Aww, I was looking forward to that car. Might have made me buy a new car!!!

it's been released, and you can build your own on the pontiac website, but it also said there are zero in stock near me (houston)

saw a G8 yesterday...grey with black wheels with a polished lip, tinted windows and a spoiler...was pure eye candy goodness, and I WILL be in line when the few that sold new get regurgitated through the used car lots in 5 years.

its a damn shame

Even if this means no new Pontiac models, in the interim can't they just start slapping Cevrolet badges on the cars coming through the factories? You'd think that GM would be experts at that kind of badge engineering. I'd have no problem with a Chevy Solstice or G8.

nderwater wrote: You'd think that GM would be experts at that kind of badge engineering. I'd have no problem with a Chevy Solstice or G8.

C8 FTMFW

P71 wrote: I am *so* tired of the new GTO vs old GTO argument. The original 64 GTO was *nothing* special to look at, and with the exception of the Judge sticker package, no GTO was flashy. They were meant to go fast and be unassuming. I can't believe that so many people think only of a bright orange 69 Judge as "the GTO" when they were made fun of for so long. You're telling me that a 350 or 400HP car with a real 6-Speed manual, RWD, good handling, and tremendous performance for the price isn't a GTO because it didn't look 40 years old already? In 2005 the C6 Vette came out with 400HP and the LS2. The GTO had the exact same engine and rating. That will never happen again (see 430HP Vette vs 426HP Camaro).

Saved me a load of typing.

I've never understood peoples criticism of the GTO, its exactly the same idea as the original.Weren't muscle cars all about taking an ordinary car and tossing a big engine in it? If you go out of your way to style it like a muscle car your kind of missing the point aren't you?

Like the Roadrunner wasn't a Belvedere with a cartoon sticker and a goofy horn. But it had a great, damn near phenomenal, marketing campaign. When's the last time you saw a GTO ad? Or a G8 or Camaro ad for that matter. GM marketing just plain sucks.

I see lots of Mustang adds. Perhaps that's part of the reason they sell.

Appleseed wrote: When's the last time you saw a GTO ad? Or a G8 or Camaro ad for that matter. GM marketing just plain sucks. I see lots of Mustang adds. Perhaps that's part of the reason they sell.

+tons and tons and tons

Appleseed wrote: When's the last time you saw a GTO ad?

Don't forget they only sold them from 2004-2006.

I only saw one ad from 04-06 too though. GM marketing is really, really bad for cars. I've only seen one Cobalt ad (where it played ball with the Vette, which is the only Vette ad I've seen come to think of it), no G8 ads, no Solstice ads (the oil ad that uses a Solstice is the closest), etc.

4cylndrfury wrote:

nderwater wrote: You'd think that GM would be experts at that kind of badge engineering. I'd have no problem with a Chevy Solstice or G8.

C8 FTMFW

a TRUE Impala SS

stuart in mn wrote:

Appleseed wrote: When's the last time you saw a GTO ad?

Don't forget they only sold them from 2004-2006.

Don't forget they only sold the Impala SS for three years and the had Lord Vader shilling for them.

Ok.. so the announced it offically..

They're gone.

Should have done it months ago..

Now listen to MR. T and return to profitability by making good decisions.