Pontiac: officially RIP?

Keeping GMC and killing Saturn/Opel and Pontiac are good decisions? Renaming the finally-has-a-good-rep Cobalt the Cruze is a good decision?

Anyone else find it amusing that they're running TV ads for Saturn with "job layoff protection" where they make your monthly payment for like... 9 months or something up to $500 a month?

P71 wrote: Keeping GMC and killing Saturn/Opel and Pontiac are *good* decisions? Renaming the finally-has-a-good-rep Cobalt the Cruze is a good decision?

the damn company needed to poop or get off the pot. they vacillated so much that I think that finally picking a direction and then going for it, IS a good idea.

Buick should have gone, but Buicks are popular in China. The Chinese go gaga over Buicks.

Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich told us all where business is going in Saturday's Wall Street Journal. He stated that with the government being large investors in many companies (this includes GM) that the government to step in and prevent boards of directors and other shareholders from pushing to build cars that are profitable and instead force them to build what is right for America. I quote:

"Suppose we tell General Motors Corp. -- now partly ours -- to shift its fleet to more fuel-efficient cars. Yet its executives know that as long as gas prices are low, Americans remain infatuated with highly profitable SUVs and pickup trucks? GM executives would have a perfect right, if not a duty, to disregard what we as citizens tell them to do in favor of what shareholders want them to do."

Agree or disagree with GM's product line and management (which I think has been dysfunctional for nearly four decades) companies should be able to build what the market demands (or what they think the market demands). If they are wrong, they fail and if they are right, they prosper.

GM's problems came to a head because its labor and legacy costs were so high that it needed SUVs and their wide margins just to survive. Remember, GM struggled throughout the economic bubble. Not too many companies can say that they performed so poorly.

Look for GM to become a public utility, building the "right" cars and existing to provide employment. Chrysler will be the same. Ford has a shot to be profitable again, maybe.

I own seven vehicles, counting the two my children drive. Five are Domestic. I will never buy another GM or Chrysler vehicle, period.

Chris_V wrote: 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.

I thought the 64 Tempest / GTO was bland too. The 66 / 67s are my favorites.

This must be what it felt like when AMC died.

The ultimate coup would be if Saturn was able to purchase rights to Pontiac. Keep Pontiac as Saturns "Premium Performance line" with four models. The Solstice G8, G6 and the G5, Saturn runs the Sky, Astra, Aura, Outlook, Vue UNTIL the GM contract is up. Until them redesign both lines to include three models each: Saturn gets a MICRO, an Astra class coupe/sedan, an Aura class sedan and wagon with available AWD. Pontiac gets a PREMIUM Aura class sedan, a G8/M3 class car and a Sky/Solstice coupe/convertible.

Did the Pontiac Solstic Coupe ever get introduced?
I have not actually witnessed one on the road.

Could this be the big collectable along with V8 G8's?

John Brown wrote: The ultimate coup would be if Saturn was able to purchase rights to Pontiac. Keep Pontiac as Saturns "Premium Performance line" with four models. The Solstice G8, G6 and the G5, Saturn runs the Sky, Astra, Aura, Outlook, Vue UNTIL the GM contract is up. Until them redesign both lines to include three models each: Saturn gets a MICRO, an Astra class coupe/sedan, an Aura class sedan and wagon with available AWD. Pontiac gets a PREMIUM Aura class sedan, a G8/M3 class car and a Sky/Solstice coupe/convertible.

FTMFW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

jrw1621 wrote: Did the Pontiac Solstic Coupe ever get introduced? I have not actually witnessed one on the road.

I've seen two.

4cylndrfury wrote:

John Brown wrote: The ultimate coup would be if Saturn was able to purchase rights to Pontiac. Keep Pontiac as Saturns "Premium Performance line" with four models. The Solstice G8, G6 and the G5, Saturn runs the Sky, Astra, Aura, Outlook, Vue UNTIL the GM contract is up. Until them redesign both lines to include three models each: Saturn gets a MICRO, an Astra class coupe/sedan, an Aura class sedan and wagon with available AWD. Pontiac gets a PREMIUM Aura class sedan, a G8/M3 class car and a Sky/Solstice coupe/convertible.

FTMFW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Count me in

GM is also going to cut the number of dealers nearly in half

Yep this sucks. I hate seeing Pontiac get the axe. I'm ordering the stage 1 kit for our Solstice GXP this week. Plus 30HP and 55TQ for $550. I was looking forward to checking out the GXP coupe......

Soooo what happens to all the Pontiac based race teams out there like those in the Rolex Series?

it just goes to show you that gm will continue to make poor decisions. and eventually without proper decision making skills might go the way of the doe-doe.

wait......whats that?......do i hear the sounds of GRM performance division. lol