TriShield

Pontiac Is Dead



Date posted: 04-23-2009

DETROIT — According to a source at General Motors, the company will announce next Monday its new "faster, deeper" reorganization plan, which will likely include a death sentence for the Pontiac brand.

Inside Line called Tom Wilkinson, news relations PR man for General Motors, who said: "There's nothing I can share with you at this time. Keep your eyes on our media site. Officially, nothing has changed with Pontiac's niche-brand status, until you hear differently."

The one-time "Excitement" division and creator of legends such as the GTO and Firebird was relegated to "niche" or "specialty" brand status by General Motors in its first viability plan in December of last year.

The company toyed with competing proposals to either turn the brand into GM's version of Scion or to make Pontiac a very focused purveyor of performance cars based around the critically well-received G8. But ultimately, Pontiac was chosen as the easiest to kill since it was cut from GM's self-defined herd of four "core brands," Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC and Buick. Most Pontiac franchises have already been combined with Buick and GMC.

If true, Pontiac will join Saab, Saturn and Hummer as brands that will not survive GM's current troubles — at least not as a component of General Motors.

Inside Line says: Just as the G8 reawakened our interest in 83-year-old Pontiac, the brand falls victim to bad times and old mistakes. — Daniel Pund, Senior Editor, Detroit

wabmorgan

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=146706

camAro242

iTrader: (4)

damn just when the G8 came out, i wish they would keep Pontiac as their performance side of the company

your link does not work,

SSNISTR

iTrader: (10)

So the G8 and Soltice and G6 etc are ALL gone? None will be kept as niche or re-badged? I wanted to replace my daily driver '07 G6 GTP with a G8 GT next year.....damn! I guess I'll have to get a pre-owned one.

mzoomora

iTrader: (36)

My brother just bought a G8 GXP- its a damn nice car. Too bad really. Maybe they will bring the foreign version Caprice here.

duff man

iTrader: (9)

Kill Pontiac, but keep buick and GMC? That is retarded. With bullshit like this, it won't be long til GM is dead. At least to me.

jmurray87

iTrader: (1)

I would like to see the G8 and Solstice(sp) stay around...both great cars...even the G6 but no need to stash 2 sedans into chevy that already has 4 or w/e.

jmurray87

iTrader: (1)

GMC and buick are also on the chopping block, but buick is a big seller in china and GMC has allot of fleet sales...both sell WAY better then pontiac...its a smart move really.

wabmorgan

Fixed.


http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=146706

Spoolin

iTrader: (8)

So is that gonna make the GXP a collector car in the future? hmmmm

WS6Drop

iTrader: (10)

My G8 will be the last GM car that I own if Pontiac is gone.

BanditTA

iTrader: (3)

Wow, this sucks, i've replied to one of their GM blogs.....letting them know what crap this really is. Go bankrupt already and tell the gov't to f-off. I was in full support of their loan, this is crap though.

Urban Legend

iTrader: (5)

If they don't care why should you??????????????????? They is GM and Pontiac.

donman

Buick on the chopping block...Dang what will all the old people buy?

Have my town is full of slow moving brand new Buicks...

Don

nanokpsi

Buick is big elsewhere around the globe and truck buyers are very brank loyal. Just as you swear off GM, they do not want Sierra buyers to do that and buy Ford.

If there is a business case for it, they will sell the G8 as a chevy. However, I don't think they have been moving enough to justify it, unless there is that much extra capacity in the Camaro line.

WECIV

Good!!! About freaking time. Now just rebadge the G8 as a Chevelle

W

RobA300

I'd be really pissed if they kept the G8 and renamed it a Chevelle. I bought the G8 as an alternative to buying an old Chevelle, because they didn't offer a new one and I wanted to drive it every day. And they can't even use the Malibu name because they bastardized it when they brought it back in the 90's.

2002_Z28_Six_Speed

iTrader: (19)

I used to have an old Malibu 307 and it wasn't a performance car by any means but it was super reliable and comfortable car. Just don't expect it to do anything for you above 70 MPH. I think that last time I drove it ... about 22 MPG.

RobA300

I came home from the hospital in my dad's 72 SS and my mom had a 67 ss convertible. I was thinking the equivalent to the G8GT would have been a Malibu and the GXP would be the SS. I've ridden in some 307 cars and no they weren't fast, but they kept running. I wish they would have called the last GTOs Chevelles instead.

Anyway, I hope this is all a rumor and on Monday they announce they are keeping Pontiac.

Spoolin

iTrader: (8)

How bout scraping the impala line and making the G8 the new impala. those cares used to be pretty sweet. GXP = impala SS