bruddah_man_matt

http://www.autoblog.com/2006/07/28/g...arrives-as-g5/

CHRIST!! My posts are usually pretty long and descriptive. I usually have something to say and offer my 2 cents regarding the topic. In this case I'm ******* speechless. Were dealers getting it in the *** THAT bad that GM had to go back on it's promise to NOT bring the Canadian market Pontiac Pursuit to the states? Apparently. 148-hp 2.2-liter and 173-hp 2.4-liter fours for anyone who gives a ****. And no Cobalt SS Supercharged equivalent as of yet. If I'm any good at guessing I'd say the turbo 2.0L ecotec from the Solstice GXP and Sky Redline get dropped under the hood of a refreshed Cobalt (replacing the blown version) in a few years. Whether or not Pontiac has a proper distinguished entry level vehicle by then is up in the air but my guess is it gets the turbo motor at the same time.

msgZ28

iTrader: (1)

That looks vaguely familiar..........

Why can't GM just make different vehicles? The trucks and SUV's are all the same, most of the sedans are the same, why can't they do something origional. even the Solstice was rebadged three different ways in a heartbeat. GM needs to lose some brands so it doesn't have to do this. It is probably what is dragging them down so bad.

Oh and for comparison.....
the "G5"
and the Cobalt


EDIT: I didn't realize just how close those two cars were until I posted this. The ONLY thing that seems to be different is the grille. The headlights, lower grill, mirrors, EVERY STINKING BODY PANEL, and even the wheels look EXACTLY ALIKE! Bad GM

BAD2000TA

iTrader: (6)

Just wait for the Ram Air version!!

Pontiacdreamin

Did anyone really expect badge enginerring to stop ASAP!!!!!!! NO!!!!!!!! It going to stop as of the next product cycle, when all divisions will have their own cars. Good grief quite complaining.

OctaneZ28

iTrader: (6)

I do believe this is a stop-gap vehicle until something completely new (Kappa-based maybe?) takes its place in a few years.

With the numbers the Cobalt is selling at now, and looking at how the old Sunfire sold in relation to the old Cavalier, this car should easily generate an additional 60K in annual volume for Pontiac.

Anyway you look at it, 60,000 cars sold beats 0 cars sold.

60K increased volume at $1500 profit per car (a figure that should be easily attained), that's an additional $90 Million added to the bottom line.

$90 Million profit VS $0. Easy choice.

(Subtract of course the costs of developing the G5, which obviously were next to nothing.)

bruddah_man_matt

GM said they would cut down on this **** a few years ago. And they said they'd do it like NOW. They said Pontiac wouldn't get a Theta based crossover... then they build the Pontiac Torrent. I ******* knew as soon as they started selling the Pursuit in Canada that it'd only be a matter of time before it came to the states. The problem for me is that they badge engineer crap. They can badge engineer the VE Commodore all they want because it's a baller *** car. The Cobalt is ghey and unfortunately for GM outclassed by the competition (i.e. Honda Civic, Mazda 3, Dodge Caliber). I'm also betting on a stretched Kappa (Beta) based replacement. Something along the lines of the Holden Torana would kick major ***.

WILWAXU

iTrader: (6)

Already saw one of those in Florida a few months back. I turned around to go back and look at it. It was a 4 door version.

Figured it was a Canadian tourist.

Nine Ball

iTrader: (38)

Doesn't bother me, I actually like having CHOICES of simple appearance differences of the same vehicle. Hello, Camaro and Firebird for the last four decades. Each was the same, but also unique. I like having choices, don't see the problem you guys are bitching about.

TriShield

It's very lame and GM is cannabalizing their own sales by doing it. The midsize SUVs and minivans is proof enough. They compete with each other more than they do the foreign competition.

Hope you guys like the Saturn Outlook too, they're probably going to end up reskinning it at least four different ways to satisfy all their dealers.

msgZ28

iTrader: (1)

Badge engineering in itself isn't so bad, the Camaro and Firebird are examples of it done well. The G5 and Cobalt are not. The Camaro and Firebird look completely different and the G5 and Cobalt are IDENTICAL TWINS! It would be different if they at least attempted to change the sheet metal, but it is a carbon freaking copy. I bet the interior is the same too, stitch for stitch.

bruddah_man_matt

So you like being able to choose between two different grilles? Hell even when F-Bodies became the same car mechanically with the introduction of the 3rd gens, they continued to have their own personalities. GM continued to differentiate them enough such that they sold to their own audiences despite the fact that they were identical underneath their bodies. The G5 is nothing more than Pontiac "front end conversion" for a Cobalt. You'd never mistake a Firebird for a Camaro or vice versa. Can't say the same thing about this car.

bruddah_man_matt

At least GM did a better job differentiating it's Lambda SUVs (they did a REALLY good job with the Buick Enclave) from one another sheetmetal wise. I'm also pretty sure the Buick will get a softer interior than the Acadia and Outlook. I'd have to say that aside from the Solstice/Sky and the Corvette/XLR, the Lambda crossovers are the next best example of GM badge engineering (if there is such a thing). And while I'm not a fan of FWD I give props to GM when it comes to Epsilon as well. The Malibu (still an ugly P.O.S. IMO but hey), G6, 9-3, BLS, Vectra and Aura (essentially a stretched Vectra for the American market but hey) each come across as having their own personalities.

Nine Ball

iTrader: (38)

Its not just the grille, the rear tail lights and wheels are different as well. I actually like them better than the round Cobalt lights.



I don't know, just complaining about having choices seems kind of pointless.

RedZoutlaw

GM has done this ever since the 60s with the

firebird/camaro
gto/chevelle/442/skylark
sunbird-sunfire/cavalier
T1000/chevette


could go on but you get the point. what has changed?

bruddah_man_matt

What's changed is that while they have always employed badge engineering the vehicles retained distinct identities. A Firebird was a Firebird with a Pontiac motor, not a Chevy motor. But as I already stated, even when they began to use identical mechanicals, the two cars retained their distinct personalities. Look at Chrysler's E-Bodies for example. The 'Cuda and Challenger retain distinct personalities despite sharing IDENTICAL mechanicals under the hood. Or take the LX cars for example. The Charger, 300 and Magnum are all the same car mechanically but they each have their own personalities. IMO GM could have done more to differentiate the G5 from the Cobalt. Or maybe it's just that I think the Cobalt is butt ugly and therefore any derivative of it is bound to be butt ugly IMO as well.

Nine Ball

iTrader: (38)

...so you are bitching about cars you wouldn't even buy? lol.

I agree that GM could have shown a little (a lot?) more creativity, but is it really worthwhile to gripe about having choices of any kind? Could be worse, no choices.

TriShield

GM doens't garner any consumer respect by doing this. It's another nail in the coffin and their reputation with a public they have to be concerned about winning over if they're ever to make a turnaround.

NHRAMAN

iTrader: (1)

all it is missing is the ' R ' ...

bruddah_man_matt

Took the words right out of my mouth.

ActionJack

This could be the sign we needed to see that Pontiac will have the Firebird again after the Camaro.