BradsLS1

I heard a rumor. I'm not sure if its true or not. I heard that GM is going to get rid of Pontiac. If true what do you all think of this. I for one I think its a huge mistake. Granted Pontiac has not sold a whole lot of cars recently but the new G8 is one of the most bad *** cars Pontiac has made in a while not dissing the GTO but I think they could have done better with it. To me it looks like a Grand Am on steroids. I would like to hear everyone's comments on this if true or not. Thanks.

406malibu

not true. at most pontiac will get a good house cleaning and get rid of some models, but they will stick around for a while. performance division is getting a big cut tho.

PontiacSpeed91

Go check out the Pontiac section. Situation looks like they will lose alot of models and be ALOT more core focused...niche brand as some would say.

BradsLS1

Well it sounds like good news to me. I sure would hate to see them go away. I understand why GM would get rid of Hummer and Saturn but not Pontiac. There is so much history with Pontiac. I just think that they need to think about the stuff they make. The G6 and G8 are a good start.

BradsLS1

I'm sorry but I just need to say this. I am a fan of GM. I am a owner of a Trans Am I love the car but I do believe it could have been made better. The thing that pisses me off is that my car for instance was probably over 30 grand new. I don't know exactly I have never checked at the time. But anyway. Your telling me that it costs over 20 or so grand to make this car. Bull@#$$. The car has an awesome motor but come on the interior is all plastic. I think that is the whole problem with american cars. I really think they try to see how cheap they can make a vehicle and sell it for the most. Look at the metal on the new cars you can push the fenders in buy pushing on them. Crap. They actually think we will keep buying this. I'll tell you I'm done buying new cars. If you have any mechanic skill it is way cheaper to buy a used car and continue to fix it. Lets say the motor goes or transmission goes its so much cheaper to fix it than throw it away and buy a new car. Not to mention you loose so much money driving off the lot. Another thing is that GM thinks that there cars are just as good as foreign cars. Yeah right. Don't get me wrong like I said before I love GM but if you think about it for one thing a lot of GM cars aren't even assembled in the U.S. I had at one time two Chevy's one was made in Canada and the other in Mexico. Yeah buy American. My buddy has a Toyota made in the U.S. Makes a lot of sense doesn't it. I'm sorry I'm just pissed. We are going to get to a point in time when America doesn't make a dam thing. If we actually cared we would make good stuff and sell it for what its worth. I'm all about making a profit but does it have to be 90% of what the car is actually worth.

myk

iTrader: (4)

Crappy American cars are pretty much a thing of the past. For example, check out the newest CTS, Ford Fusion, Impala, etc. These days, American car companies are putting out VERY good, high quality cars and trucks that easily rival their import competition.

If you're looking at your F car and thinking about how badly American cars are built, remember that your newest F car is almost 7 years old; alot has happened since then, and F cars were never meant to represent achievements in automotive perfection anyway. Camaro's and Firebirds are cheap speed at best, and as everyone knows you can only have 2 of 3 qualities in a performance car:
1. speed 2. reliability/durability 3. low cost

You can't have all 3 in a muscle car, especially one with roots going back to the early 90's. And for the record, $30K isn't considered alot of money...

badjuju342

iTrader: (3)

The LS1tech Automotive News and Events forum is quite handy. Pontiac isn't getting the axe but it IS going on a serious diet....

qwk93ta

iTrader: (13)

I have to disagree about the quality of american cars being as good as foreign cars. I bought an 04 Grand Am about a year ago. In that year I have had the rear main seal replaced for $1,100 and now both front wheel bearing need to be replaced. I was quoted $900 to replace them, I will probably replace the bearings myself to save some money.

Last December I bought an 05 Trailblazer LT and it has been back to the dealership 4 times in three months for things that are wrong with it. It is a certified used vehicle, so GM is paying for it, but the warranty is only for one year. The wind noise in this SUV is horrible.....I found a forum for TBs on the web and this is a common problem with most of them. GM told me there was nothing they could do about it. I found two people who have come up with a solution for the wind noise. I should have the parts later this week, hopefully this fix works.

I will never buy a foreign car, I'll just buy a warranty with the american cars I buy. I have driven a new Impala and have to say it is a very nice car.

AR15 guy

iTrader: (1)

You will see lemons and problems with any car...domestic or from abroad. I work at a service station and I have seen my fair share of problems from foreign cars and domestic. IMO the owner has more to do with the longevity and reliability than the quality of the vehicle. Of course you do get factory defects from time to time with any car.

I for one always buy american. Mainly because I like the power/looks of american cars over MOST imports. However, there are some sweet imports out now. But my pockets aren't deep enough.

shiv15

iTrader: (7)

Dang you have some shitty luck. We've had two trailblazer ls (02 and 03) both near 100k and no problems except that wind noise. But it was related to a seal by a door.

TheBlueKnight

iTrader: (4)

I believe around 07' 08' and now 09' is probably the best quality we are seeing out of American Auto makers. They really are stepping it up, to bad it was to late

Bryan921SS

I have to disagree...

I was given a new 09 Impala LT base model for a loaner, and that thing sucked...

The dash and windshield would creek and crack while going over bumps, and while having the heater on.

The 3500 V6 is a gutless pile of crap....not impressed with a 24,000 dollar base model at all.

1 Bad Ass Formula

iTrader: (7)

Unless Chevy would get the Pontiac interiors and styling then I don't think it should be gotten rid of. Pontiac has always been a bit better in those departments than their twin Chevy models. Off topic but my mom just bought a new 09 GMC Envoy and for the Envoy having a 7 or 8 year old body design it is a darn nice SUV. I think if GM can find a way to survive their Financial crisis with just dropping Saturn, SAAB, and Hummer I think they'll be in good shape.

PontiacSpeed91

Personally i think GM was at the point where they where evolving, finally getting real when it came to making cars. Car designs have never been better, we have strikingly attractive cars in all brands(of course they had a few in the past, like the Vette and Fbody) They are now starting to build some world class motors, Direct Injection? small displacement Turbo's? and the new LS motors? These are a faaaar cry from a Grand Am with a 2.2 iron block Echo Tech.

OF course with the money situation, not all has changed, they still have their throw backs to the past, as in the OHV motors (sorry guys but GM's OHV V6's never packed too much power unless Turbo'd) like the average 3.5 which is meant to be a little gas sipper like the 3.8 used to be considered or the 3.9 which was the closest thing to a V8 Gm's really gotten with a OHV V6.

Interiors? Well PERSONALLY GM still had some DECENT looking interiors around in the mid to late 80's...they where just build bad with nasty materials...then early/mid/late 90's it was just a bad time to be a Gm interior designer...i think it was around 2003 when GM finally realized that interiors where keeping a lot of buyers away from their products...So they actually started giving a hoot.

Its a case of GM getting lazy...and now having to play a major game of catch up and running out of funds on their way there =(

Flaring Afro

Anyone dissing a pontiac interior has never sat in a nissan. No its not as good as audi, but look at the TT. Its audi's sport car with better interior thats made 10 YEARS later but it costs $10k more and isnt anywhere near the performance.

And a 97 mazda mx6 had 165 horsepower and cost $30k and the interior isnt nearly as nice (vs t/a).

BlackBirds

iTrader: (24)

I've heard GM is selling Hummer Saab and Saturn, but is just dropping Pontiac while keeping ownership of it. However I've also heard that they are just cutting back production of Pontiac to two maybe even one vehicle, a niche brand like PontiacSpeed91 said. GM might not even know what they are gonna do just yet with Pontiac.

The G8 is an amazing car, interior and exterior are both amazing, and the power.... the G8 GXP is supposed to be the fastest vehicle Pontiac has ever produced.

Flaring Afro

if they do reduce pontiac, maybe they will actually make it the performance division it should be. since getting rid of the solstice all they have is the g8...

tasales06

iTrader: (1)

i work at a gm delearship and saturn is i think for sure gone in 2012...and we are told that gm high performance cars are going to be gone but its all rumors and not positive yet...as for pontiac we dont know but they are cutting back a lot of cars

mebuildit

I just heard this past weekend that chevy and Dodge (Chrysler) are going to merge. Not sure if it's true, but the guy that told me said his brother works for GM and that's what they are telling him.

Can anyone confirm this? I haven't been able to yet.

DNTMPME

a perfect example of what GM should have been doing all along in the states is the GTO and the G8.... If they would have have paid that much attention to detail and quality all along they would have gotten a better rep earlier on... I'm not a big fan of the early to late 90's interior styling, but the quality was definitely absent... I had a 2000 Nissan Xterra with over 200k miles on it and not one thing rattled inside... it was NOT the coolest interior but it sure was solid... I've had 5 different pontiacs ranging from '95 to '04, they have all been VERY dependable cars, just not that great as far as quality... Air vents break or lose tension and flop around, leather is cheap, cup holders break, window motors go out (notorious F-BODY) panels rattle, and windows leak... My parents just got and '07 Impala with 15k miles on it and the passenger side door leaked and stuck... and no it was never wrecked...the hinges were loose.....