However, one of the coolest cars I’d ever actually been in when I was really young was my Aunt’s friend’s Pontiac 6000. It wasn’t much to look at on the outside, but it had automatic everything and the coolest digital dashboard I ever saw. We never had a car growing up, so power doors, windows and seats really impressed me. I didn’t think a sedan could get much cooler than the 6000. Continuing their ‘coolest sedan’ theme for me was the 1992 Grand Am, which looked like nothing else on the road at the time. It was aggressive and sporty and had an attitude few other inexpensive cars could match.
Pontiac’s were always a snarly twist on average transportation, and even if they rarely had the “excitement” to back up their sporting pretensions, I always appreciated the attitude. It’s the same quality I admire about Lamborghini, but in a hollow, watered-down sort of way.

I’m truly saddened by this news. It’s a dark day. Perhaps sadder still, and telling, is the fact that if you asked me to give you a list of ten cars I’d buy a Pontiac wouldn’t be among them (ok, perhaps the G8 GT!) If you were to ask me the same question when I was a kid though, I’d give you a much different answer.

Some examples?
Pontiac Fiero (styling, engine, everything improved right before being axed)
Cadillac Catera (continuous refinements led to a decent CTS)
GMC Envoy XUV (all that engineering for 1 model year?)
Cadillac XLR (upward-pivoting roof lid dumps water in trunk)
Pontiac Solstice/Saturn Sky (ridiculously complicated folding top)
Pontiac Solstice coupe (removable roof panel doesn’t stow inside)
Pontiac Aztek (nothing could fix that POS)

Buick will not die because its a cash cow (outside US).
GMC will not die b/c their overhead is LOW and profit margins are HIGH.
Chevy… without a doubt a core brand, perhaps THE BRAND (Chevy is GM).
Caddy… prices need to drop on average $10k per car to be more competitive.

Newsflash: The Torrent is out of production already. The Matrix isnt a Chevy. The original post said Pontiacs were nothing more than rebadged Chevys with is BS. Two models were rebadged chevys and one just went on sale. The volume cars for Pontiac are G6, G8 and Vibe. None of them are rebadged Chevy products. Period.

“Toyota may have lost some money but they are still doing waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better than GM Now Saturn is closing its doors early Oh man this is hilarious !”

Triple stupid:

I just read an article saying that the Japanese brands are hoping the Big 3 (or two) are able to successful reduce their costs during restructuring because doing so will make them more competitive. Once sales pick up in 2010 GM and Ford are going to be FAR leaner and the Japanese will have no competitive cost advantage. They know that would be bad news. Toyota needs to do much of what GM is doing but they refuse to because they dont want to lay off permanent workers and they have too much pride to acknowledge their missteps. Based on GM’s global sales results it looks like they could be back ahead of Toyota in Q1 sales. Who would’ve thought Toyota could go from #1 to #3 in sales so quickly?

Torrent – Equinox
G5 – Cobalt
G3 – Aveo

My bad. Only 3 out of 7 models are clones of Chevy. Oh wait, the Vibe is a clone of the Toyota Matrix, which “has no style or performance credentials.” Pretty sad when your “performance” division relies on Toyota. Make sense why they are being shut down now?

Chevy/Saturn = Ford = Dodge – Cheap and low end, but fun to drive
Cadillac/Buick/SAAB = Lincoln = Chrysler – Luxury brand
Pontiac = Mercury – Performance brand with low price
Hummer = Jeep – Off road brand
SS = SVT = SRT – High Performance Brand

These are the brand that I think GM should keep:

Chevy = regular brand
Cadillac = Luxury brand
GMC = Truck/SUV brand
Pontiac = Performance brand

Everything you think about it like the same way. What should GM does is clean out the Hummer, Saturn and Buick. Moving all the truck and SUV under GMC, keep G8, G6, GTO and Firebird (wish) back in to Pontiac as performance. What’s under GM should be Chevy, Cadillac, GMC and Pontiac, with miss management in GM this is going to be a very difficult. There is no need to kill Pontiac brand, look at Mercury, it is on the bord to be kill too but it still hold on for their life too.

Oh yeah, there is no chevy clone for the Soltice. So much for Pontiacs lineup being nothing more than Chevys with new grilles.

dont let facts get in the way but the G8, G6 convertible, Vibe and G6 coupe had no Chevy “clones”. Basically you are talking about the low volume G5 and G3. GMC is a core brand because its GM 2nd best selling US brand and its profitable. Make sense now?

The government wanted Pontiac and/or GMC to go and thats whats happening. The Task Force has decided to micromanage GM’s restructuring and decide specifically which models and brands have to go. Obviously they felt Pontiac didnt line up with their vision for GM. GM should have stuck with its original plan and shrunk Pontiac to 3 models. Its a shame the TAsk Force didnt agree and has focused on shrinking gM to a company smaller than Toyota, VW and others. By the time the government is done chopping down GM they will be lucky to be in the top 5 in global sales.

I have never been able to bring myself to sell the paltry number of shares I have. They really aren’t worth the cents on the dollar I would get back, but they sure are a monument to a generation that built this country up and they are a painful reminder of subsequent how generations have torn this nation down.

We can all blame whomever we want. Few of us will admit the role we’ve all played in creating the conditions for America’s failure. The only good news is that this is the country that will give you as many first chances as you need. Provided we all reinvest in self-accountability and start carrying our own water there is no reason why “New GM” can’t be much like the very old GM-the one that at least one generation hoped to make invincible.

How is it that two luxury brands are allowed to survive in a recession/depression but one youth/performance/sporty type of brand cannot survive? Do we really need Cadillac AND Buick? Buick could have and should have been folded into Cadillac. Saturn and Pontiac have a similar demographic. These customers are now left with nowhere to migrate. Chevrolet does not offer anything that a Pontiac or Saturn customer would consider. Buick is a damaged and dead brand in North America. Cadillac is out of reach for most people. What is left???? Oh yeah….. an import. FORD? Never. Chrysler? Never.

Worst of all, I feel that dumping both Saturn and Pontiac is going to open the door to cheap Chinese imports. What will GM do then?

This is bad news all around for anyone who has ever purchased a GM vehicle or ever cared about the company.

I’ve sent a letter of complaint to GM/Pontiac but the decision has been made so it is unlikely to be overturned at this point.

What the heck does that mean? Does somebody have more inside info than I do?

There are less than 20 Pontiac only dealerships left.

GM RIP

Since GM is killing the tie-up with Holden, I’d be very surprised if Chevy picked up the G8. Besides, once the Impala is due to get replaced, the G8 would have been too old to compete.

And like teahead, I hope the G8 will displace the current Impala in Chevy’s lineup.

I’m sorry to see Pontiac go, but they haven’t really been a viable brand for years. Just another clone of Chevy which is too bad. Hopefully they’ll inspire some new, high-powered models in whatever brands survive under the new GM. I’m surprised to see GMC listed as a core brand.

The sad part is, under some f-up’d contract, they will probably continue to receive benefits and pay. Disgusting….

Pontiac GXP…great car I hope will end up as an Impala SS.