The general is making the U-turn back to profitability! Pontiac will be cool again.. please g-d give it a sporty tune, with 250 hps and a decent interior!

… and have it NOT built by UAW/CAW baboons, so the parts actually stay on!

it sounds sweet, but not bmw sweet…
a compact RWD G5 will be sweet as hell though

Good move. Stick to it and start investing in turbocharger technology for small engines to improve fuel economy.

Great news.
GM will have a nice mix of FWD and RWD cars.
RWD G5- based in the Solstice?

i think this is a good development as long they don’t use their attempt at copying the bmw formula to justify a bmw price. if that’s the idea, then gm can kiss any hope of profitability goodbye.

/no

no one buyimg a bimmer is looking for bargin replacement. rather the aim for bmw, why not aim for…oh..idk…Pontiac.they already tried the bmw thing with the gto…and everyone laughed at them. a rwd 2rd coupe for ~$20,000 w/ 200hp would kill si, gti and anything else in that group

egads. . . i would have settled for an AWD GTP version with a HO V6, 6-speed manual and the sky roof option but this is a very welcome turn.

RWD…Maybe they can build some EXCITEMENT again! I never loved them, but I think they can do well with RWD cars, as an “entry level” choice for many buyers. Let’s be honest, most first time car buyers cannot afford a BMW, but a new Pontiac could be purchased and enjoyed. It would be a good start.

A G5 w/. a turbo’d Ecotec I4, 5-speed & RWD that weighs less than 3,000 lbs.

Do it.

agreed, make AWD optional for those that don’t understand the concept of winter tires.

excellent, but i wonder how many more times GM will change its mind before we see something?

Oh man, I agree with novicius, A rear wheel drive G5 with a turbo charged ecotec from the solstice GXP or hell even the supercharged eco from the colbalt would be awesome

Very good move for the brand indeed, but let’s bring up the real issue why it never compared to the others…..quality. Hopefully this will be addressed.

long overdue and an excellent direction to move this company. cadillacs’ cts isn’t a true opposition to the bmw 3’s, so this would fit in nicely. but im with maxin303, i’ll belive it when i see it. in the meantime, its fun to think about!!

Pontiac was aiming at BMW with the GTO?
What are you smoking?

yeah i really dont recall the GTO having anything to do with BMW
not to mention the GTO was a bargain at about 33k and 400hp
it was a vette for those who wanted something a bit different.. i know i wouldve rather taken a GTO over a C5 corvette, and maybe even a C6.

Be competitive against the likes of BMW?? Hmm, well aim for BMW land at Acura.

Maybe Pontiac should have made the G6 a good car to begin with. But they didn’t. Oops.

good news! a compact rwd car is what I have always wanted any company to make. gm are you serious about bmw? if your looking for a company to mimic please make it honda, they have the best overall design of anyone.

Yeah it’s great that Pontiac wants to move to all-RWD and all but, what the heck does that have to do with competing with BMW?

Pontiac? Competing with BMW? Is that supposed to be a joke? I just don’t understand why automotive writers have been either 1) coming up with that stuff or 2) buying that line from Pontiac spokespeople and regurgitating it to us.

Anybody who knows anything about cars knows that Pontiac does not and will not in the near future (20 years) compete with BMW. These brands are so far apart in terms of their customers, brand recognition, and values that to even speak them in the same sentence is ludicrous.

Please drop the BMW thing. Sheesh.

Armen52 -

No kidding; I was about to mention my frustration with these idiotic comparisons in the media out there, but your post sums it up perfectly. All that’s left for me to said is ditto and a half.

=/\= Kaptain75329

A BMW shopper will drive right on by the Pontiac dealer. Sorry, Pontiac has no prestige or recognition with the Euro crowd, let alone the import buying public in general.

Aside from this though, maybe this will prompt other brands to go rear drive in the future. Honda, you listening?

Hey A4… What are you smoking ? you’d rather have a GTO than a c5 or c6 corvette ? The GTO doesn’t have anywhere near the suspension technology the vette has and never will… Plus the GTO looks like an old pontiac Grand Prix anyway… It looks like a sedan car not a sports car at all… WHAT ARE YOU SMOKING anyway ?

“The rumors add credibility to an Automotive News report from May suggesting Pontiac might make all its vehicles rear-wheel drive in the future.”

About damn time, if nobody minds me saying so. I’ve said it plenty of times, GM has neglected Pontiac for far too long and produced literally turkeys (Aztek being a good example) so it’s good to see they’ve got their heads together again.

Hmm, correct me if i am wrong, but i thought the C6 had a leaf suspension…? Not exactly cutting edge.

uhh im not smoking anything, and i said over the C5 and MAYBE the C6, not definatly. a simple coil-over upgrade would make it a champ, and like rey323 said, the C6 suspension isnt exactly cutting edge. You see less GTO’s and they are more boldly styled than a C5 corvette, as a matter of opinion, not to mention 10 grand cheaper, and with a nicer interior. Again, if you had thought before you spewed that ****barf from your mouth, youd have noticed i said “MAYBE even a C6″.

just for sake of facts, the C6 has a rear transverse leaf spring setup suspension, while the GTO has an independant rear suspension setup, which not only provides great performance, but a superior ride quality as well.

The C6’s rear suspension is independent just like the GTOs, you’ll notice the keyword in that phrase is *transverse* leaf spring. Essentially they use a single leaf spring per axle that serves the same function as 2 coil springs on each axle would. Though it’s more expensive, it actually helps move the cars weight down, allows for easy adjustment, weighs significantly less than 4 coil springs would, and supplements anti-roll.

The question is not what has Pontiac & Co. been smoking.The fact is the Quandt family seems to have been heavy into wacky tobacco for hiring you-know-who and making their BMW cars look ugly.I don’t care how it handles if a car’s body looks like,uh,designed by Chris Bangle.

I wouldn’t necessarily say the GTO is more boldly styled than any Corvette. I think the GTO’s styling is a good example of GM’s cost cutting measures. Whether the car is badged as a Holden, Vauxhall, or Pontiac, they look virtually identical. However, as I’ve stated numerous times before, the GTO really began life as a super sleeper, so I think the current lack of styling (unique to the Pontiac model) actually helps to justify it as a GTO. I think those who criticize the current GTO’s understated styling are only looking at a car like The Judge as a historical example of a GTO. Although many (not including myself) would argue that it’s the zenith of the GTO, it hardly represents the car as a whole. All that being said, I do think the current GTO, like the originals from the mid 60s, is quite a handsome car.

As far as Corvettes are concerned, I actually prefer the C5 styling to the styling of the C6. Granted, the C6’s might be bolder, but I think the C5 is a lot more beautiful. In terms of the mechanics of the Vette, I do agree that it uses, almost exclusively, a great deal of antiquated technology. That being said, it’s antiquated technology that’s been refined over more than 50 years, so it tends to work quite well. I love it for that.

And finally, the Bangle design. Like most people, I hated it at first, but now, perhaps unlike most people, I really like it. I think the best example is actually the Z4, which for the longest time I thought was one of the ugliest cars on the road, but it’s grown on me. I’m also fond of the 5 series, but less so of the 3, because it seems as though they’ve backed off of their committment to the design language on the 3. Personally, I think this stylng gets a lot more points for boldness than anything to come out of America (with the possible exceptions of monstrosities like the Aztek) over the last 10 or 20 years. I’m not saying all the cars have been ugly, because obviously the C5 Vette falls into that categoy, but I just don’t think they’ve been all that radical. There’s been a lot of design evolution and quite a few design throwbacks (PT Cruiser, Mustang, etc) but not a lot that’s been noticeably modern. I don’t think modern design is necessarily good or bad, but in the case of the new BMWs, I actually think it’s quite good. It was just initially very jarring.

/no

rey323 – You’re on the right track, but the design in the C6 Corvette isn’t the traditional leaf spring setup you’d be likely to find in heavy duty trucks. GM’s page on the ‘vette describes the suspension design — as implemented on the car — shown below:
“Double-Wishbone Suspension: Corvette coupe and convertible feature a Short/Long Arm (SLA) double-wishbone suspension with forged-aluminum A-arms and transverse composite springs. The suspension is capable of .92g road-holding ability on the skid pad (.98g with available Z51 Performance Package). Z06 uses a similar geometry with wider wheels and tires to achieve a 1.04g lateral acceleration figure. Three suspension choices are available for the coupe and convertible: the standard suspension, Magnetic Selective Ride Control and the Z51 Performance Package shown.”
.
kosai03 put best when he explained GM’s decision to use this design, and cutting-edge or not, it doesn’t stop the ‘vette from besting some porsche models in the twisties. If you’re interested in more specific information on this suspension design (including some pros/cons) more information is available via wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corvette_leaf_springs

Certainly there is no question that the C6 is a prodigious performer on the track. I wonder why Nascar and the like prohibit the use of “modern” leaf springs or why other manufacturers choose not to use that technology because of all its capabilities…

What a load of crap. The GMI story is based on 100% rumors. It even stats that on their site.

Unfortunately I still see Bangle’s strongest designs as the ugliest cars on the road.Look at the new 3 series coupe, though.Are the relentless wack-a mole negative commentary having a positive effect?

Pontiac going after BMW is like Yugo going after Toyota for the quality/reliability title.

Gm is kidding themselves… big time.

GMOutside news? Oh yeah that’s who I would be quoting as my soruce! Most are teenagers some as young as 14. What a joke!