GM to cease Pontiac brand

[VersaMG08]

Interesting read from CNN Money.com

http://money.cnn.com/2009/04/2...x.htm

[Red Devil]

Interesting read from CNN Money.com

http://money.cnn.com/2009/04/2...x.htm

Can't say I'm surprised. The only things that are really selling by them are the G8 and G6.

[1_Sleek_Versa]

I'm not surprised also. Besides, what's the difference between a Chevrolet Cobalt and a Pontiac Pursuit. What's the need two have two exact same cars but with a different badge?

[MinisterofDOOM]

Can't say I'm surprised. The only things that are really selling by them are the G8 and G6.

Don't forget the Solstice The G6 is completely forgettable. All it's competitors are superior even if it's not really a bad car. Plus it looks like a Toyota so if you're going to be stuck with the ugly you might as well get an actual Toyota.

I'm not surprised. Even though Pontiac has recently rediscovered it's compass, they are still on their way back to the patch and not out of the woods by any means. The brand has gotten lost somewhere between performancetown, geezerville, and middle-aged-women-ington. Better to integrate any future products under the Chevy nameplate and reinforce it while reducing corporate duplicity.

Besides, what's the difference between a Chevrolet Cobalt and a Pontiac Pursuit.

I think it's funny everyone keeps using this example. The Cavalier and Subird (later Sunfire) coexisted for their entire lifespans. Of course they were a little more different looking than the G5/Pursuit and Caliber, but they were still the same car aside from bodywork. Not that it makes it any less redundant.

[grogman]

hey mile high............i will help jumpstart your post by just saying.............good riddance. is the ford fusion based off the mazda 6? do you have to be chinese to drive a buick?.........out.

[Rockhound]

Good riddance. Even GM's own Bob Lutz referred to Pontiac (and Buick) as "damaged brands" in 2005. The best car they've mustered in years wasn't even designed in the US (the G8 is just a rebadged Australian-market Holden Commodore). Even some of the most critical automotive publications have hailed it as a needed 'return to form' for the brand, but I think it was just too little, too late for a brand that many folks (including GM execs) had already given up on.

The brand has gotten lost somewhere between performancetown, geezerville, and middle-aged-women-ington.

Hilarious.

I think it's funny everyone keeps using this example. The Cavalier and Subird (later Sunfire) coexisted for their entire lifespans. Of course they were a little more different looking than the G5/Pursuit and Caliber, but they were still the same car aside from bodywork. Not that it makes it any less redundant.

I dunno, I think it's just a common reference point for most folks, as it's a continuation of the Cavalier/Sunbird(/fire). I do find all the model name changes quite funny, considering most of the names are dumped due to the horribly negative connotation of the outgoing model.

Perhaps the most egregious form of automotive plagiarism GM committed may have been the Cadillac Cimarron, which was just a gussied up Cavalier that cost nearly twice as much.

Worse yet, that same model was rebadged for a total of 5 models (Chevy Cavalier, Pontiac Sunbird, Cadillac Cimarron, Buick Skyhawk, and Oldsmobile Firenza).

[tama48]

Remember FIERO? I had one 1985 complete trash for $15,000.

[superskunk]

oh the fiero! that was an MR2 knock off... so i take it none of you were fans of the Aztec and all its glory? i do miss the firehawks, have any of you heard of 94 pro am?

[Samyo]

Crap cars. Good riddance. Sorry to all you old Pontiac fans from way back. LOL!

[frankoV]

67 GTO

[Stumpkin]

I have a Red "86" Fireo s/e 2m6 5-sp with 28k. Stock, no restoration - just as it is.I got it just for the fun of it. It actually does well at the auto shows. It has it's good points as well as it's bad. Typical GM: great idea but under developed.

The Fiero came before the Toyota mr2. It was also was the major R & D for the Saturn body panels that now show up on many makes & models.

Pontiac had it's hay-day in the muscle car craze years. Can't say I'm sad to see it go. GM had over twenty years to figure things out. My wife wants a Red "06" Solstice so we will have both two seat models made by Pontiac twenty years apart from each other. Problem is, we would be in our 80's before they would both be old enough as a pair to really turn heads.

I don't have any real brand loyalty. I've owned many makes & models over the years. I've found my Datsun/Nissan's to give great bang for the buck. Never had anything other than normal wear & tear type of repairs with them. I'd have to say all of my unusual repairs came from GM products.

Good old free market competition should (hopefully) turn out some great automobiles in the next decade! Will be fun to see what shakes out of the mess.

[MinisterofDOOM]

I think the Fiero was just a little ahead of it's time. If it'd happened in the mid-90s instead of the mid-80s it might have done a lot better. Especially if it had come with a factory Northstar in the top-end model.

[BBISHOPPCM]

GM will allow one last Pontiac model to hit the showrooms before the final curtain call... the Pontiac Ceasefire.

[grogman]

i thought they were going to change the up and coming pontiac's name to ...............charade.................