The Death of Pontiac

[cubeenigma]

yes its official you can say? Pontiac is dead

http://jalopnik.com/5229320/gm-to-officially-kill-pontiac-assembly-plants-today

Anyone happy?

Sad?

Laughing?

What led to it?
http://jalopnik.com/5225102/pontiac-is-dead-again

Anyone not believing it?

[thegamecubist]

Such is the price of having brand engineered models! They were really turning around with cars like the Solstice and the G8, but with such negative brand image built up over the years - cars being overly festooned with plastic bits and hyperactive dashes - it was going to take more than a few years to turn around.

I just hope that the G8 can live on through Chevy. Call it an Impala...?

[cubeenigma]

Such is the price of having brand engineered models! They were really turning around with cars like the Solstice and the G8, but with such negative brand image built up over the years - cars being overly festooned with plastic bits and hyperactive dashes - it was going to take more than a few years to turn around.

I just hope that the G8 can live on through Chevy. Call it an Impala...?

well i know some people that want that to be the camaro SS >_>

http://jalopnik.com/5230175/should-the-pontiac-g8-gxp-become-the-chevy-camaro-ss-sedan

those people hahahahaha

but yeah i hope they can revive the aztek in some way ;)

and the hard top solstice looked nice

[Darc Requiem]

Pontiac has been dead since August of 2008. GM is just using their financial woes to speed up the process. As someone that follows cars as closely as games, I hadn't had much hope for Pontiac. GM put all future product for the brand on hold and nixed the plan to move Pontiac models exclusively to RWD. Once they did that, the writing was on the wall. It would be a great plan as it would have given Pontiac near exclusive access to a niche that is all but ignored by most Brands. Most cars are FWD these days.

[Hottotty]

Personally, the brand has done nothing for me in the last ten years. That's a decade. Shoulda been cut in 99, but whatev. See ya Pontiac!

[Darc Requiem]

GTO, G8, and Solstice have been the only real Pontiacs as of late. I'm worried about Holden now, one of their avenues for export just went bye bye.

[thegamecubist]

^I think they said they would lose $1 billion in sales if Pontiac died. Oops.

I never understood how a market as small as Australia could support it's own market of unqiuely developed cars anyways. The economics were never there. Granted, in recent times with a more global engineering approach, it seems more feasible, but before that.

I can see what your saying Darc, and while as from an enthusiast view that would work - we know that Holden is behind that G8 and GTO, that the motors in them are Corvette variants, but to a consumer who doesn't follow these, these seem more like curous abberations to the norm than anything else. Personally, I think the G8 would have been a better fit for Chevy, but that's just me. Their performance heritage never died as much as Pontiac's did, mainly due to the Corvette.

[Tanooki]

I find it sad, but it's GMs own fault for allowing the UAW to push them around and take advantage of them so badly right down to those horseshit contracts where the retired get 80% pay for life meaning they're essentially paying a workforce of exponential size for doing nothing but waiting on death. Mind you that's just one bit of it, but it's the damn unions fault and GM for allowing it. The Japanese, Germans, and Koreans were smart and gave the finger to the UAW and setup plants outside of Michigan where that bs is allowed. Sicker yet, those non-union people get paid more when you consider the losses from dues and the rest the union gets.

I have zero pity for the US auto ind and they should suckoff and die for making us pay for their stupidity. That said it's sad to see a classic line like Pontiac fold.

It could be worse, those disgusting pigs at the UAW today negotiated a deal with Chrysler to stay out of liquidation which gives them a 55% stock ownership(the UAW not the members) of the company! And as part the normal stockholders have had their stocks devalued to a percentage level they might as well have the face of washington stamped on a square of charmin. >:\

[Darc Requiem]

The fall of the US Auto industry is the fault of three major partners. The UAW for their clinging to pay and benefits far beyond that of the rest of the US workforce, the US Auto manufacturers for agreeing to their demands, and the US government for screwing domestic manufacturers yet again when it comes to trade deals.

The US government opens our markets to the world but doesn't ask for the same treatment in return. The reason we have domestic electronics manufacturers is because our incompetent government. At one point in time Japan had outlawed the sale of foreign electronics all the while dumping their goods into our market. I don't blame Japan, I blame the US.

[Tanooki]

Yup you're right all 3 are to blame, but I think a larger chunk still is the abusive practices of the swindlers of the UAW I see enough as they control 2 ford plants in town here, and they're pretty vocal in wanting the Japanese who already have plants in state about how much they suck and are evil because they ban the UAW. That's why I know of the price differences for making stuff for non and pro union and the other stupidity. But yes the gov't played a stupid part in it for allowing the trade gap like idiots for so long and still do.

[DEATHSTAR]

Pontiac doesn't surprise or dissappoint me. GTO, G8 (of G-anything) and Soltice all failed to excite me and I've driven them all.

[Hottotty]

I never drove em, but I wasn't feeling any of em. Brand rep may have skewed that, but not by much.