Lately, there’s been quite the raging discussion on our GM Forum about Pontiac, with some members being all for the return of the brand while others, well, not so much. So let’s put it to a vote, shall we?
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No. So many brands is one part of what got GM in the mess that it was in. Now that GM is on a straight path with only 4 brands to concentrate on, this is the path they need to be on. I would also gonsonfar as to say they need to get rid of the GMC brand too. With Cadillac, Chevrolet, and Buick; General Motors could present their entire product line. It was sad to see such an iconic car company like Pontiac go, but lets face it, this is why companies like Hyundai are doing better than GM. Because they are only concentrating on 2 brands. Maybe years from now, we could see the revival of the Pontiac brand, but it’s not a good thing at this moment. Me, I’d rather see Oldsmobile make a comeback.
Well Pontiac was not only GM’s Mopar but also America’s BMW as well, the coolest cars they ever made was the Trans-AM, GTO, Lemans, Tempest, and the Grand-Prix so yes they need to bring Pontiac back so they can compete with Mopar and take on the Scat Packs and Hellcats.
No.
GM has no idea how to execute it correctly to make it successful.
No. Maybe if some other company brought it back then I would be ok with it, but then I wouldn’t care for it because it’d be with them and compete with GM. I just don’t see GM having an easy time spreading out the money evenly to all the brands with 5 of them.
No, we’ve moved on.
Uhmm…no we really haven’t asshole.
@PontiaAddict: I LOVE your on-line name! I’m just as addicted to Pontiac as you are, despite the passage of nearly six years since Pontiac was murdered. For we Pontiac fans, “moving on” is absolutely the LAST thing we should do; to “move on” would be to cement Pontiac’s fate. As a Pontiac fan, I CONTINUE to DEMAND–as a consumer–that GM revive Pontiac. For as long as GM refuses to revive Pontiac, I will refuse to purchase any new GM vehicle. We need to STAY in GM’s face.
Calm down weirdos
Pontiac is the best and number☝
Amen brother, not only Pontiac was GM’s Mopar but also America’s BMW as well.
Yes Pontiac,The Firebird,The Trans-Am,GTO,Formula and Oldsmobile and 4 4 2,and it should divest itself of any union ownership UAW,Caw or otherwise and Govt ownership and SAIC(RedChinese)ownership.
GM should just produce some “Pontiacs” under the Chevy brand, but they won’t. Need to wait until a few inflexible people retire I guess.
No, I think it’s too late for a brand revival. As much as I’d like to see a GTO, Bonneville or Firebird, GM has its hands full just managing the surviving 4 brands in the US.
Pontiac should have been “demoted” to a niche nameplate with one, maybe two models, and sold in a combined Buick-Pontiac-GMC dealership. For example, they could have kept the G8, but discontinued the Pontiac division, keeping only a small group of engineers to focus on one, maybe two, models. For example, the G8 could have been a Bonneville sedan while a coupe version could have been the GTO.
Right now, the best we can hope for is some serious niche-filling Chevrolets and cross our fingers that GM does the right thing with those.
That’s a great idea, but there would be several factors holding it back:
– Ever since turning divisions into brands, GM no longer has engineers devoted to specific vehicles or brands. So those several engineers, unfortunately, wouldn’t be able to focus on specific models… Unless they use the extremely rare Corvette model.
– The most effective use of investments/funds, especially for low volume brands, is to create global brands. Pontiac would be limited in scope due to its “regionality”.
Personally, I’m a fan of creating the somewhat-talked-about Passion brand within Chevy, somewhat previewed by the 130 and 140. What are your thoughts on that?
Alex – I’m not sure Chevrolet needs a “Passion” sub-brand when the existing RS and SS monikers already exist. Chrysler has separated SRT into its own “brand” to do the performance versions of existing models, with the exception of the flagship Viper, which will be unique to SRT.
Passion also reminds me of one of the Smart ForTwo model – which happens to be the opposite of passion.
I would rather have seen GMC killed and replaced by a sub-brand that I like to call Chevy Black Tie. A piano-black bow tie logo would be very distinctive and GM could dress up the same Chevy SUVs and trucks to make the big bucks. It could even keep the Denali badge: Tahoe Black Tie Denali.
Holden could have been the Pontiac analog down under with rear-drive platforms shared between Holden, Chevrolet and Pontiac. It’s also possible that the flexible ATS platform could have been shared with Opel/Vauxhall, Holden, Chevrolet and Pontiac, which would have cut costs dramatically – similar to VW’s new MQB platform that will underpin dozens of different models over many brands.
I just think that is all out of the cards now and that GM simply can’t afford these vanity investments for the foreseeable future.
GMC has and has a greater percentage of sales increase than cheby. Why kill off the most profitable division? Duh! That information was given to fleet buyers at a pre model year show from GM reps! Personally I havent purchased a GM product since they dropped Pontiac. That is two vehicles! I a have sold all GM brands except Caddy & Saturn. Chevy is just plain, plain non exciting, Buick lately has become overpriced chevys. There is nothing in between the two. Dear customer you have two choices plain vanilla or over priced cheese cake.
Vanilla sells. In mass numbers. Hence, the point of a mainstream mass-market brand. And Chevy design, tech, and drivability is the perfect balance of vanilla and “spunk”.
By the way… I’d challenge the “GMC is the most profitable division” concept. Most profitable to who? To dealers, or to GM? If it’s more profitable to dealers, it’s irrelevant as far as GM is concerned.
GMC are no more expensive than comparable Chevy counterparts… and they cost no less to build.
On top of that, I’d strongly challenge the notion that Chevy is “not exciting” and that Buicks are overpriced Chevys. Have you driven a Buick lately… or seen one in person? A Buick is to a Chevrolet as a Lexus is to a Toyota. Let’s call a spade a spade here, shall we?
For me Buick should’ve been the one to go not Pontiac.
the challenger replacement is gonna be unique to srt aswell
In my heart, Yes, I’d like to see Pontiac back. A retro looking GTO the same size as the Cruze but with the Regal GS powerplant, a Retro Trans am, and a return of the Solstice would be great. I’d also like to see a return of the Grand Prix as the Personal Performance Luxury that it was circa ’69 – ’72. Use the Holden Commodore again or what ever replaces it, but call it the Grand Prix, not G8. This is all in my heart.
In my head, I know this would be impractical for GM and completely incompatible with their current plans. None of my above ideas have a strong enough market for them to be profitable at an affordable price point. They would need to be in Buicks $ range, and would cut likely cut into their sales. All of those above ideas can be addressed with current or future offerings. The GTO could be made as a Cruze SS. The Trans Am is already addressed with the Camaro, The Solstice could be replaced with the Code 130 concept. The Grand Prix is addressed with either the upcoming Impala or the Regal GS, depending on which platform you choose. It’s a losing proposition to ressurrect the nameplate and squeeze it in betweem Chevy and Buick price wise, while offering affordable performance that is in direct competition with the Chevy SS program. Bringing it back as anything other than Performance does no one any favors and further hurts the legacy of the brand. NEVER has an entire car brand returned from the grave (Bugatti aside). A Pontiac without performance would be like a zombie – stiff, slow, brian sucking, and begging to be shot.
I don’t want Pontiac back, because GM cannot honor Pontiacs’ performance heritage within the current automotive climate without damaging its own bottom line.
Exactly!
It was a deep tradegy that Pontiac had to die, but now theres no going back.
GM has enough brands to manage already: Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac, GMC, Opel, Vauxhall and Holden … at least. Aren’t there also joint brands that GM is involved with in China?
Yeah, no more sub brands. All we need is another Geo. They need to axe GMC, and let Chevrolet sell all the pickup trucks. As a matter of fact, just ditch the GM nameplate all together and make it Chevrolet and have Buick and Cadillac under them.
They already ditched the GM badge… So you wouldn’t know it’s a GM unless you follow the industry or are an enthusiast.
I just feel that whenever you ask someone who bought say a Hyundai over a Chevy, the most common answer is “Because I won’t by a GM car.” To me, that says a lot about how Americans feel towards GM. Back to the main point though, no Pontiac should R.I.P. for now. GM has turned a 180 but still has a ways to go to change their overall perception.
I think Hell yeah to bringing bank Pontiac, sure there are alot of GM brands, but who cares. My first car was a 2000 Grand Prix GTP it was great for a new car. I took out my governer and got a few speeding tickets but who hasn’t. And and are we forgeting about the trans Am and Firebird, hello we need american made super cars to compete with those damn European and their lame Posche, Audi, Lambo, Ferrari, all we have basically The Corvette and Possibly the Mustang.n LETTTS DO ITTTTTTTTTTTt
Amen to that brother
GM doesn’t even know what to do with Buick and GMC. Pontiac would confuse things even more.
I think it’s kind of too late now. Although I’m not convinced that killing Pontiac was a good idea in the first place, I think it wouldn’t have been a worthwhile idea unless GM has concrete ideas what they want Pontiac to be beyond rebadged Chevrolets that are vaguely sporty. (My opinion, incidentally, was that during the bailout, they should have kept Pontiac over GMC, killed anything that was a rebadged Chevy, and raided the most desirable vehicles from Saturn and added them to the Pontiac subbrand.) I think that Pontiac would have been the ideal niche for both what I would call “Mazda-killers” which is to say the small-but-fun to drive category. It would also be the place to put the small CUVs that they seem to be afraid to add to Chevy (the Captiva being one in mind, and the Granite concept could easily be a Vibe replacement.)
Pontiac and Saturn were ideal subbrands for young buyers and I still don’t think they’ve quite made up for that loss yet. Saturn, on the other hand… should NOT have been saved because GM screwed up by creating entry level cars, building brand loyalty, and letting it rot for a decade without adding any compelling mid-level Saturn vehicles to upgrade to.
Killing GMC would be as bad as killing the Escalade. Keeping GMC makes good business sense. This works for any product. Build it for the price of the Chevy and sell it for the price of the Cadillac.
Well considering that there are plenty of GM vehicles that are not sold in North America, it should be considered as a captive import company for cars such as the Opel Astra and Corsa, and the Holden Commodore, and even design vehicles off the Epsilon 2 platform for the mid-sized market, that is not a badge engineered Opel Insignia, as we all know is the Buick Regal. It would be a good brand for the age group of 20 some odds on that matter. It would also create a larger portfolio to compete on various markets in much of the same way that GM’s luxury arms Cadillac and Buick compete in the performance and entry level luxury markets respectively giving buyers choice on more Asian designed options such as the Chevy Cruze or the Sonic or German designed Astra and Corsa and bring back the Commodore on N.A. shores. The only problem I see is that it doesn’t really fit the brand it self, in saying that I mean that the overall look of the Pontiac grille and the logo wouldn’t fit on the Astra or Corsa. It’s worth considering cause GM has alot of world class cars they could bring here under a new flag, and considering how well Pontiac sold within N.A. specifically in Canada where I live, it is worth consideration, but frankly I don’t think the vehicles would fit the brand.
Yes I want it back and agree with what Tyler just said; no I don’t think GM should bring it back, but yes I do think GM should focus on revitalizing all it’s existing brands for world domination… Like someone said above GM’s brands are way more than Chevy, Buick, GMC and Caddy; when you are struggling to maintain all your brands world wide it’s not a time to add additional brands; that said where the heck is Pontiacrulz, good grief he would have a field day in here.
Hell yes. Dump Buick if you have or better yet split up chevy! The last two vehicles have been non GM since the mindless people at the top dropped Pontiac. It is so easy to sell against cheby! GM you cars a boring!
Buicks are to much $ for what you get. There are better products on the market than Buick for less money. Buick styling is not exciting. Buick vehicles are a notch about cheby in styling. We need something with excitement!
Exactly mate
@ Solotworacer: Say something bad about Buick again!!! On a serious note, drive a Regal GS before you hate on Buick. Buick by far has a nice lineup and the prices are not bad. There is nothing boring about their styling. I’m glad I purchased a Regal GS!!
On the topic of GMC, considering they make up a third of all GM truck sales, thats just throwing money out the window, GMC could also bring other vehicles that may not fit the overall portfolio of Chevy, such as the 2013 Trailblazer or even bring the Holden Commodore Ute, the Commodore Ute I’ll admit is a strech for GMC but considering the brand as mainly a truck brand it is still an idea. Although having said that, I believe that Chevy could market the Commodore Ute and the trailblazer and also the Chevy Captiva, not the sport that pins the Opel Antara but the new Captiva that has the fascia of the Chevy Sonic, either way there’s still alot of money to be made in GMC it just hasn’t been tapped yet.
My first car was a shit-brown Ford Fairmont and that is the LAST time I will ever own a Ford. I always loved my Pontiacs and I have a Saturn now. I miss both of those brands but lets face it, they had way too many brands going. None of the vehicles seemed to get any real quality attention so the quality in the finished product was not there. I think they are doing a better job with the four they have left but I miss the others.
I am still holding out hope that someday all the octogenarians that keep buying those damn Buicks finally stop buying cars! Maybe then they can start a new brand that makes some kick ass muscle with hot bodies! We can dream!
The Ford Fairmont was literally one of the worst cars Ford ever produced, however it really wasnt worse than its other cars in its segments made by GM and chrysler.
You cannot judge a whole car company by just one of its cars. Especially in an industry and company that has changed so dramatically. You, of all people, should know that.
List of cars made by Ford that are widely accepted to be better than their GM counterparts, even by most people here on GMA:
Fusion
Explorer
Escape
Taurus
Edge
Every hybrid they make.
I also think the focus , edge and F150 are better than GM counterpart but I wont add that since their debatable.
Every auto maker gets judged by one car if it’s not right you lose a customer for life. When thousands of dollars are gone you don’t get a second chance.
Youre right they do, but thats not how it should be. People Change. Companies can to. And ultimately whos the loser, the company or the consumer. If I never buy Hyundai because I had negative experiance with them. and now they come out with the best product in its class, like say the new elantra. As you can see the elantra selling like hotcakes so the company not losing anything by making a great product. But I am, because I am going to go buy an inferior product because I am holding a grudge over something that happened DECADES ago.
And not to mention the likelihood that a different set of people are now running the company, engineering, design, and working on the lines at the plants.
The 80s was a bad decade for just about all manufactures. I admit Ford does make some good looking, popular cars now but I can’t own one. Not just because of the Fairmont either. I grew up with the “you are either a Ford girl or a Chevy girl” for life and that is just the way it is. I realize that I may miss out on the best car in a particular class but I also know what you drive says a lot about a person. I would rather drive a rusted out Chevy truck then ever been seen in a F150!! Kinda makes me feel ill just thinking of driving a F150!! LOL! =) Yep, it is totally old school car snobbery but I am okay with that! =)
I love you.
99VetteGyrl
That is the kind of gyrl you marry and take care of for life!
Double post but heck she is worth it!