Moanalua:
Believe it or not, I feel your pain. My first car was a 1972 GP that I still own along with a 2001 GP that is my daily driver. I inherited this love from my father who grew up in early 60’s Pontiacs and himself drove a ’57 Chieftain in high-school. He currently has a 1972 Firebird Formula. My younger brothers’ first car was a 1975 T/A that we still have. To this day, my father and I go to Pontiac car shows and are thrilled to be involved with the hobby. I’m glad to hear that you would consider a commitment to a new Pontiac. I am not in a financial situation to do that. I suspect you are in the minority, though. Based on the current status of Bringbackpontiac.org, the support is not strong enough to keep the website updated, so not likely able to convince a multi-billion dollar corporation to re-invest in a legacy brand.
I’d love to continue to live in a world where horsepower is king and foreign competition was laughable, but sadly, that is not the current reality. Even the last Pontiac offerings did not offer the excitement and thrill of a Catalina 2+2, a RA IV GTO or the 455 HO of the early 70’s. Times have changed and demographics have evolved and values are different from the era of The Great One.
Regarding your 6 points:
(1&2) Pontiac sales were strong, but profit margins were slim. Buick’s profit margins were better than twice those of Pontiac, so the net profit was actually greater at Buick. Investing in a global brand is necessary for GM to be strong at home and abroad. Buick is strong in China, which is an extremely lucrative market right now and in the future.
(3) Emphasis on the ‘was’. Looking at the final offerings from Pontiac:
G3 – same as the outgoing Aveo.
G5 – same as the outgoing Cobalt
G6 – same as the Malibu pre-redesign
G8 – Great car, but offered too late and not made in America.
Vibe – Toyota Matrix. (Personally, I think sharing platforms across companies dilutes both sides)
Torrent – Chevy Equinox.
Solstice – another great car and unique, but limited market.
The icons were iconic 40 years ago.
(4) I can’t disagree there, except I question what we should be loyal to. I would rather be loyal to what made Pontiac great, which was no longer represented by the brand or the management of the brand at the end of its run. Even the bringpontiacback.org site is shortsighted in describing what killed Pontiac. Listen to Jim Wangers and you’ll understand that the death began in the mid 70’s and was drug out throughout the 80’s with badge engineering sullying Pontiacs good name. I will be loyal to what made Pontiac great, but not blindly loyal and I won’t support everything the General did with the brand.
(5& 6) Yes, GM is healthy again and has repaid the loans ahead of schedule. It could be argued that their success relied on the shedding of Pontiac. I hate to admit that, I really do. But in thinking about what was lost was: a Toyota, three outdated Chevys, an Aussie and a small roadster. Yes, we lost the iconic name, but the Icons themselves died a long time ago.
Why would GM want to revive a brand and share platforms that are successful without a Pontiac badge? The badge engineering is what killed Pontiac in the first place. What made Pontiac unique and special was the combination of their styling with their torque heavy engines. The engines are gone, and styling can only take one so far without a unique powertrain to complement it.
