Moanalua:
Just wanted to say that your response confused me a bit. I had assumed that you were wanting a return of Pontiac so GM would offer the performance that was ingrained in its legacy. As I now understand it, you want a Pontiac badged car with little regard to what type of car they offer? Is that correct? I can’t think of any Pontiac fans that I’ve talked to that want Pontiac to be anything but performance oriented. You’re the first. It sounds like you just want the name on a car – any car. If that is how you feel about it, then our opinions differ by more than I thought.
The Pontiacs that I loved had a distinctive style and performance. Here are some of my favorite Pontiacs and why:
Obviously for me the 1971/72 Grand Prix’s. Love the long hood and styling (A theme of ‘three’ ran throughout the car). The 455 was/is a torque monster engine. (Many high-school memories for me)
1972 Formula – The twin hood scoops and upfront grille look awesome to me. Throw on T/A wheel spats and spoiler and it really comes to life. Plus, the Pontiac engines were hard to beat, with the most performance options of the GM products.
1964 GTO – A favorite because it was arguably the firing gun of the Muscle car era.
Fiero – It took a look at performance from the opposite side of the HP/Weight ratio. A small two-seater mid-engined car. The only mid-engined car mass produced in the US. The ’88GT was the best looking of the best offerings.
1997-2003 Grand Prix – I’ve got a soft spot for GP’s. They had a combination of performance and style that was uniquely pontiac. (I’m sure people at Chevrolet were upset that the GP had a higher HP figures than the comparable MC) Plus there is a performance parts market for them that rivals the famous Buick Grand Nationals of the 80’s (which used a similar 3.8 blown motor.)
Solstice – Another one of the smaller sporty vehicles. I wish they had marketed this more aggressively at the Miata crowd.
G8 – This is a favorite of mine just because it was one of the last things the Pontiac division was allowed to do properly. Even though it’s similar to the GTO from a few years before, this was executed better and didn’t try to capitalize on a legendary nameplate. It stood well on its own, and would have done significantly better if it was released in 2005 or 6.
I have specific reasons why I loved Pontiac cars, bringing back the name only wouldn’t cut it for me.
Alex had responded to many of your points so I won’t duplicate him. I will only add a few extra reasons why I am not pleading with GM to bring it back.
1. Pontiac has been a rogue division of sorts since 1959. I’ve read John DeLoreans Autobiography and Jim Wangers excellent Glory Days: When Horsepower and Passion Ruled Detroit. Pontiac had a history of being restricted by Corporate. In the 60’s, they followed the axiom: “Its better to ask for forgiveness than to beg for permission.” That’s the only way they were successful within GM’s structure. DeLorean was promoted from Head of Pontiac Division to Head up Chevrolet. (illustrating the pecking order inside the General) After he left Pontiac, James McDonald succeeded him and, along with those that followed him, was a corporate yes man who cared more about his personal careers than cars. McDonald is also responsible for introducing the badge engineering that took place in the 80’s. My point is that Pontiac had been in decline for decades.
2. I don’t want a weak Pontiac. I want a strong performing Pontiac that has its own Identity. GM currently has in place a car for nearly every segment. Chevrolet and Buick both have been trying to put out performance offerings to fill any gaps that Pontiac left. It will take a good five years for Buick to establish any performance cred. To quote Bunkie: “You can sell a young man’s car to an old man, but you cannot sell an old man’s car to a young man.” Given time, Buick can change that, but it won’t be quick. Chevy has incorporated aggressive features into there newer designs, which should help to woo many (not all) Pontiac customers. Given the direction of Chevy and Buick, GM has not left any space for Pontiac to fit in. If you create something other than a performance oriented car and call it a Pontiac, it would be a Pontiac in name only, and I don’t see the point in that myself.
3. In order to bring back Pontiac at this point, you would likely need to hire a whole new staff. It would not make business sense to pull away or share R&D, Engineering, Sales, Marketing (which is contracted out, I think), Quality Control, and Senior Executives. Sharing distorts their focus. Additionally, the only logical way I see to manufacture the cars, would be to retool existing facilities and complicate the logistics with existing manufacturing lines. I’m sure it’s even more complex than I’ve just described. I can see how eliminating Pontiac helped to streamline the operation. I’m not thrilled about it, but given what Pontiac was producing at the end, I find it easy to say good-bye to the G3, G5, G6, Vibe, and Torrent. I miss the Solstice and G8, but am optimistic that something will replace them in the Chevy or Buick stable.
Crap that was long…. Sorry. (Thanks Alex for the autosave)
