@Maonalua
You say so understand RoI, but you’ve offered no demonstratable evidence in support.
Rank the following brands in order of decreasing RoI:
Pontiac, Chevrolet, Saturn, Buick, Cadillac, GMC, Hummer.
If you do, then you should understand clearly why the top four remain and the bottom three were discontinued.
The Buick comparison is not valid. By your logic equating popularity with sales, than any brand selling less than Pontiac was less popular and should have gotten the axe instead. That also suggests since Cadillac was ‘less popular’ than Pontiac it should have been discontinued, too. I’m sure you and many others would be quick to point out that Cadillac reaches out to a different set of customers and different market.
Here’s the thing… so did/does Buick.
Comparing Buick sales to Pontiac sales is therefore invalid because the target markets were/are different. If you want a better market comparison, compare Chevrolet to Pontiac. Now who sold more, and who had more models, and which one was more popular?
For further evidence of the proper comparison look at the models offered in 2008-9.
Pontiac G3 : Chevy Aveo Buick not in this market
Pontiac G5 : Chevy Cobalt Buick not in this market
Toyotiac Vibtrix : Chevy HHR (Both Compact Utility) Buick not in this market
Pontiac G6 : Chevy Malibu : Buick not in this market
Pontiac Grand Prix : Chevy Impala : Buick LaCrosse
Pontiac G8 : Chevy Impala (?) : Buick Lucerne (?)
Pontiac Torrent : Chevy Equinox : Buick not in this market
(Buick moved upscale with the switch from Rendevous to Enclave in 2008)
Pontiac Solstice : No Competitor from Chevy or Buick : Saturn Sky
Clearly you can see that Buick was not in the same market as Pontiac and wasn’t trying to reach the same customer base with the LaCrosse, Enclave and Lucerne.
The Lacrosse and Lucerne targeted a completely different buyer than the Grand Prix or G8.
The G8 and Solstice really had their own market, but it was severely affected by the recession. The poor sales numbers dictated that they would have been discontinued even if the Pontiac brand limped along any further. That leaves every other Pontiac with better selling Chevy equivalent. It was not Pontiac vs. Buick It was Pontiac vs. Chevy. Going all the back to the Korean war, it has been Pontiac vs. Chevy. GTO/Chevelle SS, Firebird/Camaro, Bonneville/Impala or Caprice, Grand Prix/Monte Carlo (The Buick equivalents targeted a different demographic entirely)
As I have said 10 pages back or so, due to increase competition from the foreign volume brands, GM was forced to up content in the Chevy products. That increased content eliminated the sales advantage for Pontiac, Saturn and Oldsmobile. Additionally, the global structure of the foreign brands also forced GM to also think globally to take advantage of economies of scale. In that case, if you still want to hold on to any last thread of a Buick comparison, the global sales must weigh as a significant influence if GM is to remain solvent. In that case, Buick sold more. GM, as an AMERICAN automaker, had to think globally. Buick is also an ICONIC brand with a larger GLOBAL following. Selling Buick in China and Pontiac in America doesn’t solve anything. Pontiac did/does not have the reputation for soft luxury like Buick. Again, different cars for different buyers. Taking ICONIC Buick out of the picture in AMERICA leaves a big gap that Lexus will gladly fill. Pontiac never was competition for Lexus.
CHINA did not dictate that Pontiac should be shut down in any way, shape or form. The AMERICAN public decided that by their ‘economic sanctions’ of ‘voting with their dollars’ to buy more FOREIGN vehicles or Chevrolets than comparable Pontiacs.
You can blame GM or the government all you want, but the decision was based on economics. Good luck with your sanctions against economics.
One last thing. While I’d love to see Pontiac be able to return, economics do not justify it right now. Down the road, even if the market indicates that cars like the Solstice or G8 would sell well at a profit, the Ellesmere Plant issues plus no known precedent for reviving old brands (not models – Brands) makes it highly unlikely. Pontiac has been dead in spirit since about 1981, when they went to corporate motors, anyway.
