@Moanalua Was Akerson “rumored” to have said that Pontiac won’t return? When? Where? To who? I mean it’s conjecture upon conjecture… it doesn’t help this discussion as we can’t rely on it whatsoever. But that’s really not what I wanted to chime in for.
It seems you’re placing way too much emphasis on a single person (Akerson) as the ultimate decision maker for the brand. As is the case in most companies where the people running it didn’t found it (and therefore don’t have a thorough conviction on how it should exist), most “modern” execs will simply make decisions based on hard numbers, market studies, and various other analyses. So it’s not that Akerson may or may not “want” for Pontiac to return; rather, it all comes down to market research data that’s compiled and deciphered by a multitude of people. After the research and analysis phase, the findings are presented to the executives, who discuss the matter further.
Here’s the crucial part: no CEO (or any other exec) will want to put his ass on the line and make a risky decision. And if there ever was one, Pontiac is the definition of risky in automotive environment. Simply put, there’s no major upside in sticking one’s nose out to revive the brand; but the possibility of a downsize is huge.
