Say Farewell to Pontiac

[Panacea]

Originally Posted by GTLUVA

I went credit card happy a few years ago. I had 10 balances going. After next month I will be down to 2 credit cards. Its sooo nice not pissing away close to $400 in payments each month. I actually just bought myself another plane ticket to Vegas this July. It's actually nice having spending cash! I rather enjoy life being debt free and travel. You only live once! I actually have money to afford a gym membership and I'm down 23 pounds from last year! I noticed even by dropping 20 pounds I have had ALOT less medical issues and I feel ALOT better.

You should take that other $400 you were using towards other cards and put them towards the remaining 2. Since you were obviously fine doing that you should be able to put the remainder towards the cards and get those paid off. Then, put the rest into savings and save for a down payment on a house, or just as a rainy day fund.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by notsoaveragej0e

GMC and Buick are two of the companies most profitable brands.

but what makes GMC different than the other brands? are people that loyal to GMC? i just dont see why GMC's cant be chevy's. i would think the sales would still be there.

[Panacea]

Originally Posted by Rich

but what makes GMC different than the other brands? are people that loyal to GMC? i just dont see why GMC's cant be chevy's. i would think the sales would still be there.

From what I thought I heard is that GMC was their "upscale" truck division which brought out new innovations. I don't know how accurate that is, but I remember someone telling me that once.

[notsoaveragej0e]

Originally Posted by Rich

but what makes GMC different than the other brands? are people that loyal to GMC? i just dont see why GMC's cant be chevy's. i would think the sales would still be there.

Originally Posted by Panacea

From what I thought I heard is that GMC was their "upscale" truck division which brought out new innovations. I don't know how accurate that is, but I remember someone telling me that once.

Basically both are right.

Taken from Business Week:

But analysts say it would be a mistake to get rid of GMC. James N. Hall, principal of auto consulting firm 2953 Analytics, says research shows that the second choice among buyers of GMC's Sierra full-sized pickup—which sold 170,000 copies last year—is not its stablemate, the Chevy Silverado, but Ford's F-150 pickup. If GMC goes, so would many of those buyers, Hall says.
pricier options

"Why would you get rid of GMC?" Hall asked. "It's profitable."

Not only that, the brand commands better pricing on its pickups and SUVs than Chevy does, says Susan Docherty, general manager of Buick, Pontiac, and GMC. Docherty says GMC buyers tend to buy their vehicles with more luxury options. Across the lineup, GMC buyers pay $2,000 to $4,000 more than they would on a comparable Chevy.

Even though the vehicles are mechanically the same as a Chevy, GMC buyers have long seen them as different, says Dan Gorrell, president of auto consulting firm AutoStrategem. GMC's tagline, "Professional Grade," has been pretty successful. Plus the brand's 362,000 sales last year helped GM plants run closer to full tilt.

GM and the task force may find that transforming Pontiac from a mainstream brand to a niche sports car brand isn't worth the money. But GMC is a tougher one to kill off. "GMC has equity," Gorrell says. "It would be a shame to walk away from it."

Just like with Corvette and Cadillac, since the higher end models command a higher premium, GM is able to offer new technology and options on them; the technology is obviously more expensive since it is new and not used across their lines, so the cost can be hidden much more easily in a car with such higher margins.

Oh, and not that it matters, but all my cars have been purchased used, with the exception of the grand am, which was bought new in '04 but was a left over '03 model so the price was much lower.

[Rich]

hm. interesting. i dont think ive ever met anyone who owns a GMC vehicle or who is that loyal to them. but i guess as long as its making GM money, thats good.

[2000 GT Coupe]

If GMC is that good kill the copy chevy silverado and just run the GMC truck line and chevy cars.

[FastSteve]

Originally Posted by 2000 GT Coupe

If GMC is that good kill the copy chevy silverado and just run the GMC truck line and chevy cars.

Chevy is the favorite child and will always get better treatment then the other "kids" from GM. Chevy is their volume leader so Chevy is always first.

[FastSteve]

This topic is ON FIRE on the F-Body forum I am on too! Man this just SUCKS!

[Hodge]

w00t I own a classic :P

[FastSteve]

Something I posted on that forum that I think most here can agree with if this is going to be.
Start Quote
What really sucks for me is that I will not be in a position to buy a NEW Pontiac before there are no NEW Pontiacs to buy anymore. I just hope that this WRONG decision is handled right. I hope that the last Pontiac MADE is something either like a G8 GXP or a Solstice GXP and that stupid G3 or some lame value G6 or low end G5.

Pontiac is about performance. At least let them go out that way and be able to hold their head up(at least as much as they can considering). And lets hope that the G8 and Solstice get moved over to one of the other brands because they are nice cars that should continue to be offered to GM customers.
End Quote

[BlackAttackGA]

Originally Posted by FastSteve

Something I posted on that forum that I think most here can agree with if this is going to be.
Start Quote
What really sucks for me is that I will not be in a position to buy a NEW Pontiac before there are no NEW Pontiacs to buy anymore. I just hope that this WRONG decision is handled right. I hope that the last Pontiac MADE is something either like a G8 GXP or a Solstice GXP and that stupid G3 or some lame value G6 or low end G5.

Pontiac is about performance. At least let them go out that way and be able to hold their head up(at least as much as they can considering). And lets hope that the G8 and Solstice get moved over to one of the other brands because they are nice cars that should continue to be offered to GM customers.
End Quote

Agreed

[notsoaveragej0e]

Something else to keep in mind, is that nothing is finite. GM killed off the GTO for decades, amongst other models, and brought them back later... who is to say they wouldn't do the same with a brand? Just something to think about... not necessarily plausible, but definitely possible.

[FastSteve]

Originally Posted by notsoaveragej0e

Something else to keep in mind, is that nothing is finite. GM killed off the GTO for decades, amongst other models, and brought them back later... who is to say they wouldn't do the same with a brand? Just something to think about... not necessarily plausible, but definitely possible.

Bringing back a name plate to an existing brand is one thing. Bringing back a whole brand like you said is far from plausible and I am betting will be huge headaches and will likely take huge amounts of cash. Something GM will likely not have for many many years, maybe even decades.

[Ajaxus]

Originally Posted by Vegeta

Did you go through drive thru for every meal?!

My broken window regulator two winters in a row was the best diet I ever went on,

Originally Posted by PhantomLover007

A.J. You forgot about Opel. IIRC, they're a subsidiary of GM. That's how I had gotten my rehashed LeMans...

Originally Posted by FuriousG

The area of Germany I'm in is mostly VW, Opel, BMW, Audi and Merc. Of all those, Opel is the only non-German owned car company and they are often considerably lower priced.

Yeah, I forgot about Opel..in the month I've been in this area I've seen maybe 3-5 Opel's in total? They aren't as numerous here.

Originally Posted by Mike Jung

Sounds like you are finally learning

Sig Quote

Originally Posted by notsoaveragej0e

Something else to keep in mind, is that nothing is finite. GM killed off the GTO for decades, amongst other models, and brought them back later... who is to say they wouldn't do the same with a brand? Just something to think about... not necessarily plausible, but definitely possible.

Would be a great idea..but fairly hard. I know they've tried bringing DeLorean's back, failed miserably..and tried to bring Studebaker back once as well, failed miserably again.

I don't think it's feasible, especially with alternate fuels becoming the future..car enthusiasts probably would not buy an electric or hydrogen powered GTO..it would be an insult to them. The only reason to bring it back would be for the enthusiasts, and I think most would argue about preserving the image of what Pontiac was, rather than bringing it back and shaming it.

[GregFarz78]

Honestly besides the GTO pontiac has been fail for the past 10 years or so, about time they killed it off enough with selling rebadged chevy's we don't need 2 of the same exact car with a different badge on it. The G8 is a pretty nice car at a good price (besides the overpriced gxp) but it was probably too little too late to save them.

[FastSteve]

Well its offical. Its all over the news. PONTIAC GOT THE SHAFT!

[Mike Jung]

So, who is going to go out & buy a Pontiac G8 GT/GXP now ?

Do you think the dealers are going to give you a firesale price or hold out for the most money ?

[cmtapanes]

Well.. start getting parts if you want to keep your GA for a long time; just in case is hard to find them later on.

[DrFabulous]

Originally Posted by Mike Jung

So, who is going to go out & buy a Pontiac G8 GT/GXP now ?

Do you think the dealers are going to give you a firesale price or hold out for the most money ?

I was just at the dealer on Saturday talking to them.... too bad I leave tonight for basic

[Mike Jung]

Originally Posted by Mike Jung

So, who is going to go out & buy a Pontiac G8 GT/GXP now ?

Do you think the dealers are going to give you a firesale price or hold out for the most money ?

Originally Posted by DrFabulous

I was just at the dealer on Saturday talking to them.... too bad I leave tonight for basic

They said in the news...

They will wind down Pontiac in 2010.

So maybe, you can still get one yet