Except that it isn’t, of course. “Pontiac still has a mission in the BPG channel and it’s one that a very dedicated team of engineers, marketers, and dealers is determined to complete successfully, one step at a time,” writes Buick-Pontiac-GMC VP, Susan Docherty, at Fastlane. Actually, that’s the last sentence of the post, tacked on in case its complete lack of substance failed to convince you of the endlessly repeated talking point. So what’s changing? “Very little,” in the near term, says Docherty. “Pontiac will continue to offer the G5, G6, G8, Solstice and Vibe, and we’re adding the economical G3.” Because, as Docherty puts it, “Pontiac’s top reason for purchase is “fuel economy” and we won’t disappoint with four of our six entries getting over 32 miles per gallon on the highway.” So Pontiac is efficiency. Glad we cleared that up. Also, “the Pontiac Torrent will be discontinued to enable the brand to “focus” on cars,” says Docherty. “But the good news is that a new, five-passenger crossover SUV entry will soon be found at GMC . . . stay tuned.” Uh, no, that’s bad news too. The point of the exercise to cut the number of nameplates, remember?
Let’s start a dead pool: How long until their swan song comes out in the form of a Trans-Am, badge engineered from a Camaro, complete with Bandit-black/gold “Screaming Chicken”?
–chuck
Pontiac is like Mercury: both brands have been dead for a long time, but their parents keep finding niches for them to fit in and reasons to keep them going.
“Pontiac still has a mission in the BPG channel…”
Yeah, what would the BPG channel be without a P? The BG channel? Or would there be a forlorn empty space between the B and the G? Maybe just a hyphen or worse, an asterisk.
Now I understand. Completely. Pontiac must live.
Hurray, Pontiac has one quality vehicle, the Vibe !.
They said Pontiac would be a niche vehicle brand in the future, if it lives. Maybe they could sell re-badged Toyotas under the Pontiac nameplate ?. The Corolla could be the new G3 (or the Pontiac Prizm), and the Scion tC could be the new Pontiac Sunfire.
Going forward, look for the G8, Solstice and Vibe to survive as Pontiac’s niche products.
Wait until the G3 arrives. That will bring back the excitement. A Daewoo that thinks it’s muscle car!
The poster is not only depressing, but also misleading.
The Vibe GT pictured only offers the 2.4L I4. This engine doesn’t get 32MPG highway.
I thought Pontiac had become GM’s private label brand for the Hertz fleet. I have seen a fair number of US suburban industrial parks at the wheel of a G6
And WTF is(was?) a Pontiac Torrent? It is a great “hard rain’s gonna fall” analogy for the death watch if nothing else.
Ugh. I hadn’t really looked at the Pontiac product line in years. Wow – it’s pretty much devastated. If I could have any car to fool around with on the weekends (that might just be affordable to an average Joe) it very well might be a ’69 GTO.
What a horrid end for a once proud brand.
Funny thing is, a new Bandit-inspired Trans Am is the best thing that could happen to Pontiac.
The one vehicle that defined the brand’s reason for being. When GM canned the Firebird in 2002 they effectively canned Pontiac. This is a horrid end to a proud, rebelious brand.
For a bigger laugh than Fastlane go check out Autoextremist and his big, fantasy refocusing of Pontiac as a brand.
Pontiac is still around… I thought they died long ago.
Stopped by my local Pontiac Dealer looking to test drive a G8 GXP. None in stock. They may get one…I was only person in the showroom. The salesmen and manager told me they can’t sell cars like the G8 when the infiniti dealer next store offers $399 lease deals and they have no leases tio offer.
Michael
Did I read that right? Musclecars? These people are morons. Cant wait to order a 389 G6! With trips.
GM ineptness is frightening.
Pontiac is fuel efficiency? Is Susan Docherty a diversity hire?
Maybe she is owned by Carol Browner.
Boy-howdy, I sure do think “muscle car” every time I see the Corolla wagon…ur, sorry.. I mean the Vibe. No doubt history will see the list of great Pontiac muscle cars as GTO, TransAm, Vibe. Someone hand GM a sword so that they can commit seppuku properly.
Whoah, I thought that poster was doctored at first. It’s got everything that’s wrong with Pontiac. G6 = mediocre effort that should’ve either received the improvements that went into the Aura and Malibu, or better yet simply been discontinued as redundant instead of becoming a weed in rental car lots. Vibe = aimless Toyota clone. G5 = pointless Cobalt rebadge. With so much weak product in their line up it’s no wonder most buyers wouldn’t give legitimate performance cars like the GTO and G8 a chance. Most casual observers probably think a G8 is a G6 rental.
Pontiac is fuel efficiency now? It was in the early Eighties, too…then it was excitement, then, much more recently “Pontiac is car”…and now it’s fuel efficiency again. Huh. Looks like they’ve come full circle.
Anyone remember the early 1980’s, specifically 1980-81, when Pontiac had those “MPG (more Pontiac excitement per gallon)” advertisements, complete with a lousy black and white photo of the car? They were peddling fuel efficiency then too, with a product line up that in some ways was as confusing as today’s. The economy sucked back then, too…suddenly it’s 1980 all over again.
Pontiac should not sell any vehicle that doesn’t have it’s GXP powertrain/trim packages. Torrent? Me-too small CUV. Torrent GXP? Now THAT is FUN, at least for a CUV, and solidly supports an “excitement” niche in the BPG lineup (or have they not told us yet what niche?)
G5 “35 MPG CITY”.
Uhh, no.
Someone ‘chopped that poster, or the BPG people are smokin’ crack.
I was wondering what they intended to call the Vibe after they “killed” the Pontiac name? Maybe the GMC Vibe? so now what’s the answer, does anyway know the thoughts of GM Management?
Quote:big_gms :
March 3rd, 2009 at 5:09 am
Pontiac is fuel efficiency now? It was in the early Eighties, too…then it was excitement, then, much more recently “Pontiac is car”…and now it’s fuel efficiency again. Huh. Looks like they’ve come full circle.
Anyone remember the early 1980’s, specifically 1980-81, when Pontiac had those “MPG (more Pontiac excitement per gallon)” advertisements, complete with a lousy black and white photo of the car? They were peddling fuel efficiency then too, with a product line up that in some ways was as confusing as today’s. The economy sucked back then, too…suddenly it’s 1980 all over again.
The difference is that back in 1980 Pontiac actually had a real car lineup with a wide array of products, some appealing and some not much so. Looking for a mid size station wagon- check. Looking for a personal luxury coupe- check. Looking for a pony car with a turbo V8- check. Looking for a 6 passenger full size- check. Looking for a fuel efficient 4 door hatchback that got 30 plus MPG- check. I think many today have truly forgotten what we used to have and are too comfortable with todays much lower standards. And Pontiac is at a very low point in there long and successful career with badge engineered clones, Toyota Vibes with butt ugly bloated styling, no Firebird, a North Korean fugly hatchback with a gutless 106 HP engine, stupid alphunmeric G names and a Holden clone flagship that looks just like a 5 Series with nostrils thrown in and poor gas mileage. They coudn’t even get the ad right. The G6 gets 30 MPG highway with the base 2.4 engine and 4 speed automatic. Wouldn’t it be more logical to show the optional 6 speed automatic which gets 33 MPG? The Vibe is the GT model which is rated for 27 MPG highway not 32. Thats the stripper 1.8 liter 5 speed stick version with FWD. The G5 is rated for 24 city not 35. The XFE version gets 37 highway so that would be the logical model to show in the ad and it’s also the quicker of the G5 models due to the stick. These are very sad times!!!!!
Maybe the (ex-Pontiac) Vibe will be sold as a um. Er. Toyota Matrix. Oh, wait it already is, in slightly different sheetmetal. Um, maybe a Saturn… oh wait, that’s dying too. How about a GMC? Oh wait, that’d be retarded (about as dumb as moving the upcoming crossover unit body thing from Pontiac to GMC instead of not bothering at all).
How about Chevrolet Viva instead of Pontiac Vibe? They’d have to actually spend the dime on doing a new Chevrolet style horizontal center bar grill instead of a vertical center bar grill, and they’d have to tool up a specific oversized gold bow-tie… can GM afford to do that? (sarcasm)
When my wife’s best friend needed a reliable car with not-too-much-money, she came to me for advice and I suggested a Chevrolet Prizm (used) since it was Toyota quality and Chevrolet p*ss poor resale value. We literally spent 80% of the money of the equivalent Toyota price, and it has been almost totally reliable with very few mechanical problems over about 5 years, now. I think one wheel bearing, oil changes, tires and maintenance.
If you stop and think about that, it speaks volumes for not only Toyota, but also GM…
With GM’s 161-day inventory, you could pull the plug on Pontiac today and they’d still be kicking in August. Good grief.
Is there EVER a problem for which a rebadged Daewoo is a viable solution?
Maybe if you had a levee with a car-shaped hole in it…
Pontiac’s got a lot of issues, but I don’t think any of them fall into this category.
The only BPG dealer here (pop 60,000) went belly up last month. All remaining product was moved over to the Chevy dealership, where they sit with “$5000 off sticker!” signs on the windshields. There’s nothing left at Pontiac, might as well close it up now.