Pontiac G3 Comes State-Side!

[Murrow]

Originally Posted by T-Type

Reminds me of the late 80s, early 90s Pontiac Lemans:

True, but at least it wasn't a rebadge of anything sold in the U.S.

[civilzues]

this is so my next car! screw my mazda 3

[GTOken]

I think there a few people at GM that just need a good 'ol country a$$ whoopin.

[Pedal 2 Metal]

I don't see how this could be about CAFE. Pontiac isn't the high volume brand it use to be.

What the heck are they thinking? First of all, Pontiac shouldn't even have a subcompact. And if it does get one it sure as hell shouldn't be the Aveo. Bob was talking about how Pontiac is such a damaged brand, and then they go and do something like this. Put a horrible car out on the road that is going to be seen by people for years and years. As if the Grand Ams and Sunfires weren't bad enough.

[ChevyRules]

And Pontiac fans wonder why Pontiac is getting killed........

[blkwrxsti]

Originally Posted by Hurricane

That side vent makes it -oh- so sexy, too! And those fender flares! That cool antenna thingy at the top of the windshield! Drop-dead gorgeous! It is about time Pontiac has something world-class to sell along side the Solstice and the G8.

I hope the wait lists aren't too long yet.

Sadly, this one make me think about my revulsion for this car. IF the Chevy Aveo didn't exist yet, and Pontiac decided to go in and make a small sporty car - I'd probably at least be interested in it. My problem is that I already know what an Aveo rides like (there's actually more road feel there than I expected), so I'm not even going to go see this.

There is a large portion of the population that is not aware of the Chevy Aveo - maybe the method behind GM's madness is to put together a car for these people? Come to think of it, it's not like the Aveo is a runaway sales leader, and it does conflict with Chevy's "apple pie" message - so why don't they kill off the Aveo?

In my mind, the only reasons this car went to Chevy in the first place was the sales race with Ford, and so that these could be sold in other countries. Well, in other countries, they're smart enough to know that this is a Daewoo, and this thing usually carries a Daewoo badge. The sales race with Ford is pointless and over. I say give it to Pontiac and let them define what performance will mean for the next decade (good handling, light weight, road feel) through small tuning changes over the life of this car and the next...

[gardnet1]

A. It looks good.
B. It won't cannibalize Aveo sales (not with gas prices spiking higher each summer).
C. It will bring customers into the PBG dealerships.
D. It represents Pontiac's future: Eco-citement!

On the down side, the mileage is no better than a larger Focus sedan.
I hope the relibility/build issues are cleared up from the previous version.

This needs to be an interim car until something a lot sportier and sexier comes along in a small package (ala GM Fiesta).

[63GrandSport001]

Id say that this isn't about CAFE yet about the dealers getting more volume to sell.

[gmlifer]

With the current price of gas, I have no problem with giving Pontiac a small car.

But if Pontiac is the fun to drive excitement division....then at least give the car some unique styling and performance to compete with the Mazda 3 and Mazda Speed

[04bonnie]

Contrary to popular belief: This car could do well, here's a few personal facts about myself, and I'm sure there are people like me out there:

Fact one for myself: I'm a car enthusiest, a Pontiac enthusiest, and a GM enthusiest.

Fact two: I've owned 4 pontiacs, including a classic 1972 GTO (still have)

Fact three: I have a brand new Buick Enclave, with a payment of $533/month

Fact four: I have a 2004 Bonneville, that will be paid off in March 09, which my wife drives for her work vehicle.

Fact five: If something ever happened to the Bonneville (worst case scenario: if it were to be totalled), while we still are paying for the Enclave, we would need a real cheap car, because of our large Enclave payment.

Fact six: I don't buy used cars, prefer to buy new

Fact seven: I would buy a G3 if something happened to the Bonneville

So....yes, car guys, Pontiac enthusiests, etc. CAN like a car like this. Is it a rebadge? Yes, I agree with that fact. Is it better then the Chevy? Not really. Would I buy it over the Chevy? Yes. Why? For two reasons: It looks better (especially the interior, gauge area), and I prefer the smaller BPG dealer we just purchased our Enclave from, over the very large "zoo" of a Chevy dealer in our area. (actually, I used to work at that very Chevy dealer, and have no hard feelings about it, left on good terms, but still....purchansing our Enclave was a joy, compared to what customers went thru in the delivery process at the Chevy dealer). That being said, my point is that just because the G3 is a rebadge, doesn't mean it won't get sales because it's a copy of the Chevy. Brand loyalty, dealership loyalty, and salesperson loyalty all have a factor.

Good luck to this new little car. I hope it's far better received by the buying public, then it is on this forum. It's at a price point (the Chevy starts at $12K+) that average people can actually afford it, unlike the Volt which is getting huge positive reviews, but it's way out of most people's league.

Don't bash this car, even enthusiests like me would consider it as a second, or third vehicle, and the very fact all of you are bashing it, or saying it's an embarrasment, might sway someone away from it, and GM all together. Aren't we all supposed to be GM FANS here?

If I'm a nerd for liking this car, then so be it. I'll blow past all of you in my 72 GTO, and that's enough "Pontiac Excitement" for me.

[johnny smallblock]

Pontiac should be all RWD
All their cars should have 300hp at least
Gas should cost $1 a gallon
Each GM division should have entirely unique cars
Pontiac should abandon all the customers that want to drive a small car with 4 doors
GM should spend all its money on different entry level cars

You want a G8? You want a Solstice? You want fast cars?
Then suck it up, because you need to balance it out.

Besides a BPG showroom with G8s, Enclaves, and Denalis won't be brought down by a tarted up Aveo hiding out back.

Sort of unrelated: my parents bought an '05 Vibe. They got 37mpg on the highway. Mileage matters to people. And some people even like small cars (gasp!!!) My mother-in-law bought a new Aveo a few years ago and likes it just fine.

[Fast1996Impala]

They should have rebadged the Astra instead, Pontiac could sell it in higher volumes then Saturn and offer an LNF powered version. Why does GM use all these cheap Korean cars when they can use the much more upscale Opels?

[Chaz_23]

If darn whiny BPG dealers have got to have a tiny car, fine give them the Aveo, but why not make it a Buick since there's already a G5. Why can't some of these BPG dealers just go away, sell Toyotas or snakeoil or something. I blame them for destroying Pontiac.
I guess when Lutz said that they would turn Pontiac into a small car division- he was actually lucid and telling the truth!?! What a shame. The one brand that stood for something has been turned into a joke.

[treekiller]

Originally Posted by crooner214

I give two separate answers:
1. CAFE
2. Dealer's whining about not having an true entry level car
Discuss...

No need to discuss. I don't see why people are so anti-rebadge. I think it's a great thing. more models to capture more market share. and the new Aveo/G3 is a nice car for the money. in my opinion the G3 looks a little nicer.

I HAVE to laugh at the post complaining about not having a Firebird, then complaining about rebadges. BPG dealers needed a subcompact. and what the heck, the tooling was already done and paid for.. it's good for business! If GM is going to survive these harsh times. it needs to make Moves, (if not so bold) like this.

and if it helps GM steal one single customer that would ahve bought a yaris or fit. then it's doing it's job.

I really don't understand why everyone gets in a huff like this.. it's good business, for a companay we (most of us anyway) like.

[bobojay]

It's not a bottom feeder with all those standard items on it, and I personally think that front end is better looking than the Chevy version. It should do good......hopefully taking some sales that would have gone to the other guys.