What Should GM Do With Pontiac?

[jmlee0695]

keep it with BGS=BPGS and give it a solstice on alpha,g8 on zeta and fwd/awd cars with sportier suspensions and handling than chevy and turbos

[buildacariwant]

GM should at least give Pontiac another chance with a Saturn merge but reality is GM really needs to close them both. Saturn is a failure (some of the cars are good though) and Pontiac has been stripped of its legacy nameplates, starved of resources, and GM is close to broke.

[NoSpelCheckr]

Well, I don't know the anwer but I have some thoughts. Continue to market Pontiac as a performance division. It was a great idea and seemed to be generally accepted. They just didn't have all the product behind it. Make it what Acura used to be. A brand where all cars have head of the class handling for a few dollars more. Give it more power/options/technology than Chevy's SS cars. Every Pontiac should come standard with a DSG/twin clutch trans except GXP. They should come standard with a true 6 spd with optional DSG/twin clutch. Not available on any other brand except maybe Caddy. Have LSD standard on every model. Ford has been working on twin clutch trans for their cars. Work out a deal. 2-mode for you = twin clutch for us.

Keep them from going after the same customer. Chevy has Camaro 2-door. Pontica has G8 4-door. Chevy have only Cobalt SS 2-door. Pontiac have G5 GXP 4-door. I don't see a Malibu SS in the future so let Pontiac have the G6 GXP in either 2-door or 4-door. But make every one great handling cars. Kind of like Mazda. Make them FWD or RWD but not AWD. Leave that for SAAB. Give G6 the 3.6 DI as the top engine and the 2.0 turbo as the mid engine, and the 1.8 turbo w/ 200 hp as the base engine. Give G5 the 300 hp 2.0 turbo and an electronic LSD. No way should Suzuki have a Malibu sister car with the 3.6 DI and AWD. That should be a SAAB 9-5 in anything.

I think Opel more fills the need of Pontiac than Saturn. Saturn just doesn't have that reputation. Make Astra the G5 but use the VXR goodies, and make the G5 the Astra. GM should market Saturn as an environmentaly friendly car to better compete with Honda and Toyota. Make every vehicle a hybrid. BAS II for budget cars and 2-mode for upscale. Even offer some diesel engines. Maybe even a diesel hybrid if the idea catches on. If not make them fleet only cars. Use Saturn to make money on fleet sales and restrict them from the general public as to not ruin the resale of the other brands.

[mikmak]

Performance = power vs. weight. I would like to see Saturn absorbed into Pontiac, with the new Pontiac division being the stanza of lightweight performance. Give them moremore aggressive lines and use plenty of lightweight materials. They will end up costing a little more, but GM definitely needs to go on a diet and not just in the number of vehicles in their line up. This way they can still deliver performance and utilise the less cumbersome aesthetic of Saturn.

[Archangel]

Originally Posted by mikmak

Performance = power vs. weight. I would like to see Saturn absorbed into Pontiac, with the new Pontiac division being the stanza of lightweight performance. Give them moremore aggressive lines and use plenty of lightweight materials. They will end up costing a little more, but GM definitely needs to go on a diet and not just in the number of vehicles in their line up. This way they can still deliver performance and utilise the less cumbersome aesthetic of Saturn.

GM as a whole needs a diet. Every GM car is heavier than its respective competitors. Lightweight means they can improve both performance and fuel economy. The cost increases but the same thing happened to the installation of a high-feature DOHC V6 across all brands and it worked. It was costly at the beginning but it paid off.

I'm starting to incline towards the classic Pontiac names for their line-up too. Grand Prix surely means more to me than "G8". Even Sunfire is a cool name for a sport compact. I just wish the name wasn't associated by many with a poor quality "GM" compact. Not sure about Grand Am for the G6 replacement, though. Tempest, perhaps?

[casket_demon]

Euthanasia sounds good, the ole girl has a FWD cancer growing in her uterus.

[Chaz_23]

Invest. Pontiac=Performance/Excitement Division.

Future Pontiac:

- Develope Alpha
- turbocharged G3 only
- Solstice GXP only
- improve the G6 interior, replace jeweled headlamps with smoked ones, then drop it once Epsilon 1 dies.
- No Epsilon 2, unless there's a superchaged engine
- G8 DI, GT, GXP - all with manual trannys available
- G8 ST Malloo only, not the boring plain one.
- FIREBIRD Trans Am Ram Air!!!

In association with this: drop all Red Lines, SSs, Ultras, to avoid overlap. If you want a performance GM car go to Pontiac.

Cancel associations with rappers, Kimmel, music events.

Bring back some body-cladding.

[Bravada]

In association with this: drop all Red Lines, SSs, Ultras, to avoid overlap. If you want a performance GM car go to Pontiac.

This is one good point.

[Archangel]

Originally Posted by Chaz_23

Invest. Pontiac=Performance/Excitement Division.

Future Pontiac:

- Develope Alpha
- turbocharged G3 only
- Solstice GXP only
- improve the G6 interior, replace jeweled headlamps with smoked ones, then drop it once Epsilon 1 dies.
- No Epsilon 2, unless there's a superchaged engine
- G8 DI, GT, GXP - all with manual trannys available
- G8 ST Malloo only, not the boring plain one.
- FIREBIRD Trans Am Ram Air!!!

In association with this: drop all Red Lines, SSs, Ultras, to avoid overlap. If you want a performance GM car go to Pontiac.

Cancel associations with rappers, Kimmel, music events.

Bring back some body-cladding.

Humm...body cladding? That's as in as tail fins right now.
I say:

- no G3
- rwd sport compact G5 or Sunfire
- base and GXP Solstice but with 200hp NA and 300hp for the turbo, 6 speed auto with
paddle shifters optional, 6 speed manual standard
- improve the G6 interior and all Pontiac interiors. Especially for the Solstice(materials)
- Projectors for the G6 and G8 as well as available HIDs
- DI V6 for top of the line G6, as well as available AWD
- G8 DI, GT, GXP - all with manual trannys available
- FIREBIRD Trans Am Ram Air!!! ... Hell yeah!! Wanna be a bit different? Use a pumped up
L76 instead of the LS3. Leave the LS3 for the Camaro.

just my .02

[2b2]

Originally Posted by hotrod747

I really think you nailed it! Really, why is Cadillac still playing the sub $40K range in light of Pontiac, Buick, and Saturn? CTS will make an awesome new Grand Prix!

Thanks, Hotrod(Keith)
just like my Mercury comment about "getting Lincoln the he!! outta the way",
think GM has to get off-the-pot with Cadillac, not just to reclaim the StdOfTheWorld,
but in order to sort-out/fix their mid-grade brands too.

Since I can remember the REAL GrandPrix's --first few generations--
not sure why it took me so long to see the CTS as their natural descendant...

[rudebwoyjohn]

I agree with NoSpelCheckr.. although i would use different vocabulary.. In reguards to the different brands.. Chevy is your General Line of cars Pontiac should be turn into a sport/enthusiast brand.. not a performace only brand.. and saturn keeps pushing into a ecofriendly brand as well..

Instead of trying to have these companies run as independent plants churning out re-badged twins (G4 and cobalt)... bring the this brand directly locally to the customers.. as customizable entry level alternatives with your normal Chevy's GMC's and Caddys Riding with the prestige that GM should be.. pontiac should be a youth brand some what like scion is to toyota.. A Not so mainstream brand.. with that you take the pressure of chevy to be a wide sweeping appeal brand.. Chevys have have always been about attitude and performance for everyone.. Keep the SS drop Ultra Chevy should stay the big daddy performance with it's Camaros Cobalts and Corvettes... But Pontiac should be the sporty brand that enthusiast can have those options to make a track car in the garage on Sunday nights like the good old days.. "stealing" parts from a chevy of course...

Saturn should be the company where people can walk say there looking for an economic car the dealer shows them what you (GM) has to offer and then have the basic platforms be tweaked in the dealer or as factory options mass quality parts for cheaper... put out Your EV's and Hybrid Options back on the road through this company... it might be a little pricey at first but come on who would want an affordable semi CUSTOM car made just for them would cough up a few more bucks... i'm seeing something that can run circles around the prius in every way...

GM CEO's tightening your personal belts to show your support for your company would be nice too you know but if all else fails and you really want to drop a company...

DROP Buick it doesn't sell much... and Cadillac can take it's spot as THE luxury brand for GM... i mean seriously.. how many poeple the visit the golf course often ride around in Buicks... sorry but Buick has no real outer market unless it's gonna go after the likes of Mercedes and Audi... but that would mean more money out of your pockets.. to make that brand better then Caddilac..

-Beast

[GMCSonoma]

Kill Pontiac, saturn too...Saturn has really been a cancer since before one ever rolled off the assembly line...

Anyone inside GM can tell you that...it worked for a few years, then snap...now it's no more than an Oldsmobile by a different name, selling less than Oldsmobile historically...


Let Buick & Chevy fill the void...

[Bravada]

Saturn has actually worked until very recently. Whatever you say, it DOES outsell most GM brands (but Chevrolet, GMC and PONTIAC!!!) in the US. The VUE is GM's most popular crossover SUV, the Aura is a strong seller (YTD outsells the LaX and even the Aveo), Outlook still outsells the Envoy - and even the cheaper Torrent. Ion was a volume seller until its death.

There is selling power in the Saturn dealership network, there is only little point in building separate vehicles for it. Had they added their numbers to sales of "regular" GM models, and shared the development monies with them, it would have been a blast.

[Aych Es Vee]

how about GM merges Pontiac and Saturn, and renames it to Holden...... Since thats essentially what it would be.

[GMCSonoma]

Originally Posted by Aych Es Vee

how about GM merges Pontiac and Saturn, and renames it to Holden...... Since thats essentially what it would be.

That idea actually appeals to me...