[91 s-10baja]

For fans of my last column, the one where I said Alfa Romeo has the ability to claim BMW's mantle of exclusive European performance, know that I've reconsidered. BMW has a bigger potential U.S. competitor than Alfa looming on the horizon. BMW needs to realize the serious threat that's coming soon from Pontiac. Yes, that's right: Pontiac.

Pontiac's in metamorphosis, going from a muddled brand position back to what it was in its heyday, when John DeLorean gave enthusiasts a real reason to pick Pontiac over a Chevy, Dodge, Buick, or Plymouth. "Pontiac Excitement" is coming back! It's almost time to "Get in your Pontiac and Ride" once again! The "We Build Excitement" brand is back, baby!

http://www.motivemag.com/pub/featur..._The_tragic_future_of_the_Pontiac_brand.shtml

 

[mbukukanyau]

I wish this was really true

 

[eurohazard]

I like the red LeMans in the middle.....nice! lol

 

[ksr]

The Bonneville and Grand Prix were nice cars, but outside of the Firebird, was the brand really all that exciting even back then?

But it was a nice enough lineup of cars, outside of that Lemans.

 

[ksr]

I was at a Pontiac dealer on Sunday looking around.

A lot of people hate the G6, but I've always thought it was the most unfairly bashed car on the market. The sedan is fairly bland, but certainly not offensive. And the coupe and convertible are appealing cars.

The G8 is a damn nice car, as is the Solstice. And the very cool Solstice coupe is on the way.

I don't think that's really a bad basis for a strong brand. Even tossing in the Vibe and rebadged Cobalt G5 coupe for the entry-level buyers doesn't hurt.

If they only had a new Firebird on the way to generate some real excitement and showroom traffic, Pontiac's future might be brighter.

 

[FenwickHockey65]

Update or redesign the G6, screw the G5 and come up with a better, sporty looking compact car, and Pontiac will be awesome.

 

[jkennedy293]

I think every car in Pontiac's lineup should have at least 200HP, but these days HP numbers aren't selling to the mass market like they used to. The majority of car buyers are looking at the EPA numbers instead.

 

[91 s-10baja]

I like the red LeMans in the middle.....nice! lol

Daewoo made your favorite Opel made your favorite Pontiac? I keed I keed.

 

[JerryL]

My favorite memory of the Pontiac brand..........When I was a kid my Uncle Bill bought a new Bonneville station wagon. We all hopped in our Chevy wagon to go see it proudly sitting in his driveway. Being a wise ass kid who could spell I pointed out the logo on the tailgate door....P-O-N-I-T-A-C.
Sadly, we never felt the same about the brand. I doubt if I ever changed my thinking.

 

[Sal Collaziano]

Those vehicles in the pictures represent Pontiacs last good days.... I'm glad to have been driving during that time...

 

[BigAls87Z28]

G6 has a lot of potential if it were to be redesigned and given a true sporty character. And I think that could be done with FWD.
How I would love the Insignia to be the G6....

 

[TriShield]

I laughed.

 

[wescoent]

G6 has a lot of potential if it were to be redesigned and given a true sporty character. And I think that could be done with FWD.
How I would love the Insignia to be the G6....

Absolutely.

Buttoned-down suspension, DOHC I4 or V6, 6-speed manual or automatic with paddle shifters, and a Malibu-level interior... people would buy.

 

[schmallz]

Magnificent Seven?


How about:

SWB Alpha Sun Fire (Sub-Compact Sedan)
SWB Alpha Solstice (Same as current)
LWB Alpha Grand Am (Compact Sedan)
LWB Aplha Trans Am (Compact Coupe
Zeta Grand Prix (Mid Size Sedan)
Zeta GTO (Mid Size Coupe)
Zeta Bonnevile (Full Size)

Those seven look nice

 

[Maki]

For fans of my last column, the one where I said Alfa Romeo has the ability to claim BMW's mantle of exclusive European performance, know that I've reconsidered. BMW has a bigger potential U.S. competitor than Alfa looming on the horizon. BMW needs to realize the serious threat that's coming soon from Pontiac. Yes, that's right: Pontiac.

Alfa Romeo can't touch BMW. You obviously don't know Alfa Romeo. They are the Pontiac of Europe. Alfa Romeo like Pontiac had a once glorious performance history,but from the 70's it's nothing more then a ugly rebadge of Fiats (like Pontiac is more or less a rebadge of Chevy excluding a few models). It's mainly FWD cars are mainly oriented at people who like affordable sporty looking cars (like Pontiac),and it is not cross shopped by people who buy BMW's (like Pontiac). Neither Alfa Romeo or Pontiac pose a serious threat to BMW because:

1.Both brands are not upscale enough,and share stigmas from previous poor models. Would require masive marketing
2.One halo car (8c for Alfa & Solstice for Pontiac) isn't enough to change the brands image. It would require a total revamp of their lineup.
3.Both Alfa and Pontiac have a brand in their corporate lineup better suited to go against BMW (Lancia for Alfa Romeo & Cadillac for Pontiac)

I personally would be happy if Pontiac was able to just be affordable RWD performance like it was in the good old days. There is potential,but I'm starting to doubt if GM executives have the skill or knowledge to give Pontiac a renaissance it deserves.

 

[ksr]

I personally would be happy if Pontiac was able to just be affordable RWD performance like it was in the good old days. There is potential,but I'm starting to doubt if GM executives have the skill or knowledge to give Pontiac a renaissance it deserves.

What years were the "good old days?"

some of Pontiacs best sales years were in the '80s, and it sold mainly FWD cars then, outside of Firebird. The Grand Prix was RWD, but it wasn't a particularly great performer.

I think people fixate too much on RWD, which most of the buying public doesn't really care about. I'd bet that more people stay away from RWD cars because of (largely incorrect) fears about traction in bad weather than people who stay away from FWD cars because they don't think they'll perform well enough.

Just make good-looking cars that perform well. You can do that and build both RWD and FWD cars.

 

[ksr]

Solstice
Solstice Coupe
G8
G6 Coupe
G6 Convertible

Right there, that isn't such a bad basis for the Pontiac lineup. Heck, if they make the same powertrain available on the G5 that the Cobalt SS has (is it available?), then, rebadge or not, there's nothing wrong with having a G5 SS in your lineup. And at least the Vibe is unique, well, unique in the GM family anyway.

I've read such negative things about Pontiac, but walking around a dealership last weekend, I came away with a good impression. There's some good vehicles here.

It lacks one thing, the killer performance car to give the whole brand it's performance credibility back. I can't believe that they aren't getting their version of the upcoming Camaro. It would complete the lineup nicely.

 

[377Z]

The Bonneville and Grand Prix were nice cars, but outside of the Firebird, was the brand really all that exciting even back then?

But it was a nice enough lineup of cars, outside of that Lemans.

Seriously, the "exciting" Bonneville SSE had the same whopping 165HP as the regular Bonneville; the 6000 STE and GP had the same 2.8 as the regular 6000 and GP (the McLaren GP 3.1 turbo was 1990, this is a 1989 ad). The Sunbird still had the turbo 4 option, and I think you could get the HO quad 4 in the Grand Am which was fun before it spun a bearing.

So I'd say they had a few exciting configurations available at the time (certainly more than now), though most of the uplevel versions just had the cladding go to 11.

 

[jaywestfall]

To answer the question, yes they can, but will they? The investment dollars in existing and future (namely Alpha) platforms has already been made. Pontiac just needs an advocate wielding a baseball bat like John Z De Lorean to step on the toes of the bean counters, so the job can be finished. The Pirate division needs to start acting up again.

 

[Neanderthal]

It's kinda exciting speculating on when Poncho will go back to real names, as opposed to models that sound like some Brilyint Rulers of the World/CO2 Addicts Anonymous meeting.