Chevrolet. Pontiac's image has been too raped by the corporate machine, despite that very image being everything the majority of Americans love: Power, Style, Speed. Yet there is good old Chevy. Maker of the El Camino, producer of the Silverado. They are, if anything, the most American of the American automakers and thus are most worthy of saving.
ONE B-O-P brand in the middle. and Buick's as good as Pontiac, probably better, because Buick is probably the more versatile name. A luxury Pontiac is sillier than a sporty Buick. I could totally see the G8 becoming a new Buick GranSport. Buick without a sporty car offering is just a flacid Cadillac for oldsters. Even with just one, it becomes a well-rounded "step up" line with both sporty and luxury aspirations. Pontiac lost the plot about the time the TransSport came out. After two decades of making silly white plastic cladding the "brand identity," Pontiac is a punchline, not a brand.
The Buick name needs to be saved for cars one or two notches above Chevy. The Cadillac name should be kept strictly for luxury cars - don't cheapen the name by offering medium price models. Offer only three Buick models - the new Lacrosse, a largish sedan (call it the LeSabre) and a luxury crossover (Enclave). Maybe GM could arrange its dealer network as follows:
Chevy-Chevy Truck-Buick
Cadillac-Buick-GMC
Also, a Pontiac Firebird based on the Camaro is a good idea - put it in the Caddy-Buick dealers.
Mike the Dog is sitting by the door with a pair of cow slippers, and a very sad face. was starred
Mike the Dog is sitting by the door with a pair of cow slippers, and a very sad face. was unstarred
Mike the Dog is sitting by the door with a pair of cow slippers, and a very sad face. was starred
Mike the Dog is sitting by the door with a pair of cow slippers, and a very sad face. was unstarred
I never understood why Oldsmobile was given the axe instead of Buick. Historically, there are more great oldsmobiles then buicks, and as far as modern day cars go, both Olds and buick were only appealing to 85 year old golfers.
Mike the Dog is sitting by the door with a pair of cow slippers, and a very sad face. was starred
Mike the Dog is sitting by the door with a pair of cow slippers, and a very sad face. was unstarred
@Hello Mister Walrus: That site does have a really cool little flash widget called Car IQ which you can add to iGoogle, facebook, etc. Tests your knowledge of car makes and models.
@Ambiguously Unfunny Syrax: The model years are where I bog down, and prevent me from getting much higher than 150. Some of the non-US stuff stumps me pretty good, though I can usually get the make. Interestingly though I discovered that I can't tell most modern Aston Martins apart. I also discovered that I don't care.
I saw a nice looking car the other day, and said to myself "what is that?", and was surprised to see a "Pontiac G6" on the back. After years and years of ugly Pontiac Grand Prix, Grand Am, etc, it was nice to see them finally change their styling to something good looking. Too bad it was too late.
@Saboth: And too bad the car itself was crappy. It's a great platform, as evidenced by the new Malibu, but it's almost like the G6 was their prototype that they were too lazy to develop any further, and so they just threw it out there without a whole lot of engineering refinement.
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In that order. Buick's only important because of China; Oldsmobile could have taken its place, and Pontiac's, here in the States.
The top two are the only ones that actually matter in the long term for GM's survival, though.
06/16/09
Pontiac, Pontiac, Bo Bontiac
Banana-fanna, Fo Fontiac
Fee, Fy, Mo Montiac
Buick!
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Buick for the middle
Cadillac for the high end
Just like Ford, Mercury, Lincoln
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Caddy at the high end.
ONE B-O-P brand in the middle. and Buick's as good as Pontiac, probably better, because Buick is probably the more versatile name. A luxury Pontiac is sillier than a sporty Buick. I could totally see the G8 becoming a new Buick GranSport. Buick without a sporty car offering is just a flacid Cadillac for oldsters. Even with just one, it becomes a well-rounded "step up" line with both sporty and luxury aspirations. Pontiac lost the plot about the time the TransSport came out. After two decades of making silly white plastic cladding the "brand identity," Pontiac is a punchline, not a brand.
06/16/09
Chevy-Chevy Truck-Buick
Cadillac-Buick-GMC
Also, a Pontiac Firebird based on the Camaro is a good idea - put it in the Caddy-Buick dealers.
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{*Not actual Vegas book}
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Wait, what? Really? Nevermind.
06/16/09
Cut GM off from credit and bailout money, so GM will liquidate everything it owns.
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[wiki.gmnext.com]
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Yeah, there you go.
Take a Pontiac G6 and rename it the Oakland Raider. Not only does is it an uncompetitive pile of suck, it also takes your money and disappears!
When you absolutely must have the ultimate symbol of automotive and sports-related irony.
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Moot point or no, it's still fun to talk and bitch about.
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[www.cargurus.com]
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Contrary to popular opinion, I actually like the G6 coupe and convertible.
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