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Seven Cars That Killed Pontiac
Detroit, 6:47 AM
Wed Dec 9
26 posts in the last 24 hours
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Seven Cars That Killed Pontiac |
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05/04/09
Look, you can't even see it in that picture! That's how little anybody cares about the Sunfire!
05/04/09
04/28/09
1972 BMW 2002
1983 Volkswagen GTI
1988 Honda Civic Si
1989 Mazda Miata
2002 Subaru WRX
2006 Mitsubishi Evo
2010 Chevy Camaro
04/28/09
04/28/09
And the interior?Wide panel gaps=easy installation of interior modifications.As the Grand Am sold well up till its replacement, id say it helped keep Pontiac alive, not kill it.
(puts on flame suit)
04/28/09
You ever have your spherical HVAC outlets shrink from the plastic offgassing and just spin, end-over-end in the air flow? Makes you laugh until you realize the rest of the car is designed that well.
04/28/09
"Look! I'm a fugly Impala! Check out my twenty-year-old chassis that was unimpressive when new!"
Suspension sucked less, anyway.
04/28/09
The X-car was a disaster, but GM could have recovered their reputation. The thing is, they never even tried.
04/28/09
Let it be known that there has never, to my knowledge, been an uglier grille. On anything. Ever.
04/28/09
04/28/09
The G6 was truly the epiphany for GM. They finally got the mid-size car right. But alas, it was too late as the ship was already sinking. The fiduciary reality if 0% financing against outrageous overhead costs (unions and executives alike) were way too, and continue to be, much too fatal for any great car to beat.
04/28/09
Pontiac should've been pared down to the performance brand their marketing claimed to be, and let Chevy dominate the volume sales.
GM shouldn't have caved to dealer demands for a "me too" of every volume seller.
04/28/09
I agree for the most-part, but me-too marketing works. For example - was the Grand Prix the "me-too" of the Monte Carlo, or was it visa versa? Both sold modestly well, and both had and still have strong fan-boy following. Decisions to re-badge a Chevette and call it a LeMans, and/or an Aveo and call it a G3 are not good decisions (IMO) by any stretch, but developing a single platform that can be used to market similar but name-plate distinct cars is a very good business decision.
Ferrari Enzo and the Maserati MC12 for example…
04/28/09
If GM took all the funds they used to create a trim-only Pontiac version of a Chevy and spent them on making the Chevy better, or marketing it better, they'd have done better in the long-run.
Best example would be Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla Vs the miscellaneous assorted compact GM vehicles over the years.
Just to clarify, this argument applies to cars that were only different in terms of styling/trim. What Pontiac could've/should've been was real performance versions of mass-market GM platforms. I've gone off on it at length, here.
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The Chevy ones are around occasionally, and I want to punch the drivers in the head.
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Probably an example of how a sales winner (I remember them being everywhere) can damage your brand.
Mediocre engines, 4AT and FWD wouldn't have been so bad if the car hadn't been marketed as a "sporty" on account of the fog lights and cladding. It really drove the point home to me that GM didn't (and doesn't) get it.
04/28/09
Also I somehow like Grand Prix McLaren. hmmm
04/28/09
Of course, GM had to screw with the G6's clean design, though, so we wound up with the G6 GXP. Whereas other GXP models like the Bonneville and G8 had clean lines and tasteful upgrades to separate them from their less powerful brethren, the G6 GXP had that Whitney Houston snorting coke front clip and a snow plow for a rear spoiler. So even when Pontiac does something reasonably well like the G6, someone can't resist pressing the fuck-up button.
Now, if you'll excuse me, my 2010 Buick LaSnooze awaits.
04/28/09
04/28/09
Sad fact of the matter is, I can count the number of "good" Pontiacs on one hand. At the same time I would need to be some sort of multi-manus mutant to count all the terrible, disgusting Pontiacs.
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Lust: G3: Lust for a small car further mired the brand in a fog of purpose.
Gluttony: Bonneville: Every bell and whistle in a car that couldn't compete on price.
Greed: Montana: Did Pontiac really need a minivan? What kind of "performance" does minivan impart? But, it was a hot segment.
Sloth: Sunfire: It couldn't even get out of it's own way.
Wrath: Aztek: It sparks anger in me every time I see it. Form follows function, yes. However, that form has to have some desirable aspects.
Envy: G6: Envious of a mid-size car that was "hot", the G6 never delivered.
Pride: Grand Am: With plastic cladding galore, the Grand Am always aspired and tried to be much more than it was. Pride goeth before a fall.
04/28/09