GM

[Kopfjäger]

GM to announce Pontiac demise on Monday.   

[Grampa]

GM to announce Pontiac demise on Monday.   

Well the girls out there knock me out, you know.
Rock, rock, rock'n'roll high school
Cruisin' around in my GTO Saturn.


booooooo GM

[red baron]

Wonder how many workers that will effect?

[Randimus Maximus]

Wonder how many workers that will effect?

My guess is not as many as one would think.

From a dealer perspective, most Pontiac franchises were bundled with Buick and GMC or another GM line (i.e. very few stand-alone Pontiac dealerships), so the number of dealers to close would be small.

From a product perspective, most, if not all Pontiac vehicles are simply re-badged & reskinned GM models of another make.  Production will shift to those other makes.

Although it will have some negative effects, it was probably the easiest and quickest cost-savings decision GM had made so far, IMHO.

[Grampa]

I was a service advisor at a pontiac dealership many moons ago. Talk of Pontiac being killed off have been going on a loooooong time.

[ducpainter]

<snip>  Production will shift to those other makes.

Although it will have some negative effects, it was probably the easiest and quickest cost-savings decision GM had made so far, IMHO.

Ideally...

the effect of the auto sales slow down are pretty far reaching.

Although you're right about it being the 'easiest/quickest' decision.

[Kopfjäger]

I'm bummed about how it will effect two of my favorite teams.

[junior varsity]

i can't lie, as much as i hate many of the pontiacs, i like the sleeper-looking new GTO.

RIP: Trans-Am with the Phoenix in the hood. Maybe you'll rise from the ashes. 

[Randimus Maximus]

I'm bummed about how it will effect two of my favorite teams.

In all honesty, how much of those cars truly were "Pontiacs"?

[Grampa]

the money that backed them

[Randimus Maximus]

Ideally...

the effect of the auto sales slow down are pretty far reaching.

-snip-

without a doubt.  

Nearly every manufacturer saw a huge drop in sales last year.

Most are still down significantly this year.

Some projections a few years ago had the US market at close to 20M new vehicles this year.  The industry is currently on pace for a little over 10M.

[Kopfjäger]

In all honesty, how much of those cars truly were "Pontiacs"?

About as much as this is a Porsche, but without the manufacturer you won't have those teams.

[LA]

Man, I'll never forget the first 65 GTO tripower (Gran Turismo Omologato) I saw on a car lot after school. Kinda sad to see em go.

The 1965 Pontiac Tempest GTO
Specifications
Wheelbase, inches: 115.0
Weight, lbs: 3,468
Number built: 75,352
Base price: $2,751

Top Available Engine
Type: ohv V-8
Displacement, cid: 389
Fuel system: 3 x 2bbl.
Compression ratio: 10.75:1
Horsepower @ rpm: 360 @ 5200
Torque @ rpm: 424 @ 3600

Representative Performance
0-60 mph, sec: 6.1
1/4 mile, sec. @ mph: 14.7 @ 99





LA

[Randimus Maximus]

About as much as this is a Porsche, but without the manufacturer you won't have those teams.

to an extent, you are correct.

however, it isn't that much of a stretch to say that more of the technology of the Brumos (particularly the engine) is on an every day Porsche than what would carry over from the Gainsco Pontiac to a daily driver from them.

[redxblack]

I heard GM will only be marketing four makes in the future (Chevy, GMC, Cadillac and POSSIBLY Buick). That was on NPR two months ago. Things change daily and who knows if that's still the plan. Shutting down Saturn would be a bummer - that's a product line that had been really doing well when it was just the SL-1 and SL-2 sedans.