General Motors Contemplates Axing Pontiac And GMC Brands

They are going to have to stop contemplating and start doing.

— roundwego (View Profile)

Posted on 4/16/2009 10:45:42 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

GMC should have been gone years ago, but Pontiac I will miss! I hope the G8 gets a new nameplate... Saturn? =*

— SVTruong (View Profile)

Posted on 4/16/2009 11:00:46 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3   

This is news? We've heard about this for months already.

— 204E60 (View Profile)

Posted on 4/16/2009 11:02:39 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

G8 need to become a chevy model.... Death to Pontiac, and Saturn. However I do wish there was a way to have a Firebird / Trans AM again

— fatandsassy (View Profile)

Posted on 4/16/2009 11:04:33 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: -1   

they should just sell the G8 as a chevy impala. they already do in south africa. they should just get rid of pontiac and gmc even though i drive a g8 gt they need to do what they can to save GM.

— t_sotello (View Profile)

Posted on 4/16/2009 11:29:00 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

This would be a move that's been long overdue. Talk about redundancy! Just cuz you put more chrome on a GMC p/u doesn't make it any different than a Chevy.

— r_driver04 (View Profile)

Posted on 4/16/2009 11:50:33 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

There's not a single GMC that's not rebadged as a Chevy. I don't know why this brand lasted as long as it did.

— Foreigner (View Profile)

Posted on 4/16/2009 11:53:39 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

The G8 should be a Chevy as the G6.Why does GM need a Firebird when they have a Camaro?A GTO made more sense.The problem is it had bland styling.GM does not need Pontiac or GMC.It's always been duplication with GM.That's part of their problem.Car companies that make the same car with a different badge eventually will fail.

— mini22 (View Profile)

Posted on 4/16/2009 12:01:03 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

Duh!!!

GM should have considered dropping brands years ago. I don't think that selling them (BadGM Ch11 plan) is a very smart idea as they'd be selling off they rights to these historical nameplates. GM should definitely consider selling some their manufacturing facilities and shut 3-4 brands.

I would consider keeping GMC only to sell commercial trucks & SUVs for govt & business organizations. But Cadillac & Chevy remain consumer-oriented only.

— dumpsty (View Profile)

Posted on 4/16/2009 12:03:36 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

I have been saying this since day one of that all shebang, Chevrolet and Cadillac stay, using the Japanese model of one "high volume brand" and one "luxury brand". When Agent001 posted "You are the Car Czar", this is what I said: GMC, Hummer, Saab, Saturn, Pontiac have to die.
I do feel bad for Pontiac because the G8 is one sweet ride and that means the Trans Am will never come back. But as it has been said here, the G8 will make a very nice Impala.
Buick has to stay alive but mainly for the Chinese market, so I would kill it for the US market, the Enclave would make a nice replacement for the Suburban. Even the solstice or the Sky could find their way back into the Chevy or even the Cadillac line up. All the rest can go "bye bye".The sad fact is that the for now and for the unseen future, the US auto market is dead, any brand that rely mainly on US sales to survive is in deep trouble, that includes the Big three but also the like of lexus, Infiniti, Acura and to some extend BMW and M-B. For the big three to survive they need to keep the brands and specifically the models that are truly "Global" meaning that sell in the 10's to 100's of thousand worldwilde every month. Everything else, the AX is waiting.

— 1evlaudi (View Profile)

Posted on 4/16/2009 1:13:29 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

Good, that means I will get a great deal on a Deanli.

— no1listensanyway (View Profile)

Posted on 4/16/2009 2:32:53 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -1   

They really should kill everything except Chevy and Cadillac. Even Buick in America. Once they kill Pontiac and GMC, the Buick dealers won't have enough products to stand on their own anyway.
Perfect example: I like the Enclave much better than the RX and the ML, but driving a Buick just doesn't match Lexus or MB for prestige or dealer experience. Repackage the Enclave with a V8 as a slightly smaller new Escalade, and then we're in business.
If Cadillac is a luxury brand, then why do you need an 'almost' luxury brand? In today's market, a fully optioned Chevy should be almost as nice as an entry Cadillac - just like an Avalon very nearly approaches the Lexus experience.
They could use some of those swoopy new Buick design themes to refresh the Cadillac design language, because those angles are starting to get old.

— pushrod27 (View Profile)

Posted on 4/16/2009 2:41:29 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

Presuming they do "kill off" pontiac... I wonder if they ever would produce an occasional halo car sold from chevy lots but with a pontiac badge. It would be a limited production run type situation where they could produce high value cars (at premium prices to offset the low volume) such as a new trans-am. They would still sell because some people would just have to have them, and it would maintain the history while building a reputation for thier existing brands.

— holmstar (View Profile)

Posted on 4/16/2009 3:06:16 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

I always thought GM would be best with just:

Corvette (its own sub brand,similar distribution as Dodge did with Viper)

Cadillac (luxury stuff)

GMC (trucks/suvs only)

Saturn (passenger cars only)

The Pontiac name always makes me think of Bonnevilles and body cladding. Buick is doing some good things, but falls into a weird price point. So they go.

And screw the Chevy/Chevrolet names. They just scream old-fashioned and the bow-tie has always been a crappy logo in my eyes.

— answer (View Profile)

Posted on 4/16/2009 5:41:59 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -3   

Too little, too late.

— doctorproctor (View Profile)

Posted on 4/16/2009 7:06:19 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

The good doctor is right. This decision is well over a year too late but it's a tough decision for GM when they have everybody crying for a new Camaro, a new Firebird, a new Trans Am, don't kill Caddy, how about a retro Fiero? GM really needs to trim the fat, consolidate, and provide a simple offering of some well designed, well built (yeah right) cars and trucks and do their market research.

— Veeracer (View Profile)

Posted on 4/16/2009 10:40:49 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

IMO Pontiac should stay as a niche brand and Buick actually can go but this might affect its China business as Buick is the only brand GM has there.

— woood (View Profile)

Posted on 4/18/2009 12:58:30 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1