Axe to fall on Pontiac on Monday?

[HardRockCamaro]

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=146706\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=146706

[Andy]

Is it lame to actually feel sad about this? A 1987 Pontiac Firebird was the first car I'd ever been in and still to this day is the car I think looks the mutts.

[F Body]

GM has to get rid of half it's brands because they are just competing with each other for the same customer

[Ponti]

That's terrible, GM suck

[F Body]

Quoting: Ponti

That's terrible, GM suck

GM still have some great products, GM Management suck

[Rob]

[HardRockCamaro]

To be honest I think GM have too many brands, yes they're got rid of a few but they need rid of a couple more.


They need 3 at most in the USA (not counting Corvette and frankly I see nothing wrong with it being a Chevrolet Corvette, the Ford GT sold just fine as did the Dodge Viper so I fail to see adding Chevrolet to the front of it drags it down).

Chevrolet -> The mass market brand and their biggest
Cadillac -> The high end brand, the "best" thing they make if you have the wedge.

You can probably sneak either Buick of Pontiac in between those two as a premium product as opposed to the Cadillac luxury product but with the smaller CTS I'm not even sure that's necessary.  I don't think Cadillac is high end enough (ie they're not Rolls Royce) to be harmed by smaller cheaper models, as long as they're clearly above the Chevrolet range.

As Buick sells massively in the Far East and has always been considered a more premium brand than Pontiac, I guess Buick stays and Pontiac goes.


Saturn is not needed and neither is GMC (they're Chevy's anyway) unless it's for large trucks (as in big delivery trucks).  Hummer has had its day.


I see no future for SAAB over here and I would say kill off Cheveroo too as the marketing effort has been p*** poor and as such they're no cooler than a Hyundai or Kia.  In fact, if I was in the market for a low end brand I'd get one of them over a Cheveroo.


Vauxhall is fine, although whether it's worth two lots of stuff (ie Vauxhall and Opel) rather than just calling them Opel I don't know...

[F Body]

Yep Pontiac is dead

As part of the revised Viability Plan and the need to move faster and further, GM in the U.S. will focus its resources on four core brands, Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC. The Pontiac brand will be phased out by the end of 2010. GM will offer a total of 34 nameplates in 2010, a reduction of 29 percent from 48 nameplates in 2008, reflecting both the reduction in brands and continued emphasis on fewer and stronger entries. This four-brand strategy will enable GM to better focus its new product development programs and provide more competitive levels of market support.

The revised plan moves up the resolution of Saab, Saturn, and Hummer to the end of 2009, at the latest. Updates on these brands will be provided as these initiatives progress.

Working with its dealers, GM anticipates reducing its U.S. dealer count from 6,246 in 2008 to 3,605 by the end of 2010, a reduction of 42 percent.

[philoldsmobile]

Quoting: HardRockCamaro

To be honest I think GM have too many brands,

which leads us to.......

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/apr/23/fiat-buyout-opel-vauxhall-general-motors\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/apr/23/fiat-buyout-opel-vauxhall-general-motors

[Rob]

Quoting: philoldsmobile

which leads us to.......

excellent.....I might be able to get a decent discounted car through work instead of the Alfa's and Fiat's they currently offer us......