Pontiac Pursuit coming to the U.S.?

Product-Juggling Strategy Takes Place at Pontiac

After the June sales jolt at GM, the beleaguered Pontiac Division is juggling models anew. The only GM brand to suffer a sales decline in the corporation's June boom, Pontiac is losing three models this fall and replacing the dropouts with two - the long-awaited Solstice two-seat roadster and the Torrent sport wagon. Out the door go the Bonneville sedan, the Sunfire compact car, and the ill-fated Aztek sport wagon.

Beyond the debut of 2006 models, even more realignments are slated for Pontiac . GM's vice-president for North America sales, service and marketing, Mark LaNeve, said last week that dealers have asked that Sunfire and Grand Am be replaced as soon as possible by an entry-level car, and GM has reportedly responded with a quickie spin-off of the Chevrolet Cobalt for the 2007 model year.

Pontiac has become GM's biggest "loser" in sales so far this year, showing a 16-percent sales decline that June's employee-pricing rollout was unable to reverse. It was a bitter pill in view of jumps of about 40 percent for Buick, Chevrolet, and Saturn. Many Pontiac dealers blame a spotty image for the new mid-size G6 sedan as a factor in the first-half sales reverse. Replacement of the well-entrenched Grand Am name by "G6" has failed to resonate among Pontiac shoppers, says Gordon Wangers, a marketing analyst based in Marina Del Rey, Calif.- Mac Gordon


This is especially interersting, considering the supposed paring down of Pontiac and Buick models to 3-4 vehicles each....

This is especially interersting, considering the supposed paring down of Pontiac and Buick models to 3-4 vehicles each....
I think supposed will end up being the operative word there.

I think supposed will end up being the operative word there.

Probably true!

I just posted this you know :D

I just posted this you know :D


I posted it at 8:28AM this morning! I WIN!! :p :p :p :lol:

Awww crap, I musta missed it. Guess you owned me on this one :D Hey, you going to BG? Seeing as how you didn't post in my BG thread, I take it you aren't?

Awww crap, I musta missed it. Guess you owned me on this one :D Hey, you going to BG? Seeing as how you didn't post in my BG thread, I take it you aren't?


Nah... :(

I am working on Corvettes@Carslise for this year as the "long" car show trip...

We'll see how that works out. :o

Dude, Canfield OH is a helluva lot closer than Springfield MA is to KY...if I can go, so can you!!! Hop on 71 and head on down for a day or so!

Well they pretty well said it. G6 is too bland looking to be a Pontiac. They should just leave that one to Buick. And the Pursuit is just a Cobalt. Nothing more. It doesn't even have that edgy performance look Pontiac usually has.

Solstice? It's a very nice car that nobody will want to buy after the first orders are filled. To start with, it's a cheap copy of a BMW that doesn't sell very well. It only has two seats making it virtually useless. It will last three years before it is canned.

How did GM get into this mess?

Solstice? It's a very nice car that nobody will want to buy after the first orders are filled. To start with, it's a cheap copy of a BMW that doesn't sell very well. It only has two seats making it virtually useless. It will last three years before it is canned.

Cheap copy of a BMW? :confused:

Well they pretty well said it. G6 is too bland looking to be a Pontiac. They should just leave that one to Buick. And the Pursuit is just a Cobalt. Nothing more. It doesn't even have that edgy performance look Pontiac usually has.

Solstice? It's a very nice car that nobody will want to buy after the first orders are filled. To start with, it's a cheap copy of a BMW that doesn't sell very well. It only has two seats making it virtually useless. It will last three years before it is canned.

How did GM get into this mess?

That's about the most short-sighted post I've seen in a long time. Pontiac has over 8,000 pre-orders on the Solstice, and you honestly believe no one will buy it after the initial orders? Right... :rolleyes:

Also, where does it say G6 is bland? "Spotty" does not equal bland. Some of the spotty image is due to the name. Much of it is due to the fact the car is more expensive while people perceive it to be a Grand Am replacement. Hence the need for the new Pontiac Cobalt...THAT is what the article is saying.

But I guess you can interpret it however you'd lilke... :rolleyes:

Solstice? It's a very nice car that nobody will want to buy after the first orders are filled. To start with, it's a cheap copy of a BMW that doesn't sell very well.
It's not even in dealerships yet, how can you say it doesn't sell well? And I'm quite certain you don't have any seat time in one, so how can you make a call on its 'cheapness'?

It only has two seats making it virtually useless.
That's kinda the point of a two-seater. They're not meant to haul your kids and dog to the cottage. It's a second car; a toy; something you take for a drive for fun, not function.

It will last three years before it is canned.
I agree that's that'll be the challenge for GM. It's certainly going to sell out the first couple of years. Turbo and coupe models could keep interest going for some time after that, and then the car will have to sell on its basic goodness. If GM can live with selling 10,000 or so a year in the longer term (like the Miata), then I think it will do okay.

Dude, Canfield OH is a helluva lot closer than Springfield MA is to KY...if I can go, so can you!!! Hop on 71 and head on down for a day or so!

Ya got me there! :o

My wife (then fiance) planned a trip to Bowling Green a few years ago for my birthday... Museum and Assembly Plant tours... it was very fun! :)

It was about an 8 hour one-way drive... which was really not bad at all, but talking the other half into it is the issue. :think: Actually, she's usually pretty good for going ot stuff, but the being pregnant thing has forced a few adjustments.

It's not even in dealerships yet, how can you say it doesn't sell well? And I'm quite certain you don't have any seat time in one, so how can you make a call on its 'cheapness'?


That's kinda the point of a two-seater. They're not meant to haul your kids and dog to the cottage. It's a second car; a toy; something you take for a drive for fun, not function.


I agree that's that'll be the challenge for GM. It's certainly going to sell out the first couple of years. Turbo and coupe models could keep interest going for some time after that, and then the car will have to sell on its basic goodness. If GM can live with selling 10,000 or so a year in the longer term (like the Miata), then I think it will do okay.

It's not the Miata. It's a BMW Z4 knockoff. Take a look.

BMW Z4 (http://www.bmw.com/com/en/index_highend.html)

Like I said, the Solistice is a nice car. But how do you justify no Firebird (which sold anywhere from 35,000-85,000 per year) and go to sales of ~10,000?

Yeah, that's Pontiac buiding excitement again. :rolleyes:

Solstice serves only one purpose: Raise the profile of the brand with a sporty, youthful image. That's good. But it won't last.

What's wrong with you guys? Leave Dwarf Killer alone. I'd have to agree that the Solstice is a direct, exact copy of the Z4. :think: Except that it doesn't even remotely resemble the car, at all, even slightly, even if I were heavily into the crackpipe. So maybe I don't agree.

:)

Ya got me there! :o

My wife (then fiance) planned a trip to Bowling Green a few years ago for my birthday... Museum and Assembly Plant tours... it was very fun! :)

It was about an 8 hour one-way drive... which was really not bad at all, but talking the other half into it is the issue. :think: Actually, she's usually pretty good for going ot stuff, but the being pregnant thing has forced a few adjustments.

Well, in all honesty the deciding factor was my fiance. She really wanted to go as much as I did :D I think Charlie said "now that's the kind of girl you marry." :D I tend to agree! If you went in '03, I was there too! I'm surprised your ride is 8 hrs...I mean, I'm 15 from MA.

Well, in all honesty the deciding factor was my fiance. She really wanted to go as much as I did :D I think Charlie said "now that's the kind of girl you marry." :D I tend to agree! If you went in '03, I was there too! I'm surprised your ride is 8 hrs...I mean, I'm 15 from MA.


Well, heck, Corvettes@Carlise is probably right in beween us! ;)