RWD for Pontiac
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RWD for Pontiac
Jamie LaReau | Automotive News / May 29, 2006
Pontiac plan
GM officials will unveil a rwd concept vehicle for Pontiac at the 2007 Detroit auto show. To revive the brand, GM also is considering:
- Fielding a lineup of all rwd cars
- Replacing the Grand Prix with a higher-priced sedan
- Replacing the GTO with a vehicle built on Camaro architecture
DETROIT -- After debating Pontiac's viability this year, General Motors' leadership plans to revive the brand's heritage of performance with a product lineup of exclusively rear-wheel-drive cars.
There would be no trucks and - after the next generation of vehicles - no front-wheel-drive cars either.
GM will unveil a rwd sedan concept at January's Detroit auto show, company sources say. This echoes the strategy that GM adopted with the 1999 Evoq concept, which revealed Cadillac's new brand "look."
The Pontiac plan is not final. GM executives continue to build a business case for it. This ambitious proposal is a plan to save the brand, which has suffered declining sales. GM sold 437,806 Pontiacs in the United States last year, compared with 599,123 in 1995.
One insider says it would take five years to convert the brand to rwd. That's why Pontiac will get one more generation of fwd and all-wheel-drive small cars.
A Pontiac spokesman declined to comment on the brand's plans. Fwd cars will not go away soon, but rwd vehicles will become more prominent "in the near term," the spokesman said.
Sources inside GM and close to Pontiac say GM leaders are debating:
- The future of the Grand Prix sedan.
- A possible GTO replacement based on the Chevrolet Camaro.
- A Firebird muscle car.
Not so 'damaged'
In recent years, Pontiac has been wracked by debate over its future. During a controversial speech at the New York auto show last year, GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz called Pontiac "a damaged brand."
In a recent interview with Automotive News, Lutz said he had never asserted that the brand was "irreparably" damaged. While Pontiac is still struggling, GM is repairing the damage, and the bleeding has stopped, Lutz says.
Nevertheless, sources say top-level GM executives did debate a phaseout of the brand. In January, senior executives met to discuss Pontiac's future. GM decided to revive Pontiac as a pure performance brand.
GM will trim product lineups as it consolidates Buick, Pontiac and GMC into three-brand dealerships under its retail channel strategy. In a recent interview, Lutz told Automotive News that Pontiac and Buick will not carry trucks.
Lutz declined to speculate whether the Pontiac Torrent crossover, a rebadged Chevrolet Equinox, would one day go to GMC, but industry sources say it's likely.
The strategy will force Pontiac to sort out its product plans for the Grand Prix. While GM hasn't set a time frame, it's likely the automaker will discontinue the current incarnation of the fwd Grand Prix after the 2008 model year, industry sources say.
GM is considering a new mid-sized rwd sedan to replace it, says an industry insider. The source says the vehicle will be "one notch up" from the present Grand Prix, which has a base price of $21,990, including shipping. Whether that vehicle keeps the Grand Prix name is uncertain.
A rwd lineup could give Pontiac performance credibility, says John Pitre, general manager of Motor City Auto Center in Bakersfield, Calif. "They're right on track with the performance division of GM," he says. "BMW has been born and raised on rear-wheel drive. For us on the West Coast, rear-wheel drive feels better to drive and seems to last longer."
But Pontiac's drive to become a pure performance division would sacrifice sales volume, predicts Doug Scott, industry analyst at GfK Automotive in Southfield, Mich. For example, many G6 buyers in northern climates want a front-wheel-drive car for winter conditions.
Scott also said GM is pressuring dealers to combine Buick, Pontiac and GMC franchises into single stores by cutting the brands' product lineups.
"They really want to narrow the range of products and narrow the sales objective," Scott says. It means sacrificing sales volume at dealerships for profit at corporate level. "It's forcing the channeling strategy," he says.
Like a Camaro
Pontiac brand executives hope that if GM builds the Camaro for Chevrolet, the architecture could provide a similar product for Pontiac. The previous generation of GM muscle cars included the rwd Pontiac Firebird, a sibling of the Camaro.
But Pontiac spokesman Jim Hopson is quick to add, "We want a truly differentiated product. We don't want a rebadged vehicle."
Company insiders say that if GM decides to build the Camaro, GM will not revive a Firebird version. "There will be no Firebird," says one source. "Rear-wheel drive? Yes. Pony car? No."
Dealers also want a replacement for the GTO, one of only two current rwd Pontiac cars, the other being the Solstice two-seater. Pontiac will kill the Australia-produced coupe this fall after just three model years.
Insiders say there will be a replacement for the GTO, but the product gap will remain for a couple of years.
Says Pontiac's Hopson: "We haven't made any bones about the fact that Pontiac needs a rear-wheel-drive performance vehicle."
Pontiac plan
GM officials will unveil a rwd concept vehicle for Pontiac at the 2007 Detroit auto show. To revive the brand, GM also is considering:
- Fielding a lineup of all rwd cars
- Replacing the Grand Prix with a higher-priced sedan
- Replacing the GTO with a vehicle built on Camaro architecture
DETROIT -- After debating Pontiac's viability this year, General Motors' leadership plans to revive the brand's heritage of performance with a product lineup of exclusively rear-wheel-drive cars.
There would be no trucks and - after the next generation of vehicles - no front-wheel-drive cars either.
GM will unveil a rwd sedan concept at January's Detroit auto show, company sources say. This echoes the strategy that GM adopted with the 1999 Evoq concept, which revealed Cadillac's new brand "look."
The Pontiac plan is not final. GM executives continue to build a business case for it. This ambitious proposal is a plan to save the brand, which has suffered declining sales. GM sold 437,806 Pontiacs in the United States last year, compared with 599,123 in 1995.
One insider says it would take five years to convert the brand to rwd. That's why Pontiac will get one more generation of fwd and all-wheel-drive small cars.
A Pontiac spokesman declined to comment on the brand's plans. Fwd cars will not go away soon, but rwd vehicles will become more prominent "in the near term," the spokesman said.
Sources inside GM and close to Pontiac say GM leaders are debating:
- The future of the Grand Prix sedan.
- A possible GTO replacement based on the Chevrolet Camaro.
- A Firebird muscle car.
Not so 'damaged'
In recent years, Pontiac has been wracked by debate over its future. During a controversial speech at the New York auto show last year, GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz called Pontiac "a damaged brand."
In a recent interview with Automotive News, Lutz said he had never asserted that the brand was "irreparably" damaged. While Pontiac is still struggling, GM is repairing the damage, and the bleeding has stopped, Lutz says.
Nevertheless, sources say top-level GM executives did debate a phaseout of the brand. In January, senior executives met to discuss Pontiac's future. GM decided to revive Pontiac as a pure performance brand.
GM will trim product lineups as it consolidates Buick, Pontiac and GMC into three-brand dealerships under its retail channel strategy. In a recent interview, Lutz told Automotive News that Pontiac and Buick will not carry trucks.
Lutz declined to speculate whether the Pontiac Torrent crossover, a rebadged Chevrolet Equinox, would one day go to GMC, but industry sources say it's likely.
The strategy will force Pontiac to sort out its product plans for the Grand Prix. While GM hasn't set a time frame, it's likely the automaker will discontinue the current incarnation of the fwd Grand Prix after the 2008 model year, industry sources say.
GM is considering a new mid-sized rwd sedan to replace it, says an industry insider. The source says the vehicle will be "one notch up" from the present Grand Prix, which has a base price of $21,990, including shipping. Whether that vehicle keeps the Grand Prix name is uncertain.
A rwd lineup could give Pontiac performance credibility, says John Pitre, general manager of Motor City Auto Center in Bakersfield, Calif. "They're right on track with the performance division of GM," he says. "BMW has been born and raised on rear-wheel drive. For us on the West Coast, rear-wheel drive feels better to drive and seems to last longer."
But Pontiac's drive to become a pure performance division would sacrifice sales volume, predicts Doug Scott, industry analyst at GfK Automotive in Southfield, Mich. For example, many G6 buyers in northern climates want a front-wheel-drive car for winter conditions.
Scott also said GM is pressuring dealers to combine Buick, Pontiac and GMC franchises into single stores by cutting the brands' product lineups.
"They really want to narrow the range of products and narrow the sales objective," Scott says. It means sacrificing sales volume at dealerships for profit at corporate level. "It's forcing the channeling strategy," he says.
Like a Camaro
Pontiac brand executives hope that if GM builds the Camaro for Chevrolet, the architecture could provide a similar product for Pontiac. The previous generation of GM muscle cars included the rwd Pontiac Firebird, a sibling of the Camaro.
But Pontiac spokesman Jim Hopson is quick to add, "We want a truly differentiated product. We don't want a rebadged vehicle."
Company insiders say that if GM decides to build the Camaro, GM will not revive a Firebird version. "There will be no Firebird," says one source. "Rear-wheel drive? Yes. Pony car? No."
Dealers also want a replacement for the GTO, one of only two current rwd Pontiac cars, the other being the Solstice two-seater. Pontiac will kill the Australia-produced coupe this fall after just three model years.
Insiders say there will be a replacement for the GTO, but the product gap will remain for a couple of years.
Says Pontiac's Hopson: "We haven't made any bones about the fact that Pontiac needs a rear-wheel-drive performance vehicle."
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From: Santa Clara, CA
Re: RWD for Pontiac
Headlines like this make me glad that I have a GM credit card! If this comes true, then there won't be any more confusion between Pontiac and Chevy and Buick. Let's hope it comes to pass. What are the odds of a G6 replacement also serving as a Holden Torana? Maybe we can do the GTO thing in reverse.
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Posts: 3,252
From: Knoxville, TN
Re: RWD for Pontiac
Originally Posted by Article
- A Firebird muscle car.
Anyway, I like the tone of the article. The issue I have is the implicaton that the GTO and Camaro will be very similar. Oh well.
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From: Malden, Ma
Re: RWD for Pontiac
Originally Posted by Bob Cosby
The natives will get restless over that one.
Anyway, I like the tone of the article. The issue I have is the implicaton that the GTO and Camaro will be very similar. Oh well.
Anyway, I like the tone of the article. The issue I have is the implicaton that the GTO and Camaro will be very similar. Oh well.
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Posts: 1,232
From: Orlando, FL USA
Re: RWD for Pontiac
So in the top of the article it says:
Then later on near the bottom:
Credibility of article? 
However I do hope that Pontiac goes mostly to rwd. That is at least a start to restoring the brand to its former glory.
Sources inside GM and close to Pontiac say GM leaders are debating:
- A Firebird muscle car.
- A Firebird muscle car.
Company insiders say that if GM decides to build the Camaro, GM will not revive a Firebird version. "There will be no Firebird," says one source. "Rear-wheel drive? Yes. Pony car? No."
However I do hope that Pontiac goes mostly to rwd. That is at least a start to restoring the brand to its former glory.
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Re: RWD for Pontiac
This story is full of contradictions.
They say that Pontiac will have no FWD after this gen, however also say that FWD will not go away, and in fact Pontiac will get one more gen of AWD/FWD cars.
They say, "a possible GTO replacement based on the Chevrolet Camaro", yet Jim Hopson says, "We want a truly differentiated product. We don't want a rebadged vehicle."
They say that a Firebird 'muscle car' is being debated, and then deny it's future twice in the rest of the story.
They say Pontiac will have a RWD sedan concept at the '07 NAIAS...and later say, "GM will unveil a rwd sedan concept at January's Detroit auto show, company sources say". So will it be a Pontiac or something else?
Here's what I'd be watching for. Will anything replace the W-car? What form will Kappa II take - 5 years from now.
They say that Pontiac will have no FWD after this gen, however also say that FWD will not go away, and in fact Pontiac will get one more gen of AWD/FWD cars.
They say, "a possible GTO replacement based on the Chevrolet Camaro", yet Jim Hopson says, "We want a truly differentiated product. We don't want a rebadged vehicle."
They say that a Firebird 'muscle car' is being debated, and then deny it's future twice in the rest of the story.
They say Pontiac will have a RWD sedan concept at the '07 NAIAS...and later say, "GM will unveil a rwd sedan concept at January's Detroit auto show, company sources say". So will it be a Pontiac or something else?
Here's what I'd be watching for. Will anything replace the W-car? What form will Kappa II take - 5 years from now.
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Posts: 3,011
From: Exton, Pennsylvania
Re: RWD for Pontiac
If there is any truth to this article, the Excitement brand may actually become exciting. A full lineup of rwd cars? Good stuff.
It does say that the Firebird is being debated in GM, and one source said the Bird is dead. That doesn't necessarily mean the article contradicted itself, considering from what I have gathered on here that many inside GM had no idea the Camaro existed until a few months before its unveiling.
I personally wouldn't mine seeing a rwd Grand Prix sedan, a more aggressive looking GTO, and a smaller Firebird. Throw the Solstice in there, and that is a pretty nice lineup as far as excitement goes. I don't know how the G5 and G6 would fit in this though. The idea for a stretched Kappa coupe has been brought up on here too many times to count, but if GM could pull something like that off Pontiac could have an entry level rwd vehicle in it's lineup.
It does say that the Firebird is being debated in GM, and one source said the Bird is dead. That doesn't necessarily mean the article contradicted itself, considering from what I have gathered on here that many inside GM had no idea the Camaro existed until a few months before its unveiling.
I personally wouldn't mine seeing a rwd Grand Prix sedan, a more aggressive looking GTO, and a smaller Firebird. Throw the Solstice in there, and that is a pretty nice lineup as far as excitement goes. I don't know how the G5 and G6 would fit in this though. The idea for a stretched Kappa coupe has been brought up on here too many times to count, but if GM could pull something like that off Pontiac could have an entry level rwd vehicle in it's lineup.
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From: The Golden State
Re: RWD for Pontiac
Article combines old information, pieces of new info, and a couple of items that shouldn't even be there.
Throwing in things I've been told that has been collaberated:
* Firebird was looked into (yet again) and was killed once and for all, meaning it won't be a part of the Camaro-Impala program. The reason is because GM would be selling 2 cars that would essentially overlap market positions, and that Pontiac is moving upscale (before you ask, the Saturn Sky was cheap to do and draws attention to Saturn the way Solstice, Corvette, and the XLR draw attention to Pontiac, Chevrolet, and Cadillac).
* GTO is going on with all deliberate speed, and will be out at the same time as... or might actually beat... Camaro in the showroom. It's begining to look like I was wrong about it being made in the US, but we won't know for sure until GM decides if it's going with Wilmington or not.
* I've had word that the current W chassis Grand Prix will be redesigned, and will run it's course with the Lacrosse when it will be phased out.
* Pontiac WILL have a RWD car at Detroit next year (one of the many reasons I was so...uh..."passionate"
...about Pontiac working on GTO and a RWD sedan when other sources said they weren't). I was under the impression it would be the next GTO, not a sedan (since I'm expecting a RWD sedan "concept" from Chevy next year).
* Pontiac will have a RWD sedan before decade's end.
There's alot of speculation I have on how things will pan out, but I gotta get ready for a BBQ shortly, so I'll post it later.
Throwing in things I've been told that has been collaberated:
* Firebird was looked into (yet again) and was killed once and for all, meaning it won't be a part of the Camaro-Impala program. The reason is because GM would be selling 2 cars that would essentially overlap market positions, and that Pontiac is moving upscale (before you ask, the Saturn Sky was cheap to do and draws attention to Saturn the way Solstice, Corvette, and the XLR draw attention to Pontiac, Chevrolet, and Cadillac).
* GTO is going on with all deliberate speed, and will be out at the same time as... or might actually beat... Camaro in the showroom. It's begining to look like I was wrong about it being made in the US, but we won't know for sure until GM decides if it's going with Wilmington or not.
* I've had word that the current W chassis Grand Prix will be redesigned, and will run it's course with the Lacrosse when it will be phased out.
* Pontiac WILL have a RWD car at Detroit next year (one of the many reasons I was so...uh..."passionate"
...about Pontiac working on GTO and a RWD sedan when other sources said they weren't). I was under the impression it would be the next GTO, not a sedan (since I'm expecting a RWD sedan "concept" from Chevy next year).* Pontiac will have a RWD sedan before decade's end.
There's alot of speculation I have on how things will pan out, but I gotta get ready for a BBQ shortly, so I'll post it later.
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From: oshawa,ontario,canada
Re: RWD for Pontiac
Originally Posted by guionM
* Firebird was looked into (yet again) and was killed once and for all, meaning it won't be a part of the Camaro-Impala program. The reason is because GM would be selling 2 cars that would essentially overlap market positions, and that Pontiac is moving upscale (before you ask, the Saturn Sky was cheap to do and draws attention to Saturn the way Solstice, Corvette, and the XLR draw attention to Pontiac, Chevrolet, and Cadillac).
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From: Exton, Pennsylvania
Re: RWD for Pontiac
Originally Posted by 97z28/m6
soon the G3 (aveo)
Jesus Christ. When is this rebadging everything for Pontiac crap going to end. An Aveo knockoff!? And why can't there be a Firebird???
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Re: RWD for Pontiac
Originally Posted by RussStang
Jesus Christ. When is this rebadging everything for Pontiac crap going to end. An Aveo knockoff!? And why can't there be a Firebird???
a second gen redo like the one in HOTROD would be killer.
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From: Santa Clara, CA
Re: RWD for Pontiac
Originally Posted by Z284ever
This story is full of contradictions.
If the Pontiac RWD plan does eventually come to pass, I'm thinking there would be a Firebird sooner or later, no matter what people are saying now.
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From: Exton, Pennsylvania
Re: RWD for Pontiac
Originally Posted by teal98
Surely some of that is due to plans being in flux? If you have two insiders who have different opinions on strategy, with both plans up for debate, and one wrote a report, you'd see contradictions.
If the Pontiac RWD plan does eventually come to pass, I'm thinking there would be a Firebird sooner or later, no matter what people are saying now.
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From: Santa Clara, CA
Re: RWD for Pontiac
Originally Posted by RussStang
This seems like a no brainer to me as well. Especially with the advent of a Aveo clone.
GM has these plans for model differentiation, but then the dealers complain that they don't have cars for a given segment. So voila! And there's a clone of a Chevy. I'm figuring that if there is no plan for a Firebird *and* Camaro does well when/if it is introduced, then the dealers will demand something and a Camaro clone will be produced.