Quote from Susan Docherty, Vice President of Buick, Pontiac and GMC on GM's Fastlane Blog:

"Pontiac’s top reason for purchase is “fuel economy” "

Lets face it, the real reason people buy a Pontiac is for performance or style, this is another case of a company not understanding its customer base. It is actually embarrassing to read this.

Any who wants to post comments there feel free, you dont have to create an account there to participate. Here is a link to the blog:


http://fastlane.gmblogs.com/archives...ure_plans.html

 

I just posted this:

"Susan,

Pontiac's top reason for purchase is fuel economy? With all due respect, have we stepped that far away from Pontiac's mission? From what made Pontiac a popular offering for so many years?

I've owned 5 Pontiacs over the years, and own one now. Fuel economy was not a reason for purchasing a Pontiac. Style was. Performance was. Value was. Image was. You know, all those things that Nissan and Mazda have these days, in spades? What happened to Pontiac being the "Excitement Division?" You know, back when Pontiac actually mattered to GM, and sold a whole ton of cars?

I'm as loyal a GM fan as there is, and I want nothing more than for Pontiac to reclaim its former glory. Nissan and Mazda prove that there is a decent-sized niche for people looking for an exciting, performance-oriented vehicle. I sold Pontiacs for 6 years...from '00-'06. It was sad watching nameplates be ignored and abandoned...Bonneville, Firebird, Grand Am, and later, Grand Prix.

I look forward to Pontiac getting back to basics...but the question is, does GM even know what it wants Pontiac to be? Pontiac was about performance, style and value...things my '04 Grand Prix GTP has in spades. Offerings like the G8 and Solstice give me real hope for the future...

But when Pontiac's own VP is touting fuel economy as the reason to purchase, I have to wonder. I know how important fuel economy is, and I know with the government intervening, it will be more important than ever. But still...Pontiac, its history, and its loyal owner following (which is dwindling more and more, sadly) is about far, far more than just fuel economy.

Respectfully,

Jason Emmett
Southampton, MA"

Think it'll get posted without being edited? It was a lot harsher at first

This is just asinine...

 

well ya... what else would buyers of the "performance" brand want?

 

that was a beutiful response! well done!

 

I would've liked to seen the "unrated" version.

Seriously though, nicely put.

 

As long as you are nice, they do not edit posts there. Here is what I posted there:

"This post proves only one thing, GM’s Vice President’s dont even understand the brands they represent. People buy Pontiac’s because the brand is known for performance or style, no way is fuel economy among the top two reasons mentioned for purchasing a Pontiac.

GM’s problem is that they have turned their back on their Pontiac customer base, by canceling cars like the Fiero, Trans Am, Grand Prix and GTO and also by bulldozing the names your customer’s can identify with.

First course of business should be to get rid of Bob Lutz’s alphabet soup names. Pontiac has a great heritage, it is one of GM’s strengths. The Japanese manufacturers wish they had the heritage that GM cluelessly ignores.

Step two, tell us about some new product. It is as if GM is in paralysis, unable to make any decisions. The nearly $1 billion lost on Saab recently would have funded two new Pontiac models.

3rd, Ask your customers here what they would like to see from Pontiac. Its time to change the way you do business.

4th, Drop the G3, it clearly doesnt fit with Pontiac’s brand image. Understand your customer, meet their needs and Pontiac could be the excitement brand again."

 

OK, My response...

Hello Susan,

I cannot help but to agree whole heartedly with what Jason Emmett said above. I recently purchased a new G8 GT. I am in sales... I put on over 1K a week in mileage. the reason I bought the car was because it offered what I wanted from GM for A VERY LONG TIME! I bought it because it was a V8, RWD car that looked phenominal! the car screams class envy and people still to this day give me second looks when I drive down the road. Now, to help you with your argument I will say that the G8 GT does get great mileage for a car putting out 360 hp! and with the modifications I've made to it I have a 400hp car putting down 28/29 mpg on the hwy! NOW THAT'S COOL!

I have owned 4 other Pontiacs in my lifetime and it bothers me that GM does'nt understand Pontiacs demographics. It really in my mind is not that hard of a business model and should'nt be hard to duplicate. One only needs to look back 10-15 years ago to see why. It was the styling and the passion of the breed of car that made it what it was. If GM chooses to do this again with the current build quality and design capabilities it has the ability to do, then Pontiac could regain its seat as the #2 producing company for GM behind Chevrolet.

Please know that I bleed GM... I am a die hard fan, always have been and always will be... I only want what's best for the company as a whole.

Please, Please, Please... continue to drive home the vehicle plans to fruition that I know GM can build!

I want my two kids to have the same enjoyment that I have had driving GM vehicles (Pontiacs included) when they get of age.

Sincerely,

Aric Vonasek
Gretna (Omaha), NE

 

Jason, great response!

This one is good too, although not quite as well done. Also, don't add an apostrophe when you make words plural.

 

Thinking about this, they probably got that little nugget from buyer and auto show surveys, which of course aren't worth the paper they're printed on.

Even still, it seems to me the "Value" brand should be the one selling fuel economy strongest... If that's the only thing they've got going for pontiac they should just shoot it in the head now.

 

It's ironic that you guys are claiming that "GM doesn't understand the Pontiac brand", when you have such a myopic focus on a small number of performance cars.

Meanwhile, back in reality:
+ Pontiac has the highest % of female buyers in the industry
+ Pontiac's only remaining volume seller is the Vibe

To me it's not surprising that fuel economy is very important to the people who actually buy new Pontiacs (versus those driving 10 year old Trans Ams or w/e).

 

Maybe that points toward style as a point of focus?

 

Well that's because GM has issues giving Pontiac any new product that can sell in volume. Grand Prix and Grand Am accounted for almost 350K units togethor at one point. Now they struggle to move 100K outdated G6's in it's place.

 

I think GM is trying to kill the brand, They kill the great car names, drop the firebird then GTO, cancel the G8 ST, rebadge an Aveo and Cobalt after they say rebadging Chevys is a thing of the past, then make this statement. It is no wonder GM is days away from bankruptcy. I hope Chevrolet Motor Company or what ever the new company is called has dramatically different management.

 

It may also be because people see it as a cheaper way to get hold of a new Toyota...

 

Lot harsher, huh?

Assuming mine doesn't get edited to death, wait to you read my post.