That's all great but.....

-There is no such thing as Beta.
-There won't be any such thing as Beta.
-If there were such a thing as Beta, it wouldn't replace Epsilon.
-Whatever the next RWD architecture is called (the internet seems to like the name "Sigma-lite"), Pontiac is not first in line for it.

IN OTHER WORDS, WE NEED TO WORK WITH WHAT WE'VE GOT.

 

I understand where you are coming from, and what you are trying to say, but I think the message many are trying to convey here (myself included) is that if Pontiac can only work with what it's got, its probably all over. They need that something else, that something else a G6 can't do.

 

I'm praying for Pontiac's sake that A) The next generation of the Epsilon platform comes AWD-ready and B) GM has the stones to give Pontiac an AWD G6 GTP with it. It's called instant street cred. Right now, Pontiac has almost none...and it's beyond sad.

 

I agree. The current Epsilon was supposed to have AWD and forced inducted motors....and I believe a manual trans to complete the ensemble. Blame the penny pinchers.

I wonder if bringing the GTO here, added to killing that portion of the program?

 

Ok, can anyone here tell me the reasoning, or logical explanation as to why a company in any industry would let one of its divisions/operations wither on a vine and go down the tubes? In GM's case, why let a division, Pontiac, suffer without new product? I understand that there's a limited budget that GM or any other company for that matter has to spend, but to just let a division squander is asinine. If the R&D budget was set up to improve/turn around Caddy first (which it has ) and then focus on Chevrolet, then Buick etc, fine. But to purposely let a division fail is ridiculous. It hurts GM's image as well. I just don't get it. Can anyone think of or know of an explanation?

 

A lot of people have been expressing similar feelings, but let's look at how old some of Pontiacs vehicles actually are:

Model: Model Year first introduced.

Solstice: 2006
Torrent: 2006
G6: 2005
Montana SV6: 2005
GTO: 2004
Grand Prix: 2004
Vibe: 2002??

All the older stuff with lingering stock: Sunfire, Grand Am, Aztek and Bonneville are dead...

So, of "current" offerings, only the Vibe is more than 2 years old.

 

Well, something else like what?

Besides, I personally think that Pontiac does have an awful lot to work with right now. They just need to turn the G6 family of cars into a sales blockbuster...that's all.

It's almost like we're seeing a replay of Oldsmobile. Lots of good product....but somehow lacking some-thing to captivate the buyer's attention.

 

And even the Vibe recieved a new nose for 2005.

 

Yes.

And, the GTO got the upgrades for 2005.

The Grand Prix got the GXP for 2005.

For 2006, the G6 gets the coupe and convertible...

Heck, even the lame duck Bonneville got a GXP version.

 

The car debuted in 2003 as well. So a 2 model year freshning is not bad.

 

I dont see how they could turn the g6 into a block buster. If it was going to be a huge success as a family car, we would already be seeing this (sales are good but not on fire). I dont see it ever being a success because of a perfromance variant. If they threw a v8 in there and gave it a good restyle fast, before its rep is set in stone they might have a g6 halo. Is that really going to happen? I doubt it.

 

G6 with AWD and hi-po motors connected to a manual trans = Audi fighters?

Maybe someone up on there automotive history can expand on this, but this isn't the first time Pontiac's images hasn't been out of whack. Back in the early 50's Pontiac was an old person's car because of it's styling (anyone ever seen an early 50's Pontiac with the 'suspenders' on the hood? Not pretty. Thankfully Harley Earl got them removed quickly to start to turn things around).

So, perhaps we'll be witnessing another great turnaround.

 

In 1956 Pontiac was in trouble. Big trouble. Bunkie Knudsen became general manager and was given 5 years to either turn Pontiac around or it would be killed.

In 1957 he was joined by DeLorean as chief of advanced engineering and Pete Estes as chief engineer. They had free reign and took bold steps and quickly turned things around.

Those guys had alot less to work with in '56/'57 than Pontiac has to work with now.

 

I think Cadillac has proven that extremem turnarounds are possible.

But, what was the catalyst behind that Cadillac rebirth?

Exciting, different, new products.

 

Add competative on all levels, not just price. If the new Caddy's didn't match or exceed their competition but were less expensive (and the a degree cheaper; i.e GM old think) I don't know if the turn aorund would have been as big or at all.