GM has a plan to keep Pontiac buyers...
Registered User
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 8,504
From: Ohio
Now that you mention that, the cleaning girl at our office, probably about 35 years old, etc... has a V6 G8 in the nice bright blue color.
Her previous car was a yellow Cobalt SS 2 door............................
Registered User
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 545
From: Fort Erie, Ont.
..Only to be 100% ignored by the woman driving it.
Registered User
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 224
From: Lincolnwood IL
Also, the Solstice GXP Coupe was on my short list of new cars to purchase, but we all know how that went
- not gonna buy a one-year only model from a dead brand. 
For the foreseable future, GM is dead to me.
Registered User
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 1,808
From: FL/MI
100% correct. Pontiac didn't have anything to compare to the xB. Nothing. The closest thing in GM's lineup that did was the HHR. If GM made a Pontiac version of the HHR then perhaps that would have been my daily driver.
Also, the Solstice GXP Coupe was on my short list of new cars to purchase, but we all know how that went- not gonna buy a one-year only model from a dead brand.
For the foreseable future, GM is dead to me.
Also, the Solstice GXP Coupe was on my short list of new cars to purchase, but we all know how that went
- not gonna buy a one-year only model from a dead brand. For the foreseable future, GM is dead to me.
Hopefully that will change in the future.
Registered User
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 224
From: Lincolnwood IL
I am a car guy for life because of GM cars. For now though, all I can do is wait and hope for some product that I can get the same feelings of inspiration and passion for. Right now, other than the Vette, GM doesn't have anything else that does that for me.
Registered User
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 3,376
From: Sarasota FL
Fantastic point. I used to be one of those GP owners.
Now that the G6 is gone I think it is time for a Malibu coupe. Offer it with the DI 2.4L for the commuters and Turbo DI 2.0L for the performance guys.
Camaro doesn't cut it for the GP coupe owners, it has too small of a back seat. We really need the Holden Commodore in North America
Now that the G6 is gone I think it is time for a Malibu coupe. Offer it with the DI 2.4L for the commuters and Turbo DI 2.0L for the performance guys.
Camaro doesn't cut it for the GP coupe owners, it has too small of a back seat. We really need the Holden Commodore in North America
Darth,
1) RWD is not FWD. For many people that is a LEGITIMATE reason to like a Malibu coupe over a Camaro
2) Sit in a W body coupe, then sit in a Camaro, and tell me the size and comfort level is the same. It isn't. The visability alone takes a significant amount of GP owners out of that car.
Camaro does NOT replace the idea of a FWD Chevy coupe...at all...a Grand Prix and a 4th gen were two ENTIRELY different animals.
Registered User
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 8,504
From: Ohio
2) Sit in a W body coupe, then sit in a Camaro, and tell me the size and comfort level is the same. It isn't. The visability alone takes a significant amount of GP owners out of that car.
I would accept more difference between the Camaro and W-body than the Camaro and the G6 coupe...
Still, this is a market that has shrunk to extinction... Thunderbird, Grand Prix coupe, then finally Monte Carlo... all gone, and it doesnt seen as though many care. We had two MC SS's (2001 and 2002)... loved them, but I think this falls back on the who fact that 4 doors does not equal a stigma anymore... and thus this market has shrunk a lot, where a purpose-driven vehicle like Camaro mat have seen some actual growth.
Camaro does NOT replace the idea of a FWD Chevy coupe...at all...a Grand Prix and a 4th gen were two ENTIRELY different animals.
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 3,698
From: USA
It is easy to equate that to today's lineup. However today's less focused lineup is the reason Pontiac is being cancelled. Go back 5-7 years ago, and Pontiac was VERY focused. You would not cross shop a Grand Am or Grand Prix with a Malibu or Impala. They appealed to different people..just like a pair fo Air Jordan's to a pair of Doc Martens.
While this thread has focused almost entirely on how GM is making a joke of themselves by trying to retain G8 customers with what isi currently available in their other divisions...... I would guess that only G8 and Solstice customers would not be able to find a legit alternative in another line.
G3 = Aveo.
G5 = Cobalt.
G6 Sedan = Malibu.
G6 Coupe = Camaro. I know others feel differently, but I don't. The V6 Camaro price point should make this viable.
G6 convertible = Camaro convertible when it comes out.
G8 = Nothing, though I would argue there are SOME G8 customers that would probably buy an Impala. Not everyone who buys a G8 is a gearhead. taking it outside of Chevy for a moment, I thin kthe new LaCrosse is also an alternative if you want somethign fresher than Impala.
Solstice = Nothing, though if they just want a sporty car, a Camaro could fill the bill... but granted, they are not much alike at all.
Torrent = Equinox.
So... we have to remember that Pontiac did NOT = G8. It equaled ALL of those vehicles, so the idea of making efforts to retain Pontiac customers, and reflecting back ont he Olds losses is quite a smart move.
G3 = Aveo.
G5 = Cobalt.
G6 Sedan = Malibu.
G6 Coupe = Camaro. I know others feel differently, but I don't. The V6 Camaro price point should make this viable.
G6 convertible = Camaro convertible when it comes out.
G8 = Nothing, though I would argue there are SOME G8 customers that would probably buy an Impala. Not everyone who buys a G8 is a gearhead. taking it outside of Chevy for a moment, I thin kthe new LaCrosse is also an alternative if you want somethign fresher than Impala.
Solstice = Nothing, though if they just want a sporty car, a Camaro could fill the bill... but granted, they are not much alike at all.
Torrent = Equinox.
So... we have to remember that Pontiac did NOT = G8. It equaled ALL of those vehicles, so the idea of making efforts to retain Pontiac customers, and reflecting back ont he Olds losses is quite a smart move.
Registered User
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 8,504
From: Ohio
It is easy to equate that to today's lineup. However today's less focused lineup is the reason Pontiac is being cancelled. Go back 5-7 years ago, and Pontiac was VERY focused. You would not cross shop a Grand Am or Grand Prix with a Malibu or Impala. They appealed to different people..just like a pair fo Air Jordan's to a pair of Doc Martens.
I can agree with that to a point. Especially the old Malibu vs the old Grand Am.
I would say in that time frame though, that there were still peopel cross shopping Impala and Prand Prix, especially base Grand Prix... rmeember, not all of them were GTP's...
FWIW, with all the G8 talk, I felt it most appropriate to compare what is offered today.
Registered User
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 681
It is easy to equate that to today's lineup. However today's less focused lineup is the reason Pontiac is being cancelled. Go back 5-7 years ago, and Pontiac was VERY focused. You would not cross shop a Grand Am or Grand Prix with a Malibu or Impala. They appealed to different people..just like a pair fo Air Jordan's to a pair of Doc Martens.
Last edited by rlchv70; Jul 10, 2009 at 01:54 PM.
Registered User
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 178
Yes, but look at who the "people" were. Car critics & dealers. While their input is useful, it also , like so many things in life, has to be taken in moderation. G.M. should have been balancing what they were saying with looking at the sales numbers & seen what was actually SELLING! They would've noticed a lot of plastic cladded vehicles selling awfully well in spite of the onerous cladding. Then maybe they might've been smart enough to say "If it aint broke, don't fix it!".
Registered User
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 1,808
From: FL/MI
Pontiac 5-7 years ago was panned for the plastic body cladding and for the Aztec. In order to fix that, they dropped both. They also dropped the Sunfire. The dealers cried foul and we got the G3 and G5. Today's Pontiac is what it is because that is what the "people" wanted.
Offering a Pontiac version could often increase engineering expense to the Chevy version as the Pontiac version could not shoulder the costs alone.
Registered User
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 1,808
From: FL/MI
Yes, but look at who the "people" were. Car critics & dealers. While their input is useful, it also , like so many things in life, has to be taken in moderation. G.M. should have been balancing what they were saying with looking at the sales numbers & seen what was actually SELLING! They would've noticed a lot of plastic cladded vehicles selling awfully well in spite of the onerous cladding. Then maybe they might've been smart enough to say "If it aint broke, don't fix it!".
The Aztek and Avalanche answered many questions as to whether cladding was over as a must have on the exterior.