At first this didn't really make sense, but now it's pretty clear the reasons and its what most of us have been pressing for.

If Pontiac and Saturn are gone, the only volume dealer necessary would be Chevy, so it'd be the only brand with cars less than $25k.

No more Pontiac dealers pressing for product... no more G3 and G5s. That means all the money can go to two small cars (Aveo replacement and Cruze), instead of having two for Chevy, two for Pontiac and two for Saturn.

Buick is the mid end and there would be minimal product overlap with the higher end of Chevy and the lower end of Cadillac.

Cadillac is obviously the high end.

GMC is still the odd man out, but I guess GM doesn't want to rock the boat 180.

Also, per the Fritz Henderson article posted a few days ago, his big thing was Chevy everywhere. Looks like his fingerprints are all over this.

 

I guess it's tough to just read the article and figure out it's not an official announcement. Why bother discussing the topic when we all can just complain about the title.

That being said...

I agree 100% with this. That keeps GM with the two brand format (Chevy/Caddy and Buick/Pontiac/GMC), keeps some great cars, and adds more "excitement" to Pontiac.

 

LOL, Toyota will buy Pontiac, dress it with cladding and it will sale and be harolded.

 

with opel cars being designed as buicks in america, i'd still see a role for Pontiac in the BPG dealers. if small premium cars and medium-to-large premium cars were being sold as Buicks, Pontiac could refocus on performance cars, more specifically RWD sedans and coupes. you don't need to have a full lineup to cover this, but if Chevrolet were mass market cars, Buick were upscale and premium, Cadillac were full luxury, why there'd still be room for a small more focused attitude and sporty performance division. a torana for around $22k with more aggressive lines would be a perfect successor to the old grand am. g8 could continue and evolve down the line if they chose to invest in it. all pontiac really needs is derivations of the alpha platform, and maybe a small performance FWD coupe, like the mini.

i've always known there wasn't breathing room for Saturn though. even with its untraditional GM appeal, it was selling mass market cars when all the other brands are doing practically the exact same thing. saturn with its low volume, overlapping product, and relatively untested potential in higher priced markets doesn't make any sense to keep. opel should have a funnel for its product to be sold here, it shouldn't be saturn

 

niche brand


consider Hummer sale


consider Saabs global presence



thats too slow a start for the position they are in. Not sure congress will buy it.

Less brands, less dealers. Pontiac a niche brand ? WTF. What niche other than underperforming brand can they fill

 

Why is GMC sticking around again?

 

Probably to give Buick-Pontiac-GMC a truck/suv product line.

 

Because the Sierra is a better looking truck than the Silverado!

 

Agreed. It seems like they are saying 'just give us the money, and we'll think about maybe making some changes'.

 

Read it all.

It's a good plan.

Read Chrysler's for one that Congress is likely to pounce on.