Pontiac Pursuit coming to the U.S.?
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Pontiac Pursuit coming to the U.S.?
Originally Posted by The Car Connection
Product-Juggling Strategy Takes Place at Pontiac
After the June sales jolt at GM, the beleaguered Pontiac Division is juggling models anew. The only GM brand to suffer a sales decline in the corporation's June boom, Pontiac is losing three models this fall and replacing the dropouts with two - the long-awaited Solstice two-seat roadster and the Torrent sport wagon. Out the door go the Bonneville sedan, the Sunfire compact car, and the ill-fated Aztek sport wagon.
Beyond the debut of 2006 models, even more realignments are slated for Pontiac . GM's vice-president for North America sales, service and marketing, Mark LaNeve, said last week that dealers have asked that Sunfire and Grand Am be replaced as soon as possible by an entry-level car, and GM has reportedly responded with a quickie spin-off of the Chevrolet Cobalt for the 2007 model year.
Pontiac has become GM's biggest "loser" in sales so far this year, showing a 16-percent sales decline that June's employee-pricing rollout was unable to reverse. It was a bitter pill in view of jumps of about 40 percent for Buick, Chevrolet, and Saturn. Many Pontiac dealers blame a spotty image for the new mid-size G6 sedan as a factor in the first-half sales reverse. Replacement of the well-entrenched Grand Am name by "G6" has failed to resonate among Pontiac shoppers, says Gordon Wangers, a marketing analyst based in Marina Del Rey, Calif.- Mac Gordon
After the June sales jolt at GM, the beleaguered Pontiac Division is juggling models anew. The only GM brand to suffer a sales decline in the corporation's June boom, Pontiac is losing three models this fall and replacing the dropouts with two - the long-awaited Solstice two-seat roadster and the Torrent sport wagon. Out the door go the Bonneville sedan, the Sunfire compact car, and the ill-fated Aztek sport wagon.
Beyond the debut of 2006 models, even more realignments are slated for Pontiac . GM's vice-president for North America sales, service and marketing, Mark LaNeve, said last week that dealers have asked that Sunfire and Grand Am be replaced as soon as possible by an entry-level car, and GM has reportedly responded with a quickie spin-off of the Chevrolet Cobalt for the 2007 model year.
Pontiac has become GM's biggest "loser" in sales so far this year, showing a 16-percent sales decline that June's employee-pricing rollout was unable to reverse. It was a bitter pill in view of jumps of about 40 percent for Buick, Chevrolet, and Saturn. Many Pontiac dealers blame a spotty image for the new mid-size G6 sedan as a factor in the first-half sales reverse. Replacement of the well-entrenched Grand Am name by "G6" has failed to resonate among Pontiac shoppers, says Gordon Wangers, a marketing analyst based in Marina Del Rey, Calif.- Mac Gordon
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Re: Pontiac Pursuit coming to the U.S.?
Originally Posted by Darth Xed
This is especially interersting, considering the supposed paring down of Pontiac and Buick models to 3-4 vehicles each....
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Re: Pontiac Pursuit coming to the U.S.?
Originally Posted by Jason E
Awww crap, I musta missed it. Guess you owned me on this one 
Hey, you going to BG? Seeing as how you didn't post in my BG thread, I take it you aren't?
Hey, you going to BG? Seeing as how you didn't post in my BG thread, I take it you aren't?Nah...
I am working on Corvettes@Carslise for this year as the "long" car show trip...
We'll see how that works out.
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Re: Pontiac Pursuit coming to the U.S.?
Well they pretty well said it. G6 is too bland looking to be a Pontiac. They should just leave that one to Buick. And the Pursuit is just a Cobalt. Nothing more. It doesn't even have that edgy performance look Pontiac usually has.
Solstice? It's a very nice car that nobody will want to buy after the first orders are filled. To start with, it's a cheap copy of a BMW that doesn't sell very well. It only has two seats making it virtually useless. It will last three years before it is canned.
How did GM get into this mess?
Solstice? It's a very nice car that nobody will want to buy after the first orders are filled. To start with, it's a cheap copy of a BMW that doesn't sell very well. It only has two seats making it virtually useless. It will last three years before it is canned.
How did GM get into this mess?
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From: Sterling Heights, MI
Re: Pontiac Pursuit coming to the U.S.?
Originally Posted by Dwarf Killer
Solstice? It's a very nice car that nobody will want to buy after the first orders are filled. To start with, it's a cheap copy of a BMW that doesn't sell very well. It only has two seats making it virtually useless. It will last three years before it is canned.
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Re: Pontiac Pursuit coming to the U.S.?
Originally Posted by Dwarf Killer
Well they pretty well said it. G6 is too bland looking to be a Pontiac. They should just leave that one to Buick. And the Pursuit is just a Cobalt. Nothing more. It doesn't even have that edgy performance look Pontiac usually has.
Solstice? It's a very nice car that nobody will want to buy after the first orders are filled. To start with, it's a cheap copy of a BMW that doesn't sell very well. It only has two seats making it virtually useless. It will last three years before it is canned.
How did GM get into this mess?
Solstice? It's a very nice car that nobody will want to buy after the first orders are filled. To start with, it's a cheap copy of a BMW that doesn't sell very well. It only has two seats making it virtually useless. It will last three years before it is canned.
How did GM get into this mess?
Also, where does it say G6 is bland? "Spotty" does not equal bland. Some of the spotty image is due to the name. Much of it is due to the fact the car is more expensive while people perceive it to be a Grand Am replacement. Hence the need for the new Pontiac Cobalt...THAT is what the article is saying.
But I guess you can interpret it however you'd lilke...
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From: Ontario
Re: Pontiac Pursuit coming to the U.S.?
Originally Posted by Dwarf Killer
Solstice? It's a very nice car that nobody will want to buy after the first orders are filled. To start with, it's a cheap copy of a BMW that doesn't sell very well.
Originally Posted by Dwarf Killer
It only has two seats making it virtually useless.
Originally Posted by Dwarf Killer
It will last three years before it is canned.
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Re: Pontiac Pursuit coming to the U.S.?
Originally Posted by Jason E
Dude, Canfield OH is a helluva lot closer than Springfield MA is to KY...if I can go, so can you!!! Hop on 71 and head on down for a day or so!
My wife (then fiance) planned a trip to Bowling Green a few years ago for my birthday... Museum and Assembly Plant tours... it was very fun!
It was about an 8 hour one-way drive... which was really not bad at all, but talking the other half into it is the issue.
Actually, she's usually pretty good for going ot stuff, but the being pregnant thing has forced a few adjustments.
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Re: Pontiac Pursuit coming to the U.S.?
Originally Posted by R377
It's not even in dealerships yet, how can you say it doesn't sell well? And I'm quite certain you don't have any seat time in one, so how can you make a call on its 'cheapness'?
That's kinda the point of a two-seater. They're not meant to haul your kids and dog to the cottage. It's a second car; a toy; something you take for a drive for fun, not function.
I agree that's that'll be the challenge for GM. It's certainly going to sell out the first couple of years. Turbo and coupe models could keep interest going for some time after that, and then the car will have to sell on its basic goodness. If GM can live with selling 10,000 or so a year in the longer term (like the Miata), then I think it will do okay.
That's kinda the point of a two-seater. They're not meant to haul your kids and dog to the cottage. It's a second car; a toy; something you take for a drive for fun, not function.
I agree that's that'll be the challenge for GM. It's certainly going to sell out the first couple of years. Turbo and coupe models could keep interest going for some time after that, and then the car will have to sell on its basic goodness. If GM can live with selling 10,000 or so a year in the longer term (like the Miata), then I think it will do okay.
BMW Z4
Like I said, the Solistice is a nice car. But how do you justify no Firebird (which sold anywhere from 35,000-85,000 per year) and go to sales of ~10,000?
Yeah, that's Pontiac buiding excitement again.
Solstice serves only one purpose: Raise the profile of the brand with a sporty, youthful image. That's good. But it won't last.
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Re: Pontiac Pursuit coming to the U.S.?
What's wrong with you guys? Leave Dwarf Killer alone. I'd have to agree that the Solstice is a direct, exact copy of the Z4. Except that it doesn't even remotely resemble the car, at all, even slightly, even if I were heavily into the crackpipe. So maybe I don't agree.
Except that it doesn't even remotely resemble the car, at all, even slightly, even if I were heavily into the crackpipe. So maybe I don't agree.