If they would have just given it a real name it would probably sell much better.

 

Bad time for this car to come out. Although I'd love to pick up a used one in a few years.

 

I guess GM figures if they fill it with cars no one wants it will kill itself.

 

Now I don't know if the world will quit spinning if I say this or not, but here goes . . . I . . . agree . . . completely.

 

Instead of dropping Pontiac and dealing with billions in law suits, GM may have found a way to kill off Pontiac slowly and quietly.

 

Seriously though, the G8 and Solstice are the only true Pontiac products that GM sells. Get rid of them and all you have is rebadged Chevy economy cars. Isn't that what Lutz said they were going to stop a few years ago?!?!? To make matters worse, I think the Chevy products are sportier, they have turbos.

Kill Pontiac NOW!!! I'd rather see it dead than live off weaker mutated Chevy products. And this is coming from someone that considers them selves a Pontiac fan!!!

 

There have been mumblings that Pontiac is on the 4th gen Camaro plan. Basically starve it to the point it becomes jusifiable to kill it. If so...this is really sad. I saw in the WSJ yesterday that Pontiac is still GM's 3rd best selling brand behind Chevy and GMC. That being said..replacing cars like the 100K units a year Grand Prix with the 20K a year G8 will slowly eat at that.

 

The dealer body would sue the livin **** out of GM if it just up and decided to kill off Pontiac. There was a lesson to be learned in killing Oldsmobile, with the multi-billion dolar lawsuits that followed.

 

Pure speculation here...but what if some how part of a government bail out to GM included some provision for being able to close down dealers and not be sued?

Also..isn't Saturn being folded in with Buick, Pontiac, & GMC. It is not hard to imagine Saturn replacing Pontiac in the showroom. I am as hardcore a Pontiac fan as there is...so this talk kills me. I am just trying to read the tea leaves so to say.

 

This story is another example of how in the journalism business, you take a nearly insignificant bit of common information and turn it into a sensationalstic story. The story is basically factual, but the theme is misleading.

Here's what the story misses.

The VE series will have a total life of about 5 years. Holden is scheduled to change over to the next series in 2011-2012. GM North America initially planned to use the G8 as a stand in till our own Zeta plant got up and running. The G8 was never intended to run past the time of the current VE, so basic premise that the G8 is being killed by GM and all the reasons being given for it are not factual..... bogus, in fact.

Second, news of the Kappa not seeing a 2nd act broke a long time ago. Bob Lutz himself said originally that the Kappa (Solstice) would only be around 3 to 4 years. Sales volume have very little to do with the Kappa. It was developed for pocket change. The resources commited to it were akin to the number of people it takes to lay out an engine compartment.

Kappa's profits overall are in fact, razor thin. It's a relatively cheap car to produce, but it's also sold at a very cheap price and the factory it's made at is using something like 20% of it's total capacity. After what happened to Ste Therese, it's logical to believe that GM was keeping the plant open for something bigger by making Kappas to keep the utilities on and pay the taxes. Also, the Kappa is so much like a Corvette, it could actually come off the Corvette assembly line. Finally, if GM wanted to continue the Kappa, the car is modern enough that it could continue for some time without change simply for the sake of change. The Solstice is also already 4 years old.


For the record, Holden's Elizibeth City plant is producing at near capacity thanks to a strong export market (including the US). The current G8 is in very little danger of being discontinued. The G8 is scheduled to have a model run of only 3-4 years, when the Oshawa version was supposed to start production (we're going into year #2). Solstice was supposed to be dead by now.


What will the future may hold (assuming GM is around to carry it out)?

Holden in Australia is working on a smaller RWD platform expected to be manufactured here or down under..
Here in the US, we're working on an Espilon 2 Impala.

Either one can end up in Pontiac showrooms.

Kappa is already living on borrowed time, but I suspect we'll see it beyond 2011 assuming both GM and Pontiac survive.

The story takes a normal life cycle and turned it into a GM is killing off Pontiac story. It may be true, but they are using the wrong evidence.

 

All of the Saturn dealerships are stand alone stores, so I can't see Saturn getting folded into BPG. I hope Pontiac lasts long enough for the Ute (G8ST) to come here.

 

The Ute is coming. It's a done deal.

Pontiac isn't going anywhere at least to 2011.

Of all GM divisions to close, I don't believe Saturn would be the 1st, nor the 2nd, nor the 3rd division GM would aim to close.

Saturn doesn't "own" GM the way Chevrolet and Cadillac does, but they are the division I feel is least likely to shut down after those 2.

 

Thanks guion. It really did sound like they were reaching. GM needs a car like the G8, and if the next gen Holden is smaller and lighter with better fuel economy, all the better!

 

That's exactly what's happening.

And when the coupe de gras is performed I wouldn't be surprised to see Saturn moved into BPG as Pontiac's replacement.

 

only 5 years? If the G8 would've been available in 1997, then GM might be in a better spot now...