Solstice would have never seen the light of day if it actually was.

Depending on who you talk to, the Solstice is either turning a thin profit or operating at a thin loss. But it's by no means outrageously expensive.

The main source of the issue is Kappa's IRS which although initially envisioned to be used in other, pricier vehicles has been only used in GM's very low production Kappa twins, Solstice & Sky.

Also, Kappa's assembly line isn't the most efficient.

Because of Kappa's projected low production numbers, GM didn't spring for all the machinery it needed to put the cars together. It was actually cheaper to do it by hand at low production numbers over a relatively short lifespan. Surprizingly, the longer the Kappa is produced & the higher the volume is produced, GM does actually begin to lose money because the savings from simply doing it by hand is lost.

Throw in the fact that the plant that makes those 30,000 Kappas annually once made over 250,000 Saturn L's annually, and we have one seriously underutilized plant (which was also initially planned to make derivitives of the Kappa).

If Alpha does move forward again sooner than mid decade, expect a sports car to come off the program. If not, I'd expect production to be moved & incorperated into Corvette's assembly line to save or reduce costs.

 

One thing to keep in mind with all of this "niche" talk is that Buick, for all intents and purposes, was reduced to a "niche" brand until this year. And I'd say that the revival of Buick has thus far, been successful.

Maybe GM is doing the same thing with Pontiac...

I, for one, am excited about a more focused line up. So long as that's REALLY what GM plans to do. (i.e. I don't want all of this to be trick wording for "we're phasing the division out via starvation -- which would be completely stupid IMO. But then again, it is GM management, so go figure)

 

Is the Delta II chassis RWD? It just seems ridiculous to me that most of us here on the board can come up with a pretty good lineup for Pontiac yet GM can't or isn't willing to do so.

The above list would definitely be a good lineup for Pontiac, and then an Alpha car could top it off.

It just seems so easy to do with current and future chassis available for GM to use.

 

Delta II is what underpins the Cruise, Volt, and Orlando -- it's FWD. And for the most part, what we're suggesting isn't all tha far off from what GM's considering for the brand, from what I can see...I just think they could have done this BEFORE adding the G3 to the lineup.

 

Ok thanks. Not sure how that chassis would be well suited for a mini Trans Am/GTO, but it just seems easy (obviiously in GM's current shape it might not be) to make Pontiac a fun, performance inspired design.

 

If we are limited to three lines Pontiac should have one on Kappa, one on Alpha and one on Zeta. If you get 4 then maybe a small hot hatch.

 

I totally agree with GM losing Pontiac customers due to them not trying.

I was a die hard Pontiac fan and now I'm in a position where Pontiac doesn't have a car for my next car.

Being a die hard GM fan, I'll switch to Chevy and get a Camaro or a Corvette, but a lot of people will cross shop other brands as well. GM killed Pontiac themselves.

 

Yeah, and we'd make good NFL coaches too

 

I am hoping Pontiac sees a revival -- or at least some clear direction, but I'm thinking no.

Right now, the lineup is being augmented by a Daewoo which is supposed to somehow complement a rebadged Toyota, and a Holden from Australia. The rest of Pontiac's cars except for the G6 are kind of black-and-chromed versions of the Chevy Cobalt, Saturn Sky, and Chev Equinox. Not much driving excitement there, although the Solstice is pretty unique variation on the roadster. That one I like. The rest--not so much.

 

I'm not sure that this really fits here but after walking through the NAIAS and seeing the Pontiac G8 & G8 GXP I'll not be surprised if GM turns into a "nothing but boring" car company like Toyota if the G8 (and Camaro) don't sell really well. If that happens, we'll have no one to blame but ourselves.

 

Can you elaborate on this opinion? I disagree completely.

 

I love the G8, but Gm really needs to understand no matter how great it is, their is no one combination fits all with cars. The G8 needs to be an optioned vehicle to create real volume for Pontiac.

 

explain....what's an "optioned out vehicle"?

 

I didn't write this article, some guy on cardomain.com did. I just wanted to hear what you guys thought about it.

In my opinion, I'm still hurt that pontiac didn't make a firebird/trans am. I don't care much about the G3, or the vibe, or the G6. I want my firebird.

 

I sat in a G6 GXP this weekend (ugly grille and all). I must say...in terms of whatelse is on the market (Altima, Mazda6, even Accord)...this car is a steaming pile of non competitive crap. The interior is a generation behind..and the car struck me as being fairly tight inside for the size of the car. Not to mention the questionable styling. I must say it is sad to see it come to this. I remember when the G6 was just a rumor..people were talking about it coming with turbos and AWD to take on the WRX