Pontiac no more?

[GeneW]

GM has been converging lines for years. Used to be that there were issues with parts compatibility between GM brands.

It was weird - Buick put their oil pumps out in the front. Everyone else put theirs into the oil pan. Chevy put their distributors towards the back of the motor. Pontiac put theirs in the front. They had weird distributions of engine sizes too. The 326 versus the 327 or the 428 versus the 427.

I am not sure how it went with Oldsmobile and Buick.


Today you can interchange parts much more easily between "similar" body styles.

GM is doing the right thing. They'll combine and find new market niches.

Provided that the Feds don't swallow them up by owning their stock.

Gene

[tuckevalastin]

I'm all for the reduction of rebadging in a common market. That is just excess and doesnt lead to smart business. However if you look at Pontiac today there really isn't much in the way of rebadging.

Vibe- no GM siblings
G6- No real sibling especially the coupe, convertible, and gxp versions
G5- once Chevy moves to the Cruze this year, no GM siblings
G8- No GM siblings available in the US
Solstice- With Saturn already slated to be dead, no GM siblings

so really the only rebadges are
Torrent- Would have been gone once Chevy, GMC, and Cadillac moved to new generations of the platform
G3- Only created as a way to help meet government requirements of having more ultra fuel efficient vehicles

The only reason GM is killing Pontiac is to be able to show the government a larger decrease in models, factories, workers, and ultimately spending.

It's like going to the doctor and being told you are overweight so you cut off your arm. Sure you lost weight with the arm gone but you didn't actually fix any problem. Not to mention the arm was pretty useful. If you look at Pontiac's numbers especially once you take away the G3 and Torrent you realize Pontiac was that arm for GM.

It's over for GM; they are being forced to cut the things that make them worth buying over other vehicles. The loss of vehicles like the Saturn Astra, Pontiac Solstice/Saturn Skye, Pontiac G8 really prove that.