by "Camshaft Chris: Skyline/McLaren/Porsche Fanboy" (camshaft-chris)
Published 04/27/2017 at 08:39
by "Camshaft Chris: Skyline/McLaren/Porsche Fanboy" (camshaft-chris)
Published 04/27/2017 at 08:39
Tags: IT DED
; RIP
; Pontiac
; Trans Am
; GTO
; Fiero
; Solstice
; Aztek
; General Motors
; GM
; History
STARS: 1
On this day in 2009, General Motors announced it would discontinue the 83 year-old brand. No more iconic muscle cars like the Trans Am or GTO. No more quirky little cars like the Fiero or the Solstice. But at least we got the sweet relief in knowing that Pontiac’s demise meant we didn’t have worry about the Aztek coming back. RIP Pontiac. You are greatly missed.
"pip bip - choose Corrour" (hhgttg69)
04/27/2017 at 08:45, STARS: 0
that be ‘Government’ Motors for you.
"acarr260" (acarr2601)
04/27/2017 at 08:47, STARS: 0
I saw the Aztek when it was still in pre-production when I started working for my employer. Our plant in Piedras Negras made almost every body seal for that car. I told the plant manager that it was the ugliest thing I’ve seen when he asked if I liked it. He laughed, then said that it had better sell. Long story short, their plant ended up closing.
The Bonneville GXP I owned was a great road trip car... until it started consuming almost as much oil as gas.
"Azrek" (azrek)
04/27/2017 at 08:53, STARS: 0
My name gets mistaken for Aztek a lot. It makes me sad inside.
"themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles" (themanwithsauce)
04/27/2017 at 08:56, STARS: 0
Hot take - Pontiac wasn’t a necessary brand, GM just mismanaged its products so poorly for so long it felt like the norm.
Hot take #2 - the aztek is a better car than people give it credit for. Not great, and definitely ugly, but it was reliable (by 2000s GM standards) and had a lot of emphasis on the utility part of SUV.
Hot take #3 - Pontiac died because the auto enthusasts are the loudest and smallest group of car buyers. Yes, the G8, GTO, Solstice, and the GXP line were cool. But not enough people who said they were going to buy them did. So Pontiac died and the enthusiasts who killed it we’re the ones crying.
"Camshaft Chris: Skyline/McLaren/Porsche Fanboy" (camshaft-chris)
04/27/2017 at 09:25, STARS: 0
Allow me a response:
HT1 - While true that it wasn’t a necessary brand, and GM did mismanage things, it had so much more potential to be a solid brand with strong sales. GM just didn’t put the effort into making that happen.
HT2 - This is true. It was quite utilitarian, and did exactly what it was designed to from an engineering standpoint. The fault everyone has though is the aesthetics. There are plenty of ways to make something utilitarian and not make it look like a they took a Vibe’s design and thought about how it would look if it got stung by thousands of bees. They then realized they forgot to design wheels for it, so they had to run over to the parts bin for some leftover Sunfire wheels, further emphasizing the swollen, bloated look.
HT3 - Pontiac did not die because of auto-enthusiasts. They had plenty of standard cars to go along with the few performance cars. The Sunfire (Chevy Cavalier), the G6 (Chevy Cobalt), the G8 (Holden Commodore), the Vibe (Toyota Matrix). The downfall was that everyone knew they were just rebadged, slightly more expensive versions of their counterpart (save for the G8). GM didn’t due enough to give Pontiac anything unique enough to stand out as a standard car, so that they could continue with the enthusiast cars. I also think GM didn’t do enough to promote Pontiac as a brand. Same with Saturn. Sure, people knew about their existence. But they couldn’t tell you what cars they made off the top of their heads (aside from the GTO). GM failed Pontiac. Not the other way around. And yes, in the end, the enthusiasts were the ones crying about it. But that just goes back to the fact that they were the only ones who really knew what Pontiac was and the value and potential it had that GM buried.
"Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now)" (bman76-4)
04/27/2017 at 09:25, STARS: 3
Never forget the true tragedy of their demise:
I still love my Pontiac
"Camshaft Chris: Skyline/McLaren/Porsche Fanboy" (camshaft-chris)
04/27/2017 at 09:26, STARS: 0
That’s very unfortunate. Maybe you need to add a tagline or something.
"Camshaft Chris: Skyline/McLaren/Porsche Fanboy" (camshaft-chris)
04/27/2017 at 09:27, STARS: 2
Meh, it wasn’t really the government. GM failed as a company, and put itself in that position to begin with.
"Camshaft Chris: Skyline/McLaren/Porsche Fanboy" (camshaft-chris)
04/27/2017 at 09:29, STARS: 1
If only I had more stars to give. Death before birth.
And same here. The Trans Am may share a lot with the Camaro, but it wears it better. Waaay better. I would never look twice at a Camaro. But I’ll do a double take for a T/A.
"Azrek" (azrek)
04/27/2017 at 09:33, STARS: 1
Azrek: Still not a Pontiac.
"404 - User No Longer Available" (toni-cipriani)
04/27/2017 at 09:39, STARS: 1
I’m retrieving my Solstice tomorrow to commemorate.
"Camshaft Chris: Skyline/McLaren/Porsche Fanboy" (camshaft-chris)
04/27/2017 at 09:44, STARS: 1
Perfect.
"Camshaft Chris: Skyline/McLaren/Porsche Fanboy" (camshaft-chris)
04/27/2017 at 10:00, STARS: 0
If my Trans Am wasn’t an hour away with no motor in it, I’d do the same, lol.
"AMGtech - now with more recalls!" (amgtech)
04/27/2017 at 10:24, STARS: 2
If I were a gazillionaire I would buy the rights to Pontiac and re-launch the brand with an aztek that doesn’t suck at everything.
"Camshaft Chris: Skyline/McLaren/Porsche Fanboy" (camshaft-chris)
04/27/2017 at 11:38, STARS: 0
The idea behind the Aztek was actually a pretty good idea. The execution on the design side just crashed and burned. I would love to see what a redesigned Aztek could look like.
"AMGtech - now with more recalls!" (amgtech)
04/27/2017 at 16:14, STARS: 0
Exactly.
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
05/02/2017 at 15:35, STARS: 0
I thought that was Oldsmobile and I was just thinking about the Olds brand this morning. But as I think about it, I guess it’s just Chevy and GMC any more.