Remember Pontiac?

"Steve in Manhattan" (blogenfreude01)
03/30/2015 at 15:14 • Filed to: Pontiac

Nearly six years since Pontiac's demise - and I dug up what I wrote at the time:

Because none of you bothered to get up off your asses and buy a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! or a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , GM's !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! will go the way of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! :

Pontiac [was] a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! produced since 1926 and sold in the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! by !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (GM), marketed as an "athletic" brand specializing in mainstream performance vehicles. On April 27, 2009, amid ongoing financial problems and restructuring efforts, GM announced that it would phase out the Pontiac brand by the end of 2010 and focus on four core brands in the U.S.: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

In my opinion it was !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! that killed Pontiac (an Impala is a Catalina is an Olds 88 is a LeSabre is a Sedan de Ville). Why buy a car from Pontiac if Chevy offered the same car for less money?

The Pontiac brand was introduced by General Motors in 1926 as the 'companion' marque to GM's !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! line. The Pontiac name was first used in 1906 by the Pontiac Spring & Wagon Works. A name linked to !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , an American Indian chief who led an unsuccessful uprising against the British shortly after the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . The Oakland Motor Company and Pontiac Spring & Wagon Works Company merged in November 1908 under the name of the Oakland Motor Car Company. The operations of both companies were joined together in !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ) to build the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . General Motors in 1909 purchased Oakland. General Motors' first Pontiac was conceived of as an affordable six cylinder intending to compete in the more inexpensive four cylinder model range. Within months of its introduction, Pontiac was outselling Oakland. As a result of Pontiac's sales rising while Oakland's sales were declining, Pontiac became the only 'companion' marque to survive its 'parent', with Oakland ceasing production in 1932.

Damn I love cars like this - a 1948 Pontiac Silver Streak Convertible Coupe:

My buddy's Dad had one of these with a 455 in it, and we used to scare the crap out of each other:

Yes, it's a 1969 Pontiac Grand Prix. Station wagons had the same engine, but this was a bit more exciting. So now Pontiac will go to that junkyard in the sky, sometime during 2010. RIP GTO.

DISCUSSION (20)

PS9 > Steve in Manhattan
03/30/2015 at 15:16

But dat kinja formatting doe...

On a more serious note; Pontiac totally deserved to die. Saying this as a long time fan of the Trans Am, Grand Prix GXP (some of which hit 9s with a little snail and some tuning...long live the L36!), G8 and Solstice. They started to get slightly better at the end, but the days of individual chassis and engines for each brand at GM were loooooong dead, and the resulting Pontiac that survived the muscle car era was nothing more than a hollow copy of Chevy wearing chintzier body cladding.

And oooooh the teeth gnashing when people learned that bailout officials were the first ones to recommend that Pontiac be killed off, as if that detail changed the fact that pontiac was effectively worthless.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Steve in Manhattan
03/30/2015 at 15:16

I wish I had the money to. I still wish I had the money, was totally pricing used G8's last week too.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Steve in Manhattan
03/30/2015 at 15:19

Your first line summed it up - Pontiac died because in their final years their cars were great internet porn, but that never translated into actual sales. Just..... potential sales. I'm writing a piece about this problem and epic delusion that both the automakers and car enthusiasts seem to have that basically goes as follows. Automakers - all of you want to double your sales in the next 5 years...where are these people and where is this money coming from? Internet commenters - unless you're jay leno, you can't buy 5 new cars every year. Stop saying "I will buy this" unless you mean it. Because then when they make it and it doesn't sell and you wonder why? YOU are the reason why. And then YOU are the reason why brands like pontiac are killed.

Steve in Manhattan > PS9
03/30/2015 at 15:20

Can't blame Kinda for all of this - I just cut and pasted it from an old blog I had (Agitprop). Wow, I'd forgotten I'd written so much about cars there. For instance - Save the Bentleys .

Alfalfa Romeo > Steve in Manhattan
03/30/2015 at 15:22

Despite my general ambivalence for GM products, I have always loved Pontiacs. When they were taken to the chopping block, I was only 20 and lacked the resources for a GTO, G8, or Solstice. Dammit, I should have taken out a horrible loan and gotten into debt earlier in life. This is all my fault, I'm sorry.

lone_liberal > Steve in Manhattan
03/30/2015 at 15:28

And now we're at the point where people on TTAC, who are supposed to be the "Best and Brightest" think that this is a Lambo and a Camaro.

Kinja'd!!!

Steve in Manhattan > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
03/30/2015 at 15:33

I have said a version of this in this space before - if enthusiasts demand a car like the SS, and the company builds it, you'd better buy it. Same with the GTO and the G8. I recall reading somewhere that they had to shut the SRT Viper factory down for a while because of slow sales (is it still shut down?). That's why my last car was a '97 SHO - to encourage Ford.

By the way - that car was supposed to be whatever Mustang GT was the most powerful at time, but I could not get the seat far enough from the damn clutch.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Steve in Manhattan
03/30/2015 at 15:37

In contrast, I bought a Fiesta ST. Had mine special ordered too to make sure I got the exact one I wanted. Everyone thinks my tall frame would be cramped but it actually works out pretty well. The recaros are extra comfy too. After the holidays the side bolsters were a bit snug though so they also act as a reminder to keep up with exercise and avoid the burgers.

Steve > Steve in Manhattan
03/30/2015 at 15:38

I think the Solstice might, MIGHT become a big money car in 30 years... probably the GXP more than base models, but who knows, I certainly want to find one in 15 years and drive it like a mad man.

GhostZ > Steve in Manhattan
03/30/2015 at 15:41

6.... years?

Oh god

Cé hé sin > Steve in Manhattan
03/30/2015 at 15:51

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Nope.

Steve in Manhattan > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
03/30/2015 at 15:55

That counts - and you are a gentleman and a scholar for ordering that car. I was so disappointed that the clutch was so poorly placed in the Mustang and that they couldn't unbolt the seat and move it back. I'm barely 6'1", but tall from the waist down. And the following year? They did a light redesign on the car ('99 model year) and voila! I could get far enough from the clutch. Nearly traded the SHO, but liked it too much to get rid of it.

Kinja'd!!!

This car - and white.

Steve in Manhattan > Cé hé sin
03/30/2015 at 15:56

Mercury? Saturn? Are any of these ringing a bell?

Cé hé sin > Steve in Manhattan
03/30/2015 at 15:58

Nope. American cars not sold here?

Steve in Manhattan > Cé hé sin
03/30/2015 at 16:15

Planets. Just remember the planets. Except Pluto, which got demoted. And was only a Disney dog anyway, never a sedan.

Steve in Manhattan > PS9
03/30/2015 at 16:36

Buick apparently is a bigger nameplate - the Chinese love Buicks, so of course it made sense to keep that brand. When I think of those cars, I think of my pipe-smoking Great Uncle Aaron, who every other year got a loaded LeSabre. My dad had no thoughts of upward mobility, so he survived on a steady diet of Impalas.

And, despite an emotional attachment, you're right. Pontiac lost its way - no more wide track, no more 'breakaway car,' no more excitement division. I offer the Pontiac Phoenix. And remember this? Suicide.

Kinja'd!!!

gergey - Wishes vette was Datsun > lone_liberal
03/31/2015 at 00:05

Pretty sure those are both lambos, bro?

lone_liberal > gergey - Wishes vette was Datsun
03/31/2015 at 00:10

Kinja'd!!!

gergey - Wishes vette was Datsun > lone_liberal
03/31/2015 at 00:32

Is that original image from Cannonball Run? I don't remember

lone_liberal > gergey - Wishes vette was Datsun
03/31/2015 at 01:23

I think so. It's been many years since I've seen it but I think it's from the opening sequence. TTAC used it for a story they ran today.