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Originally Posted by BigAls87Z28
I would rather see GM drop Pontiac and Buick then drop Saab. While Saab doesnt have any real market penetration here in the US, over seas its one of GM's top sales leaders.
Pontiac and Buick sell a lot of cars, but there image is becoming very cloudy and there existance is confusing
The LaCrosse offers nothing over the Impala, yet the Buick is priced higher...why? Impala actualy has 3 engines, a 3.5 VVT OHV making 211hp, a 3.9 VVT OHV making 241hp, and the King Kong 5.3 DoD in the SS making 303 hp.
Also, why have the Grand Prix? I can get better motors in the Impala, and they both have the 5.3? Inteiror quality is betteri in the Impala too.
Why have the G6 when the Saturn Aura will do a much better job beating the crap out of the imports? DOHC VVT V6 making 250hp tied to a 6spd auto, with sharp lines and designs that look better then the G6. Why bother having a G6 which is just a Pontiac Malibu?
Vibe? WORTHLESS!!
Solstice, while very sexy, will probably be marked up due to high demand and with the Sky across the road selling for sticker, why bother with some PITA Pontiac sales sleezeball when Saturn will give you the car at the price?
Torrent...Chevy Nox with different front and rear facia. Yippie.
GM had a lot of problems in the 1Q. 4.5 billon wasted on Fiat, and a big hit in car sales didnt help. They gained some of it back by selling there locomotive division.
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I'd rather see Pontiac stick around than Buick. Buick is an old-person's car to me. They have some strange marketing also....that one commercial where they equate the LaCrosse to a slot-car racer is pretty out-of-touch with reality. It's more or less the same as a base-model Regal. At least the Regals had a supercharged version. The only reason i would want Buick to stick around is the rumors i've heard of the return of the Grand National, with a 3.6L twin-turbo V6. I HIGHLY doubt it will ever happen, but it would be cool to see.
Pontiac needs to stick around, I think. The nameplate carries some nostalgia. If they livened up their offerings somewhat, they would have more sales. The G6 is nothing to get really excited over (although the GTP version will probably be a fun drive). GM took a step in the right direction with the W-bodies, giving them the 5.3L V8. Now all they need to do is change them back to RWD. The Solstice will be a nice addition, but the dealers' mark-up will really hurt it. One would think that the dealers would learn not to mark things up at the ridiculous rates that they do because it hurts sales. I don't care much for trucks/SUVs, so i have no opinion on the Torrent.
The identity of Pontiac is kinda cloudy, but Buick's isn't. Buick is an old-person's car. If I were running GM, I would make Pontiac live up to it's "Driving Excitement" motto. I would do away with any Pontiac trucks/SUVs/vans, etc. The lineup would be streamlined:
1. Sport compact - It would have to have it's own identity. It would more or less be the G6, but look much sportier, a racy look. The reason i picked the G6 was the engine choices. A 3.5L making 211 hp is good for a base model, and the GTP's 3.9 making 240 HP would be good for a high-performance model. The seats out of the GTO would be great, and tie in to the performance attitude. It would most definitely not be named "G6". That's not a name. It's a space on a bingo card.
2. RWD luxury missle - basically, blend the Grand Prix and Bonneville together. Eliminate the Bonneville. The GP name can be kept, since it's easily recognized. Slim down the engine choices. Base model with the 3.9L, and the 5.3L in the top model. I would say stuff in the LS2, but then Caddy gets mad because the market for the CTS-V gets taken away.
3. Muscle car - Got one already. GTO.
4. Sports car - Got one already. Solstice.
Make Pontiac have the same sales setup as Saturn - no haggling/negotiating the price. No dealer markups. Pontiac would be strictly performance.