A true Pontiac Phoenix?
Categories: BMW, Carmageddon, Cars
When GM originally announced their intentions for their brands, most of it made sense to me. Chevy was and always will be the bread and butter American car brand. Buick is too popular in China to sunset, and given the products, could fill an entry level luxury brand, allowing Cadillac to move upmarket to take on Mercedes-Benz head on. Keeping GMC seemed questionable, but if the market for premium trucks and SUVs ever returned, GM would be well prepared. Of course, Pontiac as a niche brand was a mighty fall for another iconic American make, but a brand of affordable, higher performance cars would finally fulfill the promise of the “excitement division”.
Then, in the middle of bankruptcy, GM announced Pontiac would be cut. I was flabbergasted. Worse, GM was shutting down Pontiac, not selling it like Saturn, Saab, Hummer, and Opel.
Of all the brands GM is shedding, Pontiac is the only one that was well-one it’s way back. The plastic clad monstrosities that soiled Pontiac’s reputation have been gone for years. The G8 and the Solstice are/were the most competitive cars made by GM in years. The G8 regularly is compared to BMW 550i. While the Solstice (R.I.P.) had it’s… errr.. quirks and wasn’t on par with the MX-5 Miata, there are many folks who will forego some convenience for style. With these two products, I would think Pontiac would be easy to sell. But who would be well set to take over the brand?
BMW! Buying Pontiac would give BMW an entry-level performance brand. The models could use last generation BMW platforms for the mid-size and intermediate cars, maintaining the integrity of the BMW brand, yet subsidizing the development cost with an entire line of products extending longer than the current 6-8 year cycle. Also, new small models based on the Mini platform, but styled like a Pontiac, would keep help keep BMWs only front wheel drive platform profitable.
But, BMW has no interest in an entry-level cars, right? Except for when it owned Rover/MG. The Rover experience, of course, was not a good one for BMW, except for MINI. I believe that is partially due to Rover having a different FWD platform that didn’t share any components, and directly competed with BMW own cars. Remaking Pontiac as affordable, entry-level BMWs would avoid a lot of these problems.
I’m probably a biased in my desire to keep Pontiac alive. My first car was a big-as-a-yacht 1978 Pontiac Bonneville with a 5.7L V8, that started life as a company car for my father. Honestly, that wasn’t much of a performance car, but I remember when my father bought that car… He wasn’t going to buy a Chevy Caprice, since that was an entry level car, but the Olds 88 and Buick LeSabre would have broken the budget. About 8 years later, he bought an ‘86 Pontiac 6000. Again, Pontiac filled the bill. Even though all the A-cars were priced similar, the Pontiac styling and interior was a bit sportier in nature.
I guess I can only hope that GM is shutting the Pontiac brand down, instead of selling it, with the intent of resurrecting it in better times. I’m not holding my breath though.
January 2nd, 2010 at 5:17 pm
…
Норм …
January 12th, 2010 at 5:12 pm
…
Спс …
January 16th, 2010 at 7:35 am
…
Хм.. …
January 21st, 2010 at 5:25 am
…
Хм …
January 22nd, 2010 at 8:10 am
…
Хм …
February 12th, 2010 at 2:00 pm
…
Хм …
February 13th, 2010 at 5:13 am
…
Thank you …
February 14th, 2010 at 4:46 pm
…
Хм …
March 2nd, 2010 at 12:57 am
…
Хм …
March 11th, 2010 at 11:44 am
Óëüòðàçâóêîâîé íåðàçðóøàþùèé êîíòðîëü…
Óëüòðàçâóêîâûå ïðèáîðû…
March 13th, 2010 at 12:36 pm
…
Хм …
March 14th, 2010 at 3:31 pm
If you want to buy a car, you would have to receive the mortgage loans. Moreover, my brother always uses a term loan, which seems to be really fast.
March 17th, 2010 at 4:06 pm
…
Хм …
April 2nd, 2010 at 11:52 am
musulman-club.ru…
Мне хотелось бы поговорить с кем-либо по теме. Кто любит интересное общение, в асю 95467916 …
April 4th, 2010 at 11:20 am
СПС.…
Я тут…
April 5th, 2010 at 7:56 pm
Спасибо…
Незнаю…
April 6th, 2010 at 12:10 am
……
Бизнесмен из Вас отличный…
April 8th, 2010 at 10:04 pm
Спасибо…
Хм..…
April 12th, 2010 at 7:51 pm
……
Кино фильмы онлайн…
April 23rd, 2010 at 10:20 am
Одессе, Днепре недвижимость недвижимость киев …
Авто в …
May 1st, 2010 at 3:23 am
ЛОЛ.…
Н орм…
May 3rd, 2010 at 2:10 pm
BMW Cars
This is a wonderful opinion. The things mentioned are unanimous and
needs to be appreciated by everyone.
BMW Cars
May 26th, 2010 at 9:03 am
СПС.…
Я тут…
May 30th, 2010 at 7:45 am
СПС.…
Я тут…
June 5th, 2010 at 5:13 pm
http://rel” rel=”nofollow”> Спасибо,…
Хотя новость уже читал…
June 10th, 2010 at 1:59 pm
Hello! Please e-mail me your contacts. I have a question webmaster@bravto.ru” rel=”nofollow”>……
Thank you!!!…
June 13th, 2010 at 11:01 am
iegvoyl@reecouu.ru” rel=”nofollow”>1…
no more…
June 24th, 2010 at 7:14 am
Medicamentspot.com International Legal RX Medications. Special Internet Prices (up to 40% off average US price). NO PRIOR PRESCRIPTION REQUIRED!…
Combivir@buy.online” rel=”nofollow”>.…
July 3rd, 2010 at 11:22 am
SECRETS OF YOGA…
SECRETS OF Yoga Awakening Meditation Collection 21-day Trial Now!!!…
July 3rd, 2010 at 11:24 pm
Buy:Advair.Zetia.Female Cialis.Ventolin.Acomplia.Prozac.Benicar.Lipothin.Wellbutrin SR.Female Pink Viagra.Lipitor.Buspar.Zocor.Amoxicillin.Seroquel.Cozaar.Lasix.Aricept.Nymphomax.SleepWell….
July 4th, 2010 at 11:53 am
crystal wine glasses…
How to buy crystal wine glasses? Wine glasses world introduce you to a wide range of crystal wine glasses and you will find detailed information about the crystal Wine glass of Purchase, use and comments….
July 7th, 2010 at 9:54 am
Proactol For Easy Weight Loss…
Proactol like a healthy way of making it easier to take charge of your easy weight loss and eating habits. …
July 15th, 2010 at 3:48 am
acai burn diet…
The acai berry diet for weight loss…
July 19th, 2010 at 3:31 am
Free and Fast Easy Health Weight Loss Diet Ideas…
How To Fast Easy Health Weight Loss and good Ideas for Diet,Let’s Go Start Losing Weight Now!…
July 19th, 2010 at 11:07 pm
does green tea contain caffeine…
……
July 21st, 2010 at 10:59 am
Buy:Benicar.Acomplia.Nymphomax.Lipitor.Prozac.Aricept.Cozaar.Wellbutrin SR.Zocor.Zetia.Advair.Seroquel.Female Cialis.Lipothin.Lasix.Amoxicillin.Buspar.Female Pink Viagra.SleepWell.Ventolin….