North American Auto Industry Crisis news **Pontiac's Last Day (page 28)**
#1121
Whats up with RDX owners?
iTrader: (9)
#1122
Meh, good riddance. The only car worth buying in that lineup was the G8. The rest were badge engineering jobs.
#1123
Whats up with RDX owners?
iTrader: (9)
In all fairness, the G8 was badge engineered as well, but it was a hell of a car.
#1124
Yeah, but I mean there wasn't a Chevy, Buick, Cadillac, etc. version that was also stateside. Compare that to the Cobalt/G5, Aveo/G3, Vibe/Matrix, etc. every vehicle that they had was basically a clone of another vehicle in the US
There was no Chevrolet version G8 available to us... hell, now I wish there was
There was no Chevrolet version G8 available to us... hell, now I wish there was
#1125
Whats up with RDX owners?
iTrader: (9)
True.
#1126
The sizzle in the Steak
Thread Starter
The Feds killed Pontiac
Bob Lutz, the outspoken former GM Vice Chairman, revealed in an interview Saturday that the Pontiac brand was killed off at the behest of the federal government. The surprising declaration took place during an “Inside the Motoman Studio” session at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.
According to Lutz, during the government bailout of General Motors following the Global Financial Crisis of 2008 and GM’s subsequent declaration of Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the feds wanted the automaker to cut everything but two brands. Cadillac would act as the premium brand while Chevrolet would serve as the sole mass-market brand.
However, Buick was granted a reprieve when GM made a case for the brand’s importance in China, where it remains GM’s strongest nameplate. If Buick was killed off in the US, Chinese customers would lose interest, explained Lutz. GMC was saved by proving that there was a distinct set of buyers who would not cross-shop Chevrolet and that its trim and options provided a substantial profit margin.
Lutz further explains that he personally fought for Pontiac and that it was on its way to becoming a true performance brand with an all rear-wheel-drive lineup. In particular, the next Pontiac G6 was to share a platform with the highly acclaimed Cadillac ATS, but with the premium content stripped out and dimensions similar to a BMW 3-Series.
Unfortunately, GM was forced to admit that Pontiac had not made any money in the 10 years prior to its 2009 demise. The government then gave the automotive giant an ultimatum to either kill Pontiac or forgo the $53 billion bailout. Lutz does acknowledge the fact that for many years Pontiac’s brand image was tarnished by badge engineering and excessive use of plastic body cladding.
According to Lutz, during the government bailout of General Motors following the Global Financial Crisis of 2008 and GM’s subsequent declaration of Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the feds wanted the automaker to cut everything but two brands. Cadillac would act as the premium brand while Chevrolet would serve as the sole mass-market brand.
However, Buick was granted a reprieve when GM made a case for the brand’s importance in China, where it remains GM’s strongest nameplate. If Buick was killed off in the US, Chinese customers would lose interest, explained Lutz. GMC was saved by proving that there was a distinct set of buyers who would not cross-shop Chevrolet and that its trim and options provided a substantial profit margin.
Lutz further explains that he personally fought for Pontiac and that it was on its way to becoming a true performance brand with an all rear-wheel-drive lineup. In particular, the next Pontiac G6 was to share a platform with the highly acclaimed Cadillac ATS, but with the premium content stripped out and dimensions similar to a BMW 3-Series.
Unfortunately, GM was forced to admit that Pontiac had not made any money in the 10 years prior to its 2009 demise. The government then gave the automotive giant an ultimatum to either kill Pontiac or forgo the $53 billion bailout. Lutz does acknowledge the fact that for many years Pontiac’s brand image was tarnished by badge engineering and excessive use of plastic body cladding.
#1129
I shoot people
I was under the impression that Pontiac was out a long time ago
#1130
Feds didn't kill Pontiac, GM did.
Lutz does acknowledge the fact that for many years Pontiac’s brand image was tarnished by badge engineering and excessive use of plastic body cladding.
The following 2 users liked this post by phile:
charliemike (10-29-2013),
Sly Raskal (10-29-2013)
#1131
The sizzle in the Steak
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