Pontiac: The end of the line.

[MarauderVOL]

For those of you wanting a Pontiac G8 better get 1 before they are gone. NBC Nightly News just reported that Pontiac is done. I feel this is just the beginning of the end for GM and other American motor brand names.

[CROWNMARAUDER]

I just watched that & it was sad to hear. As I was watching I was thinking about all the pontiacs my family has owned. The first car I ever drove was my uncle's 1975 Grandville Brougham convertible. I have owned 76,77 & 82 Trans Ams & a 97 Grand prix GTP.

[offroadking208]

thats too bad. i think the G8 was a pretty badass car. one thing i will not miss tho is the Grand Am GT. a friend of mine had one and it was a PITA to work on.

[UncleLar]

It is sad,for a long time Pontiac was a make to be reckoned with.I had quite a few down thru the years.I had every year from 1955 thru 1959 Pontiac's including a 1957 Safari wagon,a 62 SD421 with the Grand Prix grille in it for a short while,(boy,do I wish I had it now)and my last one was a 1980 Bonneville Brougham 2 dr.
I'd love to have a really nice 1961 Ventura 2dr bubble top with a tri power 389 and a 4 speed with a 3.42 rear end with posi. The 389 was probably the best engine they ever made. :burnout: :burn:

[Speed]

I think it was just a matter of time. It all started with Oldsmobile and now Pontiac. I really thought they were on the comeback trail, it goes to show the one car alone can't keep you afloat. I think everyone should have at least one American car in the driveway. My :twocents:.

[SC Cheesehead]

It is sad,for a long time Pontiac was a make to be reckoned with.I had quite a few down thru the years.I had every year from 1955 thru 1959 Pontiac's including a 1957 Safari wagon,a 62 SD421 with the Grand Prix grille in it for a short while,(boy,do I wish I had it now)and my last one was a 1980 Bonneville Brougham 2 dr.
I'd love to have a really nice 1961 Ventura 2dr bubble top with a tri power 389 and a 4 speed with a 3.42 rear end with posi. The 389 was probably the best engine they ever made. :burnout: :burn:

^^^^^ +1 ^^^^^^

Had a '65 GTO and a '66 Star Chief, both with 389's. Great cars, both of them.

[69marquis conv]

It is sad to see it come to this, but it's also easy to see why it has occurred. I've been wondering for a number of years why this hasn't happened to Mercury, given that most of them are just a grille and taillight design away from their Ford counterparts (Marauder excluded).

[RedMerc04]

It is sad to see it come to this, but it's also easy to see why it has occurred. I've been wondering for a number of years why this hasn't happened to Mercury, given that most of them are just a grille and taillight design away from their Ford counterparts (Marauder excluded).
Im sure the demise of Mercury is imminent. I think pontiac would have done okay if it werent for the lackluster styling. Does anyone know if the solstice is going to remain as a specialty model?

[Fourth Horseman]

These are sad days. :(

[TAKEDOWN]

What? PONTIAC??? Scary times, I must say.

[a_d_a_m]

just when pontiac had a chance to build some awesome cars...:(

i had '87 and '92 firebirds. my dad had '75 & '87s. a lot of my vehicular memories are pontiac-related. quite sad, indeed.

[a_d_a_m]

...none of the news sites indicate anything other than hummer and saturn going BYE BYE and pontiac being shrunk to a niche brand.

so maybe we'll have some new ponchos for years to come.

[J D]

...none of the news sites indicate anything other than hummer and saturn going BYE BYE and pontiac being shrunk to a niche brand.

so maybe we'll have some new ponchos for years to come.

Indeed, not a tear is shed for Saturn save for their fanatical cult like owners, but on the topic of Pontiac, it might have a fate worse than death, life as a blanded placeholder brand of recycled lines of cars no one wants.

Also I disagree that Mercury is going anywhere. Having studied Alan Mullaly' plans for Ford, which needs all three of its brands, could leave Ford on top in the end.

[DOOM]

I think everyone should have at least one American car in the driveway. My :twocents:.

:agree: There are 3 american cars here at castle DOOM (working on a 4th).

[hot-rauder]

:agree: There are 3 american cars here at castle DOOM (working on a 4th).

2 here... 3 toyotas though too..:puke:

My mothers house including my brothers and me, 5 fords, 1 lincoln, and 1 dodge. 3 are rangers. lol

[justbob]

Three American here also.

My take on Pontiac. My only concern is more layoffs and less money generated here in the states. As for styling:puke:The whole split grill thing should have been dropped back in 82 when the TransAm got molested. Every friend that ever owned a Pontiac paid out the nose for new heads and electrical issues after the warranties were up. They are crap in my book. The only one i've ever owned was a 79 formula that i found in a barn for next to nothing with my only intent to wash and sell. Two days and a gallon of soap later i made almost a $1,000.00 off that pos.

[Meteorite]

It is sad,for a long time Pontiac was a make to be reckoned with.I had quite a few down thru the years.I had every year from 1955 thru 1959 Pontiac's including a 1957 Safari wagon,a 62 SD421 with the Grand Prix grille in it for a short while,(boy,do I wish I had it now)and my last one was a 1980 Bonneville Brougham 2 dr.
I'd love to have a really nice 1961 Ventura 2dr bubble top with a tri power 389 and a 4 speed with a 3.42 rear end with posi. The 389 was probably the best engine they ever made. :burnout: :burn:

It is incredibly sad about Pontiac.

I've only owned one Pontiac, a 1964 Grand Prix. Sold it in 1991, like an idiot. Sold the guitar, too. Kept the wife and the skinny tie, however.

http://pics.livejournal.com/detroitfather/pic/0026qw5g/s640x640.jpg

[Bigdogjim]

Is anyone really shocked? With GM loosing untold $$$$$$$$$$$ did anyone think the axe would not fall? I feel for those that liked the brand, worked in the factories that build thre car and countless other who had a hand in producton somewhere along the line.

I fear more end of the line news will broadcast. I hope I am wrong.

[252life]

For those of you wanting a Pontiac G8 better get 1 before they are gone.


The original Holden Commodore is still manufactured and GM can bring it back with a different badge on it in the future when the economy is better.
Maybe it will come back as a "Chevrolet G8" . One could only hope, but most likely it will not come back.
GM will probably just start selling re-badged Daewoos in the U.S. instead (built in Korea and Vietnam) like they are trying to do in Europe now.
It's really depressing to see whats happening to the car industry now. And it's probably not long before crap cars from China starts do sell to.

[Sir Charles]

I am waiting for GM to announce that it will be closing its doors forever. I am curious to see if the Camaro will actually make production or not.

[n00bkiller944]

:agree: There are 3 american cars here at castle DOOM (working on a 4th).

Getting another Marauder?? lol

[jerrym3]

Pontiac made some really great cars in the late 50s, and the 60's.

I test drove a new Pontiac Tempest convertible back in 1964. I wasn't very impressed, and then the salesman said something about a new model coming out soon.

Then he showed me the new GTO sales catalog. (I waited a few months and bought a new Corvette instead.)

I've been a Ford guy a long time, but, in 1966, when my buddy pulled up in his new 1966 GTO, there was no comparison to my 1966 Cyclone. The Pontiac was classier in every way. (More like a slightly smaller Grand Prix.)

First Olds, and now Pontiac. Real shame.

[a_d_a_m]

http://pics.livejournal.com/detroitfather/pic/0026qw5g/s640x640.jpg

is that an old vox?

[1 Bad Merc]

The old Pontiac's were nice cars but I wont miss that POS Quad 4 motor in the Grand Am's! I was dating my wife at the time (87-89) and her alternator went out. What I went through to get at that pos and then to find out replacements were $400 was unbelievable. Last Pontiac I ever messed with.

Brad

[gate500gr]

Well that sucks. I suppose the G8 could become somewhat Marauder-esque in the future, save for higher production numbers than the MM.

[Serge]

I had a 91' Grand Prix STE. Nice car when it worked but was full of headaches. I got it with a blown motor, replaced the motor drove it for a few years then the head gaskets blew. Replaced those, drove it a couple more years then the timing chain snapped. That's when it went to the junkyard.

Can't say I will miss Pontiac.

[Vortex]

What a bummer. My old Ponchos; my 66 Le Mans, my 67 GTO, my 04 GTO and my 90 Firebird Formula. All great cars! Note: The blue GTO is the same car as the white one, the photo was pre-restoration. Two biggest mistakes, restoring the (rusty) GTO and selling the beautiful, rust-free, 50,000 original miles, 326 factory hurst shifter three speed LeMans for basically nothing. Oh yeah, I also should have kept the 04 GTO instead of selling it and just went ahead and bought the MM. The 04 GTO (with a 6 speed Tremec) was fast as hell and was a great car, I was just pissed it had no trunk and my parents couldnt get in the back seat one day. As for the Formula, I shipped it to Santiago, Chile when I was stationed there from 1990-1992. I sold it for the factory sticker when I left and Ill bet its still there cruising around Providencia or driving with the T-Tops off down at Valparaiso on the coast!

[TAKEDOWN]

^^^ Vortex... Those are nice! ^^^

[Vortex]

^^^ Vortex... Those are nice! ^^^

Thanks man. I sure wish I could have kept them all.

[Meteorite]

is that an old vox?

Yes, it is. It is one of the "Made in Italy" ones, a Phantom VI. I shoulda never sold it.

I have one of the Phantom Guitarworks clones now, but I miss the original.

[marauder307]

...none of the news sites indicate anything other than hummer and saturn going BYE BYE and pontiac being shrunk to a niche brand.

so maybe we'll have some new ponchos for years to come.


Yeah...I strongly suspect this is MSNBC's lame attempt to "wag the dog". I checked with my servicing dealership, and they were rather surprised to hear about it...for a supposedly "dead" brand, nobody seems to know they're dead. I can see them being drawn down, which they sorta are already. All they've got to offer is the Vibe (yuk), the G6, G8 (which has gotten rave reviews from everybody who's tested it) and the Solstice. Think the G5's already been ditched, and the rumor down at Sinclair Pontiac here in St Louie is that the Vibe's goin' out too. No minivans, nothing else, and---at least, for now---NO plans to make a resurrected Firebird/TA stablemate to the Camaro.

So I'm not stressing yet. I saw that article too; they made a lotta noise about the end of Pontiac but failed to actually give specifics, which leads me to think that they're crying wolf.

[gmtech]

I work for a Pontiac dealer & not any word of ditching the brand:confused:

[marauder307]

Y'know, this has been buggin' me for a few days now...so I started working a bit of research.

It looks like MSNBC took a small story and blew it into a big something else. There was a story on one of the miscellaneous car forums around the 'net that said that under the restructuring plan, Pontiac was going to be drawn down to a (very small) handful of vehicles and become a niche division.

Okay...and my response is "And?" As I look into Pontiac's history, it kinda looks to me like that's how Pontiac got started. If you wanted an entry-level car, get a Chevy. If you wanted performance, get a Pontiac. If you wanted a family car, you had your choice of Olds or Buick. And if you REALLY wanted to go super-upscale, get a Cadillac. This kind of retraction is simply getting back to basics where Pontiac is concerned.

Bottom line---and I'm willing to admit, I may not have all the facts---this doesn't necessarily look like a bad thing. The story also wanted to make a big deal out of consolidating the dealership network into Buick-Pontiac-GMC dealers only...this ain't news. As I look around, it seems like this has already been in place for years.

Gmtech, feel free to weigh in here...how does it look from the pov of someone who actually works for these guys?

Sorry...I know this is a Ford/Mercury oriented board, but for me (a Pontiac owner, second one in a row: Grand Prix GXP) this is a big deal.