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GM to kill Pontiac on Monday

Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2009 3:20 pm
by neps
Maybe people will finally get why KI3T wasn't a Firebird?

http://money.cnn.com/2009/04/24/autos/pontiac_obit/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Bad News of Pontiac

Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2009 3:24 pm
by one_man
Just saw this news on CNN and others. It's kind of sad :shock:
(search Pontiac on news.google.com)

GM to pull the plug on Pontiac
http://money.cnn.com/2009/04/24/autos/p ... 2009042414

GM prepares to announce Pontiac closure next week
http://www.autonews.com/article/2009042 ... 49967/1078

Re: GM to kill Pontiac on Monday

Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2009 4:20 pm
by knightofthephoenix
Very sad news.

I have a feeling Pontiac is just the beginning. While Ford got some good news today, all 3 automakers are still in pretty deep.

:kitt2:

Re: GM to kill Pontiac on Monday

Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2009 4:44 pm
by blowersho
This was expected and will make the G8 GXP's true collectors items, the last and best performing Pontiac ever.

Re: GM to kill Pontiac on Monday

Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2009 4:52 pm
by FASTKNIGHT
this will be a sad day in automotive history........ i am a pontiac fan,, :cry: i guess my GTO will be worth a few bucks in the future :?

Re: GM to kill Pontiac on Monday

Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2009 6:11 pm
by Sue
It's a sad day for KR, but would be an even sadder one if KI3T were a Pontiac. I've got all my fingers crossed that Ford will come through for us and get us a season two.

Re: GM to kill Pontiac on Monday

Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2009 7:18 pm
by 2K&3KKITT
I can't believe GM is killing Pontiac! I love Pontiacs! It really is a shame but there is nothing we can really do about it. Maybe in future years somebody will bring it back.

Re: GM to kill Pontiac on Monday

Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2009 7:35 pm
by tamatt27
Pontiac's been dead since August. It just wasn't official until now.

Re: GM to kill Pontiac on Monday

Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2009 8:47 pm
by stelios_z28
GOD DAMN ECONOMICAL CRISIS!!!!!

Re: GM to kill Pontiac on Monday

Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2009 10:09 pm
by knightofthephoenix
Sad day for Knight Rider.

:kitt2:

It's weird how we don't know if GM will even survive.

Anyway, here's Pontiac's wiki if anyone's interested: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontiac" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Re: GM to kill Pontiac on Monday

Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2009 10:38 pm
by tamatt27
knightofthephoenix wrote:Sad day for Knight Rider.

:kitt2:

It's weird how we don't know if GM will even survive.

Anyway, here's Pontiac's wiki if anyone's interested: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontiac" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
GM will survive...in one way or another. They'll likely file for Ch. 11 bankruptcy protection on June 1 under the gov't oversight. Make no mistake, though. While GM mis-managed Pontiac into the ground, it was the gov't that killed Pontiac.

Re: GM to kill Pontiac on Monday

Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2009 1:52 am
by Slade
Thats sad.If it wasnt for them we wouldnt have KI2T at all and My uncle was actually goinga by a Pontiac Soltice,I was goinga put some after market parts on it to make it look like Jazz from Transformers the Movie just for fun.

:cry:

Re: GM to kill Pontiac on Monday

Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2009 2:27 am
by Sky_Blue_Civic
Even though it's going to be a sad day in automotive history... and it's making me feel sad too, maybe it was a good choice for NBC to make KI3T a Mustang. But if it weren't for them KR would never be what it is today. I always wanted a TA as a little kid (it was one of the cars I've always wanted) ... and now, I'll most likely never get one. :cry: Nothing can last forever though.

Re: GM to kill Pontiac on Monday

Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2009 10:17 am
by msKEN
Nothing in the Pontiac current line up will be missed. I think their lack luster sales show that. Just about every car is re-badged except for for a select few like the Solstice and they are going to re-badge that as a Chevy along with the other popular Pontiac rides. The Vibe and the Matrix are the same car, that's not going anywhere. The G8 and G6 models (again re-badged Holdens) will be heading over to Chevy... no loss there. They had no real plans of saving the muscle car Firebird or GTO so as far as Pontiac building excitement.... they were dead anyway.

Re: GM to kill Pontiac on Monday

Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2009 11:04 am
by tamatt27
msKEN wrote:Nothing in the Pontiac current line up will be missed. I think their lack luster sales show that. Just about every car is re-badged except for for a select few like the Solstice and they are going to re-badge that as a Chevy along with the other popular Pontiac rides. The Vibe and the Matrix are the same car, that's not going anywhere. The G8 and G6 models (again re-badged Holdens) will be heading over to Chevy... no loss there. They had no real plans of saving the muscle car Firebird or GTO so as far as Pontiac building excitement.... they were dead anyway.
Many, like myself, will miss the opportunity to drive the Solstice coupe and G8 GXP (which appears to have limited availability). The Solstice won't be rebadged as a Chevy. The G8 is a rebadged Holden Commodore but the G6 is on GM's Epsilon platform (the previous generation Malibu's rebadge).

Re: GM to kill Pontiac on Monday

Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2009 11:57 am
by Knight007
but there is no word about bringing it back in the future. i mean after many years in the future, will they have the will to bring it back???
some very known sports cars makers still here like ferrari and porsche. so will GM think about bringing the Pontiac back to face them??? or will Cadilac do the job insted? this is really confusing :roll: :kitt: Image

Re: GM to kill Pontiac on Monday

Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2009 12:09 pm
by Slade
I know they dont make the GTOs anymore but when the newer ones 1st came out a few years ago I thought they were so awesome.So Im goinga miss both the classic GTOs and the modern model they had as well. :cry:

Re: GM to kill Pontiac on Monday

Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2009 1:01 pm
by Samborghini
Well, as they say 'Nothing last's for ever' shame it also applies to Pontiac though :(

Re: GM to kill Pontiac on Monday

Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2009 1:34 pm
by Solid Snake
neps wrote:Maybe people will finally get why KI3T wasn't a Firebird?

http://money.cnn.com/2009/04/24/autos/pontiac_obit/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
My point exactly! GM in a way did this to them self, like all car companies have (mainly in the US) they ran the companies not like a company but a cash cow. And they relied to much on the sales of pick up trucks and neglected the increasing demand for *shrugs* economic cars... or at least ones more oriented towards economy.

Ford saw this trend just in time (not a moment to soon) and was able to do a full 180 turn and run the company like a business, now they are churning out cars at a blistering speed that people actually like and are well made... which additionally get great reviews (Mustang, Fusion, Fiesta, new Taurus, not to mention the European cars). GM jumped on the bandwagon to late (not to mention Chrysler) and now they pay the price.

As for Pontiac being revived, don't count on it. Unless the brand gets sold to the Chinese the brand will go away for a long while... just like Oldsmobile has... similar heritage same grim fate.

Re: GM to kill Pontiac on Monday

Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2009 2:59 pm
by FuzzieDice
Sad, but not surprising. By the time I had got my 1987 Pontiac 6000 in June of 2000, Pontiac was already going downhill with lackluster new models. It's sad. And it'll be one year on May 9th that I had to let go of my Pontiac 6000 due to bad rust that made the frame irreparable. :( That car was 21 years and 2 months old when it got towed away to it's final resting place! STILL RUNNING! Outside of the rust, you couldn't kill a 6000!

I'm glad I got a Ford and not another used Pontiac. I'm sure parts prices will go up now for those who own a Pontiac still! I am glad to hear Ford seems to be fairing better than some of the others, but reality is, they too are not doing good. But at least they aren't doing really really REALLY bad either!

I think that a second season of KR is essential. As it can mean Ford can maybe fair even better in these tough times, due to the advertising KI3T provides in and of himself! (I don't say 'it' because I never thought of KITT as an 'it'). :)

Re: GM to kill Pontiac on Monday

Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2009 4:33 pm
by tamatt27
Solid Snake wrote:
My point exactly! GM in a way did this to them self, like all car companies have (mainly in the US) they ran the companies not like a company but a cash cow. And they relied to much on the sales of pick up trucks and neglected the increasing demand for *shrugs* economic cars... or at least ones more oriented towards economy.
GM built trucks and SUV's in the 90's because *gasp* that's what people wanted! The point to any company is to make money. Unfortunatly GM's management had a very poor strategy and ran their business into the ground.

Re: GM to kill Pontiac on Monday

Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2009 1:41 pm
by DevonStyles
GM built trucks and SUV's in the 90's because *gasp* that's what people wanted! The point to any company is to make money. Unfortunatly GM's management had a very poor strategy and ran their business into the ground.
I have to disagree with you on this. GM built trucks and suv's because that is what people wanted and needed. How many families you see crammed into 4 door sedans nowdays.... Not to many. How many 4 cylinder hondas do you see pulling trailers and boats..... None. Their is still a want and need for those big vehicles which is why all the foreign competition are now building big trucks like GM.

if you live in Michigan like I do. A truck is almost a necesity in the winter time. I can't tell you how many people with little cars get stuck in their own driveway and street.

HIgh gas prices killed Detroit.... I work in the auto indrustry. A small fact that hardly anyone has noticed. Since we have seen a decrease in gas prices truck sales have actually increased over car sales. You will always have a need and a use for trucks. When the housing market jumps again as well as everthing else you will see truck sales soar once again.

As far as the Kitt being a mustang vs. a Pontiac..... GM killed the trans am because you could spend $20,000 more and get a vette with the same performance features as a Trans am. That's the truth!!!

A while back last year I believe Gm actually pulled a profit in the quarter. Rick Wagoner looked like a genius and now here we are dropping Pontiac. Which I believe is a hig mistake. They could have dropped some other brands besides Pointiac which is still one of their best selling divisions.

Waiting for my PONTIAC trans am to jump in value :kitt2:

Re: GM to kill Pontiac on Monday

Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2009 3:53 pm
by bucksanass1
The main reason GM shut down production of the f body is because they shut down the main plant that produced them then signed a contract with the union to not produce them again unless the plant reopened

Re: GM to kill Pontiac on Monday

Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2009 5:56 pm
by tamatt27
DevonStyles wrote:
GM built trucks and SUV's in the 90's because *gasp* that's what people wanted! The point to any company is to make money. Unfortunatly GM's management had a very poor strategy and ran their business into the ground.
I have to disagree with you on this. GM built trucks and suv's because that is what people wanted and needed. How many families you see crammed into 4 door sedans nowdays.... Not to many. How many 4 cylinder hondas do you see pulling trailers and boats..... None. Their is still a want and need for those big vehicles which is why all the foreign competition are now building big trucks like GM.

if you live in Michigan like I do. A truck is almost a necesity in the winter time. I can't tell you how many people with little cars get stuck in their own driveway and street.

HIgh gas prices killed Detroit.... I work in the auto indrustry. A small fact that hardly anyone has noticed. Since we have seen a decrease in gas prices truck sales have actually increased over car sales. You will always have a need and a use for trucks. When the housing market jumps again as well as everthing else you will see truck sales soar once again.

As far as the Kitt being a mustang vs. a Pontiac..... GM killed the trans am because you could spend $20,000 more and get a vette with the same performance features as a Trans am. That's the truth!!!

A while back last year I believe Gm actually pulled a profit in the quarter. Rick Wagoner looked like a genius and now here we are dropping Pontiac. Which I believe is a hig mistake. They could have dropped some other brands besides Pointiac which is still one of their best selling divisions.

Waiting for my PONTIAC trans am to jump in value :kitt2:
The point of my post was that GM built trucks and SUV's because people wanted them. I live in Texas and KNOW there will always be a market for trucks. GM killed the Trans Am because the plant was closing down. I work in the auto industry too and know GM's situation through and through ( well, as much as I can know being on the outside of GM's Board Room). GM hasn't posted a profit in North America (the biggest car market) in many years. Pontiac hasn't been a big retail seller for years, as more than half of their sales are to fleets such as rental car lots.
I agree that dumping Pontiac is a mistake, however I'm not going to hold on to false hopes and remain happy with my Mustang KI3T. 8)

Re: GM to kill Pontiac on Monday

Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2009 8:18 pm
by Solid Snake
tamatt27 wrote:
Solid Snake wrote:
My point exactly! GM in a way did this to them self, like all car companies have (mainly in the US) they ran the companies not like a company but a cash cow. And they relied to much on the sales of pick up trucks and neglected the increasing demand for *shrugs* economic cars... or at least ones more oriented towards economy.
GM built trucks and SUV's in the 90's because *gasp* that's what people wanted! The point to any company is to make money. Unfortunatly GM's management had a very poor strategy and ran their business into the ground.
You just said it yourself the 90's, and i will not deny that now there is no demand for trucks or Suv's (far from it), the problem is GM (and Ford and Chrysler) almost entirely relied on the sale of those trucks for to long. Ford recognised the shift and change in the market just in time (really only just), which now gives them a CHANCE to recover. The two other companies will not be able to... Chrysler is as good as dead (sorry to say it so hard) and GM is on life support...

And yes for the record, Pontiac last year was the third best selling GM brand... so it really is a massive blow to the giant that is GM to have to admit that Pontiac is no more... and to the people saying why didn't they kill the other brands off... they did actually, Hummer is being sold except nobody is really interested in buying it at the price GM wants. Saab is being cut off, Opel is also let loose, Buick is rumoured to be sold to one of the Chinese GM partners... fact is... The general is down and is losing the fight.