Goodbye, Pontiac...

[msbae]

GM to cut 21,000 US factory jobs, shed Pontiac

DETROIT (AP) -- General Motors Corp. said it will cut 21,000 U.S. factory jobs by next year, phase out its storied Pontiac brand and ask the government to take stock in exchange for half GM's government debt as part of a major restructuring effort that would leave current shareholders holding just 1 percent of the company.

Source: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/GM-to...038678.html;_ylt=AtCeROz7Fsmy.o1CfgNweyDyKIkA

Goodbye, Pontiac. I shall miss you and the wonderful cars you've made over the years. No words can express how sad I am at the fact that I can never have the option of buying a new GTO, Firebird Trans Am, Solstice, G8 or Starchief from you in the future. Things shouldn't have turned out this way for you. However, that terrible form of Socialism that has been Detroit's bane for decades (the UAW) just can't help but act like a cancer.

Rest in Peace, Old Friend. I will always remember to "put a tiger in my tank" and that "Wider is Better."

- Matt

 

[John Picard]

GM has been headed this way for years and economists have warned of this since the 1970's. Too much duplication, making divisions compete against each other, and bad management.

 

[Trekker4747]

GM has been headed this way for years and economists have warned of this since the 1970's. Too much duplicity, making divisions compete against each other, and bad management.

Indeed. GM makes the same car like 3 different ways and sells it under 3 different marques.

And Pontiac is almost pure crap these days anyway. Good riddance.

 

[RevDMV]

Well one third of the vehicles being produced here on one of the lines at NUMMI are Pontiac Vibes. Should prove to be an interesting day...

 

[JiNX-01]

Duplicity? The word you were looking for is duplication.

 

[John Picard]

Duplicity? The word you were looking for is duplication.

Correct. My mind was grasping and couldn't find it.

 

[Canadave]

GM to cut 21,000 US factory jobs, shed Pontiac

DETROIT (AP) -- General Motors Corp. said it will cut 21,000 U.S. factory jobs by next year, phase out its storied Pontiac brand and ask the government to take stock in exchange for half GM's government debt as part of a major restructuring effort that would leave current shareholders holding just 1 percent of the company.

Source: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/GM-to...038678.html;_ylt=AtCeROz7Fsmy.o1CfgNweyDyKIkA

Goodbye, Pontiac. I shall miss you and the wonderful cars you've made over the years. No words can express how sad I am at the fact that I can never have the option of buying a new GTO, Firebird Trans Am, Solstice, G8 or Starchief from you in the future. Things shouldn't have turned out this way for you. However, that terrible form of Socialism that has been Detroit's bane for decades (the UAW) just can't help but act like a cancer.

- Matt

The UAW is not the sole source of Detroit's woes. Mismanagement from the top has a lot to do with it, as well.

 

[Sean Aaron]

I've long associated the Pontiac name with crappy quality cheaply made vehicles from the 1980s which started my family on a Japanese-only car buying trend interrupted only by my grandmother's Saturn several years ago. Last car I hired in the States was a Pontiac "Grand" Am which had less luggage space than my little 1.1 litre Citroen Saxo. Definitely not a brand I'm sad to see go.

 

[John Picard]

GM to cut 21,000 US factory jobs, shed Pontiac

DETROIT (AP) -- General Motors Corp. said it will cut 21,000 U.S. factory jobs by next year, phase out its storied Pontiac brand and ask the government to take stock in exchange for half GM's government debt as part of a major restructuring effort that would leave current shareholders holding just 1 percent of the company.

Source: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/GM-to...038678.html;_ylt=AtCeROz7Fsmy.o1CfgNweyDyKIkA

Goodbye, Pontiac. I shall miss you and the wonderful cars you've made over the years. No words can express how sad I am at the fact that I can never have the option of buying a new GTO, Firebird Trans Am, Solstice, G8 or Starchief from you in the future. Things shouldn't have turned out this way for you. However, that terrible form of Socialism that has been Detroit's bane for decades (the UAW) just can't help but act like a cancer.

- Matt

The UAW is not the sole source of Detroit's woes. Mismanagement from the top has a lot to do with it, as well.

The UAW, which is obsolete, is very, very much responsible. They've been kicking and screaming about concessions every step of the way. I'm curious if UAW management is giving up anything considering how they've raped the workers over the years.

 

[zephramc]

I really hope the G8 soldiers on under Chevy. As far as the G6, G5, Solstice, Vibe and what other crap Pontiac makes, they can flush the whole lot down the toilet.

 

[Mallory]

The first car I ever owned (as a teen) was a red 1969 Firebird. 400 cubic inch engine, four barrel carb and four on the floor. I loved that car, it got me into and out of a lot of trouble back in the early 70s. I had it, along with at least one other car or truck, until 1984. It was falling apart at the end, but it never left me stranded anywhere. It always got me home.

I'm going to miss the Pontiac nameplate. Another piece of my youth gone.

 

[Q2UnME]

^I'll miss the Firebird too. I've had two of them over the last 25 years and they were great cars at the times in my life when I only needed a car for "me". Miss-management can be totally blamed for the demise of a once great "brand". Pontiac's in their hay-day were always a nice blend of sport, power and ride comfort. I'll be sad to see them go, even though thier recent products just didn't do anything for me.

Q2UnME

 

[Warp Coil]

GM's days of badge-engineering will be slowly coming to an end. They've gotten so accustomed to designing one vehicle and selling it as a Chevy, Pontiac, Saturn, GMC and Buick. They are shrinking down from 8 brands to 4 and may actually have to come up with more original products.

Can't say I'm sad to see Pontiac go. They didn't have anything really interesting or unique in their product portfolio - the G6 is mediocre at best, the G5 is a re-badged Cobalt, the G3 is a re-badged Aveo, the Torrent is a re-badged Equinox, the Vibe is a re-styled Toyota Matrix. The G8 and Solstice are somewhat more original (but even these vehicles have corporate cousins, too). There is nothing worth keeping.

 

[msbae]

A few events in Pontiac's history

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/04/27/ap6340277.html?partner=alerts

I am well aware that Mismanagement helped contribute to this sad day.

However, the UAW (and the Feds with their CAFE standards) certainly did not help. The G8 & Solstice are great and they will be missed. The rest of Pontiac's current line is just re-badged vehicles. I won't miss them. It's also worth noting that the G6 is a high-quality product and is *not* just a Chevy clone.

At least Chevy & Buick aren't going away. *crossesfingers*

 

[Garrovick]

When American's favorite cars are called Toyota and Honda, but not GM or Ford...

Is there an issue with Pontiac going away. I think it's vehicle buyers who voted Pontiac out, not a car company.

 

[CaptainHawk1]

GM to cut 21,000 US factory jobs, shed Pontiac

DETROIT (AP) -- General Motors Corp. said it will cut 21,000 U.S. factory jobs by next year, phase out its storied Pontiac brand and ask the government to take stock in exchange for half GM's government debt as part of a major restructuring effort that would leave current shareholders holding just 1 percent of the company.

Source: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/GM-to...038678.html;_ylt=AtCeROz7Fsmy.o1CfgNweyDyKIkA

Goodbye, Pontiac. I shall miss you and the wonderful cars you've made over the years. No words can express how sad I am at the fact that I can never have the option of buying a new GTO, Firebird Trans Am, Solstice, G8 or Starchief from you in the future. Things shouldn't have turned out this way for you. However, that terrible form of Socialism that has been Detroit's bane for decades (the UAW) just can't help but act like a cancer.

- Matt

The UAW is not the sole source of Detroit's woes. Mismanagement from the top has a lot to do with it, as well.

The UAW, which is obsolete, is very, very much responsible. They've been kicking and screaming about concessions every step of the way. I'm curious if UAW management is giving up anything considering how they've raped the workers over the years.

Mismanagement at the top working hand-in-hand in with the UAW. This really started in the 1960's when the U.S. Automakers were desperate for employees and basically gave the UAW whatever they wanted and the trend has simply continued for almost half a century.

You want to see a symptom of the problem with GM Management and the UAW? Read about the soon-to-be-defunct (allegedly) Jobs Bank program, and if you don't like the source just do a Google search. The only good thing about the bailout of GM is that the Feds forced this monstrosity of a program to shut down after a quarter of a century.

So, as much as I blame the UAW, the management of GM is as equally as culpable. They've made all of their business decisions over the last half century being more concerned with appeasing the UAW than they have in making a quality product for the average consumer (the high-end divisions are very good). Despite what that pantload Howie Long would have you believe, Chevrolets are nowhere near the quality of Hondas or Toyotas and "everyone" knows it. I've never had a GM vehicle that didn't start to have major problems with it within 4 years of owning it. This is my tenth year with my 2000 Honda Accord and my sixth year with my 2004 Toyota 4Runner and I have had no problems with either vehicle.

In the end, I think GM is postponing the inevitable because there is nothing to indicate that they are going to solve their biggest problem and that is making a quality, reliable and affordable vehicle that will not have to be replaced within the first 5 years of ownership. I'm simply not impressed that they've stopped playing the shell game with the nameplate changes by eliminating the Oldsmobile and now Pontiac brands.

The fact is, GM should fail and so should Chrysler.

 

[Hoser]

The UAW, which is obsolete, is very, very much responsible. They've been kicking and screaming about concessions every step of the way.

The UAW didn't focus on heavy trucks and SUVs while gas prices rose and no one would buy them.
Ford saw the signs early and restructured, GM just stayed the course.

And of course, what's hurting them all is high health care costs for past and current workers in the US.

You want to see a symptom of the problem with GM Management and the UAW? Read about the soon-to-be-defunct (allegedly) Jobs Bank program, and if you don't like the source just do a Google search. The only good thing about the bailout of GM is that the Feds forced this monstrosity of a program to shut down after a quarter of a century.

The Jobs bank was supposed to be a retraining effort. Before that they'd automate a job and just lay the people off. The Jobs Bank was supposed to take those people and retrain them for other jobs instead of just letting them go.

But of course, it didn't work that way in the end, the automakers just stuck them in a room and gave them a VCR and some playing cards and ignored them.

 

[Trekker4747]

Nor did the UAW create several different brands and made the compete with one another with the same damn models!

 

[Deckerd]

Here is what a very old Scottish woman knows about Pontiac.

Jim Rockford.

 

[John Picard]

The UAW, which is obsolete, is very, very much responsible. They've been kicking and screaming about concessions every step of the way.

The UAW didn't focus on heavy trucks and SUVs while gas prices rose and no one would buy them.

I love this bunch of BS whenever it comes up. When gas prices hit $1.75/gal, GM couldn't convert it's Oklahoma City plant *fast enough* to churn out SUV's. SUV's were flying off of the lots when gas was $2.25, $2.40, and $2.75/gal. Once gas crossed $3/gal, my salesman friend says that the guy who wanted a truck decided not to get one, whereas the guy who *needed* a truck still bought it.

When you have a cash cow, you milk it for all it's worth. If you don't believe me, then explain to me why every other car maker jumped on the SUV production bandwagon. Porsche made a (poor excuse of an) SUV Fucking Porsche!

The problem is that the Detroit 3 weren't diversified enough to be able to handle when consumer tastes and the economy would change.