Pontiac or Chevy?

[Stinky The Clown]

Poll question: Pontiac or Chevy?

They cut Pontiac as we now all know, but, from a purely emotional place in your heart, who should it have been?

(This poll is for car buffs only. If you just want to piss on the car business or cars in general, go start another thread, please.)

[hamsterjill]

1. Sorry, but I like to get on my pontiac and RIDE!!!

I have a special place in my heart for the Chevy Monte Carlo, but when it comes to the suspension system, my Grand Prix gets the vote.

Sad to see the brand die.

[flvegan]

2. Cutting Chevy means killing the Corvette.

Sorry Pontiac, but if I had to choose one it would have to be you.

[onehandle]

3. They should have kept both and cut Buick.

The average Buick driver I see is over 70. Buick drivers are a dying breed.

[johnaries]

6. Buicks are extremely popular overseas. nt

[quiller4]

33. Not nearly as popular as it used to be.

I'm one who advocated saving Oldsmobile and cutting Buick in 2000. The Olds Aurora was far better than its Buick competitor and outselling Buick 2 to 1 worldwide. The Intrigue was far superior in design and performance to its Pontiac competitors and selling better, too. It was internal politics that killed Olds and it was justified by accounting trickery that saddled Olds with all Saturn R & D expense.

[Stinky The Clown]

11. Buick's a funny brand

I have a Buick and it has been a really great car. Fast, comfortable, great handling, incredibly reliable. One of the five best cars I have ever owned. It is a 98 Regal with every option Buick offered except the turbo. It now has as many miles as Sparkly's 96 Accord and has had a similar service record and remains a far more refined car to drive.

Buick's GS badge had some great cars, but never with the cache of other, "younger" brands. They were GM's first division to really work on quality and they met all their goals. The Riv and the Reatta were great idea cars. For years, GM used the Buick as their concept car test bed and many a prototype wore that badge.

To be sure, I can make a case to sack Buick and keep Pontiac, but axing Pontiac and keeping Buick was no mistake.

Honestly, Pontiac's only real 'great' was the GTO. The Firebird was a rebadged Chevy. The old 60s Grand Prix was another big runner for them.

[liberal N proud]

4. Tough one

Chevy has the history so far back in the auto industry but Pontiac had the GTO, Firebird and other greats.

It is sad to watch this once great industry crumble.

[DrDan]

5. kind of a tough poll - both Chevy and Pontiac have or had

great cars - the Corvette and the GTO.

They both have also had dogs - Vega vs Astre.

So - a hard poll - don't think I can make a choice with this one

[Spurt]

7. From the heart Pontiac is special for me.

But if I told you why it would be censored!

[kentuck]

8. I rented a Toyota to go back to Kentucky

a couple of weeks ago. The engine light came on around Evansville, IN and I took it to the airport and traded it for a Pontiac G6. The Pontiac was 10 times the car of the Toyota, in my opinion.

[madrchsod]

12. the g6 is an australian design/engineered auto

my niece has a g6 and it`s a very nice car.

[lithiumbomb]

28. The G8 is australian, not the G6, nt

[madrchsod]

9. should have cut buick

general motors dumped Oldsmobile..the best selling car in the 90`s till they made the last generation which were awful.

[RamboLiberal]

10. I can't vote in this because I think they should've cut Buick

Yeah, I know Buick is popular in China - but here in U.S. I think it's the old person's brand.

But then I'm still mad at GM for cutting Oldsmobile and for making that an old person brand before the cut. I still remember and love the 442's and the Hurst Olds.

I wanted to get a new Pontiac AWD Vibe. Guess now it's a Matrix or another brand in AWD.

[fob]

13. Voted "cut chevy", but "cut Buick" is the better answer.

If Buicks are so popular in China, build them and slap a damn Buick badge on them on a Pontiac or Chevy line.

[LeftyMom]

37. Buick makes money. It's hard not to when your target audiences are the elderly and the Chinese,

'cause they're the only ones who have any to spend these days.

[fob]

38. Why can't they just CALL everything a GM Name of Car, like

GM Skylark, GM GTO, GM Corvette, but stick the damn, Chevy BowTie, Pontiac Arrow, or Buick Shields on the car? It's not far off from what they're doing anyway. Why kill off the loyalty they do have with these brands?

[LeftyMom]

41. They might as well.

Most of the models that don't suck are rebadged from their foreign makes anyhow. Hell, they might sell better if they went ahead and called the Holdens and Opels by their actual brands, considering the current reputations of most domestic nameplates.

[boomerbust]

14. No Chevy=No Corvette

No Way

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

15. The 2 crappiest cars I ever owned: a Chevelle and a Nova

different years, both gifts from 2 different relatives who discovered how incredibly crappy they were and they both had the same flaw: stalling in a turn from a stoplight in rainy weather. Constantly.

Who doesn't love to stall out and block intersections in bad weather and then flood the engine when you attempt to restart and then cap off the whole experience by being pushed through the intersection by a small contingent of grumpy, wet men who just want to be able to go wherever the frick they were going. Who wouldn't want to do that at least a couple of times a week?

[Stinky The Clown]

17. Second crappiest car I ever owned was a Chevy Lumina

The fit and finish rivaled the Yugo. There was a weld in the trunk that was rough and sharp as a razor blade. The upholstery was all puckered. The headliner never fit right and we finally glued a big piece of it over the rear driver's side passenger. The driver's window failed. It burned oil.

Crapiest car was my 1969 Fiat 850 Spyder ...... but that's a whole other story.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

18. When I first met my husband he had a Fiat of that vintage, I think it was a Spyder

The way to any girl's heart is to take her out motoring in a convertible that belches huge thick black clouds of oily smoke that completely envelope her and expose her to hostile crowds passing by shouting "Get that piece of shit off the road!"

[musette_sf]

20. currently driving a rental Chevy Cobalt

what a cheap nasty POS. can't wait to get my car (Nissan Altima) back.

[dysfunctional press]

40. i let my dad talk me out of a firebird and into a nova...

although-
the firebird had more miles, an automatic and a smaller engine.

the nova was a 350 3-speed manual and i could squeal the tires in each gear...it wasn't as 'pretty' as the firebird- but in the end, it was a LOT more practical, faster, AND it had at least a big enough back seat for getting done what had to be done. :evilgrin:

[givemebackmycountry]

16. I voted Pontiac BUT... I didn't want to.

I drove a '94 Pontiac Bonneville SSE for 10 years and that was a kick ass ride.
Fastest and most comfortable ride I ever owned.
BIG leather seats, heads up speed display, solid sunroof that never leaked, and a trunk big enough to fit a body or two.
LOVED that car.

Chevy got my vote because of the 'Vette and the Chevy Pickup truck that I learned to drive with.
1968 with a three on the tree!

[csziggy]

19. I never really thought of Pontiac or Oldsmobiles as GM cars

But as their own brands, even if they weren't really. To me, "GM" equals Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, and GMC. I grew up in a family that always owned GM vehicles - Buicks or Cadillacs for cars and GMC trucks. Yeah, we had a few other brands of vehicles over the years, but when we have a choice, we buy the four iconic GM brands.

[NightWatcher]

21. coolest car I ever had (in 96) was a '79 Caprice 2-dr coupe

I replaced the carb with an Edlebrock 4bl. I had the engine re-bored to 323 cu in. I dualed the exhaust straight off each side of the exhaust manifold.

It could pass anything on the road but a gas station.

[TahitiNut]

22. Detroit born & raised ... former GM/Chevy employee ... this is tough to take.

I had the least emotional attachment to Oldsmobile. Seeing Pontiac go is hard. Hell, we have a city named Pontiac! My ex had a goat ... '67 GTO. The widetrack was part of cruising in the late 50s and early 60s.

Even hinting at closing Chevy is heresy. There's no more essential GM brand ... not even Cadillac.

[DainBramaged]

23. They could have COMBINED Pontiac and Chevy and cut GMC

But the Buick dealers can't survive on Buick Alone, so.......


I have a little insight that a couple of the Pontiac's will become Chevy's.

I feel your pain. :hug:

[blue_onyx]

32. The Buick dealer my parents go to

has been surviving on Buick alone for many, many years. In fact, my mom told me they we one of the best performing Buick dealers in our area. Although, now that the Pontiac/GMC dealer near us will be losing Pontiac, I wouldn't be surprised to see GM merge that GMC dealer and the Buick dealer into one.

I think several Pontiac models could be good as Chevys, like the Vibe and the Solstice.

[seabeyond]

24. i have had both, i liked both. cutting? whatever the company needs to do

to get healthy.

[Lugnut]

25. I prefer Pontiacs.

I drive a Buick so I don't have a dog in this fight. However, if Buick had been dumped and I was in the market for a car I would've chosen a Pontiac over a Chevy.

I would've preferred to see GM dump their Chevy truck line and keep the GMC brand for their entire truck line.

[Oeditpus Rex]

26. I don't think it really matters anymore

Both stopped feeling like themselves a long time ago. :(

[tammywammy]

27. Cutting Pontiac is the right choice

Currently the Pontiac line just isn't doing well. The G8 is a good little car and it can be rebadged to a Chevy. I think focusing on just Chevy will be a bonus and the innovation that Pontiac has had in the past will reemerge through the Chevy brand.

[lithiumbomb]

29. cutting chevrolet would be stupid

They sold 1.8 million Chevrolets in the USA in 2008, and it's also a worldwide brand with sales in China, Europe, and the Middle East. Pontiac sells more cars in the US than Buick does, but isn't sold outside North America, and Buick eclipses Pontiac in worldwide sales thanks to China. Pontiac was the right one to kill. Sad but true.

[blue_onyx]

34. I agree....I don't know how anyone could vote to cut Chevy

Someone may like Pontiac better but it makes no sense from a business perspective.

[City of Mills]

30. When they stopped making Plymouths, I died a little.

Not really :) But my first car was a Plymouth Barracuda and I always hoped they'd make a modern retro version at some point...

[City of Mills]

31. Loved my Pontiac Sunbird

Only new car I've ever bought, never had major problems with it - lasted 13 years before I sold it to a neighbor when I was in need of a truck.

[LeftyMom]

35. They mostly sell the same cars with different sheet metal anyhow.

They could kill them both and start a new nameplate called "Bob's Cars and Live Bait" and they'd still sell the same cars they do now. They'll just move all of the profitable lines from Pontiac, Saturn, etc to Chevy or another line that's surviving.

[madinmaryland]

36. I remember my first car being a Chevy Monte Carlo with a 454ci big block.

Man, I loved that engine.

I had a couple of close friends with a Pontiac with a 455ci big block! Ahh, the good old days!

I'm just sad to see either one of them go.

[dysfunctional press]

39. the red man has been dissed and shit on since columbus first got here...

why should it change now...?

btw- firebirds were always WAAY cooler than camaros.
'nuf said.

[NYMountaineer]

42. Neither's good to cut, but Pontiac would be missed less.

Truth be told, I'm still mad about the loss of Oldsmobile. I'd love to see them resurrected, bringing back the 88, 98 and Cutlass. Offer a variety of trimlines, some with the economical and reliable 3800 V6, the upper lines with the Northstar V8's or a new species of Olds V8. The Aurora would've been a great car, had they taken a little more time on quality control.

More than that, they've got the historical advantage of being the first American car company. Us Olds fans are a devoted lot, and deeply resent Wagoner, and just a lot of the foolish decisions made in the 1990's that wound up putting Olds out of business.

Maybe it isn't the most environmentally conscious car, but my Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham is still running on its ancient, carbureted Olds 307 motor, and will get 24 mpg highway if you keep it at 75 or less. Not bad for a 4,800 lb elephant of a car.

If they had to cut anything, cut GMC. They're just duplicates of the Chevy trucks with a few extra options, which could easily be transferred over to Chevy. And how about a hybrid/diesel Cobalt? 60 mpg easily, if you engineer it right.

[Occam Bandage]

43. Pontiac, definitely. nt