GM to announce the Pontiac brand will be killed off

[thewiseguy]

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- General Motors is preparing to announce that the Pontiac car brand, once marketed as GM's "Excitement division," will be killed off, according to a source familiar with the decision.

An official announcement is expected Monday. GM spokesman Jim Hopson declined to comment on Pontiac's fate, saying the automaker has no announcements to make at this time.

In its most recent "viability plan" - which will be updated to reflect this new brand cut - Pontiac was not named as one of GM's four "core brands." Those are Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac. But Pontiac was also not to be killed or sold off, as were Saturn, Saab and Hummer.

http://money.cnn.com/2009/04/24/autos/pontiac_obit/index.htm?postversion=2009042414

They started producing Pontiac in 1926, but now is the end of the road...

[flvegan]

1. That's a shame.

Pontiac was my favorite overall brand in the current GM family. So long fun. Bye G8, wish I had gotten to know you.

[chaplainM]

2. I would've bet that Buick would be axed. n/t

[sutz12]

3. Are you kidding? Bankers drive Buicks.

:)

[chaplainM]

5. But Buicks are so similar to Oldsmobiles! n/t

[bighart]

10. Oldsmobile has already been killed.

Died in 2004 I believe.

[LeftyMom]

6. Reliably turns a profit.

:shrug:

[RB TexLa]

9. One of the hottest car brands in China? No way they kill that.

[Touchdown]

11. They export twice as many Buicks to China than they sell in the US.

Chairman Mao rode a Buick as his limo. Ever since it's been considered the prestige car in China.

besides, Buick was the first GM division. GM was the Buick holding company that took it's shopping cart and bought up everyone else in the early 1900s.

[blue_onyx]

18. Plus Buick does have a lot of potential here

It may never sell Chevy numbers but that doesn't mean it can't have a strong future. The Enclave has been successful. The new midsize car has a similar style to the Enclave and I think it will do well. Buick also has a good reputation for being reliable which is important.

[FLAprogressive]

4. And GMC sticks around? Their trucks are basically rebadged Chevys....

[blue_onyx]

19. Last week, there was a story

that GMC (along with Pontiac) would be discontinued. The news made it sound like it was the government pushing GM to close GMC. GM wants to keep it since it's their second best selling brand and it's profitable.

[Bonhomme Richard]

7. Wow. Maybe my 98 Bonneville will become a collectors item.

Not.

[NYC_SKP]

8. It's a fitting punishment for creating THIS monstrosity:

Heads should have rolled back then.



:rofl:

[ejpoeta]

13. can't argue with you there. i would imagine someone lost their job over that! LOL!

[Blue_In_AK]

12. Very sad.

I really liked my Grand Am that my daughter now has. Why didn't they get rid of the Buicks?

[tammywammy]

14. Because they sell Buicks

It's huge in China.

[sofa king]

15. So now the Chevys will get the red plastic trim, eh?

That, I recall, was the primary differentiation between the two brands.

[LeftinOH]

16. For too long, Pontiac "style" has relied on clunky, plasticky add-ons which have

probably been a bigger 'turn-off' to prospective buyers than GM realizes ---it certainly turned me away.

[Vidar]

17. I'm sorry to see it go.

[Mike 03]

20. Sad... My first car obsession was the Smokey and the Bandit Trans Am. NT

[blue_onyx]

21. It's not surprising at all

When I heard that GM wanted to make Pontiac a "niche brand," I knew the brand was pretty much a goner. It think "niche brand" meant GM would slowly kill the brand by only give it 2-3 models and not investing much into those models. Since it's likely GM will file bankruptcy, they figured they might as well kill the brand now while under bankruptcy protection.