Pontiac Is Rebuilding Excitement With New Models

[ragingfish]

Quote »Pontiac Is Rebuilding Excitement With New ModelsBy G. CHAMBERS WILLIAMS IIIPublished on 2/17/2005Los Angeles— Pontiac wants to become a full-service car company and would love to have your business.After years of languishing in relative obscurity along with most of the other General Motors divisions, Pontiac is now pushing to regain the strength it once had, as well as its reputation as the performance brand in the GM fold.In the past, the division was well-known for its “We build excitement” theme.Putting the pizazz back into the brand was behind the introduction last year of the new GTO coupe, complete with a 350-horsepower, Corvette small-block V-8; the 2003 introduction of a completely redesigned midsize Grand Prix, with a supercharged 260-horsepower V-6 engine in the sportiest version; and last year's rollout of a Northstar 4.6-liter V-8 powered version of the full-size Bonneville, the GXP.This past fall, besides raising the horsepower of the GTO to 400, Pontiac rolled out a beautiful new sport sedan, the G6, to replace the venerable Grand Am. It's already a best-seller.Now three more vehicles are about to join Pontiac's lineup: the division's first SUV, as well as coupe and hardtop convertible versions of the G6.GM North America President Gary Cowger and Vice Chairman Robert Lutz unveiled the three newest Pontiacs at the recent Los Angeles International Auto Show. That gave them a head start over a mass of new-vehicle introductions by several other automakers that followed a few days later at the annual Detroit show.The SUV is the Torrent, which goes on sale this summer as a 2006 model, giving Pontiac what essentially is just a version of the Chevrolet Equinox, which was introduced last year.Of course, the Equinox essentially is a version of the Saturn VUE, which was introduced three years ago.The Torrent and Equinox look a lot alike, but the VUE is quite different (including its Honda V-6 engine), although it's on the same chassis as the other two.While GM is billing the Torrent as Pontiac's first SUV, it is replacing the Aztek, which arguably was really the first Pontiac sport utility. GM never actually called the ungainly Aztek an SUV, however; it was marketed as an “SAV,” or sport activity vehicle.And GM would have us believe that the 2005 Pontiac Montana minivan is more SUV than van, thanks to its new sport utility-style front end.GM actually no longer refers to the Montana as a minivan; instead, it's now a sport van or “midvan,” since it's actually larger than the average minivan.As I've said before, GM has not rushed to add a range of SUVs to the Pontiac line, because it already has plenty in the GMC truck lineup.Pontiac and GMC are the same division at General Motors, and dealers usually carry both brands. Hence, unlike Saturn dealers, for example, Pontiac dealers haven't been clamoring for SUVs with the Pontiac name on them.Why give the brand one now? Two reasons: GMC has no car-based crossover sport utilities, which are becoming the big thing in the SUV market.Adding a crossover such as the Torrent to the Pontiac line doesn't really compete with anything in the GMC line.Secondly, Pontiac desperately needs a viable replacement for the Aztek, which has been one of the biggest flops in recent car history. Pontiac sold only about 17,000 of them in 2004.It was designed to compete against such vehicles as the Ford Escape, of which Ford sold about 200,000 last year.The Torrent is a direct competitor to the Escape, and along with the VUE and Equinox will give GM a three-vehicle attack on the Escape and its new Mercury clone, the Mariner, which went on sale this past fall.If the Equinox does well and Vue sales continue to grow, the Torrent will have much better chances of becoming a star in the Pontiac lineup.Under the hood will be a 185-horsepower, 3.4-liter V-6 engine. The Torrent will be offered with front- or all-wheel drive.Pontiac says it will have a “specially tuned suspension system that allows for the utility and capability of an SUV without sacrificing the precision handling characteristics normally associated with a performance car.”As for the G6, Pontiac already has a star with the sedan, which is so much better than the Grand Am that it's hard to consider the G6 just a mere replacement for it.Adding a coupe and a really snazzy convertible to the lineup will greatly enhance the G6 line.The convertible is quite special. Instead of the standard canvas top you'd expect in a convertible under $30,000, this one gets a retractable hardtop. That's something we usually see only in higher-priced vehicles such as the Chevy SSR pickup, Lexus SC 430 or Mercedes-Benz SL.Both of these two-door models come with so-called two-plus-two seating, but where most cars with this arrangement have a back seat hardly big enough to accommodate a dog, the G6 coupe and convertible have back seats that can hold two adults comfortably, the company says.Of course, you still have to get in and out through the front doors, which is not fun for full-size adults. Still, the coupe and convertible doors are six inches longer than on the sedan, giving rear-seat passengers some extra room to enter and exit.The top was designed by Germany's Karmann, and by pushing a single button can be lowered or raised in less than 30 seconds.Both coupe and convertible will be offered in GT and GTP trim levels, with the GTP the sportiest model. It will have a 240-horsepower, 3.9-liter V-6 engine and a four-speed automatic with manual shift mode or a six-speed manual transmission.The base engine is the same as in the sedan, a 3.5-liter V-6 rated at 200 horsepower and 220 foot-pounds of torque. GM2006 Pontiac Torrent. X06PN_TR006GMThe unusual weather that has plagued California provides an unusual backdrop for the new 2006 Pontiac G6 hardtop convertible on the beach in Malibu, Monday, January 3, 2005 just prior to its worldwide introduction at the Los Angeles Auto Show on Wednesday. The G6 convertible's retractable hardtop operates with the touch of a button and takes less than 30 seconds to transform from coupe to convertible.© The Day Publishing Co., 2005http://www.theday.com/eng/web/news/re.aspx?re= ... 8ce&prnt=1

[kostby]

I still like the idea of a 'classic Vibe' front end on the Torrent in place of the plain vanilla SV6 front end they put on it.

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[damronjr]

Quote, originally posted by kostby »I still like the idea of a 'classic Vibe' front end on the Torrent in place of the plain vanilla SV6 front end they put on it.From your photochop, I agree! I wish I knew how to chop like that. How do you guys do that? What program do you use?

[Mr. Poopypants]

Quote, originally posted by damronjr »From your photochop, I agree! I wish I knew how to chop like that. How do you guys do that? What program do you use?I'm gonna run the risk of sounding like a wisearse here. Photochop = Photoshop

[damronjr]

Quote, originally posted by Mr. Poopypants »I'm gonna run the risk of sounding like a wisearse here. Photochop = Photoshop You know, sometimes it is deserved! I don't think I have that program on my comp at home. Is it expensive? I have Adobe Elements. Will that work as well or allow you to do the same things? I haved played with it a little, but not too much. Guess I'll just have to look at you guys' photochops!Edit: HOLY CRAP! I just looked at the Adobe website and Photoshop is what... $650 and Elements is.... $100! No wonder my comp came with Elements instead of Photoshop! Won't be getting that anytime soon!

[Mr. Poopypants]

Quote, originally posted by damronjr »You know, sometimes it is deserved! I don't think I have that program on my comp at home. Is it expensive? I have Adobe Elements. Will that work as well or allow you to do the same things? I haved played with it a little, but not too much. Guess I'll just have to look at you guys' photochops!Edit: HOLY CRAP! I just looked at the Adobe website and Photoshop is what... $650 and Elements is.... $100! No wonder my comp came with Elements instead of Photoshop! Won't be getting that anytime soon!Yeah, it isn't cheap. Luckily I got mine from work because I have to do some graphic design. I don't want to say anything, but you may be able to ......ahem......."find"........ahem..........a copy online somewhere if you look. ah...ah...ah KAZAA LITE.....whew excuse me, I hate when I sneeze in the middle of a sentence. Anyway, yeah it is expensive and it isn't a real "jump in and use" program. It is pretty complex.

[kostby]

Actually, I use JASC Paintshop Pro. It does LOTS of things (most of which I never use) besides just photo-chopping.I'm on Version 9 now, and I've been using it since it was only available as shareware version (3?). Before that I used MS-DOS (pixel-based = 'paint' programs, not vector-based Autocad or Corel-Draw type) programs.Having countless hours to spend learning and playing with the features of the product is essential to eventually achieve decent results. To do this one, I took a photo of a Vibe from the same angle (and close to the same resolution) as the Torrent, and pasted the Vibe grille in. Then I carefully recolored it to match the original. Probably took 45 minutes or more.Good luck!PSPv9 is about $130.00 but often discounted to about $100. Some versions also include a pretty useful 'Paintshop Photo Album' organizer for your digital photos.

[redlava]

Quote, originally posted by Mr. Poopypants »Yeah, it isn't cheap. Luckily I got mine from work because I have to do some graphic design. I don't want to say anything, but you may be able to ......ahem......."find"........ahem..........a copy online somewhere if you look. ah...ah...ah KAZAA LITE.....whew excuse me, I hate when I sneeze in the middle of a sentence. Anyway, yeah it is expensive and it isn't a real "jump in and use" program. It is pretty complex.I got mine on Ah... Ah... Ah... Limewire.Damned if I know how to use it though. LOL

[gpk99]

paint shop pro 9 is very good....and about 99 bucks...used it for years....and now Corel has bought JASC out so this could be the final version...shame

[kostby]

Quote, originally posted by gpk99 »paint shop pro 9 is very good....and about 99 bucks...used it for years....and now Corel has bought JASC out so this could be the final version...shameBUMMER! I don't need or want the full Corel package for a gazillion bucks...Guess I'd better download the recent updates before they start charging for it!

[ColonelPanic]

The GIMP is worth a look too.. It is predominately a *nix app, but it has been ported to Windows and Macintosh. It's got its quirks, but is quite usable. Takes a while to get the hang of, not the most user friendly tool on the planet, but you can do a bunch of stuff with it once you figure it out. I use the Windows version all the time at work, and the Linux version at home... http://www.gimp.org/It's quite cool, you can get it for free, and most importantly it's legal to get for free!

[Sputnik]

Ahem... could we move this to a new thread so that we can stay on topic in this one? Thanks!

[Mr. Poopypants]

Quote, originally posted by Sputnik »Ahem... could we move this to a new thread so that we can stay on topic in this one? Thanks! Geez! Easy killer. Anyway, since we just got slapped around for following the natural flow of conversation. I think they are a little to high on the G6. It is a nice car and all but we have had discussions about how GM priced themselves out of the market by replacing a low-mid price car with a mid priced car.

[Pablo1669]

Quote, originally posted by Sputnik »Ahem... could we move this to a new thread so that we can stay on topic in this one? Thanks! By the time I read this, I had already forgotten what the topic was.The Torrent is a very nice spin on the Chevy Equinox, but I don't know how they can get away with saying it's basically a VUE when it's just the chassis. The G6 GTP line is going to be amazingly fun. We've got a few of them here at work, and they are a blast. I can't wait to get my GT, it's only a matter of waiting for my orderSpeaking of Torrents, my dad called me this morning, and they've got a few of them here on grounds getting ready for media prep. I went up and took a look at them, and the black one is just pure sexy

[Sputnik]

Quote, originally posted by Mr. Poopypants »Geez! Easy killer. Anyway, since we just got slapped around for following the natural flow of conversation. Whats the point of having a moderator of this forum then? I kinda like the new GM vehicles. They've gotten my attention. When I first got my Vibe there wasn't much out there for GM consumers that was new or exciting. Its why I got the Vibe

[bud_one]

I'm waiting for the solstice...that's the car I really like...Just like the vibe since it's first prototype...I've been following the solsticejust as close... can't wait for us to get one here....

[sylvainber]

i want to see a solstice in liquid metallic red