Pontiac Revival?

[VforVIBE]

Sooo..... Lookin' at Pontiac's Wikipedia page and I saw this...Quote »GM'sEdward Whitacre Jr. has just announced to revive the company in 2011 due to frustration of pontiac customers.I highly doubt Pontiac will be back so soon, but I have a feeling Pontiac will be back eventually. GM held on to it for a reason. What are everyone's thought on this... Will Pontiac be back, if so, when?I'm going to say That Pontiac WILL be back, mostly likely with an old favorite or two and some new stuff in 2014.... as long as Obama is out of office.

[star_deceiver]

I'd like to see them bring a high powered, ultra light G3; a Vibe GT with a V6; and the G8 GXP! No base models, no slushboxes, and not overoptioned to excess. Leave the rest buried!

[Kari]

The fact that they refused to sell the brand makes me think they intend to one day bring it back.

[oriden]

i hope they bring it back i mean what else is there to buy i guess when the vibe dies i could always get a Trix....

[djkeev]

Gm severed their ties with Toyota, left them holding the bag with NUMMI too from what I understand.You'll never see another VIBE.Dave

[NascarXprt]

oh yea Pontiac will be back! why else would Government Motors hold on to the brand?the models i think they would possibly bring back would be the G8, a GTO, the Solstice, and the much wanted Firebird Revival, and a semi-high performance hatchback similar to the Vibe but with the Vibe name plate.

[KNINE]

And the Fiero!

[cptnsolo77]

Honestly I dont care if they revive the Pontiac nameplate. They built thier best cars & engines during the 1960s. Their best car to date ( Vibe) is a rebadged Toyota LOL.

[kostby]

GM still wants the name so their lawyers can sue the socks off of anyone who sells anything with the name, brand, or insignia in perpetuity without first licensing it from them. I call it Corpse Marketing (See also Elvis, Michael Jackson, Marilyn Monroe... ) - commercial entities whose rights-owners can/will earn far more per year than they ever did while alive.See ---> LegendsLicensing.com

[jake75]

Quote, originally posted by kostby »GM still wants the name so their lawyers can sue the socks off of anyone who sells anything with the name, brand, or insignia in perpetuity without first licensing it from them. I call it Corpse Marketing (See also Elvis, Michael Jackson, Marilyn Monroe... ) - commercial entities whose rights-owners can/will earn far more per year than they ever did while alive.See ---> LegendsLicensing.comThe Borden Company is long gone but the Borden brand and Elsie live on!

[ramenboy...]

like you said, gm held on to the name for a reason. i think it will be back. how soon in the future, don't know.

[jake75]

Quote, originally posted by ramenboy... »like you said, gm held on to the name for a reason. i think it will be back. how soon in the future, don't know.Seems to me they didn't sell the Oldsmobile name either . . . is it back?Ford probably still owns "Edsel", and Chrysler "Desoto" and "Plymouth".

[ramenboy...]

Quote, originally posted by jake75 »Seems to me they didn't sell the Oldsmobile name either . . . is it back?ha! no... but then again, i haven't heard anything about 'frustrated oldsmobile customers.'

[jake75]

Quote, originally posted by ramenboy... »ha! no... but then again, i haven't heard anything about 'frustrated oldsmobile customers.'Maybe because by now they are all pushin' up daisies.

[KNINE]

Quote, originally posted by kostby »GM still wants the name so their lawyers can sue the socks off of anyone who sells anything with the name, brand, or insignia in perpetuity without first licensing it from them. Exactly. Restoration parts are big business and Pontiacs are almost as popular as Ford and Chevy. Then you have all the other merchandise with Pontiac logos like t-shirts and other various accessories. Harley Davidson probably makes more money off merchandising than from the sales of their bikes.

[Old Tele man]

...in GM management (manglement?) mindsets, two mistakes cancel...so, cancelling Pontiac was #1 and even 'thinking' about reviving it would be #2.

[ramenboy...]

Quote, originally posted by jake75 »Maybe because by now they are all pushin' up daisies. touché

[LavaIlliniVibe]

I went to the Chicago Auto Show this past weekend, and had not been there since I believe 2008 when the new 2009 Vibe was on a turntable with a model and it was so amazing. Anyway, I went there this past weekend and it really hit me--I know this is dumb but--it really hit me that Pontiac was gone. I guess I thought they would have a shrine--tee hee. I wish. Then when I saw the Buicks, I thought, "WHY IS PONTIAC GONE???????????" They should have let go of BUICK!!!!!!

[ou.grizzly]

Pontiac was easy to let go:G3 - rebadgedG5 - rebadgedG6 - Aura with differencesG8 - rebadgedTorrent - rebadgedVibe - a Toyota

[awfavre]

Quote, originally posted by LavaIlliniVibe »I went to the Chicago Auto Show this past weekend...and it really hit me--I know this is dumb but--it really hit me that Pontiac was gone. I guess I thought they would have a shrine--tee hee. I wish. Then when I saw the Buicks, I thought, "WHY IS PONTIAC GONE???????????" They should have let go of BUICK!!!!!!I know how you feel, LavaIlliniVibe. I felt the same way at the Detroit Auto Show. The back corner where they used to show Pontiac was occupied by GMC. Ugh. Once I got to the Cadillac area, I turned & looked back where Pontiac used to be -- it was nothing but a sea of trucks & SUVs. I was stunned & thought two things: 1) Where are the cars? It felt like deja vu all over again. 2) With so many people swarming all over the trucks & SUVs, you'd have thought there was never an issue with the US automakers in the first place.

[ColonelPanic]

+1 on the corpse marketing... I don't see them coming back. They'll make big money off of nostalgia.As far as the auto shows go, last year with Pontiac at NY, it was just a funeral tucked away far from all the other action. A Solstice coupe never to be made available spinning around while you said goodbye to some old friends. Only a few people lurking and no people there representing the brand from the General. Not having to see that crap may make the show a little less morbid this year.

[northvibe]

Quote, originally posted by ou.grizzly »Pontiac was easy to let go:G3 - rebadgedG5 - rebadgedG6 - Aura with differencesG8 - rebadgedTorrent - rebadgedVibe - a Toyota you missed the solstice, which shared with saturn sky but saturn was cut too. gto, g8 were fine. So for the most part 80% of the vehicles were rebadged yes. But you could have a diff GM model pick up the 3 other models.

[ou.grizzly]

Quote, originally posted by northvibe »you missed the solsticeI realized that when I went to the post office early this morning when mailing out CareTaker's prize. 2 for 1 shot on that car.... GM is doing the right thing, tightening their belt and focusing...

[vibolista]

Quote, originally posted by VforVIBE »I'm going to say That Pontiac WILL be back, mostly likely with an old favorite or two and some new stuff in 2014.... as long as Obama is out of office.Omaba must prefer Buick, like Tiger. Tiger even left his Buick home and crashed the ugly Eskaladio, instead ! But apparently, he didn't even have a Pontiac in his garage. Every time I see one of these "why Pontiac is dead and not Buick", it makes me wince. I don't care if Pontiacs were all "rebadged" this or that. Most GM products were cross mated anyway from division to division. So are Fords and Mercurys. So are Chrysler/Dodge and even Plymouth, when they existed. The end of the world has not come, as expected by the millenium goofies, the U.S. is still a quasi Democracy and the "Guvimint" has yet to chain us all into some type of Marxist/Leninist gulag. The stock market came back up from it's low last year... after we were told all was lost for ever. Looking back a few years, remember New Coke and how it was going to replace Old Coke? Yea, that worked out. We may or may not ever see Pontiac vehicles produced again. It's anyones guess, Omaba or no Omaba. The main thing to remember is, to hang on tight and enjoy the ride.

[ponta2147]

Quote, originally posted by LavaIlliniVibe »I went to the Chicago Auto Show this past weekend, and had not been there since I believe 2008 when the new 2009 Vibe was on a turntable with a model and it was so amazing. Anyway, I went there this past weekend and it really hit me--I know this is dumb but--it really hit me that Pontiac was gone. I guess I thought they would have a shrine--tee hee. I wish. Then when I saw the Buicks, I thought, "WHY IS PONTIAC GONE???????????" They should have let go of BUICK!!!!!!Everything I heard about keeping Buick is because Buick is HUGE in China and everyone loves it there, apparently lots of sales. I was confused when they said that, myself, wondering who in the heck actually owns a Buick. I have to admit, though, that the new ones are beautiful...

[Old Tele man]

...Buicks also sell at a "higher" price-point than did Pontiacs, thus more profitable to GM....as I recall the numbers, the GM lineup went like this at one time (cheap-to-expensive): Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick, Cadillac.

[finebead]

To revive a brand nameplate, you have to invent enough value and differentiation to pay for the duplicate marketing, r&d, manufacturing, dealer overhead. GM had too many brands, and not enough value in them to justify their independence. If you are going to just share an engine and a chassis, why pay the extra marketing overhead? Instead, spend your money being sure you have the best engine, good acceleration, quiet, reliable, fuel efficient, smooth running, durable. My .02. I don't think Pontiac will be back.Look at Toyota, Lexus, Scion, 3 brands only.

[vibolista]

Buick was always the stodgy blue hair car of the GM family. Pontiac was considered more of a "performance" oriented brand and garnered a younger following. Yes, Buick is huge in China, but how many Buicks sold in China are produced here in the U.S. of A. and exported there? And talk of a short line up. Lacrosse, Lucerne and Enclave. The coming 2011 Regal is another Opel. Saturn was going to get one, too. Buick is Ok, I guess. I never considered one. Maybe if I ever reach blue hair age? Nah. I didn't get to vote for the brand that would stay. Mine would have gone to Pontiac.

[wt2ga]

[NascarXprt]

Quote, originally posted by wt2ga » Nice!

[VforVIBE]

Quote, originally posted by wt2ga » As a car guy, I hope Jay gave Obama a nice swift kick.

[mistertwo]

v6 vibe? ::facepalm:: I'd like to see a boosted 4, awd vibe that can actually compete in the market with some of the higher end vehicles, but I guess thats just my .02

[TONY TAT2]

I miss the Pontiac line.I wont drive a chevy

[KNINE]

Quote, originally posted by TONY TAT2 »I miss the Pontiac line.I wont drive a chevy What about the Vettes in your sig?

[vibolista]

Quote, originally posted by K-NINE »What about the Vettes in your sig?Ouch K-NINE, that ones gonna hurt!