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Consumer Survey Picks Pontiac -- the One Least Likely to SurviveBy Jean HallidayADVERTISING AGE Published: June 15, 2009 DETROIT (AdAge.com) -- General Motors Corp. is looking to sell three brands and kill off one, Pontiac. And which brand was overwhelmingly named by consumers in a recent survey as the one they'd like to live on? Pontiac.In a new worldwide survey from online auto community CarGurus, consumers were asked which of the four brands they would most like to see survive. Of the nearly 1,700 respondents, 44% named Pontiac, 27% said Hummer, 20% picked Saab and only 9% named Saturn.Langley Steinert, CEO of CarGurus, cited Pontiac's "trailblazing heritage" -- including the 1964 GTO, which started the muscle-car craze -- as reasons for consumers' apparent fondness for the brand. Pontiac's "current G6 is the 20th-best-selling car in the U.S.," he said, "so I'm not surprised to see consumers vote to save this historic brand."That's not to say there weren't a few of the findings that took him aback -- such as the popularity of the gas-guzzling Hummer. "What did surprise me was the relative popularity of the Hummer brand over that of Saab and Saturn," Mr. Steinert said. The Saturn Vue, he said, is a top-50-best-selling car in this country, while Hummer's best-selling model, the H3, ranks in the No. 153 slot. "I would have expected Saturn to be the other brand consumers wanted to see survive GM's reorganization," he said.http://adage.com/article?article_id=137325

I think my typo in the Title line is prophetic - Pontiac is in the Poti! Is there a way to edit a Title?

Another version of the article at Autotopia:http://www.wired.com/autopia/2...ors-4/"That’s according to the guys over at CarGurus.com, which surveyed 1,693 online automotive consumers and found 44 percent felt The General should have kept Pontiac. Twenty-seven percent chose Hummer and 20 percent said Saab. Just 9 percent wanted Saturn to survive."

Quote, originally posted by jake75 »I think my typo in the Title line is prophetic - Pontiac is in the Poti! Is there a way to edit a Title?Yep there is. Just let one of us know.

when I was getting my SS, the finance guy was saying they should of picked saturn or pontiac not both, as he thinks they are competing against each other. At any rate saturn is a totally different car from what it was started to do...

Quote, originally posted by northvibe »when I was getting my SS, the finance guy was saying they should of picked saturn or pontiac not both, as he thinks they are competing against each other. At any rate saturn is a totally different car from what it was started to do... Did Saturn ever abandon their full price policy (i.e. no reductions from MSRP)? That appealed to some as it was thought of as "no haggle". Of course there is a lot of leeway on trade-in values. And in many or most or all areas (like Columbus) the same person owned all of the Saturn dealerships.

We didn't know of the poll, otherwise the number would've been higher than 44%.

Quote, originally posted by jake75 »Did Saturn ever abandon their full price policy (i.e. no reductions from MSRP)? That appealed to some as it was thought of as "no haggle". Of course there is a lot of leeway on trade-in values. And in many or most or all areas (like Columbus) the same person owned all of the Saturn dealerships.I was referring to the import killer aspect and plastic panels. They went from that...to "luxury" brand which was JUST like pontiac or chevy stuff...

The problem with polling the public is that the public is generally stupid. 27% picked Hummer? Really? What could Hummer possibly have to offer consumers at a time like this?

Quote, originally posted by headcold »The problem with polling the public is that the public is generally stupid. 27% picked Hummer? Really? What could Hummer possibly have to offer consumers at a time like this?During their polling, they apparently hit a segment of manly men trying to compensate for something. That's all that buy those things anyway -- except for soccer moms and those who just want to flip the planet the bird in the biggest way they can think of. Hummer needs to die.As far as Saturn goes, I agree with northvibe... They were great when they were their own pseudo-separate entity. Most probably knew they were affiliated with GM but weren't treated like a separate division. They had some unique products with the S series that you couldn't find elsewhere at GM... Might not have been the best cars in the world, but it was a good start against the Honyotas. Had GM allowed the evolution of a unique product line to proceed perhaps their fate would have been different. Instead, they let their original product line rot while the competition moved ahead, and the bean counters came in and decided to give them the same crappy uninspiring products you can buy from other divisions. It all rendered the brand a largely redundant division. I wish them better luck with their new life away from GM.

Quote, originally posted by ColonelPanic »During their polling, they apparently hit a segment of manly men trying to overcompensate for a little something.Fixed it for ya

hahahaha! thank you.

Nobody understands why GM has done any of what they've done. The "new GM" should be Chevrolet/Cadillac with Pontiac as the performance/niche cars.No Saturn, No Hummer, No Saab (thank goodness it's going back to Sweden though, I'd hate for Saab to end up dead completely), No Buick (market it in China only), and no GMC.btw, what does everyone thing about putting a black 'band' on their Arrowhead emblems to show our loss?

Quote, originally posted by tnpartsguy »Nobody understands why GM has done any of what they've done. The "new GM" should be Chevrolet/Cadillac with Pontiac as the performance/niche cars.No Saturn, No Hummer, No Saab (thank goodness it's going back to Sweden though, I'd hate for Saab to end up dead completely), No Buick (market it in China only), and no GMC.btw, what does everyone thing about putting a black 'band' on their Arrowhead emblems to show our loss?+1 to everything you said

Dump GMC.Keep G8 and Vibe, making them Chevrolets...

Quote, originally posted by tnpartsguy »Nobody understands why GM has done any of what they've done. The "new GM" should be Chevrolet/Cadillac with Pontiac as the performance/niche cars.But dumping Pontiac is consistent with GM's new political objectives. The government is calling the shots, performance cars are not politically correct, hence no need for a division for performance cars.

I wonder what the future holds for Obama's, I mean GM's truck line? I believe GM still makes its largest profits from trucks. Will they sacrifice profit for political agenda?

The "new GM" should be Chevrolet/Cadillac with Pontiac as the performance/niche cars................Wrong: the new GM should be a stupid symbol propped up in the Museum of American History in DC. They should be out of business and not dragged along like the rest of America's "safety net" society. GM needs to go away so we can focus on the future, not the past. I woke up today with CBS telling me that the Vibe would be the first casualty of GM. I woke with a big smile on my face. Soon I will be able to buy another Vibe at a fire sale because some stupid person doesn't know it is a Corolla, and good for 200,000 miles. I love America. There is alway opportunity to take advantage of ignorance. Keep on making Corollas Toyota, because I'll keep Vibes in my driveway as long as you do.