Filed under: Car Buying, Trends
Pontiac "toughest sale on earth"
While GM as a whole saw a significant jump in sales and market share during the month of June due to the public
availability of the company's employee pricing plan, one of its brands was unable to capitalize on the promotion.
Pontiac sales actually fell 14.1%. The official word is that sales were down because Pontiac fleet sales were halted,
but dealers on the front line tell another story and blame poor marketing (remember the Oprah/G6 debacle?) and a lack
of fresh product for Pontiac being the "toughest sale on earth". Pontiac plans to trim the fat and discontinue the
Bonneville, Sunfire and Aztek, while introducing the much-too-long-awaited Solstice and Torrent "sport wagon", which is
really just a rebadged Equinox.
TCC also reports
that the void left by the Sunfire will be filled by a spin-off the Chevy Cobalt, probably much like the Pursuit (shown)
already sold in Canada. We expect the Solstice to inject some much needed fresh blood, but any boost to the brand's
image could be a wash thanks to the pair of rebranded Chevys.
More points on Pontiac:
More Canadian Pontiacs
Pontiac adds a slew of new models
It's official, dealers told to brace for smaller Buick,
Pontiac and GMC line-ups
Lutz's choice: Kill Pontiac or Buick?
L.A. Auto Show: Pontiac Torrent
_opt_thumbnail.jpg)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Dinger 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
I say make the G6 the new Malibu, the GTO the new Chevelle, and give the Solstice a bowtie. Then just kill the Pontiac name. Pontiac started out as the underling sister brand to co-sell with the Oakland division in the 1920's and it had a good run, but nothing lasts forever. GM doesn't need to be the biggest in the world, they need to be profitable and resources spent trying to distinguish similar products are resources not spent developing better products.
Reply
JustJase 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
So much for brand differentiation within GM! Just slap a new badge on a few vehicles and you're done. I was skeptical about the rumors about the possible demise of Pontiac or Buick. Sales figures like this make me rethink that.
The saddest part is that the G6 and Grand Prix (except the interior) aren't bad cars. The G6 in particular should be selling well. I wonder if the introduction of the 4-cylinder model will have much impact?
Also, when and why did Pontiac stop fleet sales?
Reply
Nick 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
GM is so G#*damn retarded it makes me sick. Didn't they just state they would cut down on blatant rebadge jobs and lower the # of Pontiac models? Now they're bringing on a rebadged Torrent and Pursuit to puff up sales. Sure, sales will rise. But the brand will continue to be damaged, to mean nothing else but a marketing ploy. Things were looking promising with the Solstice, and although the Vibe is a rebadged Toyota at least it is unique within the GM lineup...and the G6's sales will grow once they get a 4-cyl and two-door in there. Pontiac needs to be a focused brand...Solstice, G6, Vibe, Grand Prix, GTO...and sell them alongside GMC's and Buicks to cover an entire lineup, as planned. At least they are getting rid of the Aztek & Bonneville. They're halfway there...now get rid of the Montana, and kill the Pursuit & Torrent before they show up and damage the brand more. If GM doesn't learn to cut the fat where needed, their dismal performance will continue.
Reply
Paul 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
hey Lutz,
while you are killing Pontiac, might as well also kill Buick, Saturn, Chevy, Caddy, GMC
Reply
Rocket Punch 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
Aztek!!!!!! LMAO. Thats the #2 on my top 5 ugliest car in the world! So, what is my #1 you ask??
The Pontiac SUNFIRE!!!!!!! LMAO!!!!!
Reply
CrunchyCookie 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
GM is retarded indeed, but if anything, they're killing the wrong brand. The most useless ones are:
- GMC (what the hell does this stand for, and who needs it now that Cadillac's rebranding Tahoes and Avalanches)
- Saturn (import fighter? uh, isn't that mission inclusive in all brands, and aren't ALL of them failing their asses off at it?)
- Buick (no one wants an old fart's exclusive except for the current generation of old farts... kill the other two immediately and kill Buick in 10 years)
Pontiac at least sort of makes sense for the same reason Lexus (or Cadillac) makes sense: people of a richer (or sportier) caliber won't associate with people of a poorer (or more boring) one. And at least they're killing cars that make sense, which the Aztek did not. A fat rebadged sedan like the Bonneville didn't make sense either, but a rebadged Cobalt (small and sporty) sort of does. If only they'd make it look just a LITTLE different, and sportier, there'd be a point to it. A Torrent would make sense too if they didn't already have the Vibe (perhaps they forgot).
Now if they could just get rid of that Montana.
PS - Pontiac is the GM brand most bought by democrats. Analyze that.
Reply
olderty 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
No! Not the Asstek! Anything but the Asstek!
Reply
Whydrive 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
Ever since Dave Thomas left and folks like Paul appeared, Autoblog has descended to the same level as the Autoweek forums.
Reply
motorman 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
the new G6 looks like the older pontiacs and no one wants to buy a new car that their friends and neighbors will not notice they have a new car. some people,small percentage, buy a new car because they NEED one but most people, a very large percentage, buy because they want to be noticed. look at the difference between the D-C cars,you can tell the new ones from the old ones and that is why they are selling
Reply
Chris 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
Let me buy a Vibe GT at about $14 flat then you can kill off the brand.
Reply
T Man 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
Regarding the fleet sales comments. I imagine this was the sales of the 2005 Grand Am which was available for fleet sales (I guess to clear out a parts bin...). This was our last purchase of Pontiac Grand Ams because our fleet insurance company refers to the G6 as a "sports sedan" and would raise our premiums too high. Hello Malibu, here we come...
Reply
Slippery Pete 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
If the G6 is a sports sedan, Rosie O'Donnell models for Victoria's Secret.
Reply
prattkidd 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
Ok Pontiac heres the deal, rebadging sucks its the worst thing for a brand. Second the gto shouldnt be an austrailian car. Look towards the new mustang for inspiration and you cant loose. Third LAUNCH THE SOLSTICE. This is the best thing from pontiac in years. You could of sold double by now with the great marketing blitz of the apprentice and the web. But its starting to leave peoples minds. 4th bring back a firebird and a trans am an your set. Screw minvans and sport utilities leave that to the other gm brands.
Reply
Steve T. 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
"If the G6 is a sports sedan, Rosie O'Donnell models for Victoria's Secret."
Thanks alot - you just gave me a soft-on.
Reply
Quincy Mats 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
"If the G6 is a sports sedan, Rosie O'Donnell models for Victoria's Secret."
Victoria can't keep a secret that big.
Reply
FEZIG 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
The problem is the dealers. Every Dealer wants their brand to offer a full line of vehicles. GM needs to trim pontiac to its performance niche and supplement the dealers by allowing them to sell other brans in the same showroom.
Reply
Rocket Punch 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
LOL, Yeah! Everybody knows nothing screams "Sport Sedan" more than handing them out like candy on a female talk show, by a female talk show host, to her all female audience!
Thats "Sport Sedan" marketing American style! IN YOUR FACE BMW!
Reply
rollie demay 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
If the truth be known, and it seldom is, the answer is to badge everything "GMC" for General Motors Corp., and sell all the models at every "GMC" dealer. Costs to manufacture, advertise, and administer will go down if duplicity is erased. Dealers will have to be more competitive and offer the best service along with price to get customers. Don't tell me the risk of market share loss is to great, as the GM share has been going down forever. This might just save the company, and make them money!!
Reply
Toneroo 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
I walk past a Pontiac dealership every day and there are two things that stand out for me:
1. All the cars look the same.
2. There are cars that have been on the lot since at least January. And not just one or two, probably 30% of the lot.
Like many others here, I wish Pontiac would go back to their performance roots and turf all the rebadged family sedans and econoboxes. Who cares if the GTO isn't American. If it's a good solid performance car, put it on the lot, most people don't care where it was made. A couple of good Holdens and a couple of good performance tuned Opels and Pontiac could be a successful brand again.
Reply
Levi 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
I own a Pontiac Vibe (that I sure as hell don't drive--wife's car) It was at the bottom of the list of car's I'd buy, but the price was right, and financing problems I had aside, it's alright.
The experience I had at the dealership was a different story, it was the absolute worst I've ever had. I purchased a used Expedition from a Ford dealership and was treated excellently, great service, free refreshments, no lines, nothing, nice, easy, and trouble-free.
Before that, I bought a Chevy pickup, second-hand, from a Chevy dealer, and had a similar experience to the Ford.
Pontiac was the worst. The sales guy was slimy, had to make 5 separate trips to finance because they kept fscking up the paperwork. It was horrible. If it weren't for the Toyota parts on the vibe, I'd never touch a Pontiac, or even a GM car. And the experience at this dealership sealed the deal.
The GTO (and G6?) are the first 'nice' cars Pontiac has offered as long as I've been a car-buying consumer, and that's only because they're imported from .au
I like GM and Ford trucks, and the 'import' trucks from a few place, but I'd much rather walk than buy a 'US-made' car. After all, how many are really made in the USA anyway? They all come from Canada or (more likely) Mexico nowdays.
Reply