Will Pontiac Survive?

[Shane]

by Peter M. DeLorenzo


Soul Survivor or just Dust in the Wind?

Detroit. The legendary Pontiac names alone could power a rollcall from Detroit's golden era - Bonneville, Catalina, Tempest, Le Mans, GTO, "The Judge," Grand Prix, Firebird and Trans-Am. The rich additions to the automotive lexicon were legendary too - "389," "421," "455SD," "Tri-Power," "eight-lug" aluminum wheels, Royal Bobcats, "Endura" front bumpers, hood-mounted tachs, and on and on. And the marketing and advertising hooks were equally memorable - with the famous "Wide Track" campaign still resonating to this day. But Pontiac has suffered from neglect and abuse for years, and now GM's maverick division is on the edge of oblivion.

With the departure by next fall of the recently returned GTO, Pontiac will be left with only one car that even remotely resembles their swashbuckling cars of the past - the Solstice two-seat roadster. The G6 is far too tame to carry Pontiac forward on its own, and everything else Pontiac has to offer - the Torrent (which is a badge-engineered Chevy Equinox) and the upcoming G5 (which will be a badge-engineered version of the Chevy Cobalt) - is too mundane to even ponder.

Pontiac has suffered mightily from the bureaucratic gravitational force field that has churned and stirred the traditional GM divisional structure over the years. While GM marketers scrambled to prop up seven other brands, Pontiac always seemed to be left out on the fringe with product initiatives that often fell woefully short of what the brand deserved. After resurrecting Cadillac to the tune of $5 billion, GM marketers launched Hummer. After dumping a boatload of money in a desperate attempt to save Saturn a few years ago, GM finally got around to worrying about Chevrolet. While GM is trying to pump life into Saab and Buick, Pontiac is left to fight over crumbs for its product plans. Now, GM's launching the most aggressive new product push in Saturn's history - and Pontiac finds itself left out in the cold again.

For every dollar that was thrown at Saturn, Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac, Hummer, GMC and Saab over the years - Pontiac got short changed and got further and further removed from its core strengths. GM's maverick division has now been reduced to picking up scraps from Chevy's product lineup and wallowing in such "smoke-and-mirrors" marketing exercises like the dismally tedious "Apprentice" TV show, featuring America's poster boy for vacuous vapidity - Donald Trump. Or underwriting Jimmy Kimmel's show while it was here during the Super Bowl, which provided a real boost to the Pontiac image. Not.

Where did GM go wrong with Pontiac? I could fill a dozen issues of Autoextremist.com delineating the division's downfall, but as someone who was intimately familiar with Pontiac's last brief fling with positive notoriety during its "Excitement" years (I was a writer at Pontiac's ad agency for five-and-one-half years in the early '80s), it pains me to see the downward spiral of one of America's most compelling automotive brand names.

It's clear to me that GM's struggle to apportion product and marketing attention to all of its divisions is killing the company - and unfortunately, Pontiac finds itself closest to the door at this point. Until GM's "too many models, too many divisions" situation is somehow mitigated (which I doubt will ever happen unless GM blows itself up and starts over), I fear for the long-term viability of Pontiac.

To understand the travesty of Pontiac's current state you have to go back and understand the impact Pontiac once had on the U.S. market. It's hard to believe this now but at one point during its glory days in the '60s Pontiac was the hottest car company in the country, breathing down Ford's neck in third place in sales. If ever a car company defined "swagger" - Pontiac was it. Pontiac was GM's "pirate" division, and if they could have raised a "skull and crossbones" flag over its headquarters in its heyday, they would have. On any given day, Pontiac was always pissing someone off down at GM headquarters because they just couldn't help themselves from bitch-slapping Chevrolet and sending Chevy executives whining to the 14th floor like little school girls over some perceived transgression.

Starting with Bunkie Knudsen, Pontiac pushed the envelope and marched to a different drummer. Pontiac tweaked their cars to the point that they didn't even seem like they were part of the GM family. More than any other American car company, Pontiac delivered cars to the market bristling with a maverick, rebel attitude, edgy appeal and genuine soul - a commodity so far removed from most of Detroit's products today it's appalling. The street "buzz" around Pontiac was undeniable - and it was fueled by some of the most memorable advertising ever done for an automobile. For one fleeting moment in time, product and advertising came together in such a way that it created an American sensation. If you drove a Pontiac, it definitely said something about you. You were different from the crowd and you went your own way. And the aura that was created around the brand translated into gold in the marketplace, sending Pontiac sales soaring.

Now, Pontiac is a mere shadow of its once glorious self. Except for the Solstice, it has been relegated to cribbing seconds from Chevrolet - a revolting development that must have Bunkie Knudsen and John DeLorean spinning in their graves. To top it off, even the Solstice won't exclusively be left to Pontiac, because the upcoming Saturn Sky will add to the confusion and leave Pontiac grasping for footing in the market again.

The fact that Pontiac's most recent downward spiral was hastened by famed product guru Bob Lutz might be a surprise to some people, but that's exactly what happened. Maximum Bob's "read" of what Pontiac should stand for in the market was totally off base. He has always fancied Pontiac as GM's "euro" division, a cut-rate BMW for the people who couldn't afford BMWs. And that simply couldn't be further removed from what Pontiac was and should be. That might more closely describe where Saturn is going, but it certainly isn't Pontiac. If any car appealed to the all-American maverick spirit and to the wide-open American attitude, Pontiac was it - and confusing the whole thing with European driving sensibilities is a monumental waste of time. The pure essence of Pontiac was there for all to see, but the current stewards of the brand either forgot it - or never did have a clue to begin with.

Pontiac is on thin ice right now. With the next-generation Firebird slated for late 2008 as a 2009 model, what the hell are they going to do in the meantime? How many different variations of the Solstice and the G6 can they do? And who's going to notice the G5? Pontiac is supposed to get a RWD car (along with Chevy, natch) that could be the new Grand Prix, but I'm looking at my watch and right now the 2008/2009 time frame sounds like an eternity in this market.

GM can go two ways with Pontiac at this critical juncture. They can keep starving it to death with brand engineering and clone cars, or they can start over with an all-new mission that adheres to the core essence of what a Pontiac was - and should be.

It shouldn't be hard. All it would take is a total commitment from GM and the right people in place to make it all happen. But then again, those two key ingredients are the two things necessary in bringing focused, desirable products to the street no matter which company we're talking about.

Back in '81, I did a print ad for the Firebird Trans-Am that had the headline, "Soul Survivor." That ad set the tone for the "excitement" era that followed and started Pontiac on its way back. But Pontiac has unfortunately careened in and out of relevance ever since.

The time is now for Pontiac. The division deserves better. Much better. GM needs to get in touch with the essence and soul of Pontiac and put it on a plan not only for survival - but for revival. If done exactly right, Pontiac's marching to a different drummer persona could have tremendous appeal today in this market of vanilla Asian transportation appliances and German techno-wonders. And if GM can't muster the will to do the right thing with one of America's most famous automotive nameplates, then they might as well just take it out back and put it out of its misery.

I'd rather see that than watch it fade away like dust in the wind.

[3.0L V6]

Pontiac's probably going to be kept around for a bit. Their main draw (at least for GM) is that their buyers are relatively young. But everyone has their own fond memories of GM divisions past (hell, even Saturn has a cult of followers), but you can't sell cars like companies sell laundry detergent...

[Shane]

Well said.  Pontiac may hang on for awhile but I have a feeling they are on their way out....5 years max.  A shame.  GM is notorious for letting some divisions languish..almost like they hope they'll go under, then it'll be easier to present the business case to the dealers.

[TBR]

Pontiac's probably going to be kept around for a bit. Their main draw (at least for GM) is that their buyers are relatively young. But everyone has their own fond memories of GM divisions past (hell, even Saturn has a cult of followers), but you can't sell cars like companies sell laundry detergent...

Yeah, they got quite a following during the '90s, then the 2000s rolled around and they screwed everything up with the Vue, Ion, and L-series.  

[ifcar]

L-Series and Vue were never bad cars, they were just very rough around the edges. The Vue's 06 polishing suggests that had the L been kept around, it would be a decent value option right now.

[SJ_GTI]

The Solstice is doing fantastic, and the G6 has solid sales (I don't understand why its sales keep being reported as "dissappointing" since its one of the best selling sedans in the country).

I don't think Pontiac will ever take over Toyota, but it has the same type of market as Mazda (which also will never be as big as Toyota). Just because you aren't #1 doesn't mean you can't compete.

That being said GM is running the division half-heartily. For every good car it gets, it also seems to get a mediocre rebadge.

The GTO was followed up with the SV6, the G6 was followed up with the Torrent, and now the Solstice will be followed up with the G5...

I think if GM let Pontiac do its own thing (within the GM parts bin) we could see some really interesting car from them.

[TBR]

Why are you so quick the judge the G5? The Cobalt is at least a competitive compact and Pontiac will definitely be making some changes. I think it will be a better product than the G6.

[SJ_GTI]

I'm sure it will be an okay car, just like I think the torrent is an okay "Cute-Ute." They are just a waste since they are differentiated from Chevy whatsoever.

GM is just lazy IMHO. From an engineering POV how much harder would it to have been to use the 3.9L V6 rather than the 3.4 (same basic engine afterall) and just charge a little more? Give it that engine, standard AWD and a sport suspension and it all of a sudden makes sense as a Pontiac rather than being a "filler" vehicle to satisfy dealers.

[TBR]

You don't know how much the G5 will be differentiated from the Cobalt, in fact there are rumors of completely unique body work.

[SJ_GTI]

You don't know how much the G5 will be differentiated from the Cobalt, in fact there are rumors of completely unique body work.

I was optomistic at first, but after hearing more about it, it really will just be a "Pursuit" renamed to the G5.

[so cal cookie]

If you didn't know any better, it would be REALLY easy to call the G6 in that lead shot a Solara.

[Raza]

Of course Pontiac will survive.  Look how long GM has kept Saturn around, and they're NEVER turned a profit.

[TBR]

Saturn: what a mess.

The S-series should've been the Cavalier replacement, launching an entire brand with one model and not giving it any more for something like 8 years was just incredibly stupid.  

[ifcar]

How do you figure? The Cavalier was already selling very well, and when the Saturn was introduced, it also sold very well.

In the early years, the division wasn't profitable because it still had to cover the costs of its creation, and in the later years, the product had grown out-of-date. The Saturn concept was a good one, and it would have done very well with 5-year redesign cycles and more than one product.  

[TBR]

I don't see why less money put into Chevrolet instead of starting Saturn wouldn't have had the same end result. Everybody knows that Saturn is a GM brand, which is exactly why it didn't make sense to have two completely different compact cars competing almost directly with each other.

[ifcar]

Actually, many Saturn customers had no idea they were buying a GM.

And remember the situation that GM was in during the 1980s when Saturn was proposed, they were selling predominantly inferior products, losing money, and showing no sign of changing. If nothing else, Saturn could be used to show investors that GM wasn't just sitting back and watching things fall apart.

GM had already spent the previous decade throwing money at its current divisions. That strategy didn't work. The Saturn approach would have.  

[WookieOnRitalin]

In a lot of ways, I think Pontiac suffers from the same ailment as Mercury. They are the victims of rebadges and are not given free reign on their development. It's quite a shame really. Mercury is begging to bring back the Cougar to bring some degree of excitement back into the brand, but the reality is that Pontiac is between a rock and a hard place. They have an uphill battle from here. They get smeared by the critics and get very little support from within the company. I want Pontiac to do well, but my problem with Pontiac over the years has just been poor build quality especially in the Grand Ams. I've driven Sunfires and Grand Ams and have seen enough problems in each to say I will never buy a Pontiac. Since then, I have ammended my views saying I will never buy either of those vehicles.

Pontiac has a niche. A niche it developed in the 90s that GM has failed to exploit. They are and should be a performance division of GM. I would rather see GM drop the SS badges off of Chevys and drop that performance purely into the Pontiac brand. Then allow Pontiac to design and create a unique set of models that will further push their niche. If they move 300-500k units a year as a brand, then that's fine. That's what their goals should be. I just don't want to see Pontiac ruined because GM doesn't want to put money into it.

G6 and Solstice are a step in the right direction. They should also develop more hatch back designs...3 and 5 door variants. How about a 7 seater wagon ala Freestlye?

The rebadging of the Cobalt (G5) and the Bravada (Torrent) is just completely unacceptable.

Pontiac is not nearly in as bad of shape as Mercury who is plummeting right now. Pontiac is not going anywhere. I believe GM would relinquish (sell) a few of their other brands before they dumped Pontiac. I still believe that the dumping of Oldsmobile is the greatest auto industry tragedy since AMC was bought out. Sacraficing American nameplates is part of the reason Domestics are struggling and that is why Chevrolet did so well even with poor products. More than anything right now GM needs to hold onto product lines Americans can identify with and forget the exotics like Saab and Isuzu and Hummer. If GM spent a little more time strengthening their American name plates, perhaps they would not be in as much financial peril as they are.  

[TBR]

Actually, many Saturn customers had no idea they were buying a GM.

And remember the situation that GM was in during the 1980s when Saturn was proposed, they were selling predominantly inferior products, losing money, and showing no sign of changing. If nothing else, Saturn could be used to show investors that GM wasn't just sitting back and watching things fall apart.

GM had already spent the previous decade throwing money at its current divisions. That strategy didn't work. The Saturn approach would have.

I thought the formation of Saturn was widely publicized <_< .

Additionally, note that I said that introducing the brand with only one model was stupid, not that introducing the brand itself was necessarily stupid. The brand could've made sense if they offered at least a midsizer as well.  

[ifcar]

The brand would have made sense even without the inclusion of a midsize car at first. In fact, it's probably better that way, let the bugs get worked out with one vehicle instead of with a full fleet. But then they pretty much abandoned it.

And yes, Saturn was given a fair amount of publicity. But plenty of automotive news is well-publicized yet unknown by many. As an example, ask people you know if they've heard of Scion, and if they know who makes its products.

[TBR]

Everyone I know who has heard of Scion knows it is a Toyota brand.  

[ifcar]

But how many people do you think had heard of Saturn before 1990? The people who had never heard of it but were willing to consider it wouldn't have had any idea, and unlike with Scion, its sales literature did not enlighten them.

[Catman]

In a lot of ways, I think Pontiac suffers from the same ailment as Mercury. They are the victims of rebadges and are not given free reign on their development. It's quite a shame really. Mercury is begging to bring back the Cougar to bring some degree of excitement back into the brand, but the reality is that Pontiac is between a rock and a hard place. They have an uphill battle from here. They get smeared by the critics and get very little support from within the company. I want Pontiac to do well, but my problem with Pontiac over the years has just been poor build quality especially in the Grand Ams. I've driven Sunfires and Grand Ams and have seen enough problems in each to say I will never buy a Pontiac. Since then, I have ammended my views saying I will never buy either of those vehicles.

Pontiac has a niche. A niche it developed in the 90s that GM has failed to exploit. They are and should be a performance division of GM. I would rather see GM drop the SS badges off of Chevys and drop that performance purely into the Pontiac brand. Then allow Pontiac to design and create a unique set of models that will further push their niche. If they move 300-500k units a year as a brand, then that's fine. That's what their goals should be. I just don't want to see Pontiac ruined because GM doesn't want to put money into it.

G6 and Solstice are a step in the right direction. They should also develop more hatch back designs...3 and 5 door variants. How about a 7 seater wagon ala Freestlye?

The rebadging of the Cobalt (G5) and the Bravada (Torrent) is just completely unacceptable.

Pontiac is not nearly in as bad of shape as Mercury who is plummeting right now. Pontiac is not going anywhere. I believe GM would relinquish (sell) a few of their other brands before they dumped Pontiac. I still believe that the dumping of Oldsmobile is the greatest auto industry tragedy since AMC was bought out. Sacraficing American nameplates is part of the reason Domestics are struggling and that is why Chevrolet did so well even with poor products. More than anything right now GM needs to hold onto product lines Americans can identify with and forget the exotics like Saab and Isuzu and Hummer. If GM spent a little more time strengthening their American name plates, perhaps they would not be in as much financial peril as they are.

Couldn't agree more.  Welcome to the forum.  

[ifcar]

"The rebadging of the Cobalt (G5) and the Bravada (Torrent) is just completely unacceptable."

The Torrent is an Equinox, the Saab 9-7X is the equally dispiriting Bravada/TrailBlazer/whatnot.

[BMWDave]

In a lot of ways, I think Pontiac suffers from the same ailment as Mercury. They are the victims of rebadges and are not given free reign on their development. It's quite a shame really. Mercury is begging to bring back the Cougar to bring some degree of excitement back into the brand, but the reality is that Pontiac is between a rock and a hard place. They have an uphill battle from here. They get smeared by the critics and get very little support from within the company. I want Pontiac to do well, but my problem with Pontiac over the years has just been poor build quality especially in the Grand Ams. I've driven Sunfires and Grand Ams and have seen enough problems in each to say I will never buy a Pontiac. Since then, I have ammended my views saying I will never buy either of those vehicles.

Pontiac has a niche. A niche it developed in the 90s that GM has failed to exploit. They are and should be a performance division of GM. I would rather see GM drop the SS badges off of Chevys and drop that performance purely into the Pontiac brand. Then allow Pontiac to design and create a unique set of models that will further push their niche. If they move 300-500k units a year as a brand, then that's fine. That's what their goals should be. I just don't want to see Pontiac ruined because GM doesn't want to put money into it.

G6 and Solstice are a step in the right direction. They should also develop more hatch back designs...3 and 5 door variants. How about a 7 seater wagon ala Freestlye?

The rebadging of the Cobalt (G5) and the Bravada (Torrent) is just completely unacceptable.

Pontiac is not nearly in as bad of shape as Mercury who is plummeting right now. Pontiac is not going anywhere. I believe GM would relinquish (sell) a few of their other brands before they dumped Pontiac. I still believe that the dumping of Oldsmobile is the greatest auto industry tragedy since AMC was bought out. Sacraficing American nameplates is part of the reason Domestics are struggling and that is why Chevrolet did so well even with poor products. More than anything right now GM needs to hold onto product lines Americans can identify with and forget the exotics like Saab and Isuzu and Hummer. If GM spent a little more time strengthening their American name plates, perhaps they would not be in as much financial peril as they are.

Welcome to the forums :)