Pontiac's offical obit

[PaceFever79]

Still can't believe the company that invented muscle cars is gone.

Besides the Tempest, Lemans, GTO, Firebirds, I thought the last Ws6 TA ,
G6, G8, GTO, and Solstice were some of GM's best cars!

Anyhow, read it and weep.....

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/30/bu...1&ref=business

[shockstang]

I agree. I hate to see Pontiac go, not to mention Olds and now Mercury is out or on it's way out.

[cwh19]

I also really like Pontiac. They make some of the most appealing cars on the market.

[03 OW SVT]

I hated to see Pontiac go too. I had a couple. The one I had that I loved was my 86, 6000 STE. It was a great car. It was one of the first American cars to have ABS, level ride, and it's own air compressor in the trunk.

[Silverhatch]

Shame that they are gone, but besides the admission of CST_03, how many have actually owned one? I haven't.

[Ares]

Yep sad to see Pontiac go. Few cars I'm suprised GM didn't rebadge as Chevy or Buick.

Had a '79 Firebird that had a 301 in it which I yanked and dropped a 350 Olds in.

[map351]

Still can't believe the company that invented muscle cars is gone.

I don't know how they get away with that statement? There were muscle cars long before the GTO, in 62/63 Ford offered a lightweight Galaxie 300 406 PI with trips 4 speed 3:91 Detroit locker later in the model year a 427 LR MR HR were available Remember the T-Birds with Paxton blowers or 8V & Trips..

[PaceFever79]

I don't know how they get away with that statement? There were muscle cars long before the GTO, in 62/63 Ford offered a lightweight Galaxie 300 406 PI with trips 4 speed 3:91 Detroit locker later in the model year a 427 LR MR HR were available Remember the T-Birds with Paxton blowers or 8V & Trips..

"Muscle" cars were not just high performance cars.

There were many high performance full size cars with big motors.

And the Corvette, Thunderbird, and Mustang GT 289 HiPo (each a benchmark in their own right).

The 1964 Tempest / GTO was the first intermediate car with a "big" engine (over 350 CID).

[Martin0660]

I hate to see them go too, but they really seemed to have been a lost brand for a while. I will likely say the same when the official Mercury shutdown is complete.

[PaceFever79]

I hate to see them go too, but they really seemed to have been a lost brand for a while. I will likely say the same when the official Mercury shutdown is complete.

In a way, I view this as just another example of a parent company buying,
transforming, incorporating, then liquidating their competition.

It just took a long agonizing decades to do.

Both Pontiac and Murcury could have thrived if not so connected to the teet
of their parent companies (ie, making non Fords and Chevies).

Mercury lost its independence in 1973, Pontiac in 1976.

Soon we will have all Ford and GM "world" cars, including the Mustang.

Then our automotive heritage will be officially dead.

[John4cam]

I always thought pontiacs had better interiors than chevy's in compairable vehicles. I had a 96 bonneville and it was a very reliable tank.

[map351]

The 1964 Tempest / GTO was the first intermediate car with a "big" engine (over 350 CID).

The 1962 dart 413 wedge was basically the same class & size/weight as the GTO the dart was lighted with +1" WB the Dart was a intermediate class car.

[PaceFever79]

The 1962 dart 413 wedge was basically the same class & size/weight as the GTO the dart was lighted with +1" WB the Dart was a intermediate class car.

Okay, technically, this is a muscle car

[ModularMike]

Pontiac sucks!

[03 OW SVT]

Pontiac sucks!

[SK360]

RIP

Pouring one out for my dead homie tonight

[stieny]

RIP

Pouring one out for my dead homie tonight

[phillysrt4]

So yesterday was the last day you could buy a pontiac (assuming anyone had any left and you even wanted one) because the contract expired?

I read on another website someone lamenting the death of pontiac. His view was that Pontiac was already braindead when they discontinued the firebird, it just took a few years for the body to stop kicking.

[MBH]

I remember going to look at a G8 GT last fall to see what kind of a deal I could get on one since Pontiac was dead. Same dealership I leased my Hummer from. Absolutely terrible experience, had to leave in the middle of talking with the manager when he was telling me the most he could do wasn't even 3k off sticker, because they will be HIGHLY sought after collectibles, just like the Solstice (he points towards the solstice on the showroom floor, which happened to be a 2007 they still haven't sold!!). He proceeded to tell me that maybe the car is just out of my league, not because of the actual payment... but because I didn't agree with his assessment of the vehicles value.

Shame too, because Wright Hummer was great to deal with from beginning to end.

Now, take that experience and repeat it a few thousand times... that, plus a line of average cars, trying to command above average money.... yeah, the company will tank.

[PaceFever79]

The main reason Pontiac was axed was because it doesn't have any "world" market.
GM sees China and Asia as their growth market. Their former CEO even said this on
their 2009 CNBC special. Buick and Chevy are GM's leading brand in China and Asia.
That is the real and dirty secret why they killed Pontiac.

It was a domestic (only) brand.