Why pontiac and not buick

There were obvious ones like Saturn , which never made money. And also GMC trucks was just redundant; they were rebadged Chevy trucks. But GM would never kill Pontiac. In spite of GMC being just a Chevy truck with a different badge, it was making money. Lots of money.

It also gave its Cadillac and Buick dealers something other than a Chevy truck to offer buyers. Sales were up and the future looked bright for Buick there. Even though it now is doing better and is starting to be defined as providing a wide range of SUVs, China is what saved it.

Pontiac had no China. Sales were suffering horribly. Not that some of the other GM divisions were doing a lot better. And all the steps through his life from Pontiac, to Olds, Buick etc That is what killed the Desoto Lost identity killed them. Modern people did not see the ladder of esteem like GM once had going.

Robert J. Palmer and flatford39 like this. Joined: Sep 17, Posts: 9, Profile Page. Pontiac was the next step up from Chev in the GM hierarchy. They were different companies within the GM fold. They shared the same body shell but went to a lot of trouble to disguise it. Everything else was different like chassis, engine, transmission, steering, suspension etc. In an informal poll about , auto writer Tom McCahill found Pontiac was a strong favorite of garage mechanics as a car for their own use.

Naturally price had a lot to do with it but they seemed to think the Pontiac was a well made reliable car, and better value than Chev.

Rusty O'Toole , Jul 29, John Stutzer likes this. Joined: Aug 24, Posts: 1, Profile Page. What are the chances pontiac and possibly even olds could come back? Joined: Aug 23, Posts: 12, Profile Page. Hnstray , Jul 29, In my opinion, during the era specified, the greatest difference was between Chevrolet and all the rest of GM cars. In that period, Chevrolet was pretty much a one trick pony.

All models and body styles shared the same chassis, engine, driveline Whereas, depending on the model of the other makes selected, you could have a GM "A"or "B" or "C" body shell Anything higher up than a Chevy had a much heavier frame and suspension, heavier duty duty rear axle assemblies, etc. During that era, GM ruled the world in industrial marketing. Automobiles, trucks, busses, railroad locomotives, excavating equipment, power transmission equipment, military equipment of all types, diesel and marine engines, turbine engines Fabulous history Last edited: Jul 30, John Stutzer like this.

Joined: Jul 6, Posts: 33 Profile Page. With Pontiac being the performance division and Oldsmobile the technology division. Or that's how it was for decades until it all fell apart towards the end. Joined: Feb 10, Posts: Profile Page. Go back to the 20's and it was an even bigger choice at GM. Before Pontiac was an old man's car.

They had a good reputation for reliability and comfort but not for performance. Look at the with its two bands of chrome over the hood like a fat man wearing suspenders. Then Bunkie Knudsen took over. His first move was to do away with the silver streaks that had been a Pontiac trademark since His next move was to jazz up the Pontiac with performance and style. His motto was, you can sell a young man's car to an old man but you can't sell an old man's car to a young man.

Through the late fifties and sixties Pontiac was considered a hot car, in style and performance, a complete change from their former reputation. This was a deliberate marketing move on the part of the top management. Rusty O'Toole , Jul 30, Joined: Nov 22, Posts: 4, Profile Page. Palmer , Jul 30, The brands were very much "not working together" according to what he was saying.

For better or worse, the Solstice and the G8 were little more than niche vehicles, unable to sustain the division in the long run. Bottom line: In a status- and label-conscious world, the name Pontiac had about as much cache in as Rambler. True confessions: I just purchased a used G8 GT pictured. It is an outstanding machine and I love it, though it might have the worst name in history—say G8 GT 10 times fast. Problem is every time I tell people I bought a Pontiac I get that look normally reserved for the guy whose cell phone is ringing I church.

After Semon E. Trans Am. Laugh now, but they flew off dealer lots back in the day. Then came the bad times. Plastic body cladding proliferated ribbed for her pleasure? Rebadged Chevy and Korean compact cars. Inferior build quality.