GM Said to Keep GMC, Eliminate Pontiac in New Plan (Update2)

Jim Higgins · 2009-04-24T21:53:11+00:00

Plan #221 Mk 7GM Said to Keep GMC, Eliminate Pontiac in New Plan (Update2) April 24 (Bloomberg) -- General Motors Corp., facing the threat of a bankruptcy filing if it can?t meet a June 1 U.S. deadline, will preserve the GMC truck line and drop its 83-year- old Pontiac brand as part of a government-led recalibration of its business plan, people familiar with the decision said.The Detroit automaker, which received an additional $2 billion in federal assistance on April 22, will keep the GMC, Chevrolet, Cadillac and Buick brands, after a review that included profitability with the Obama administration?s automotive task force, said the people, who asked not to be named because the decisions have not been announced.GM may reveal next week the end of the make that produced the Grand Prix, Bonneville and Firebirds, they said.?I hate to see these brands go, they are a part of the American experience,? said John Wolkonowicz, a forecaster and auto historian at IHS Global Insight Inc. in Lexington, Massachusetts. ?If you were growing up in the 1960s, Pontiac was the hottest thing going.?Pontiac spawned the ?muscle car? era in 1964 when it stuffed a 389-cubic-inch V8 engine into a Tempest and called it the GTO. Killing the brand highlights the changes GM is being forced to make to survive in its second century of carmaking.GM had already decided late last year to cut Pontiac to a niche brand, possibly with just one model, to sell alongside Buick and GMC in combined showrooms. To trim from its roster of eight U.S. brands, GM has said it will sell or shut Hummer, Saab and Saturn.Steve Harris, a GM spokesman, declined to comment on the brands.Savings Needed?I should have seen the signs: You can?t even order a 2010 Pontiac G6,? said Russ Shelton, a Pontiac-Buick-GMC dealer in Rochester Hills, Michigan. ?Once they make this announcement, those are basically sales-proof.?Chief Executive Officer Fritz Henderson is in a race against the June deadline set by President Barack Obama to...

Apr 24, 2009 20 Replies

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80 Knight 17 years ago

To me, styling is absolutely necessary. I have never seen an Import that I considered nice looking. They just don't seem to care to make cool looking cars, and the buyers don't seem to care either, so I guess that's great for both sides.

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