Lutz says Washington killed Pontiac, next G6 was to be ATS derivative
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Lutz says Washington killed Pontiac, next G6 was to be ATS derivative
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How many people think Buick or GMC should have gotten the axe instead of Pontiac? You can't see it, but I'm raising my hand. Autoweek reports that former Vice Chairman of GM, Bob Lutz, has indicated that things didn't have to end up the way they did.
"The Feds said, 'Yeah, how much money have you made on Pontiac in the last 10 years?' and the answer was, 'Nothing.'"
In a talk given at the Petersen Automotive Museum for the Inside the MotoMan Studio series, Lutz says "The Feds said, 'Yeah, how much money have you made on Pontiac in the last 10 years?' and the answer was, 'Nothing.' So, it goes. And when the guy who is handing you the check for $53 billion says, 'I don't want Pontiac, drop Pontiac or you don't get the money,' it doesn't take you very long to make up your mind." Lutz even added that the next-generation Pontiac G6 would have benefitted from the rear-wheel-drive platform of the Cadillac ATS.
http://www.autoblog.com/2013/10/29/l...-be-ats-deriv/
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Well it's nice what the next G6 "would have been", but the bottom line is that most Pontiacs were crap. My favorite was the Grand Prix, but they really weren't very good cars, and no sales outside of the U.S. really. Buick, due to China sales, and GMC and Chevy and the other brands made more sense. I thought GMC could have gone, too. Plenty of analysts had been saying for years that GM had way too many brands, so as much as I don't like it when the government tells the private sector what to do, what happened is probably what needed to happen. I do miss Pontiac, but don't miss Saturn at all.
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That's the shame right there. Just when an interesting change was happening at GM, it was too late. This is what Pontiac should have been all about. The G6 and G8 RWD sedans, a new GTO coupe, and a roadster to start. That's all they needed to remain a sport niche. But instead they diluted the whole brand with Aztek, Torrent, Montana SV6, Grand Am, Grand Prix, Vibe :/
RIP Pontiac and what could have been
RIP Pontiac and what could have been
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Contrary to many opinions in the auto press, Buick was not kept just because of Chinese sales. The brand has been almost completely transformed right here in the U.S. In addition to that, with the demise of Oldsmobile and Mercury, those former customers had few other places to shop outside of Buick and Chrysler.
What happened at Saturn after 1999-2000, IMO, was nothing short of criminal. In the 1990's, it was one of the most successful new-brand launches in history, setting new standards in a low-priced brand for customer service, ease-of-purchase, and money-back guarantees for buyers' remorse. But, in its second decade, GM management clearly forgot what made the company successful (compact, reliable, plastic-bodied cars with unique features) and tried to make it into another run-of-the-mill GM division. The result was nothing short of diastrous.
Had Saturn been sensibly managed after 2000, and kept at what it originally did best, it would still probably be in buisness.
I do miss Pontiac, but don't miss Saturn at all.
Had Saturn been sensibly managed after 2000, and kept at what it originally did best, it would still probably be in buisness.
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Last edited by mmarshall; 10-30-13 at 07:05 PM.
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LOL. GM killed Pontiac because they were such a poor company and didn't know how to manage themselves. The Government just made them address the issue. Its like getting lung cancer and blaming the Dr because you can't run a popular 5k race after they removed a lobe of the lung.
Last edited by I8ABMR; 10-30-13 at 02:22 PM.
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Like GM really needed a Pontiac G6 version of the Cadillac ATS? That right there is a prime example of what had been killing the entire company. Basically duplicate cars, with duplicated marketing needs, and duplicated products on the market, which ended up competing with each other and cannibalizing sales and profitability from each other. If you really like and want a Cadillac ATS, there ought to be only one choice. The ATS. Not the ATS, and then a Pontiac version of it, oh and then a Chevy version of it, oh and then a Buick version of it also.
mmarshall, I agree with you completely on Saturn. The original cars were brilliant, tested and performed very well, and were every bit as good as Toyotas and Hondas were in reliability. It's a damned shame what GM mis-management did to the company. I don't miss the company that was shut down, but do miss the spirit of the original cars and company.
mmarshall, I agree with you completely on Saturn. The original cars were brilliant, tested and performed very well, and were every bit as good as Toyotas and Hondas were in reliability. It's a damned shame what GM mis-management did to the company. I don't miss the company that was shut down, but do miss the spirit of the original cars and company.
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Like GM really needed a Pontiac G6 version of the Cadillac ATS? That right there is a prime example of what had been killing the entire company. Basically duplicate cars, with duplicated marketing needs, and duplicated products on the market, which ended up competing with each other and cannibalizing sales and profitability from each other. If you really like and want a Cadillac ATS, there ought to be only one choice. The ATS. Not the ATS, and then a Pontiac version of it, oh and then a Chevy version of it, oh and then a Buick version of it also.
mmarshall, I agree with you completely on Saturn. The original cars were brilliant, tested and performed very well, and were every bit as good as Toyotas and Hondas were in reliability. It's a damned shame what GM mis-management did to the company. I don't miss the company that was shut down, but do miss the spirit of the original cars and company.
mmarshall, I agree with you completely on Saturn. The original cars were brilliant, tested and performed very well, and were every bit as good as Toyotas and Hondas were in reliability. It's a damned shame what GM mis-management did to the company. I don't miss the company that was shut down, but do miss the spirit of the original cars and company.
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I remember when the Saturns came out they seemed pretty promising , especially as a young driver growing up in LA where everyone is a commuter. Too little , too late....
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Like GM really needed a Pontiac G6 version of the Cadillac ATS? That right there is a prime example of what had been killing the entire company. Basically duplicate cars, with duplicated marketing needs, and duplicated products on the market, which ended up competing with each other and cannibalizing sales and profitability from each other. If you really like and want a Cadillac ATS, there ought to be only one choice. The ATS. Not the ATS, and then a Pontiac version of it, oh and then a Chevy version of it, oh and then a Buick version of it also.
mmarshall, I agree with you completely on Saturn. The original cars were brilliant, tested and performed very well, and were every bit as good as Toyotas and Hondas were in reliability. It's a damned shame what GM mis-management did to the company. I don't miss the company that was shut down, but do miss the spirit of the original cars and company.
mmarshall, I agree with you completely on Saturn. The original cars were brilliant, tested and performed very well, and were every bit as good as Toyotas and Hondas were in reliability. It's a damned shame what GM mis-management did to the company. I don't miss the company that was shut down, but do miss the spirit of the original cars and company.
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aSaturn started as a youthful Scion like company that ended up being on the same level (and vehicles) as Chevrolet. Too much overlap. Saturn should have stayed a Scion competitor, and not offered the Outlook, Relay to name a few. Good affordable and decently equipped passenger cars is all they needed. Chevrolet is your everything brand, understood.
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BTW, Lutz does a write-in Car Question/Answer column for viewers now every month (which I read) in the back of the Road & Track issues...it features a classic picture of him in his late father's old Aston Martin (now his, of course) puffing on a big Cuban stogie (he still likes expensive cigars) .
![](https://www.roadandtrack.com/cm/roadandtrack/images/we/Bob-Lutz-May-2013-lg.jpg)