and they continue to do so to this day, its a money printing machine, still should have kept pontiac in the U.S.. I'd go as far to say that Buick was probably tied with Saturn as the worst brands that they could have kept.
Many years ago I was at an event at a Nascar race shop, and they had a Chevy SS there with a GM rep. Father was very interested, as he was also interested in a G8 GT, but couldn't get past the interior quality for the price. The SS had a much nicer interior, so dad asked the rep why they weren't selling them in Canada. She said "We didn't see enough interest in the G8 there, so we decided not to sell the SS there." Thought about that later in the day and realized something. You know what would have helped sell the G8? FUCKING! ADVERTISING! IT! Never saw one advertisement for it during it's entire run. Later learned the SS was nothing more than a "homologation" and a "no really Holden fans, we definitely aren't dumping your brand" special. Holden and Pontiac are intertwined as brands that deserved much better than what the circus children in GM's management did to them.
Yeah, when doing research I found out only 4 G8 GXPs were sold in canada, they originally gave 10 to the Canadian market, and the other 6 were just thrown out.
Well framing it as a Pontiac vs Buick thing is not accurate. The decision to keep Buick and kill Pontiac were independent of each other. According to Bob Lutz, the feds wanted GM to just be Chevy and Cadillac, with the rationale that GM only needed one mass market and one luxury brand. GM argued to keep Buick due to maintain their reputation in China, plus Buick was genuinely profitable at the time due to the success of models like the Lacrosse and Enclave, so the Feds allowed it. GM also similarly cited the profitability of GMC to keep that brand alive, and the Feds allowed it. According to Lutz, GM wanted to keep Pontiac, but since Pontiac had been unprofitable since the 90s, the Feds said no. So framing it as a Pontiac vs Buick thing is just not accurate. Although I agree, Buick's current lineup is just sad. I still with they could make cars like the Roadmaster and Park Avenue, but money talks
it was allegedly on the table a few years back, GM was considering axing the Camaro and bringing it back in the form of a next-gen firebird. But now the Camaro is coming back as a 4 door EV :/
come ooonnnn man, don't get me wrong they've had some really cool classics, but they haven't made anything decent since the Grand National dude, you gotta take Pontiac over Buick bro
I think every enthusiast takes Buicks existence in the U.S. as an insult, we should tar and feather every Buick owner, and frankly, its the least they deserve.
The government even proposed to cancel the GMC brand instead of Pontiac because the feds saw through the bs and recognized that GMC were (and still are) just facelifts of Chevys. But GM talked them out of it because apparently GMC has some “unique brand appeal”. The only reason that makes sense to have GMC died when they stop selling Large and Medium duty trucks. Am I correct or am I missing something?
No I would agree, they are only marginally better than Buick bc they make trucks and larger vehicles and not crossovers, but the idea that they needed Buick and GMC is dumb IMO, bc now you have buick, GMC, and Cadillac all vying for the “luxury” badge from gm when in reality, they all use the same materials and everything, it’s just a different front grille and badge :/
I know someone else had already said this In the comments: But the reason way GM axed off Pontiac instead of Buick is because of China, people In China love Buick as much as we Americans love huge lifted Pickup Trucks lol. Also, GM didn't killed off Saab. They sold the Saab Automobiles division to Spyker, but Saab Automobiles went through bankruptcy In 2016. Currently a Chinese based company named NEVS is using Saab's Trollhättan factory. The actual Saab company is still around making Jets and Military stuff to this day.
GM is basically a serial killer of its brands. From many videos I've seen about Pontiac and others, this is what it seems like to me: • Management has always favored Chevrolet. I kinda get it, since it's the badge that meets most types of people's needs, with the largest consumer base and global reach within the group. But we've also lost so much with this attitude. • Corporate has eventually stripped the identity off each brand with internal policies, through things such as excess badge engineering and limiting engineers' creative liberties.
Especially the second point, prime example is what they did with the Blazer, and how before it was a rival to the Bronco and Ram Charger, and now it’s nothing more than another crossover in Chevys lineup, which itself is already infested with sub par crossovers
@@Jerseygarage I've seen complaints about Opel becoming a "Peugeot with a different skin", but I firmly believe that the sale to PSA was the best outcome that could've happened to the company. Took them a year to turn a profit after decades in the red under GM 😂 Otherwise, it would be another one meeting the axe.
eh I'm split on it, it saved literal 10s of thousands of jobs, but you also shouldn't be rewarded for making piss poor decisions like they were leading up to their bankruptcy
@JGarage How much bs is going to be excused by people under the pretense of saving jobs. That's a talking point put forth by the elite to convince people like you to make excuses for the atrocities their companies do.
What are you going to miss most about Pontiac? What's your favorite Pontiac car?
1979 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am (Any Color)
@@pokerspades2167 fantastic choice!
favorite pontiac is my dads 1979 Firebird Trans am. she aint pristine but she's my dream car.
G8, Solstice or the trans am
2001 WS6
To be fair to GM, Buick was making tons of money in China at the time compared to Pontiac
and they continue to do so to this day, its a money printing machine, still should have kept pontiac in the U.S.. I'd go as far to say that Buick was probably tied with Saturn as the worst brands that they could have kept.
i never really understood the fall of pontiac, but i do think the aztek was ahead of its time, Great topic! :)
appreciate it dude, and the Aztec was and still is such a cool car!
If the Aztek came out today, noone would bat an eye. So many modern crossovers looks very similar to it
@@AE86FTS they look similar as hell and have a lo of the same marketing gimmicks and features, it was so far ahead of its time
The GTO was a monsterous beast in NFS ProStreet hands down.
I REMEMBER THAT you're right
Many years ago I was at an event at a Nascar race shop, and they had a Chevy SS there with a GM rep. Father was very interested, as he was also interested in a G8 GT, but couldn't get past the interior quality for the price. The SS had a much nicer interior, so dad asked the rep why they weren't selling them in Canada. She said "We didn't see enough interest in the G8 there, so we decided not to sell the SS there." Thought about that later in the day and realized something. You know what would have helped sell the G8? FUCKING! ADVERTISING! IT! Never saw one advertisement for it during it's entire run. Later learned the SS was nothing more than a "homologation" and a "no really Holden fans, we definitely aren't dumping your brand" special. Holden and Pontiac are intertwined as brands that deserved much better than what the circus children in GM's management did to them.
Yeah, when doing research I found out only 4 G8 GXPs were sold in canada, they originally gave 10 to the Canadian market, and the other 6 were just thrown out.
That Pontiac Ute in the thumbnail is just a re badged Holden commodore Ute
Yes, but It was meant to go to US as Pontiac G8 ST, sadly It never did
yup yup, so were other vehicles as well, and I touch on all of them in the video :)
Love Pontiac, wish they were still around
Agreed, 100%
damn did us dirty killing of pontiac
Agreed 100%
Well framing it as a Pontiac vs Buick thing is not accurate. The decision to keep Buick and kill Pontiac were independent of each other. According to Bob Lutz, the feds wanted GM to just be Chevy and Cadillac, with the rationale that GM only needed one mass market and one luxury brand. GM argued to keep Buick due to maintain their reputation in China, plus Buick was genuinely profitable at the time due to the success of models like the Lacrosse and Enclave, so the Feds allowed it. GM also similarly cited the profitability of GMC to keep that brand alive, and the Feds allowed it. According to Lutz, GM wanted to keep Pontiac, but since Pontiac had been unprofitable since the 90s, the Feds said no. So framing it as a Pontiac vs Buick thing is just not accurate. Although I agree, Buick's current lineup is just sad. I still with they could make cars like the Roadmaster and Park Avenue, but money talks
bro i've just finished binge watching your videos. please please please keep it up i love them so much
I'm glad you enjoy them, it means a lot to me thank you!
I would have loved to see a Firebird package for the newer Camaros
it was allegedly on the table a few years back, GM was considering axing the Camaro and bringing it back in the form of a next-gen firebird. But now the Camaro is coming back as a 4 door EV :/
@@Jerseygarage if it does I might die of cringe
I'm sad that Pontiac is gone but as a Buick fan it's tough for me either way lmao
come ooonnnn man, don't get me wrong they've had some really cool classics, but they haven't made anything decent since the Grand National dude, you gotta take Pontiac over Buick bro
@@Jerseygarage i agree, i feel like GM is holding Buick back, they've made cool stuff before and i wish they could instead of just badge engineering
these vids finna blow up
appreciate the bro thank you!
Can you do one of these on Saab?
As a Pontiac fan, I take Buick’s continued existence as a personal insult.
I think every enthusiast takes Buicks existence in the U.S. as an insult, we should tar and feather every Buick owner, and frankly, its the least they deserve.
@@Jerseygarage that’s a bit excessive, dial it back a bit and go straight for GM instead.
Good video
Thanks bro I'm glad you enjoyed!
@@Jerseygarage yeah man keep going
The reason why they kept Buick is because of China in China Buick to them is like Mercedes to us and they make a lot more models over there to.
If you wanna Fierro, my neighbors got two running and driving on these thinking about sell
6:33 how did you obtain this top secret photo of GM's upper-level management?
SHUSH, I don't want the GM overlords knowing I have an in at the company....
The government even proposed to cancel the GMC brand instead of Pontiac because the feds saw through the bs and recognized that GMC were (and still are) just facelifts of Chevys. But GM talked them out of it because apparently GMC has some “unique brand appeal”. The only reason that makes sense to have GMC died when they stop selling Large and Medium duty trucks. Am I correct or am I missing something?
No I would agree, they are only marginally better than Buick bc they make trucks and larger vehicles and not crossovers, but the idea that they needed Buick and GMC is dumb IMO, bc now you have buick, GMC, and Cadillac all vying for the “luxury” badge from gm when in reality, they all use the same materials and everything, it’s just a different front grille and badge :/
GET READY FOR THE ALL-NEW MACH-E FIREBIRD! CARRY THE WHOLE FAMILY IN THIS NEW E-MUSCLE CAR SUV!!!!
I know someone else had already said this In the comments: But the reason way GM axed off Pontiac instead of Buick is because of China, people In China love Buick as much as we Americans love huge lifted Pickup Trucks lol.
Also, GM didn't killed off Saab. They sold the Saab Automobiles division to Spyker, but Saab Automobiles went through bankruptcy In 2016. Currently a Chinese based company named NEVS is using Saab's Trollhättan factory. The actual Saab company is still around making Jets and Military stuff to this day.
even with Jets tho they haven't sold anything in years, but you would be correct and even to this day Buick sells like crack in China.
Gm should've just gotten rid of GMC and offer GMC trims on Chevy trucks and SUVs
Hey, if you wanna hear my neighbors got a 1986 that he’s willing to sell for 3500 bucks and it’s running and driving 1986 Pontiac Fiero SE
GM is basically a serial killer of its brands.
From many videos I've seen about Pontiac and others, this is what it seems like to me:
• Management has always favored Chevrolet. I kinda get it, since it's the badge that meets most types of people's needs, with the largest consumer base and global reach within the group. But we've also lost so much with this attitude.
• Corporate has eventually stripped the identity off each brand with internal policies, through things such as excess badge engineering and limiting engineers' creative liberties.
Especially the second point, prime example is what they did with the Blazer, and how before it was a rival to the Bronco and Ram Charger, and now it’s nothing more than another crossover in Chevys lineup, which itself is already infested with sub par crossovers
@@Jerseygarage I've seen complaints about Opel becoming a "Peugeot with a different skin", but I firmly believe that the sale to PSA was the best outcome that could've happened to the company. Took them a year to turn a profit after decades in the red under GM 😂 Otherwise, it would be another one meeting the axe.
I own a 2010 vibe
lucky lucky, criminally underrated hatchback
If You Are A Firebird Enthusiast Like This Comment.
I don't know why this comment doesn't have millions of likes
@@Jerseygarage agreed love the 2nd gens and the ws6
Satarun was also good just gm is brain dead when it comes to marketing anything other then the camaro and corvette
@@slimeplayz164 that Ion redline is a car on my list of many cars to own before I die
@@slimeplayz164 FACTS!
What's up? How you doin?
I'm alright, bit under the weather my throat is on fire, aside from that I'm alright. How u doin bud?
@@Jerseygarage im fine hope you get better
GM should have never gotten that bailout. They're lucky to be around producing garbage today
eh I'm split on it, it saved literal 10s of thousands of jobs, but you also shouldn't be rewarded for making piss poor decisions like they were leading up to their bankruptcy
@JGarage How much bs is going to be excused by people under the pretense of saving jobs. That's a talking point put forth by the elite to convince people like you to make excuses for the atrocities their companies do.
Firebird looks better than the Camaro
Muscle cars were inevitable by 1963, GTO or not. Love the video otherwise.
I suppose, I would say that the GTO skyrocketed the popularity of them tho, but the ball had already begun rolling before the GTO.
Idc what you say mustang is and allways will be first muscle car
Pontiac died too soon
The fact that Pontiac died at all means that they died too soon