Car companies seem to have a habit of getting rid of brands then bringing them back.
Pontiacs are bad-ass, it won't stay gone for long. Oh sure there was a mistake or two like that horrendous "aztek" but mostly nice cars.
Same thing was said about Oldsmobile. Here we are 6 years later, and counting. It won't be brought back because it is forgotten about now. No one talks or cares about the fact that it's gone, so it would be completely pointless to reintroduce the brand. Same thing will happen to Pontiac a few years down the road. As much as we may hate to see it happen, streamlining their brands is something GM needed to do a LONG time ago. We don't need 4 versions of basically the same car, and unfortunately, Chevy, Buick and Cadillac are their money makers in several overseas countries (not just China). In fact, Buick sells twice as many cars in China alone as it does here in the US.
As for them being bad ass.....while they still may be my favorite division of GM, there's no question their offerings have gone downhill BIG time. Take a look at the features on a fully loaded '88 - '93 GP, and then look at a fully loaded '97 & up. The DIC was WAY cooler and far more feature-filled on the older ones, the seats were 14+ way power with quad buckets (rear seats and center console looked like miniature versions of the fronts), not to mention FAR, far more comfortable (better cushioning, more support, etc), the steering wheel was covered in radio controls, there was a distinct difference in the trim levels (i.e. B4U body cladding on the "GTP"/loaded SE editions), and so on. They have greatly watered down the offerings throughout the years to cut down on costs, and it has resulted in less than exciting choices. At least for those of us who are old enough to have owned older Pontiacs.
I am partial to the grand am's and the grand prix.
You can be partial to them all you want, but the mass American public associated both those nameplates with "American POS cars that don't last, use cheap interior materials, and have horrible fit and finish". We put up with the "common problems" on these cars because we are enthusiasts. However, the average person isn't "going to put up with that sh*t". Even now, despite building MUCH, much better quality cars, the big 3 are having a hard time shaking off the stigma and perception that a few decades of building absolute crap has created for them.
Just referring to the stupid name, not questioning the quality of the car.
That "stupid name" strategy, while not our preference, was actually smart marketing. The point of the nameplate change was to get a fresh start, and to get away with the stigma associated with the old name plates. Given the popularity of the Euro cars in recent years, it made sense they wanted to go that direction, especially since it already worked once before. In 1983, Pontiac launched the 6000 STE trim. It was the first Pontiac that could reasonably hold its own against those European cars, which was its target, thus why it was intentionally given a numeric name. The strategy worked, because for several years, the STE sold like hotcakes. In fact, when Pontiac's 75th anniversary website was up, it flat out stated that the '83 6000 STE single-handedly saved Pontiac from going under! Then came the Fiero to further the boost, and of course the GPs.
There was even an article in some magazine comparing what Pontiac was trying to do with the G6 to the success of the 6000. For some time there, we used to joke around about how G6 is the code name for the new 6G.
