Quote:
Originally Posted by mgarblik
Pontiac had a few murmurs of being axed prior to it actually happening, but the strong sales of Grans Ams, Grand Prix and Bonnevilles probably kept them alive longer than some thought. Then GM discontinued all their strong sellers and gave them the Aztek.
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I think you have your info wrong.
The Aztek had a brief run (2000 - 2005), but was discontinued at the same time as the Bonneville and the Grand Am. The Grand Prix was still being produced through 2008.
The G3, G5, G6, G8, Solstice, Torrent and Vibe were the vehicles in production at the end in 2009 - and Pontiac was still a pretty vibrant brand with models that were desirable.
Pontiac, in 2006 (without the Aztek, Bonneville and Grand Am) sold 410,000 vehicles compared to Buick's 240,000 in the United States.
In 2008, in the midst of all the turmoil in the auto industry, Pontiac (without the Aztek, Bonneville and Grand Am) sold 267,000 vehicles compared to Buick's 137,000.
Buick biggest seller for Buick was the Enclave in 2008 - a vehicle that already had the GMC and Chevy clones. Buick had nothing the American public wanted. Nearly 45,000 of the total 137,000 Buicks in 2008 were Enclaves.
Our thanks to the current administration for the forced elimination of the Pontiac brand.