[RocktimusPryme]

Im all for it, I still want a 98-02 Trans Am, A GXP Solstice Coupe and a G8 GXP I don't care if they have corporate power plant.

I just don't see what their market share would be. I just looked at Buicks lineup for 2025, looks like they don't have anything that's not a crossover/small SUV. There doesn't seem to be any market for exciting Sedans, beyond what Cadilac gets with the CTSV. So I just don't see what they would be able to do that wouldn't just be stealing from one of their other brands.

With the Camaro cancelled I guess you could wait a couple of years until demand for pony cars builds up and come out with a Firebird.

I also wouldn't read too deeply into GM renewing the brand trademark. Im sure they still make plenty of easy money off of memorabilia/clothing licensing.

[Gator67]

The idea that GM would revive Pontiac for halo type performance cars seems far fetched. How many more ZR1s and CT6-V Blackwings would GM sell if they were modestly restyled and badged as Pontiacs? Probably not many. They could replace the discontinued ZL1 with something with Pontiac badging, but it's not clear why they would do it.

[Sirrotica]

Originally Posted by RocktimusPryme

I also wouldn't read too deeply into GM renewing the brand trademark. Im sure they still make plenty of easy money off of memorabilia/clothing licensing.

Exactly, having designed and sold Pontiac shirts, GM likes that easy money that comes with no effort, or little investment on their part.

As long as people buy Pontiac merchandise, GM will keep reaping the rewards.

GM doesn't own the rights to Pontiac the name, as it was the name of a former Ottawa Indian chief. They also lost the copyright on the Indian head logo. They do own the arrowhead logo along with the PMD name rights.

[Goatracer1]

Nobody makes CARS anymore. Pontiac was a good CAR company in it's prime not a SUV company!

[Don Keefe]

General Motors has neither the will or the expertise to bring back Pontiac on any level. It's been 15 years since the last one rolled off the assembly line and there's literally no one left to pick up the torch.

Besides, bringing Pontiac back would be admitting GM made a mistake and according to them, they've never made a mistake...

Still though, if GM asked me to consult on a Pontiac revival project, I would do it in a minute...

[RocktimusPryme]

100% honestly it never made sense to me how all of GMs branches stayed profitable for as long as they did with so many similar offerings.

From the 50s to the 80s they pretty much built a platform car.

68-72 A body for example, then each brand got a bite at the apple. Cutlass, Skylark, Chevelle, LeMans/GTO. Cadillac is the only one that was really different.

We (us on the forum) look at that lineup and see dramatic differences in Engine Options. But broadly speaking, WE, are now and always have been a small if vocal part of the consumer base. I don't think the unwashed masses see that large of a difference.

I would like to see data from the that time period to know how geographically based it was. Did Oldsmobile sell better in some areas. I hear people who grew up in the 60s/70s say "My dad was a Mercury man, got a new one ever two years" I wonder if that's largely because their town just happened to have a Mercury dealer. Or maybe that was the first dealer in the town and they won loyalty early. Its not like Carvana was a thing then. Did International Scouts sell better in Indiana because they were made in Ft Wayne?

[jhein]

Here's the thing... IF they did it, it would probably be a hit There's a sense of nostalgia these days. Who knows, maybe GM planned to bring back Pontiac all along. Probably not, I'm just speculating.

[Half-Inch Stud]

Pontiac was Pontiac Motor Division, PMD. Revival would be PSD for Style. Thus PDS for Pontiac Derangement Syndrome.

Yet, their successful old designs could be re-drivelined for Hybrids or Big engines with Hydrogen. Oh, already posted that, would be PMD.

[mgarblik]

I am also a fan of all things Studebaker. Especially the V-8 Era, much like my love for Pontiac. It is interesting to sit back and look at the two brands in the long lens. Studebaker was a major innovator, produced some stunning and beautiful cars, ahead of their time styling. They set durability records and racing records much like Pontiac in the glory years. They had a wonderful little V-8. Fantastic, compact design, forged internals, very strong bottom ends and good flowing heads. Their one mistake engine wise, was the inability to make it large enough for the bigger and bigger cars. Their demise was a complex mixture of poor decisions, lack of development money, timing, and leadership and direction at the top. Sound familiar? Going out of business 45 years BEFORE Pontiac, gives me a chance to took at where Pontiac is headed. History is the best predictor of the future. In 2025, Studebaker still has a surprisingly strong following and national club with local chapters. Think POCI. The AVERAGE age of the Studebaker faithful is probably 72-75 years old. Some in their 90's and sure some grandchildren in their 20's and 30's are still fans, a few. Each year, the numbers fall slightly, only because of deaths and folks that just can't get their cars out. The really fantastic, restored, rare, or performance models are holding their values or going up slightly.
This is the future I see for Pontiac. It's not a grim future. We have another 30-40 years of enjoyment of our beloved brand. I will be 107 years old in 40 years, so not too worried about it. Bringing the Pontiac name back in the form of a car or SUV just doesn't make any sense to me at all. And I bleed Pontiac metallic blue!!

[The Champ]

My grandson, a 28 year old Marine currently stationed in Okinawa, knows what a Pontiac is. His 'dream car' is a '70 - 73 PONTIAC Firebird Formula, similar to the one below.



He's been in for 5 years so far and his desire for the Formula goes back further than that.

He wasn't sure of the year or year's that the Formula had that hood and front end, but he showed me a picture of one he had seen parked in Madison, WI and asked what year it was so he would know what to look for in the future.

In '74 they put the big black rubber strip on the bumper and he didn't like that.

[Formulabruce]

Back in 1939, FISHER BODY made about 5 core body shells. That meant a LaSalle a Chevy, Pontiac, caddy, Buicks, Olds are nearly the same. The styling and driveline after that made them the brands they were. By 1982 is was just the styling that was left. After GM finally bought out Fisher Body, it was all over for any individual Identity.

[bdk1976]

If there is money to be made by slapping an arrowhead on something and calling it a 'Pontiac' they will do it. See: 04-06 "GTO"

[Ben M.]

Originally Posted by Don Keefe

General Motors has neither the will or the expertise to bring back Pontiac on any level. It's been 15 years since the last one rolled off the assembly line and there's literally no one left to pick up the torch.

Besides, bringing Pontiac back would be admitting GM made a mistake and according to them, they've never made a mistake...

Still though, if GM asked me to consult on a Pontiac revival project, I would do it in a minute...

I couldn't have said it better myself. GM has been on the "we never make mistakes, it's the customers who are wrong!" mentality kick since the late 1960s and to do anything otherwise is tilting at windmills for those of us who desperately want them to do better and be better.

And if I worked there or was asked to consult on such a project, I would consider it a life's dream to be able to do so.

They were *this* close to having a decent brand again when GM gave them the axe.

[Sirrotica]

Originally Posted by bdk1976

If there is money to be made by slapping an arrowhead on something and calling it a 'Pontiac' they will do it. See: 04-06 "GTO"

One flaw in your example, Holden already had a Monaro GTO/HSV model before Bob Lutz ever thought about using Pontiac styling cues, and importing it to the US. So the idea that they Pontiac/GM slapped a GTO emblem on the car is totally false. They did however put an arrowhead on it. Holden had already identified it as a GTO starting on 2001, 3 full years before it was sold in the US.

Since GM and Holden merged in 1931 they have had decades of making cars under the GM/Holden umbrella it isn't like GM put their emblem on a Kia and imported it to the US to sell as a Pontiac GTO. Pontiac isn't the only car manufacturer that used the GTO moniker, they just got the most mileage from it because they promoted it the most.

The people that say it isn't a real GTO are oblivious to the heritage of the cars model identification under Holden. Since Holden had no dealer network in the US the Pontiac dealers were chosen to sell the GTO model hence the reason it was branded as a Pontiac. Make no mistake, Bob Lutz knew Pontiac was on a steep descent, and tried to save the brand from the axe.

If you go back to 2004 the big wigs at chevy were feeling butt hurt that Pontiac got the reincarnation of the muscle car, and chevy got shut out. There was even a Holden based SS malibu/chevelle commissioned by chevy to try to get their own version of the GTO.

Pontiac once again in 2008 reached out to Holden to get a RWD 4 door sedan the G8. Again chevy is all butt hurt because the RWD Caprice was discontinued and chevy had no RWD sedans in their lineup. After Pontiac is crushed and out of business, chevy gets their wish and finally their own version of the G8, the GM/Holden chevy SS. From 2014- 2017 they sold a meager 13,000 units. In 2017 GM/Holden folds up, and chevy is again without a RWD sedan.

I just want to keep the record straight because so many people don't know the facts about the 04-06 GTOs how, and why they were sold in the US under the Pontiac name plate. It doesn't make them bad cars because they weren't produced here, I'm just shy of 20 years ownership on my own 2005 GTO.

Little known fact that in 1970 some of the GTOs were also made outside of our borders, they were made in Canada. 1866 Pontiac powered GTOs were built north of the border, and imported to the US. so foreign built GTOs aren't confined to 04-06 GTOs it's been done decades ago.

[jerry455]

Exactly. Anyone who doesn't like a 2004-06 GTO never drove one. Them and the G8 were fantastic cars but they were never advertised very well. The later SS were a very good car also. They were expensive and very limited due to the small production run from Australia. I like to keep showing off my Firebird and wearing my Pontiac shirts at work whenever I can. I work at the GM Warren Tech Center and like to remind people about Pontiac.

[RocktimusPryme]

Originally Posted by jerry455

Them and the G8 were fantastic cars but they were never advertised very well. The

In a fantasy world where Pontiac did come back for some sort of performance model (why else would you bring them back) they should recreate the 1998 ish commercials with the restyled WS6 Ram Air Trans Ams. I was a freshman in highschool at the time and I still remember those. I have wanted a triple black 4th gen with the big angry WS6 hood ever since.


Im with you that the G8s were/are underappreciated. I think that was just at the dawn of Americans as a consumer market falling out of love with sedans in face of small SUVs and cross overs. Writing was on the wall. We can complain about it, but its clearly what sells. I don't get it, they don't do anything well. Too small to be a real SUV, too big to be economical. Too ugly to make a compelling sports model out of.

[indymanjoe]

Not gonna happen and i dont care for a rebadged GM Pontiac anything. Pontiac has been dead for a long time. let it go.

[mgarblik]

Thanks for the little history lesson Sirrotica. I didn't know some of those details. I agree with a number of people on here that some of the late model Pontiacs were pretty good cars and market competitive. Good looking too. I recently worked on a Solstice GXP for a customer. Both the OE Bilstein rear coil over shocks were leaking bad. Had to modify some Koni's to replace them. The OE shocks had been discontinued years ago. It was a nice little car, fun to drive.

[67Lemons]

I worked as a Pontiac tech in the mid 90’s, I had a 1994 Grand Am GT front wheel drive sedan & it was a great car. Looked really sharp for a four door car.

[The Champ]

As a '64 GTO owner for the last 33 years, who has also driven one of the Holden/Pontiac GTOs - that 2004 Barbados Blue GTO was one outstanding car!

I never drove a G8 GXP, but my boss had one and I had several opportunities to ride in that car.

Pontiac Solstice - purchased an '09 Coupe from cammerjeff on this board, drove it home and gave it to our daughter for her 50th birthday.

All three of these vehicles were cars that a true auto enthusiast would be proud to own. GM was forced to close the doors on Pontiac and Saturn and Buick was saved due to the brands popularity in China. Buick had NOTHING worthwhile in the US at the time. Should have shut down Buick in the US and slapped a Buick badge on a decontented Cadillac and let the Chinese think they it was something special...