Pontiac to kill RWD G8

Listen to enthusiasts during good economic times, not bad economic times. It's sad as those are two great cars, but GM is probably making the right move.

I kinda of agree with sabastian. Mostly because I'd like a G8 (if my finances didn't just tumble), but I hate the pontiac nose. Make it a Chevy or even Buick and I'd be more tempted. :)

Agree with Sabastian. With Pontiac's image-making rear-drive vehicles gone; all they have left are:
The G3- A rebadged Aveo and Daewoo
G5- Rebadged Cobalt
G6- Rebadged Aura (word is that it won't be redone for another 5 years)
Torrent- Rebadged Equinox
Vibe- Rebadged Matrix

Sorry, but none of these vehicles represent "driving excitement". If Pontiac gets to this stage, it may as well be killed off. All it'll be doing is absorbing more of GM's money and be a redundant brand.

Agreed with everyone else here so far. Still, GM is keeping the RWD fervor alive with Cadillac and Chevrolet.

However, if the Solstice goes, what happens to the Saturn Sky? Do they sell enough of them to keep the factory lights on? Or will the Sky be replaced by an imported Opel RWD Convertible?

I can understand the economic logic of ditching the Solstice (all sold at a loss), but is cutting the G8 a function of the US$ : AU$ exchange rate, or are they just not selling?

Kill BPG now. I was all for Pontiac when it was supposed to be all about driving excitement, but this return to badge engineering is so pointless. If I wasn't so in love with the new Camaro, I wouldn't be able to care less about GM. Way to try to boost image guys. On a grand scale, Ford is the only American car company that seems to just get it and know how they're going to survive and thrive.

I 7th everyone's statements. Pontiac should not exist as a badge-engineered company anymore. It's a real shame to hear RWD will only be available in trucks and a couple cars.

If GM wants a sport class of cars, they should just reinvigorate the RedLine series.

Just a thought... killing the G8 makes room for the 300 in the GM lineup. The 300 easily fits atop B-P-G. I could see a "reconfigured" Chrysler brand replacing all of B-P-G. The 300 is outselling the G8 and LaCrosse combined, even in this depressed market.

Agreed. Haven't we been here already, where badge engineering and generic FWD platforms has been a failed strategy for Pontiac starting in the late '80s, and through the '90s?

I hate to see GM kill Pontiac, but with this approach, it's like they're just going to let it die by starvation. And probably the same fate will befall Buick. GM's brands used to be divisions, with general managers that had some autonomy and freedom to innovate. It's pretty sad that some once great divisions with great products are now just sales and marketing organizations for the most part.

Although GM has made some strategic blunders over the past two decades, much of the blame for this is due to an ever intrusive Congress that thinks they have the right to dictate what kind of cars are built, by legislating higher CAFE standards. That will likely kill so many high performance vehicles. The market was already forcing change, due to higher fuel prices, which provided all the incentive necessary for vehicles with better fuel economy. Let consumers choose the cars they want to buy, and the manufacturers will build them. Contrarily, let the government mandate it, and things will get all messed up, including the companies who try to produce what people want to buy.

"Just a thought... killing the G8 makes room for the 300 in the GM lineup. The 300 easily fits atop B-P-G. I could see a "reconfigured" Chrysler brand replacing all of B-P-G. The 300 is outselling the G8 and LaCrosse combined, even in this depressed market."

I test drove a Hemi-powered 300C last weekend and hated it. Sure it had gobs of power, but it is an ergonomic mess. Outward visibility is a joke. There is no driving excitement and I was bored with the car after spending just 20 minutes with it. My 211hp V6-powered '06 Impala is a joy to drive compared to the 350hp Hemi 300C. If GM inherits the LX platform cars, they should just kill them off and do us all a favor.

I would take a LaCrosse Super or even a Lucerne Super anyday over a 300C or Charger. The G8 is an interesting car, but ultimately I would not find it suitable for a daily driver in the Northeast. It doesn't matter what kind of driving aids you have...traction control...ABS...stability...whatever. Rear-wheel drive without winter tires is just not reliable in the Winter in the Northeast. Investing in a winter tire package, running them for 4 months out of the year, and then storing them for 8 months is just not a practical option for a lot of people. The body skirts on the G8 GT model would cause too many clearance issues, and I still have reservations about an Aussie built car overall.

GM should just kill Pontiac and GMC (and Saturn while they are it). Sell Saab and Hummer to the highest bidders. Buick could easily be repositioned as a Lexus competitor, with Cadillac taking on Infiniti, BMW, and Mercedes. Chevy continues to fight Toyota/Honda/Hyundai/Mazda, etc. GM has what they need to be successful, they just lack focus.

WTF?! No! GM may as well go on and kill Pontiac because after the G8, there is no reason for the brand. What would the smart thing have been to do? Keep these two vehicles (the only exctiting things about the excitement division) and kill Buick and GMC. GMC is nothing but badge engineering, and the only thing keeping Buick a live is the Enclave. But both the Enclave and Acadia are hurting the Traverse as the media is punishing the Traverse for its bland interior. Without the two, the Chevy's inteior would be much nicer. Plus, the next Escalade may be a lambda, so there is no need for the Enclave. Also, the Impala could move up in class and be on level with the Avalon, and Maxima as Chevy's real flagship.
And Ryster: you like any Buick sedan over the 300C?You must be a real GM fan, because the Lacrosse and Lucerne are sorry iterations of what baby boomers used to drive when they turned 50. The 300 rides and handles so much better, and looks great.

My father, who is 67 this year, just recently rented a 300 Touring for a week. He liked it's peppiness and it had a big trunk and lots of room inside. But he couldn't see out of the gun-slit windows or feel confident about where the corners of the car were. He wouldn't buy one.

As for badge engineering, while everyone likes to bash GM for it, you forget the Ford/Lincoln/Mercury badge engineering trifecta. They are as guilty as GM with building the same car for all of it's divisions. Also, I think Ford, along with all big business, is clueless on how to ride out this financial pit-fall.

My opinion on cutting the G8 is that it was just bad timing to introduce it. I really like the idea of GM reaching out into its global subsidiaries and bring it over here. The Solstace never did live up to the hype as the neuveau-Miata, and I'm not going to loose any sleep over it's demise.

I really thought it was a mistake for Cadillac to compete with European makes. After all, isn't Pontiac GM's performance division? If Pontiac had the CTS, then Cadillac could have continued to cater to the golf club set (which will be ever increasing with the impending baby boomers) and Pontiac would be prospering.

Following that line of thought, GM could have totally sent Buick to China (then Tiger Woods would have something better to tear up the links with than an Enclave), Saturn would return to doing what it knows best and compete with the Koreans, and Chevys would butt heads with the mainline Japanese.

To complete my fantasy world, and in the biggest shocker of the decade, Oldsmobile(!) would be reincarnated to compete with the Japanese luxury marques. Oh yeah, Hummer? Gone. Saab? Gone. GMC? Gone.

"Following that line of thought, GM could have totally sent Buick to China (then Tiger Woods would have something better to tear up the links with than an Enclave), Saturn would return to doing what it knows best and compete with the Koreans, and Chevys would butt heads with the mainline Japanese."

There has always been this notion that different parts of GM would compete in different segments of the market, but I think GM is trying to slice things too thinly. It's always been said that Cadillac would go up against Mercedes and BMW while Buick would compete with Lexus, but why does GM need a single brand to compete against another single brand? Doesn't Lexus compete with BMW, Audi, and Mercedes? Can't Cadillac compete with Lexus? Both companies have complete lineups whereas Buick only offers three models (all of which are rebadge jobs).

It's the same thing with Saturn. Can't Chevy compete with Honda, Toyota, and Hyundai at the same time?

With some nice RWD cars, Pontiac could be a nice budget version of BMW, but if GM is going to kill every interesting entry that comes down the pipeline, I don't see the point.

As for Saab, GM seems to have forgotten that they exist. Aside from a few cool concept cars, the line has been languishing in neglect for several years. I'd like to see them sold to someone who cares.

So sad. The Solstice/Sky is a toy; GM's poor packaging did not leave any space for luggage/storage.

I am really disappointed in the G8's demise. Can't they put a turbo 4 or other more fuel efficient engine in there to keep it alive?

Buh-bye Pontiac.

Typical GM: get it right, then kill it.