Orion plant rolls out last Pontiac for U.S

[Bozita]

Source: Detroit News

Last Updated: November 25. 2009 2:32PM
Orion plant rolls out last Pontiac for U.S.
David Phillips / Special to The Detroit News


Orion Township -- The ride is over for the brand that put rolling excitement on the road for generations of Americans.

General Motors Co. built the last Pontiac for the U.S. market today: a white, G6 sedan that rolled off the assembly line in Orion Township at about 12:45 p.m.

There was no cake or commemorative banner or senior GM official on hand; no media were permitted: Just a group of "final process" workers to oversee the last 100 G6 models assembled.

"We're focused on a quality build-out for the customer," said GM spokesman Kevin Nadrowski.

Read more: http://www.detnews.com/article/20091125/AUTO01/911250416/Orion-plant-rolls-out-last-Pontiac-for-U.S.

[daggahead]

1. So sad ... n/t

[DJ13]

2. Thats sad

The new Camaro isnt half the car a new Trans Am might have been.

[pattmarty]

17. IF there would have been a "new" Trans Am, It would have been................

..........EXACTLY the same car (with a minor facelift on the body) as the Camaro. Since the 80's Pontiac became an upscale Chevy. If you don't know the history of Pontiac, they became a force in 1955. They had their own transmissions, suspensions and engines. In other words, they were a distinctly different car than a Chevy. In the late 60's that began to change when GM went to a universal transmission for ALL their cars (even Cadillac). By the late 70's GM went to a universal engine package for their various divisions, Chevy being the lone V-8 engine with the EXCEPTION of Cadillac. The 80's, 90's and 00's Camaros and Firebirds were virtually the same cars with the exception of front & rear facia and interior appointments. IE, the Firebird was basically an upscale Camaro, same engine, trans, and suspension.

[Throd]

20. They used to put Olds 403's in them for a while

Which was the beginning of the end...

[pattmarty]

42. Yep.

[county worker]

3. LITTLE G.T.O.

LITTLE G.T.O.
(John Wilkin)
Ronnie & The Daytonas - 1964


Little GTO, you're really lookin' fine
Three deuces and a four-speed and a 389
Listen to her tachin' up now, listen to her why-ee-eye-ine
C'mon and turn it on, wind it up, blow it out GTO

Wa-wa, (Yeah, yeah, little GTO)
Wa, wa, wa, wa, wa, wa (Yeah, yeah, little GTO)
Wa-wa, (Yeah, yeah, little GTO)
Wa, wa, wa, wa, wa, wa (Yeah, yeah, little GTO)
Wa-wa (Ahhh, little GTO)
Wa, wa, wa, wa, wa, wa

You oughta see her on a road course or a quarter mile
This little modified Pon-Pon has got plenty of style
She beats the gassers and the rail jobs,
really drives 'em why-ee-eye-ild
C'mon and turn it on, wind it up, blow it out GTO

Wa-wa, (Yeah, yeah, little GT")
wa, wa, wa, wa, wa, wa (Yeah, yeah, little GTO)
Wa-wa, (Yeah, yeah, little GTO)
Wa, wa, wa, wa, wa, wa (Yeah, yeah, little GTO)
Wa-wa (Ahhh, little GTO)
Wa, wa, wa, wa, wa, wa

Gonna save all my money (turnin' it on, blowin' it out)
and buy a GTO (turnin' it on, blowin' it out)
Get a helmet and a roll bar (turnin' it on, blowin' it out)
and I'll be ready to go (turnin' it on, blowin' it out)
Take it out to Pomona (turnin' it on, blowin' it out)
and let 'em know (turnin' it on, blowin' it out), yeah, yeah
That I'm the coolest thing around
Little buddy, gonna shut you down
When I turn it on, wind it up, blow it out GTO

Wa-wa, (Yeah, yeah, little GTO)
Wa, wa, wa, wa, wa, wa (Yeah, yeah, little GTO)
Wa-wa, (Yeah, yeah, little GT)
Wa, wa, wa, wa, wa, wa (Yeah, yeah, little GT)
Wa-wa (Ahhh, little GT)
Wa, wa, wa, wa, wa, wa

[Tansy_Gold]

9. GMTA n/t

[Tansy_Gold]

4. Sad day indeed

In remembrance of times past ----

[onehandle]

5. Why Pontiac and not Buick?

The vast majority of Buick drivers I see on the road are over 70. Their customers have Buicks as their last car and are not long for this world.

Is it any wonder that GM is failing?

[saigon68]

6. Buick is the largest selling car in CHINA

They love it.

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/22/gm-hits-two-million-buick-sales-in-china/

[blue_onyx]

28. Keeping Buick was one GM's best decisions

Pontiac (as well as Saturn) were redundant brands....they were competitors for Chevy. Now the have 4 brands:

Chevy: mass market (ex: Toyota)
Buick-GMC: these 2 are marketed together and are near-luxury brands (ex: Lexus)
Cadillac: top of the line luxury vehicles (BMW, Mercedes)

The brands GM kept were profitable. Why would keeping an unprofitable brand be a good decision?

As other posters have said, Buick is a global brand that is popular in China. Pontiac is limited to North America.

[sharp_stick]

7. I'm going to miss Pontiac n/t

[Oldtimeralso]

8. As A Pontiac Owner K & R

with tears on my keyboard
63 GP
68 Le Mans
01 GP GT

[endless october]

10. sad.

the Solstice is a fine car. my parents have one.

i hope that car is re-released under another brand.

[OmahaGTP]

11. Bought an 09 G8 GT earlier this year - great car

I love this thing, bought it after I knew Pontiac was being dissolved. Car is still made in Australia and full warranty for 36,000 and powertrain for 100,000.

Sad day, but GM will go on (hopefully).

[NC_Nurse]

13. My dad bought one also. He is a car lover, retired engineer. It is a great car.

[Techn0Girl]

12. No steel ... No Cars... No Computers ....

What does America make anymore?
I mean aside from more profits for Wall Street?

[Downwinder]

15. Look at all the energy we are saving. n/t

[pundaint]

29. Wall Street doest make profits they dip their beaks

[boppers]

39. America makes software, knowledge, and high-tech.

Narrative:
http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind08/c6/c6h.htm

Charts:
http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind08/pdf_v2.htm#ch6

[jmowreader]

49. America makes a LOT of things

We make a lot of paper and paper products, specialty chemicals where quality is of the utmost importance, and relatively inexpensive things whose bulk makes them impractical to ship.

[Faygo Kid]

14. First Olds, now Pontiac. Billy Durant is rolling over in his grave.

Looks like Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac are safe; don't understand why they keep GMC.

Oh, Saturn is gone, too. Almost forgot.

[blue_onyx]

27. GMC is very profitable

It makes sense...they are basically Chevys with a different design. It probably doesn't take much investment for the brand and it's GM's second best selling brand.

Unless the GMC expands into cars, it will probably die down the road when gas prices make SUVs unpopular.

[OhioChick]

16. Awwww....

:cry:

[SpiralHawk]

18. My favorite car of all time, my 1951 Super Chief Pontiac

With a flathead six engine. What a beauty. I bought it in 1970 for $50 from a little old lady who lived way way way out in the country. She only drove it to church and the post office, two trips a week. It was cherry. Had less than 30K miles, and was without a scratch. Great car for going to the Drive In Movies !!!!

The hood ornament was an image of Chief Pontiac with an amber plastic face with a light bulb, so that the face lit up at night to guide me through the dark. What fun that car was !!!!

[Faygo Kid]

19. I hope you still have it.

Sounds like you don't. Too bad. A beauty.

[SpiralHawk]

22. No luck. I drove it cross country to California one year and...

...flat broke and far from home, I had to sell Super Chief to get enough money together to keep eating and hitchhike back to the mountains of the East (which in itself was a Grand and Memorable Adventure).

So it goes.

[Faygo Kid]

26. I had to sell my '66 LeMans under similar circumstances.

Looked a lot like the one below. Ah, to be young again.

[HopeHoops]

21. My Montana looked sad today. Perhaps it knew.

:cry:

[joshcryer]

23. Good riddance. Their cars were shit.

[OmahaGTP]

25. That's about

as well of a thought out argument you'll see from someone with an anarchy avatar.

[Crabby Appleton]

24. R.I.P. Pontiac nt

[Owl]

30. A very sad day.

[Downwinder]

31. Nowhere near the first brand GM killed. n/t

[jus_the_facts]

32. I had a '77 Firebird in the late '80's that looked exactly like the one pictured here ...

...Sky Blue with honeycomb rims and an 8-track tape player. :D

[Auggie]

33. Fucking GM -- can't acknowledge their workers, won't thank their customers.

Let's pretend it never happened.

[Psephos]

48. They're killing the brand, not the plants where the cars were made.

The brand is a marketing strategy, not a set of production facilities.

Workers who used to make Oldsmobiles started making other brands after Olds was d/c'd.

[quakerboy]

34. To be fair, what did they offer?

I had 2 Grand Am's. They served me well, but they were Oldsmobile Alero's with a different name. I like the look of the Vibe, but its just the Matrix with a lesser motor.

What did The Pontiac brand offer that was original, that was important, that could not be replaced with a small ramp up in production by chevy and Oldsmobile and Toyota?

[SnowCritter]

35. 1970 Grand Prix Model J

Best car I ever owned. A John DeLorean design. Had a 400 big-block with dual exhausts and an enormous 4-barrel carb. Quick and handled like a dream.

[RoccoR5955]

36. I'm gonna miss Pontiac

They had some of the best cars, a little upscale from Chevy, not as expensive as Buick or Cadillac. They were always good cars.
I currently own a 2000 Grand Am, with 145,000 miles on it, and I wouldn't trade it for another car! It has been the most reliable ride I have owned. It gets decent gas mileage with its 4 cylinder engine, and still has plenty of pep. I have only had to do routine maintenance to it. I see many on the roads, so I guess they were popular.
I am really gonna miss Pontiac, but will keep mine on the road as long as I can, and that could be a long time yet. My goal is 250,000 miles, and I believe I can reach it.

[PSzymeczek]

40. The only bad thing about Pontiac

was that most of them sucked gas. I used to say they had power everything, including a power gas gauge.

[RoccoR5955]

46. Not mine... 24 mpg city, 30+ highway!

Even with the 144,000 miles on it. That's on a 3.4 liter 4 cylinder. I am not a leadfoot either. It still has plenty of pep too.

[musicblind]

37. Every car I've owned but one has been a Pontiac.

This is sad. I loved the way they drove.

[Blue_Tires]

38. very sad.... r.i.p.

Pontiac was one of my fav. brands...a shame that the awesome winner of a product in the G8 wasn't in time to save them...

and I thought the closing of 100 years of Oldsmobile was sad...this one really hurts...Would have been nice if they ditched GMC truck and found a way to keep Pontiac...

i know these are difficult times, but WHY no hoopla (even if understated)?? That last car is going to a museum, right?? John Z. is spinning in his grave right now...

[DebbieCDC]

41. If my dad were alive to see this he'd be sad

He ALWAYS bought Pontiacs and Oldsmobiles -- Bonneville, Grand Prix, Le Mans. I remember getting car sick in the back seat of his new Grand Prix and him getting really mad at me (I was a kid; I couldn't help it). I'll never forget that Bonneville -- white with a red top and red leather interior. It was a mile long (or so it seemed to me at age 9 or so!)

Really a sad day :cry:

[AngryAmish]

43. I owned a Pontiac...therefore I hate them

Could not kill that brand fast enough for me.

[Kolesar]

44. Do Amish buggies have roller bearings...

...slip bearings, or ball bearings? I always wanted to know that.

[Vidar]

45. Sad.

[and-justice-for-all]

47. I really enjoy my made in michigan 2001 Ponitac Grand Am GT!

which only has 64K miles on it.

Best car I have ever owned, with ZERO problems.