http://jalopnik.com/355405/

If this is the future just exactly what is the point of Pontiac?

 

RWD performance cars need not imply 4,000 lb behemoths belching coal chunks of carbon out their tail pipes.

What about doing some coupe/sedan iterations off the Solstice (Theta?) chassis with either the turbo 4 or even the 3.6 4V V6 for a small car range?

Or maybe something more mid range (<3,500 lbs) with aforeementioned V6 or smaller versions of the small block V8 with enough technical goodies (VVT, cylinder deactivation, direct injection) to keep power up and thirst and filth down?

Instead of a Firechicken based off the full-size chassis Camaro, base it off either the small or mid-size chassis for a forward thinking version.

Unfortunately, GM seems to slew in philosophy from either huge, fuel swilling RWD performance cars we "want" to insipid FWD cars we "ought" to drive. Why not reasonably sized, efficient yet fast and entertaining RWD performance cars that we both want and ought to drive?

 

I'm with you here. Lighter weight is a great place to start in any effort intended to figure out how to maintain the performance we want while gaining the efficiency we need. And smaller vehicles, while a component of such a move, aren't the only way to go here.

I have been shuffling through the increased costs of primarily manufacturing a vehicle out of aluminum...sprinkled with a great deal of plastics to help the cost outlook...relative to the typical steel employed in most cars today and was surprised at what I found.

More expensive? Of course. As bad as I had feared? Not even close.

 

Yes, what happened to the Solstice coupe? There was a concept and supposedly a production model "coming soon". And would it be too difficult to stretch the Solstice chassis to fit a back seat in there?

Come to think of it, maybe the Solstice should have been named "Firebird". I think that name would have been fitting.

 

For better or worse, the discussion of lighter weight, high-tech materials tends to focus in their higher purchase price and pretty much ignoring vehicle life costs (savings) not to mention, for performance buffs, the manifold, across the board performance benefits of lighter, sleeker cars.

Imagine a 3,000lb pony car with a high tech (VVT, DI, cylinder deactivation, etc) making 420hp backed by an efficient DSG type tranny with an agile chassis and sleek body. It could readily get 20+ city and 30+ hwy gas mileage, have scorching straight line speed and the chassis to actually harness that go power on any road. BMW actually has something approaching this, save for bloated weight and price, in the E93 M3.

 

Not sure what happened to the Solstice Coupe, which was a gorgeous thing as a concept and would not likely take too much to develop into production off the existent Solstice vert. Not sure how important a back seat really is as its not like those in any Pony car are really usable for much more than kids and kidnap victims.

In any case, I think the next gen of the Solstice chassis, and thus Solstice, will be slightly bigger and perhaps a bit more suitable for a wider range of cars based off it.

 

Pontiac lost "performance brand" role long time ago.

 

...but they seem to flirt with reinvigorating it, what with the G8 and Solstice. I really think Pontiac could and should carve out a niche/corporate identity for itself as the purveyor of genuine performance wares -- with an American/Aussie tinge -- perhaps a bit upscale and refined from what Chevy might offer a rung or two down the price ladder.

Saturn might offer more Euroflavored rides; Buick a bit softer, more comfy and restrained near luxury; with Caddy at the top genuinely gunning for BMW/Mercedes for the top of the heap with truly world-class engineering, features and performance.

GM does seem to be going in this direction, hopefully they have the discipline and long-term (vs. next quarter) vision to carry it through.

 

I always respected and liked Pontiacs best of all the GM products. If something needs to go PLEAAAAAAAAASE let it be Buick. Their products are dated and do not sell well, even to older folks these days. Put the excitement back into Pontiac and let it thrive.

 

I don't wanna see Buick go, I really like Enclave and Lucerne.

 

If I were GM I would do the following:
1) Ditch Buick (old, outdated, not needed really)
2) Turn Pontiac into the soul of it and give it all of the high performance it deserves (G6, solstice, g8, build a firebird, build a GTO worth the name)
3) Ditch the GMC truck line and focus on Chevy for this (why build two of the same in this respect especially when your struggling?)
4) Turn Saturn into a one of a kind everything eco friendly you have and keep the costs as low as possible

But thats just me.

 

Ditch GMC? Only Chevy sells more vehicles for GM than GMC.

 

Ok that is true but why not consolidate obviously due to sales numbers the GM designs are more popular then the chevy so why not cut down on the duplicates and create only one. This way your chevy people buy the chevy brand and the GMC people buy the design they obviously love. And this will cut costs because you are not creating two identical vehicles that simly have a few minor differences. Makes sense in my head lol.