Olds and Pontiac today...

[Tuffy1760]

we got the buicks and chevy cars now, malibu, impala cruze regal etc... If Olds and pontiac were still around, what would they look like? they always had their own styling cues... Gran prix? cutlass? maybe even a firebird (camaro based) bird of fire on hood!! If any of you guys have seen any concepts or artwork please post... My father always had pontiacs, my first car was a new firebird formula... I deliver to a dealer who sold Olds... got a bunch of Olds memrabelia on the wall... neat stuff.
if you guys got anything... thanks ahead of time!!

 

[aquariuscsm]

Getting rid of Olds was GM`s biggest mistake imo.

 

[eljefino]

I imagine something with plastic body panels glued on, door mounted seatbelts, and rear backup fog lights. It'll take two bottles of armor-all to detail all the dash plastic and the steel wheels will have plastic hubcaps that look like alloys covered in brake dust... but only in front.

 

[tommygunn]

It would look just like the Chevy's and Buicks with a different emblem. They no longer exist because there was no difference in the brands they all had the same power trains with a different sticker on the front. GM hit a home run with Saturn 25 years ago, then they did the same thing to it and made it just another GM car with a emblem change.

 

[NMBurb02]

Originally Posted By: tommygunn
It would look just like the Chevy's and Buicks with a different emblem. They no longer exist because there was no difference in the brands they all had the same power trains with a different sticker on the front. GM hit a home run with Saturn 25 years ago, then they did the same thing to it and made it just another GM car with a emblem change.

Really? I think you have GM confused with Ford/Lincoln/Mercury. Sure, the Suburban/Yukon XL/Escalade leaves much to be desired in terms of body style differentiation between brands, but not true with Chevy/Oldsmobile/Buick/Pontiac. What GM car did the Grand Prix look like? What about the GTO? G8? Solstice? Vibe?

I like the styling of my GP and prefer it over any of the Chevrolet or Buick models of the same era. I would love to have a GTO and/or G8.

 

[Bandito440]

Originally Posted By: tommygunn
GM hit a home run with Saturn 25 years ago, then they did the same thing to it and made it just another GM car with a emblem change.

I couldn't agree more. The original Saturns were great cars. Simple, inexpensive, and reliable. I imagine the GM employee who decided to mess with that success was the same one who wanted to concentrate on truck and SUV sales rather than innovate and make some better small cars while gas prices were rising.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

In it's current iteration, GM at least tries to make their badge engineered products look different.

Ford/Lincoln ... seem to have taken GM's place by taking badge engineering to the extreme.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Mid size Pontiacs were very popular up here - I think the former GM owners are driving hyundias and honds now. BIG Oops! GM!
I dont think Olds is really missed; Caddy and Buick can fill the "Uncle Joe" OLDS niche.

 

[AlienBug]

Originally Posted By: Bandito440
Originally Posted By: tommygunn
GM hit a home run with Saturn 25 years ago, then they did the same thing to it and made it just another GM car with a emblem change.

I couldn't agree more. The original Saturns were great cars. Simple, inexpensive, and reliable. I imagine the GM employee who decided to mess with that success was the same one who wanted to concentrate on truck and SUV sales rather than innovate and make some better small cars while gas prices were rising.


A home run...except for the minor detail that the Saturn division was never profitable in any year of its 3-decade existence.

http://autofinancenews.net/profiles/blogs/on-the-demise-of-saturn

 

[opus1]

Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
Mid size Pontiacs were very popular up here - I think the former GM owners are driving hyundias and honds now. BIG Oops! GM!
I dont think Olds is really missed; Caddy and Buick can fill the "Uncle Joe" OLDS niche.
*raises hand*
Although in all fairness, when the time came to replace my Malibu, I probably would have gone for another one if my GM Card Rebate wasn't used up the year prior to buy the Cobalt...but between that and the deal the Hyundai dealer gave me, that's what I have now.

 

[jrustles]

The Buicks and Chevys are Buicks and Chevys in name only!!
Olds and Pontiac would all probably be rebadged Opels and Daewoos also. Maybe a Holden based Cutlass Supreme/422(422 centiliters lol)

 

[jrustles]

Anyone remember the Pontiac Parisienne and Laurentian?

IMO Buick (GM) needs a large, RWD all American chassis to bring the LeSabre back. The land yachts that were built for room and comfort need to make a resurgence at GM. Enough with the miserly "global" third-world cars already

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: AlienBug
Originally Posted By: Bandito440
Originally Posted By: tommygunn
GM hit a home run with Saturn 25 years ago, then they did the same thing to it and made it just another GM car with a emblem change.

I couldn't agree more. The original Saturns were great cars. Simple, inexpensive, and reliable. I imagine the GM employee who decided to mess with that success was the same one who wanted to concentrate on truck and SUV sales rather than innovate and make some better small cars while gas prices were rising.



A home run...except for the minor detail that the Saturn division was never profitable in any year of its 3-decade existence.

http://autofinancenews.net/profiles/blogs/on-the-demise-of-saturn


Hollywood accounting. Saturn put bunches of money into the ecotec 4 cyl that's everywhere now. However GM's office politics works, they stuck Saturn with the bill.

Also, selling 40 MPG s-series at a loss to meet CAFE let them sell Escalades at $20k profit per. Someone had to "take one for the team".

Saturn suffered the same lethargy of other GM divisions though: "Hey, we know this car burns oil and we sell it (the no-haggle experience) to non car people who we expect to never touch the dipstick."

If they weren't going to fix the piston rings, at least put a low oil light sensor in the pan.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Originally Posted By: jrustles
Anyone remember the Pontiac Parisienne and Laurentian?

IMO Buick (GM) needs a large, RWD all American chassis to bring the LeSabre back. The land yachts that were built for room and comfort need to make a resurgence at GM. Enough with the miserly "global" third-world cars already

^^This!

 

[Benzadmiral]

My first two GM cars were Oldsmobiles, Cutlass Supreme coupe, an '89 in silver-gray and a '94 in gold. They were very much alike. (I told people at the time, "It's kinda like remarrying your ex-wife. Personality is the same, but she's lost a few pounds, changed her hair color, and learned some new tricks in the bedroom.")

I miss Olds. A big Cutlass coupe, or even a 4-door, would be a welcome option in this sea of peanut-shaped, "global platform" cars.

 

[NHGUY]

Pontiac and Oldsmobile...overpriced Chevys.
This wasnt always the case,when each division was known as "The xxxx MOTOR DIVISION"... When you bought a Pontiac,you got a Pontiac engine...etc. But when a 3800 Buick is in every division but Cadillac and Saturn,the separate divisions make no sense at all.Basically to ammortize tooling over the larger number of models sold.Nova never was bas tar dized until GM figured Nova wasnt selling as well as it should,so along came Skylark,Omega,Phoenix.Only done to spread the cost of tooling over a bigger number.No matter the Nova copies didnt sell well at all.At least the Buick got a V6,and the Pontiac got a Pontiac 350.

 

[95busa]

A Ram-Air Trans-Am with an LS7, a screaming chicken, T-tops and some scandalously loud SLP pipes would be wonderful....

 

[HerrStig]

Originally Posted By: tommygunn
It would look just like the Chevy's and Buicks with a different emblem. They no longer exist because there was no difference in the brands they all had the same power trains with a different sticker on the front. GM hit a home run with Saturn 25 years ago, then they did the same thing to it and made it just another GM car with a emblem change.
And gave you "their choice" of GM engines.

 

[Kestas]

I - for one - am glad that GM finally got rid of the nonsense with offering virtually the same cars in every division. So the Olds and Pontiac version got a different grille and taillight -- big whoop!

Same for Ford and Mercury. We didn't need both a Crown Vic and Marquis. One or the other would've done fine.

 

[OneEyeJack]

I remember the law suit brought against GM for putting Chevy V8's in their other name brand cars. GM put on a good show explaining how the Chevy engine was better, better mileage, allowed for common replacement parts and repairs and ultimately made the car cheaper to sell and more reliable and easier/cheaper for the consumer to own with a lot of graphics and documents. The attorney representing the customers made the statement that when someone purchased an Olds they expected to get an Oldsmobile engine and the same for Pontiac and Buick. That's all he said and the court decided in favor of the consumer.