Pontiac G6

[SuperGLS]

So, I heard about Oprah giving away like 275 of these things and was curious as to what they were. After looking at the Pontiac site, I'm confused. The base model starts at $21,000 and the GT starts around $24,000. Well, this is a 4 door sedan, it's basically right between the Grand Am and the Grand Prix. The Grand Prix starts at $22,000, while the Grand Am starts at about $17,000. Why make two of the same cars? Are they phasing out the Grand Prix? Or are they just trying to bring out new products so someone actually buys their vehicles?

http://www.pontiac.com/g6/images/bg_image16.jpg

Overall it doesn't seem like a bad car, looks pretty than either the four door Grand Am, or the Grand Prix. They kind of stole the Tiburon taillights though. The sunroof is pretty cool too.

Thoughts?

[Blackknight04]

I don't like it. Looks like a redesigned Grand Am to me. And we all know what Pontiac stands for. Also, I would never buy GM or Chrysler. Their cars are all piles of ****.

[ruahighlander]

From what I have been hearing it will be the Grand Prix's replacement.

[hyunelan2]

No it is the grand am's replacement. They will no longer sell the grand am.

It's still using the basic Grand Am 3300 engine. This will probably be another of GM's 'throw-away' designs... where they keep the same basic car 10 years with subtle changes, then discard it like they've just done to the Grand Am, Sunfire, and Chevy Cavalier.

The problem is (as Dr. Bose -the bose corp. guy- has stated) the average american automotive CEO tenure is less than 5 years... which means he's looking for profits RIGHT NOW, and doesn't care about the future. If they can make a proffit off an existing design, why spend the research money to change. The only reason we're seeing new products form GM is because they were getting their asses handed to them by foreign companies. I don't think the car will be substantially better... same basic powerplant and car as everything else GM makes.

Imagine if your favorite department store put last year's clothes in its big showcase window, or if your supermarket started pushing week-old vegetables. Yeah, it's a turn-off, but that's just what General Motors does.


General Motors (nyse: GM - news - people ) thinks it's smart to keep building old cars and trucks--models already replaced. I've been griping about this for years.

The most recent example is the Pontiac Grand Am, which will be replaced this fall by the Pontiac G6. (That's some name, G6. Sounds like a civil service rank for someone who types 45 words a minute.) But GM will keep building the old Grand Am. The idea is that it will be sold only to fleets, but who really knows?

While they can't stop building the old stuff, GM also has trouble building the new stuff. The Pontiac G6 four-door sedan will be on sale this fall, but the G6 coupe won't be ready until next year, maybe spring, and the G6 convertible will be ready later that fall, I hear.

I hate to tell you guys in Detroit this, but when I was a boy they didn't keep building the outdated cars when the new ones came out. And they managed to bring out all the new models--sedans, coupes, hardtops, station wagons and convertibles--on the same introduction day in the fall.

That Pontiac Grand Am stunt isn't unusual. Right now GM is selling a new Chevrolet Malibu while continuing to build the old one, which has been renamed the "Classic."


From Forbes Magazine

[SuperGLS]

Thanks Mike.

Interesting to hear of a G6 Coupe Convertible though. What happened to the Solstice?

We'll see.

[hyunelan2]

Solstice is still coming... maybe will replace the sunfire line... maybe a new additional line alltogehter, as it's only a 2-seater, isn't it?

[mbv2001]

Yea that's only a 2 seater....I kidda like the g6 but its nasty that its only really like a grand am but I would never buy one anyways so I guess it don't matter

[SWortham]

Ah, OK. It's the Grand Am's replacement... that makes sense. I was wondering about that car too. It certainly looks better than the Grand Am.

[Jlivan]

So all of Oprah's guests drive home in a new car? That is a sweet deal. Nice looking car. What does the front look like?

[hyunelan2]

The deal is ever better than it sounds. They all found out that they were getting a new car on the show, then went to the parking lot, where they had 276 brand new G6s in the lot... those weren't their cars though. They all received paperwork to fill out every option they wnated and what color they wanted. They'll get their personalized car soon. Pontiac donated the 276 cars, while oprah is paying for the options that the audience members choose.

[SuperGLS]

Eww, Mike watches Oprah, hahahah. Just keeping up on your Chi-town news, right?

But yeah, apparently they were people who were really in need of a new car.

[hyunelan2]

^^^ yea, it was all that was on the Chicago news on Monday night and Tuesday morning. They did all need a car that were on the show, so it's not like some rich kid got lucky his GF wanted to go to oprah and he got a car for going.

[blupupher]

Solstice is still coming... maybe will replace the sunfire line... maybe a new additional line alltogehter, as it's only a 2-seater, isn't it?

It is going to be Saturn.