Is Pontiac coming back? (Page 1/2)
Raydar MAY 15, 10:47 PM
I hate to post rumors, but I have been following this guy since before winter. He has hit the nail on the head, numerous times, over the past few months. (Stellantis is building Hemi engines again, CARB is getting their wings clipped, Bla, bla, bla.)
This is his latest...

[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 05-15-2025).]

olejoedad MAY 16, 09:48 AM
Time will tell.

How about a mid engine based black wing powered car?
jonrev MAY 16, 09:53 AM
tl;dw GM renewed the trademark for the Pontiac logo in April. Corporations renew trademarks regularly to maintain their legal hold, and GM still uses it on parts/accessories. Every few years someone interprets this as Pontiac or certain models coming back but the speculation amounts to nothing.

[This message has been edited by jonrev (edited 05-16-2025).]

82-T/A [At Work] MAY 16, 10:55 AM

quote
Originally posted by Raydar:

I hate to post rumors, but I have been following this guy since before winter. He has hit the nail on the head, numerous times, over the past few months. (Stellantis is building Hemi engines again, CARB is getting their wings clipped, Bla, bla, bla.)
This is his latest...




I would really hope so... of all the past brands they had, Pontiac had a real dedicated following. I've determined that I'll never buy another NEW GM car (or even a used normal person car) from GM ever again unless it's a Pontiac... maybe a Cadillac, but I generally don't spend money on things like that. But if they did come out with a new Pontiac, I might seriously, seriously have to buy it... even though I really don't need another car.

The only thing that makes me think otherwise though... GM's marketing vice director... I forget her name. She's a younger girl (to me anyway), late 20s, early 30s... and posts on Instagram all the time under the GM account. My daughter watches all of them, and constantly posts asking for people to bring back Pontiac. Anyway, she showed me one video from this girl that was getting roasted by literally everyone who responded.

She was making the Instagram post from her Buick SUV (one of the smaller egg-shaped ones). She was in her pajamas, and she was basically saying how anyone who wants GM to bring back the older cars is stupid, they're not coming back, and no one wants to go back into the past... that the newer GM cars are so much better. I'll see if I can find the video... but it was kind of a WTF post...
Raydar MAY 16, 02:45 PM

quote
Originally posted by jonrev:
...GM renewed the trademark for the Pontiac logo in April...
Corporations renew trademarks regularly to maintain their legal hold, and GM still uses it on parts/accessories. Every few years someone interprets this as Pontiac or certain models coming back but the speculation amounts to nothing.




Of course they do. There's still royalty/licensing fees to be made.
And of course there are multitudes of "click-baiters" on YouToob. The originator of this video even has his moments.
But he has access to lots of industry insiders - especially at Stellantis. I'm not one to jump on any internet bandwagons, but he's nailed a lot of stuff, waaaaay before the regular automotive press even got wind of it. (Anyone who knows me, knows that I tend to take stuff with a grain of salt. To include this video.)
But if - *IF* - his GM inside knowledge is anywhere near his Stellantis knowledge, it could get interesting.

As always, we shall see. YMMV.
hyperv6 MAY 20, 03:48 PM
No Pontiac is not coming back.

Times today and economics are not conducive to bring back cars that are not selling. Even the Mustang is struggling on its own now.

People just can’t afford these cars anymore.
rbell2915 MAY 23, 10:42 PM
GM can't even keep the Camaro alive, their line up of actual cars is what, maybe four or five models? No way is Pontiac ever coming back.
Raydar MAY 25, 11:38 AM

quote
Originally posted by rbell2915:
...
No way is Pontiac ever coming back.



This is very likely the reality of the situation. But one can hope.
82-T/A [At Work] MAY 25, 07:53 PM
This is the same thing I posted on another car forum (Solstice Forum) ... there was a question as to whether or not Pontiac was coming back because they renewed the Pontiac trademark:


--- --- ---


To be clear, the only reason why they renew the Pontiac trademark is so that someone else doesn't start making a car under the Pontiac name... it's in their best interest to maintain the trademark so they can continue to generate revenue from reproduction parts and merchandise that use the logo. This licensing is no-cost revenue and is straight profit for the company. Additionally, it's so that someone else doesn't produce cars that directly competes against them.

There is strong demand for a new Pontiac... but remember that the current board of directors is largely still the same board that was installed back in 2009 after the government-forced bailout. These are not really car people. One of them was a teacher's union member, the other one previously managed school bus manufacturing, etc.

The current CEO of GM has been with GM for a while, but is generally not a fan of the idea of performance and views her role as an opportunity to make change, for whatever that's worth. This as her corporate slogan:

"We have the ambition, the talent and the technology to create a world with zero crashes,
zero emissions and zero congestion."​


Additionally, if you have a teenager that has Instagram, check out the videos that GM's marketing director has been putting out. Every fourth post by her is her making fun of older people who like GM's older cars. She's a young girl that often makes videos from within her car, in her pajamas... usually from her Buick (whatever egg SUV version she has), and literally makes fun of people who keep asking GM to bring back Pontiac or Oldsmobile, or some of the older models.

But, like I said, there's clearly enough demand for GM to bring back Pontiac, but unfortunately it's definitely not something the current management has any interest in... it's just not going to happen unless GM sees it as a last-ditch effort to save the company during a financial crisis, or a plurality of GM's leadership is replaced. At this point, they see it as an ideological difference between a more modern / environmentally conscious vision, and one that they view as old fashioned (and racist because of Pontiac's iconology and roots).
cliffw MAY 26, 10:30 AM

quote
"We have the ambition, the talent and the technology to create a world with zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion."​



There will never be a world (or even in the USA) with zero crashes.

Nor zero emissions. Even with all electric vehicles. With every action there is an equal reaction. Physics.

Zero congestion ?