GM dropping GTO

[JAXRS6]

This arrived as an email today from Automotive News:


Breaking News Alert


Pontiac will drop the GTO this year
DETROIT -- General Motors has told Pontiac dealers that it will discontinue the GTO coupe at the end of this model year. GM will make the last deliveries of the vehicle to dealers by the end of September, sources close to Pontiac say.

GM will produce 10,000 to 12,000 more GTOs before dropping the nameplate, one source close to the situation says. Last year, Pontiac sold 11,590 GTOs compared to 2004 when it sold 13,569. That's a 14.6 percent drop.

When Pontiac launched the GTO in 2003, it projected 18,000 annual sales. The vehicle was criticized for bland styling, and some fans of the original GTO complained that it lacked nostalgic styling cues.

"For the remaining life of the car, it simply wasn't worth the engineering expense or effort to re-certify it as an '07 for a very limited run, when we could continue selling them as '06s," says a source close to GM who is familiar with the program.

The GTO is built on a rear-wheel drive architecture from GM's Holden division in Australia. The present model is going out of production as GM constructs the new Zeta RWD architecture, says the source. There is no replacement coupe planned at this time and because of the strong Australian and weak U.S. dollar, the GTO had to be priced thousands over where GM originally wanted it -- in the mid-twenties, the source says. "It never did as much volume as we had hoped," the source says.

The GTO suggested retail price starts at $31,990, including shipping. One GM source says, "the 2005 and 2006 were pretty well sold out, and sales were especially strong in areas of GM weakness, like Southern California. It's a shame it has to go -- for now."

Another source says that GM has indicated that it would like to have another vehicle in that "space" in the future.

You may e-mail Jamie LaReau at jlareau@crain.com
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[CarbonFibre]

Originally posted by JAXRS6
Another source says that GM has indicated that it would like to have another vehicle in that "space" in the future.

I'm guessing the new Camaro will be coming in to replace this. Them dropping this car makes perfect sense from what the article described.

[Benman]

Originally posted by JAXRS6
One GM source says, "the 2005 and 2006 were pretty well sold out, and sales were especially strong in areas of GM weakness, like Southern California. It's a shame it has to go -- for now."

Originally posted by CarbonFibre
I'm guessing the new Camaro will be coming in to replace this. Them dropping this car makes perfect sense from what the article described.

GM, GM, GM... How easy it would have been to build this car on the future Camaro platform! Haven't they heard of platform sharing? Mercedes, Audi, Lexus, BMW, Toyota, Honda, etc. sure have!!! And make tons of $$$ doing it!

The car was selling well, sales were good, they already made the huge advertising investment to bring the car back, only to axe it a couple of years later? And then they wonder why they're in the red?!? Maybe because they're stupid? Or just plain retarded. Who invests that kind of money, to throw away a car? And then to top it off, bring back a car (Camaro) that so easily could have shared a platform and cut production costs drastically. Off course, what will likely happen, is they'll figure this all out later, and then say DUH!

Chrysler has figured it out. Look at the Dodge Magnum/Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger/Challenger, etc. They're everywhere and since the already have the platform (a rip from MB), they're relatively cheap to build!

Dang GM, I don't feel sorry for you losers one stinkin bit.

Ben