The end of a brand (lease, rental, purchase, sell)
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Don't be so critical of General Motors they are partially responsible for the economic growth in China over the past 30 years.
If it wasn't for those children assembling $10 circuit boards there is no way GM could get away only charging dealers $200 for them over here.
I wouldn't worry about any Pontiacs and parts availability except for three of their newer cars: GTO, G8 and Solstice.
Engines and transmissions, etc. aren't hard to come by, but frame and body pieces were already rare and are only getting more so. I had a friend who got into an accident in his then new GTO in 2006. It took 4 MONTHS to get all the parts to put the car back together (2 1/2 of that was just waiting for the radiator support bracket). Now, who knows how long it would take.
Any more mass produced model should be fine, but I would personally steer clear of the Aussie sourced cars or low volume stuff like the Solstice (and Saturn Sky for that matter) unless it is a pleasure car and you don't need to depend on it. Unfortunately these were the best cars Pontiac offered recently.
How complicated is that radiator support bracket anyway? A real tin bender should be able to make it from scratch, maybe not identical to OEM but I mean it's a radiator bracket, not a bracket to mount a jet engine on a 747... make it from new sheet metal, straighten out the old one, modify something that's close...good grief...
Most of the drivetrain parts for Pontiac have been the same as Chevrolet since, what, the mid-80's?
British Leyland is dead as a hammer, and has been for a long time, but MG-B parts are plentiful. I doubt GTO (recent model) parts will be all that tough to get anytime at all soon, and if it attains cult status, parts will remain available as long as it remains a cult car.
I'm sad too to see Pontiac go but then again Pontiac hasn't been a Pontiac for many years. Gone are the good cars like U.S. built GTO, the RWD Grand Prixs, Trans AM/Firebird, RWD Le Mans/Tempest, and I'll even mention the Ventura II, albeit it was nothing more than a Nova clone.
Sorry but I can't associate crap like Azteks and Vibes with something Pontiac could or would make. Those are clearly a slap in the face/a disgrace to the Pontiac name. I still remember the "We build excitement" jingle they used back in the 1980's....I don't see what's so exciting about anything they built then or recently.
British Leyland is dead as a hammer, and has been for a long time, but MG-B parts are plentiful. I doubt GTO (recent model) parts will be all that tough to get anytime at all soon, and if it attains cult status, parts will remain available as long as it remains a cult car.
hell, I can get parts for '60s Falcons, Studebakers, and Hudsons, and thos haven't been built in decades. Finding parts for any GM car is going to be easy for as long as any of us are alive. Seriously, it's such a non-issue that no one even slightly knowledgeable about cars shouldn't even consider it.
How complicated is that radiator support bracket anyway? A real tin bender should be able to make it from scratch, maybe not identical to OEM but I mean it's a radiator bracket, not a bracket to mount a jet engine on a 747... make it from new sheet metal, straighten out the old one, modify something that's close...good grief...
Most of the drivetrain parts for Pontiac have been the same as Chevrolet since, what, the mid-80's?
British Leyland is dead as a hammer, and has been for a long time, but MG-B parts are plentiful. I doubt GTO (recent model) parts will be all that tough to get anytime at all soon, and if it attains cult status, parts will remain available as long as it remains a cult car.
You have to remember there were less than 40k GTO's and 40k G8's sold in the U.S. and less than 95k Solstices and Skys. All of them built on platforms that are completely unique to those cars. The drivetrains are common parts bin stuff, but not the chassis, body and interior panels.
I never meant to imply that parts would be impossible, more or less hard to find and would come at a premium or have a longer than normal lead time. Yes, you can get parts for the GTO and G8 from Australia, but there is time and cost concerns with that. The G8's salvation in this regard is that the new Caprice PI is based on the same platform and will use the same engine, so parts should be more readily available.
My only real caution is that I would not buy one of those to be my ONLY source of transportation. If something did happen, the car could be down for inordinantly long period of time while they are sourcing and getting parts. I would personally still buy one as second car or weekend toy.
FYI, in the case of the radiator support bracket for the GTO, it is part of the front subframe assembly. Not sure how it all ties in, but the car couldn't go back together without it and the car sat on a frame rack the entire time they were waiting for the part. Both the owner and the shop were not very happy about that.
Just pop over to the GTO forums and read the stories of people who have been in accidents. Anything that required more than basic body work took a significant amount of time to get the parts and get the car back together.
Well just hold off on owning a GTO or GXP. For me they're still too new for what I buy.
Some other Pontiacs I like are Fiero GTs and Sunbird Formulas. Speaking of Fieros, is there a good database on those especially ones that have had major mods to the likes of Lambo clones?
I'm sad too to see Pontiac go but then again Pontiac hasn't been a Pontiac for many years. Gone are the good cars like U.S. built GTO, the RWD Grand Prixs, Trans AM/Firebird, RWD Le Mans/Tempest, and I'll even mention the Ventura II, albeit it was nothing more than a Nova clone.
Sorry but I can't associate crap like Azteks and Vibes with something Pontiac could or would make. Those are clearly a slap in the face/a disgrace to the Pontiac name. I still remember the "We build excitement" jingle they used back in the 1980's....I don't see what's so exciting about anything they built then or recently.
Yeah, my parents once owned two 1966 Pontiac Grand Prixs as the same time. Those were real Pontiacs... smooth ride, roomy, V-8 engine, a real trunk, chrome, classic 1960s styling, etc.
I had an '84 Pontiac Grand Prix from 14,000 miles. It started falling apart at 50,000 miles. Rear view mirror fell off, doors went out of alignment with the rest of the car, compresssor blew up, forget the clock, that stopped early. Seats started falling apart. I wanted a rear wheel drive car because everything was going front wheel. Big mistake. My father was a GM guy and I really tried. But they're getting what they deserve.
Current car: 2001 Toyota Camry (from new). Now has 173,000 miles and runs and rides like new.
I had an '84 Pontiac Grand Prix from 14,000 miles. It started falling apart at 50,000 miles. Rear view mirror fell off, doors went out of alignment with the rest of the car, compresssor blew up, forget the clock, that stopped early. Seats started falling apart. I wanted a rear wheel drive car because everything was going front wheel. Big mistake. My father was a GM guy and I really tried. But they're getting what they deserve.
Current car: 2001 Toyota Camry (from new). Now has 173,000 miles and runs and rides like new.
Too bad you didn't buy a '66 Grand Prix. 1960s Pontiacs were great! They were also capable of 170,000+ miles and had actual room inside (and in the trunk- 23.4 cu.ft.)
I had an '84 Pontiac Grand Prix from 14,000 miles. It started falling apart at 50,000 miles. Rear view mirror fell off, doors went out of alignment with the rest of the car, compresssor blew up, forget the clock, that stopped early. Seats started falling apart. I wanted a rear wheel drive car because everything was going front wheel. Big mistake. My father was a GM guy and I really tried. But they're getting what they deserve.
Current car: 2001 Toyota Camry (from new). Now has 173,000 miles and runs and rides like new.
That must've been a lemon cause G bodies are generally good cars. I will give you the door alignment issue though as those big ole doors would sag after awhile.
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