Posts Tagged ‘Pontiac’

Kindred

By Chief Oddball on October 10th, 2009 at 2:28 pm

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The 1979 Trans Am

I was on my way home in my GTO this afternoon, with my windows down despite the near-100 degree temperatures of southwest Florida, when I spotted an interesting vehicular duo up ahead. In the lane to my right was a bright red classic Camaro — about a ‘68, probably — with a tremendous loping exhaust note and beefy rear tires. In the lane to my left, meanwhile, was a white ‘79 Trans Am with gold decals, brown interior and its T-tops off. Nice!

I was in the middle lane, so I sped up a bit and slotted myself in right between these cars. As luck would have it, we all came to a stop at a red light and I noticed for the first time that the guy in the Trans Am had his young son with him. The boy was maybe around 7 or 8 years old and was busy taking pictures of the old Camaro with a mobile phone. I let the goat hang back a little bit to avoid obstructing his view until he was finished.

When I pulled up alongside, I asked the guy in the Trans Am if it was a ‘79. He replied that it was, and said that the Camaro in the other lane was being driven by his wife and that they were on their way home from the car show downtown. The Trans Am was actually his friend’s car, and it was all-original with only 16,000 miles. The thing was, indeed, a work of art — it looked showroom new. I noticed it was equipped with the Oldsmobile 403 motor, if the “6.6 LITRE” decals on the shaker were any indication.

The light turned green, and we all took off. Thanks to the typical poor synchronization of our county traffic system — which I never thought I would find myself thanking — we were caught again at the next light, where Trans Am man further informed me that he and his family were members of the West Coast Muscle Car Club (holy shit — the website even plays “Sharp Dressed Man,” one of my old favorite driving songs!), and he had applications in his trunk if I wanted one. It was going to be kind of hard to get out of the car and get one, which we both quickly realized as the light turned green, so he told me his phone number.

“My name’s Jim,” he said.

Well, well, well.

It was many years ago when another man named Jim and his 8-year-old son went cruising in a ‘79 Trans Am, with its T-tops removed and the wind blowing through their hair. I found it fitting, somehow, that next month I’ll be getting some work done on our own classic Trans Am so that those days might once again be relived — sooner rather than later, if luck holds. Things are still up in the air a little; I’ve got plans for the car but only a vague idea of what it will cost, plus the cost of transporting it to Florida is nearly a third of the cash I have on hand. Not to mention that the storage options I have here in Florida could easily become endangered.

But today’s chance encounter with another kindred motor-spirit was like a reminder from some higher power — much like the collapse of Pontiac Motor Division early this year — that I have a job to do, a car to restore and memories to relive, and that I should not let a lot of waffling deter me from that end result. Even more important, getting to know some local guys will bring connections, local experts on car restoration and repair, and will help me feel less like I’m alone down here, surrounded by a swath of rich people with Lexuses (Lexii?) who wouldn’t understand automotive heritage if it ran them over at 50 miles an hour.

I’m absolutely going to make this happen.

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Confirmed: Trans Am WS6 in Forza Motorsport 3

By Chief Oddball on September 21st, 2009 at 2:34 pm ··· Leave a Comment

Firebird Trackdays Event from Forza 3

Sweet Forza Motorsport 3, you have done this fan the ultimate service: Included a ‘98-’02 Trans Am WS6 Ram Air in your list of cars. Moreover, there’s an entire event dedicated to the Trans Am line. As proof, I offer this screen capture from a Forza 3 demo video recorded last month at Germany’s GamesCom 2009. (Click it to enlarge.)

This is the first time I’ve ever seen a fourth gen WS6 in a video game, and thankfully it’s one of the best-looking racing games out there, complete with fully-modeled cockpits and a livery editor that will allow me to dress it up exactly the way I dressed up my real WS6.

Forza 3 comes out in the U.S. on the October 27th. My preorder is ready and waiting.

Edit: The 2002 Trans Am WS6 was the Forza 3 “car of the day” on October 14th. Check out this awesome gallery of a Sunset Orange Metallic T/A…looks amazing!


Farewell, Red Arrowhead

By Chief Oddball on April 29th, 2009 at 9:01 pm

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Farewell Pontiac

…In the misty morning, on the edge of time
We’ve lost the rising sun, a final sign
As the misty morning rolls away to die
Reaching for the stars, we blind the sky

…Oh they say that it’s over
And it just had to be
Ooh they say that it’s over
We’re lost children of the sea

…Black Sabbath, “Children of the Sea” (1980)

On Monday, April 27th, 2009, General Motors announced the discontinuation of Pontiac Motor Division. CEO Fritz Henderson made the move to scrap Pontiac and eliminate 21,000 jobs as part of a desperate last-ditch attempt to keep GM from bankruptcy. Reportedly, it was a decision made under tremendous pressure from the U.S. government — which itself stands to become the majority stakeholder in General Motors if Henderson’s final turnaround plan is carried out.

For me, a lifelong fan of Pontiac and someone whose very existence is spiritually tied to that storied brand, it was a sad, disappointing day. Sad because, for all of our pie-in-the-sky hopes that Pontiac might again live up to its history of interesting and exciting cars — perhaps with a new Firebird or Trans Am — we now know with certainty that those dreams will never come true. Disappointing because GM let Pontiac wither away and die when the clock ran out, at a time when they have neither the money nor manpower to give it the dignity of a celebrated sendoff. There will be no pomp and circumstance when Pontiac fades away in 2010, because GM can’t afford any.

Long ago, on a website far, far away, I lamented the death of my favorite Pontiac, the Firebird, when that model met its end in 2002. Back then, I could never have imagined that the entire Pontiac brand would disappear before my eyes less than a decade later. (Ironically, Chevy fans have since regained their Camaro, the Firebird’s one-time platform-sharing sister.) But now here we are, and the jig really is up.

Pontiac was a brand with an identity, one that said you went your own way, marched to a different drummer, refused to settle for the mundane. In the 1960s and ’70s, that identity lived in almost every product Pontiac sold — and they sold a lot of them. Its products were at the heart of pop culture sensations like Smokey and the Bandit and Knight Rider. Unfortunately, since the 1980s, Pontiac’s identity has mostly lacked the corporate support and product portfolio needed to make its storied image work. The once-proud brand’s slide into obscurity was, as a result, inevitable.

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Escapism as a Lifestyle

By Chief Oddball on April 25th, 2009 at 2:52 am

Filed under Journal, Rants ··· 1 Comment

Originally, this post was going to discuss the official launch of our final week here in Thailand. It was going to feature details of the fun stuff we’ve got planned for our last weekend, our trip prep activities over the coming week, and even a list of “10 things I miss about the U.S.” juxtaposed with a list of “10 things I’ll miss about Thailand.”

I’m not so sure, however, that I want to write that post anymore. Not just now. I’m feeling a bit more philosophical at the moment.

When exactly was it that my day went down the crapper and into the proverbial sewer system? I was having such a good day, you see, until late this evening. During breakfast today, I started things off with a glowing email from my friend Pooch, who apparently really liked the sneak preview I sent him of the story I’ve been working on. During the day I worked on my various tasks, encountered some work-related problems and found their solutions. This evening we bought our last week’s worth of groceries and treated Apple’s brother and his family to a little dinner at Hachiban Ramen. They’re leaving on a weeklong vacation on Sunday, after which we may not see them again this trip.

I was riding high on good feelings throughout all of it, which is why it was a bit of a downer to come home and read the news that, according to a company insider, General Motors is going to officially announce the closure of the Pontiac brand on Monday. It’s still unofficial at this point, but would anybody honestly be surprised if it were true? And furthermore, even as an utter and complete Pontiac fanboy extraordinaire, would I be lying if I said it wasn’t a good move for the cash-strapped GM to make? By my reckoning, a smaller GM is better than no GM. For instance, I’d rather be able to buy a Holden Commodore badged as a Chevy Impala, as they are in most of the world, as opposed to not having the car at all.

Still, as a man who’s been a literally lifelong fan of Pontiac’s style, history and legacy, and who has never parked anything other than a red arrowhead in his garage, this is like watching a friend die. A friend who was terminally ill, and whom you knew couldn’t last much longer, and whose every remaining day was torturous and agonizing. None of that makes it any easier when the end comes.

Back in 2001, when I eulogized the Pontiac Firebird — my favorite car, and one whose permanent discontinuation had just been announced by GM — I could never have imagined that, less than a decade later, I might be prepared to eulogize Pontiac as a brand. But, come what may, we all have little choice but to accept the reality that’s handed to us by forces beyond our control.

My mood didn’t improve again today, not since reading this news. Speaking of which, since I previously announced that I was removing myself from any and all news consumption, you’re probably wondering how I even came across Pontiac’s death warrant. Sadly, I read it on my favorite video game blog, Joystiq. Joystiq also owns Autoblog. And at the bottom of every Joystiq page are links to the latest articles on all of their affiliate sites, sooooo…you can imagine what happened. Sigh. Sometimes you can’t win for losing, y’know?

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GM’s Plan for Pontiac

By Chief Oddball on December 3rd, 2008 at 11:48 am

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Today, the Big Three domestic auto company CEOs went back to Washington to present their comprehensive restructuring plans, in the hopes of winning the all-important federal bridge loans to keep their operations running. For GM and Chrysler, the news was particularly dire: Either they receive $4 billion and $7 billion, respectively, in federal aid in the next 30 days or they will cease operations. If given a reprieve, GM’s plan asks for a total of $18 billion in federal aid, which it expects to pay back by 2012 based on its restructuring plan’s cost-saving efforts.

I delved through the official PDF copy of GM’s proposal, which the Detroit Free Press has available for download, in the hopes of finding some news about my brand of choice: Pontiac. I’ve been a Pontiac fan since…well, “the dawn of time” might be an accurate assessment, although there was a time when I was actually more enamored with the Ford Mustang. I’d say that it was 1992 or thereabouts when I really started soaking up all the information I could find about the Firebird, and started to become intimately familiar with Pontiac’s lineup and future plans. Of course, since I was old enough to drive, every car I’ve ever owned has been a Pontiac — and a black one, at that.

After hearing the recent rumors that GM was considering the total elimination of Pontiac, along with is Saab and Saturn brands, I was of mixed emotions. As much as I always loved Pontiac, their current lineup is a sad, shallow caricature of its former “rebel” image. No one takes them seriously, and given their haphazard flailing about and vapid product portfolio, it’s hard to take them seriously. With the Firebird and GTO gone, the Solstice being upstaged by the spiffier Saturn Sky, and the G8 being billed as a somewhat less-than-exciting replacement for about four different discontinued models, GM’s former “Excitement” brand hasn’t been offering us much to get excited about. And the “Green Appeasing” subcompact they’re trying to introduce, a rebadged Chevy Aveo called the G3, is nothing but a total embarrassment to the brand and its few remaining fans. Still, despite what Pontiac has become, I was bitter about the prospect of the nameplate ceasing to exist.

Which is why GM’s vision for Pontiac, as presented in their restructuring plan, is probably about the best thing that could happen to it. From the document:

Significant efforts have been expended to combine the Buick, Pontiac and GMC (BPG) brands into a single dealer distribution network, with approximately 80% of these brands‘ combined sales sold through BPG-branded stores. This channel will be fully competitive in terms of total entries offered, with Pontiac serving as a specialty/niche brand with reduced product offerings solely intended to complement Buick and GMC models and reinforce the channel as a whole.
GM Restructuring Plan for Long-Term Viability, 12/2/2008

In a way, this makes perfect sense. Rather than each of the entities in the “BPG” tier trying to function as a full-line marque, the combined entities should represent a single full-line marque, with each nameplate contributing something different to the goal. And in this case, Pontiac would contribute some “specialty/niche products” — perhaps just the halo cars, if you will.

Besides, as far as I can tell, Pontiac already is a niche brand — it just doesn’t know it. Pontiac’s attempt to be a fully-rounded GM marque, offering vanilla cars like the G6, G5 and Vibe, watered down (if not completely snuffed out) the brand’s “Excitement” image. And let’s be honest; anyone looking for a bread-and-butter car isn’t going to buy a Pontiac. Pontiac only exists for one reason: To provide inspiring, soulful product to mainstream, middle-class buyers who actually want some fun in their mode of transportation. Pontiac should not be about utility, or fuel economy, or ergonomics. It should be about performance, design and — dare I invoke the term — excitement. And it should not try to compete with Porsche, BMW or any of the Euro marques in refinement, comfort or panache — let those brands have that stuff. Pontiac cars should be all about stuffing it in your face, like it was in the ’60s and ’70s. Like the nostril-festooned Trans Am of the ’90s. No holds barred!

And because this should be the brand’s focus, it naturally should be a reduced portfolio with maybe two or three cars. The “sporty, fun” alter-egos that grin at you mischievously from the corners of the Buick/GMC/Pontiac combined showroom. If you want your cushy pseudo-luxury ride, you have your Buick sedans and crossovers. If you want your fun car, you have your Pontiacs. And then, for some reason, you have your GMCs. Frankly I think it’s GMC that needs to cease to exist; what with Chevrolet offering everything GMC does in essentially the same package, I don’t see the point.

But you can see from GM’s discussion of the three combined “second tier” brands — Buick, GMC and Pontiac — that it’s Pontiac that would get the axe first if it came to it. They’re just there to “round out” the product offerings of the second tier, and if it doesn’t work out, Pontiac will go the way of Oldsmobile. So yeah, the brand might still cease to exist in the very near future, but at least it sounds like GM has finally faced the music and relegated it to the niche status that it has so deserved, for better and for worse, for a long time now. (And hey, with GM about ready to throw in the towel and dissolve Saturn, maybe the Sky can go away and the Solstice will finally be able to stand on its own merits.)

So if Pontiac were reduced to two or three niche products, what should they be? I think Peter DeLorenzo of AutoExtremist has the right idea:

A Firebird Trans-Am, a GTO and a big Bonneville sedan would do nicely. Notgonnahappen.com, but it’s an interesting thought…
AutoExtremist.com

Perchance to dream.

Edit: As if reading my mind, Mark Phelan of the Detroit Free Press posted practically the same thoughts today. Well done.

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Oddball is BLOG.

By Chief Oddball on January 5th, 2008 at 9:50 pm ··· 6 Comments

I swear, GM, sometimes you make it very hard for me to love you. Ahem…did anyone else see Pontiac’s new slogan? Yes, that’s it:

“Pontiac is CAR.”

That’s precious. What next? “GMC is TRUCK”?


Nine Years Ago Today

By Chief Oddball on June 26th, 2007 at 4:00 pm

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It was on this exact date, at this exact time (4:00 pm), in 1998 when I embarked upon my first journey home in my new Trans Am WS6. It was a blistering hot summer day in Westland, and the porters at Red Holman Pontiac had just returned from putting a full tank of gas in the car — gas that cost about 99 cents a gallon for 93 octane, I might add — and nothing could have put a damper on my mood.

Only a month earlier, Apple and I had met over the Internet, and were exchanging emails almost every day. After a hellacious four years of high school, it was shaping up to be the greatest summer of my life.

Without a doubt, it’s been nothing but a fantastic ride since then. Here’s to history.

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By The Way, You Own a Muscle Car

By Chief Oddball on April 29th, 2007 at 3:24 pm

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I received an interesting letter from GM corporate last week. Apparently Pontiac would like to inform owners of 2005-06 GTOs with manual transmissions that, if driven aggressively, the LS2 engine in their vehicles will consume a small amount of oil. Over time, if the oil level is not maintained, the mill might be starved dry.

Since I’ve read several accounts on LS2GTO.com where people had their engines run dry on oil and spin a bearing or something, my guess is that Pontiac has had several warranty claims for this reason. The letter campaign is likely their attempt to indemnify themselves against further such claims, as they can point to this and say, “This is normal for the car, and if your engine starved, it’s because of owner neglect.”

Excerpt from the letter:

As the owner of a Pontiac GTO with a Six Speed Manual Transmission, your satisfaction with our product is very important to us. This letter is to remind you to check your engine oil level at every fuel stop to assure it is within the operating range at all times, particularly if you drive aggressively.

A higher rate of oil consumption is normal for vehicles equipped with manual transmissions that are driven aggressively. By “aggressive,” we mean operation at high RPM (3,000 RPM to redline), with frequent use of engine braking (using the engine to slow the vehicle). This characteristic does, however, require the owner to check the engine oil levels at sufficiently frequent intervals, especially when driving aggressively, to assure the oil level remains within the recommended operating range. …

Operating your vehicle with an oil level that is below the minimum level indicated on the engine oil dipstick can result in severe engine damage. Repairs resulting from operating an engine with insufficient oil are not covered under the terms of the New Vehicle Warranty.

Scott Lawson, General Director, GM Customer and Relationship Services

Based on my checks, my GTO has never used a drop of oil — and when I took another look at the stick after receiving this letter, the level was right where I’d last left it. Does that mean I drive like a grandma? I don’t think so — about 50% of the posters on the message boards have had no oil consumption, either. I also like engine braking, and I’m not exactly sure if the GTO can even be operated below the 3,000 RPM to redline range. :D

Still, it’s just another reminder of why frequent oil level checks are important. And what GTO stands for in the first place. No, not Gran Turismo Omologato. Gas, Tires, and Oil — as in, what it consumes greedily when operated in a spirited fashion!

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