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Feds Told GM To Drop Pontiac Or No Bailout, Ex-GM Exec Says
alopnik.com ^ | Oct 26 2013 | MICHAEL BALLABAN

Posted on 10/27/2013 7:51:03 AM PDT by MeshugeMikey

When General Motors shut down Pontiac, it left a lot of enthusiasts wondering why. It was primed with a lineup of powerful, rear-wheel drive models, and seemed like it had a bright future ahead of it. It turns out that GM killed it on government orders, according to former GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz.

(Excerpt) Read more at jalopnik.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: boblutz; gm; obamasfault; partisanmediashill; partisanmediashills; pontiac
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To: MeshugeMikey

Pontiac was killed because it was the performance brand. Liberals hate performance. (At least for other people.) Why is Chevrolet putting a four cylinder in the Camaro? According to one of my car magazines it was because for a while Camaro was the only selling Chevrolet product. Somebody in the Administrations said that it wasn’t environmentally conscious and that if they put a four cylinder into the Camaro people would buy it in preference to the 300hp six and the ridiculously powerful V8. So, next year Camaro gets a 259 HP turbo four out of the Impala.


21 posted on 10/27/2013 8:34:20 AM PDT by Gen.Blather
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To: Popman
Pontiac would have given americans a nice choice in a affordable car young males would buy...

Well, THERE's your problem! Pontiacs were manly cars. As for the one in charge of GM...

...well, he looked at those muscle cars and said they HAD to go!

22 posted on 10/27/2013 8:38:28 AM PDT by COBOL2Java (I'm a Christian, pro-life, pro-gun, Reaganite. The GOP hates me. Why should I vote for them?)
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To: ThunderSleeps
Bammy wanted to play at being a business man, just like he plays at being president, or even plays at being a man. So he made a decision, just to make one and show who was calling the shots, even though it was not a good one.

Perhaps he should take up baseball. As far as bad decisions, he's batting 1000

23 posted on 10/27/2013 8:41:48 AM PDT by Mygirlsmom (You know something's really wrong when the salesman keeps selling long after the close.)
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To: Gen.Blather

They tried this crap back in the day too. They put the 2.5 iron duke in the Firebird and Camaro.. I only saw a few. They also tried the 2.8 V6 in them.

I bought one for 200 bucks. First thing I did was stuff a 400 small block chevy in it.


24 posted on 10/27/2013 8:42:30 AM PDT by cableguymn (The founding fathers would be shooting by now..)
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To: Ruy Dias de Bivar

It also had a racist acronym.


25 posted on 10/27/2013 8:44:56 AM PDT by NTHockey (Rules of engagement #1: Take no prisoners. And to the NSA trolls, FU)
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To: Gen.Blather

a...FOUR CYLINDER Camaro?

only slighlty better performance than the One Cylinder Obamacare site....


26 posted on 10/27/2013 8:45:18 AM PDT by MeshugeMikey ( Visit http://icantenroll.com/)
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To: ThunderSleeps

well at least he didnt insist that Ford stop marketing the beefed up Mustangs...although he’d likely like to.


27 posted on 10/27/2013 8:46:30 AM PDT by MeshugeMikey ( Visit http://icantenroll.com/)
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To: Gen.Blather

Rear wheel drive, performance oriented, masculine. Liberals would naturally hate Pontiac.


28 posted on 10/27/2013 8:56:01 AM PDT by Yardstick
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The last American car company?


29 posted on 10/27/2013 9:01:55 AM PDT by mcmuffin (Freedom's On The March - Wave Goodbye!)
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To: NTHockey
It's not a Cadillac.

Anyhow, the bailout insured I will never buy another Chevy, which save for a 71 Charger, all I've ever owned is Chevy's.

My 04 Silverado is on just over 220,000 miles on it. Aside from the fact it is paid off, I can't afford to buy a new truck yet. However, since I've started replacing front parts (multiple times even) since about 65,000 miles it is rapidly becoming equal to a truck payment every month.

I figured by the time I hit 100, or 125-150K I'd need to replace some things, but I've went through a half shaft, x4 idler arms, driver side hub assembly x3, passenger side x2, x3 alternators, driver side top and bottom ball joint x2, a Bose 6 disc stereo (stock, and CRAP - junked out at 30K miles and neither Chevy nor Bose would stand behind it), a transfer case, and an instrument panel that was recalled (the gear indicator is burned out on the replacement). This is aside from the fact that every 5k miles I have to replace at least two bulbs - either head light, running light, or from the back lights; it's always two.

And, this is with regular scheduled maintenance and not even horsing on it.

Somewhere along the way quality fell out the bottom between my near indestructible 96 Silverado and my 04 Z71.

I can only imagine that Government Motors' vehicles are even bigger POS.

I thought, maybe I' just got an anomaly since the other chevys I had were pretty stout.

The bailout was just the final reason why GM needs to whither and die.

30 posted on 10/27/2013 9:02:12 AM PDT by Repeat Offender (What good are conservative principles if we don't stand by them?)
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To: Gen.Blather

There were 4 cylinder Camaros in the 80s too. And Mustangs.


31 posted on 10/27/2013 9:09:12 AM PDT by al_c (Obama's standing in the world has fallen so much that Kenya now claims he was born in America.)
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To: MeshugeMikey

Gibson Guitar in SPADES

OK, I’m asking for it. Shouldn’t that be Gibson Guitar BY SPADES?


32 posted on 10/27/2013 9:09:13 AM PDT by Mastador1 (I'll take a bad dog over a good politician any day!)
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To: MeshugeMikey

The GM brands as seen by liberals:

Buick — old white guys
Pontiac — young white guys
Oldsmobile — AARP
Chevrolet — redneck, but also blue-collar union, and with useful patriotic cachet
GMC — useful troglodytes who remodel our kitchens


33 posted on 10/27/2013 9:17:49 AM PDT by Yardstick
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To: MeshugeMikey

I’ve seen no actions by GM that would lead me to believe they have pulled out of their death spiral.


34 posted on 10/27/2013 9:18:04 AM PDT by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancer")
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To: Lazamataz

“No worries. I shall NEVER own a Government Motors car.”

Good, it makes it easier for me to buy one! Just replaced our 2003 Avalanche ( which has run free from anything other than normal maintenance for 170,000 miles) with a new 2013 Avalanche. Just sorry that the product planners have eliminated it from their lineup going forward. Probably more lingering government intervention. Nothing any other manufacturer has is comparable save that pipsqueak Honda thingy that can’t pull a trailer of any size. Happy motoring with your “foreign car” whatever it is.


35 posted on 10/27/2013 9:18:24 AM PDT by vette6387
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To: oh8eleven

Paging Walter White....please pick up the white courtesy phone.....


36 posted on 10/27/2013 9:20:05 AM PDT by Donkey Odious ( Adapt, improvise, and overcome - now a motto for us all.)
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To: vette6387

God bless ya. You buy into the Travant model of manufacturing, that’s on you.


37 posted on 10/27/2013 9:22:03 AM PDT by Lazamataz (Early 2009 to 7/21/2013 - RIP my little girl Cathy. You were the best cat ever. You will be missed.)
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To: AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Berosus; bigheadfred; Bockscar; cardinal4; ColdOne; ...

Thanks MeshugeMikey.
It was primed with a lineup of powerful, rear-wheel drive models, and seemed like it had a bright future ahead of it. It turns out that GM killed it on government orders, according to former GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz.
And it's been *how* many years? And *how* many national and state elections have taken place? Partisan Media Shills ping.


38 posted on 10/27/2013 9:22:44 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (http://www.freerepublic.com/~mestamachine/)
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To: MeshugeMikey

Someone tell Lutz that GM should have filed for bankruptcy. Twinkies are back and Pontiac isn”t.


39 posted on 10/27/2013 9:23:23 AM PDT by VRWC For Truth (Roberts has perverted the Constitution)
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To: MeshugeMikey

Someone please tell me anything good that this “community organizer” has done for America enterprise, foreign relations, values. Anything?


40 posted on 10/27/2013 9:35:32 AM PDT by A Navy Vet (An Oath is Forever!)
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