So more cost went into a Pontiac auto... better value or more labor? True thay actually were exporting the U Body (Montana/Venture) to China under the Buick brand.... no wonder GM is in such trouble

I'm really surprised at the numbers, they dumped Pontiac too.

Kind of a somewhat sad moment too, for as long as I've known we have always had at least one Pontiac in the family starting woth a '60 Ventura, & ending with the '92 SSe I have, when I part with it, it will be an end of an era of sorts. (now counting my grandfather going back to '26, his brother sold them, & he always had one too! )

More often than not I thought the Pontiac usually was the best looking of it'* siblings too.

Really perhaps kept Olds, & dumped Buick years back?? or were they going for the high end buyer, as Chevrolet is not going anywhere, & I'll still never understand why they asslimated Saturn into another GM clone either.

You all seem, like a nice knit group here I never thought the Bonnieville had such a cult following.

Wasnt a better value type of equation. Buick and Pontiac use different teams for everything. For what ever reasons in the research, engineering, tooling, and production aspect. Pontiac couldnt make a profit per car, regardless of numbers. All of the Big 3 were having a problem with making passenger cars profitable and ignored it because of the nice profits they enjoyed in the "GoldRush" demand of the last 15+/- years for SUV'* and bigger better trucks. They just looked at the bottom line. The gas crunch and skyrocketing fuel prices let the air out of the SUV boom and it came back to haunt them.

Thanks for liking the Forum. Chevy and "Government Motors" isnt out of the woods. GM Corporate just doesnt still seem to understand the severity and the fact they have a huge obligation and deadline coming in June to show some really stern changes and signs of being able to float. I wouldnt gamble on Obama putting any more stimulus money into it. We might just be seeing Total Doom played out in steps.

Im wondering if Buick had a higher markup, & the clientel that was willing to pay it. 'If they build it they will come' attitude GM (& the rest of the big 3) has had over the SUV boom, I recently purchased a Saturn Vue, though I really am looking at it as the closest thing to a "Station Wagon" I could find (god forbid me using those 2 words ), plus it'* polymer! Since the demise of the first generation U Body, I don't like the offerings of the current Minivans which I hated at first but had grown to love... in 5 years that vehicle which was so popular will not be made or offered, go figure.

Only reason the public went for the SUV was that it was overly offered as the "status quo" & forced down the public'* throat.. it was a nitche vehicle & should have stayed that way... & then came the next gas crunch, we saw that one coming didn't we?

YW & probably right on steps toward GM'* demise, I once read an outline for GM back in the '90s that Cadillac & Buick was only going to make full size Luxury cars, Pontiac was only going to make small & sporty cars (thinking the Bonneville may had been eliminated in this plan), Olds was going to continue with a mid sized line & basic full size, Chevy was going to cover the SUV, Truck, small car & Geo line, & Saturn was going to continue to make thier unique line, plus add the EV1... thus not much competition within, this may had saved GM, instead they did an about face.

Thats sooooo crazy, didn'tGM sell more Pontiacs than all of the other brands they own? I'm just mad that i'm about to buy my first and poss last Pontiac....

its to bad they shut down the plant where the 3800s were built.