BellaOnline Forums Home and Garden Cars Pontiac's Demise - the Governments and Unions

It's a sad, shameful end to a once great line of automobiles.
There's plenty of blame to go around as to why we have to say goodbye to Pontiac.

The government and unions being the biggest.
The out of control, free-spending federal government that bound the domestic automakers with over-zealous emissions standards. Forced safety standards on them that would make NASA envious, and neglected to tap its own abundant oil supply as gasoline prices skyrocketed.
The automakers union where the average pay including benefits was in the $80 per hour range compared to the $20 per hour or less that asian carmakers paid their workers.

The unions were and are too slow to make concessions that might have saved the 21,000 workers that GM announced would lose their jobs by year end. This on top of the thousands of jobs already lost in the last year.

Of course GM, Chrysler, and Ford management share in the blame. But many of the actions that they took were to pacify the unions and their shareholders.

Unfortunately, the shock waves of this announcement will affect the long line of parts suppliers and other related industries.
As difficult as this will be for those who will lose their jobs, its also a sad day as we lose another part of what once made America great.

Obama, in his speech tonight, said in the last 30 days, things looked better for Chrysler, and he seemed hopeful and seemed to favor GM. He didn't state or elaborate on what was going on with the two companies. Do you know?

Angie,

Chrysler just announced that they will file for bankruptcy.
This does not mean that they will be ceasing operations though.
They had tried to get relief of their debts from lenders, but were unable to.
Now, the debts will most likely be relieved by the courts and Chrysler will continue to operate.
They are also in merger discussions with Italian car company Fiat that unlike their marriage with Mercedes, would actually benefit both company's.

GM of course, announced the pairing of its Pontiac brand and closure of a good number of dealerships. They will most likely also be receiving billions of dollars more from the government to remain afloat.

Both company's should emerge much better off and remain viable entities in the worlwide market.

My concern is that the federal government is becoming heavily involved in the free markets and to me, that spells long term problems.
Look at Social Security, Medicare, education and other government backed programs. They're a disaster!
Let's hope that they pull back once these automakers begin to become profitable again.

Yes, I had about Chrysler today after I made the post. Chrysler had a bailout many years ago. Management and Union needed to work toward a better product and better marketing.

GM needs an infusion also.

I hate to see our cars and our industries go away. A nation cannot be a services only base. I feel like we have sold our birthright. I agree with your assessment of the government's involvement in our markets. Those in power need to read the Constitution and refresh their memories about what the federal government's role is.

Well, Chrysler went to court today. I wonder what "surgical prep" was done on the patient?

Local Pontiac dealership says it won't suffer from brand's demise:::::
There was a time when Bob King sold 100 Pontiacs a month.
Related Links:
* Pontiac's end doesn't deter local enthusiasts, collectors
But that has fallen off these days to 20 to 25, the longtime Wilmington auto dealer said Monday.
So when General Motors Corp. stops producing the fabled make at the end of next year, it won�t mean so much to his business, King said. He�ll still be selling Buicks and GMC trucks.
But to GM, Pontiac�s demise is part of massive restructuring plan to stay alive.
GM�s plan, revealed Monday, could leave the federal government a majority shareholder.
Offer to swap roughly $27 billion in bond debt for GM stock; and
Offer stock to the United Auto Workers union for at least 50 percent of the $20 billion that the company must pay into a union-run trust that will take over retiree health care expenses starting next year.
The actions, if accepted, would leave a corporation owned more than 50 percent by the federal government, about 38 percent by the UAW, 10 percent by bondholders and 1 percent by current shareholders.
In exchange GM would give the government a majority of the company in exchange for canceling half the government loans to the company as of June. The swap would cancel about $10 in government debt.
GM is living on $15.4 billion in government loans and said Monday in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it envisions receiving an additional $11.6 billion. But if GM�s restructuring plan can�t satisfy the government by June 1, the struggling company could go into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
President Obama�s administration said in a statement that the bond exchange filing is an important step in GM�s restructuring but the administration has not made a final decision about taking stock for part of its loans.
GM CEO Fritz Henderson said Monday at a news conference that although the government would own a majority of GM�s outstanding common shares, the Treasury �hasn�t demonstrated interest in running the company,� but would have someone on the board looking out for the taxpayers� interest.
Deals with the UAW and the Treasury have yet to be finalized, he said.
Pontiac owners will be able to continue to bring their vehicles in for service even after production is halted, King said. All warranties remain in force, he added.
Pontiac, however, isn�t the only GM-owned brand that is running on empty.
GM has already put Swedish automaker Saab up for sale, and will stop making Saturns and Hummers by the end of 2009, King said.
There are four GM models that will be kept, King said � Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick and GMC trucks.
The latter two he�ll continue to sell. And, King said, GM plans to expand the Buick line.
Pontiac is a brand known for its muscle cars, including the TransAm and the GTO, subject of the 1960s hit �Little GTO� by Ronnie and the Daytonas.
But GM�s Henderson said that the company was spread too thin to make Pontiac work.
�We didn�t think we had the resources to get this done from a product perspective,� or marketing, he said Monday at a news conference.
He said the decision was very tough for many at GM because of the brand�s heritage.
Henderson said GM wants to develop a plan that doesn�t have to be repeated.
�We only want to do this once,� he told reporters.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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This is such sad news. As a teenager in the 60s, I certainly knew more than a few guys with muscle cars. I drove a Pontiac Grand Am in later years - my 2nd favorite car after my '65 Ford Mustang (1st car, brand-new). Also had a cool LaMons for a few months until that got totaled.

It's a sad time for GM and others. As a mid-MI resident who had/have relatives in the car biz, this is especially upsetting for our extended family.

Hopefully, in the end, something good will come out of this painful situation.

it is so sad news.
everything will be Okay, don't worry about it.

I think Pontiac has better name recognition than Buick. I guess that is because we had one at one time and we never had a Buick.

It's a sad time for GM and others. As a mid-MI resident who had/have relatives in the car biz, this is especially upsetting for our extended family.now going for my web hosting[/url] so c u later..