Ah, man. My car's gonna be an orphan:
Two people briefed on GM's plan confirmed that it includes the demise of Trans Am sports car brand Pontiac, 83 years after the first Pontiac car was introduced. Within three years, half a million Pontiacs were sold, and the brand quickly grew in popularity, from early models like the Chief and the Master Six Coupe, to the Bonneville convertible, to the GTO — one of America's first muscle cars and so popular it inspired Ronny and the Daytonas to immortalize it in song.
Many of us have had the experience -- with a TV, computer or other modern device -- of having a favorite toy become a sudden liability because it gets abandoned by the manufacturer. Never thought it would happen to my car. I wasn't the type to hanker after a GTO -- wah, wah! -- but by the time the Bonneville came along, I was ready for it. My 2000 Bonneville has 70,000 miles on it, runs perfectly fine and is paid for. It also has leather seats -- everybody deserves a car with leather seats once in his life, and this one is mine. I was looking forward to driving the thing for a few more years, putting aside the money that would have gone to car payments.
But now I have to worry. Will the increasing difficulty of getting parts outweigh the benefits of not having car payments? Will the stupid thing strand me in the middle of nowhere, and will anybody bother to come get me if it does? Will Fox & Fox abandon me, too? (I stopped going to the dealer a couple of years ago.)
The people said GM won't have much new information on Hummer, Saturn or other brands, including Europe's Opel. GM has indicated it wants to focus on four core brands, Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC and Buick.
Sure, I could take a chance on a Chevy. A lot of my people drove Chevies, and they were good people. But I know what will happen:
The company had said it wanted to keep Pontiac as a niche brand with one or two models, but is buckling under tremendous government pressure to consolidate its eight brands, several of which lose money.
There will be even more pressure from the government, and, as sure as I'm sitting here, if I go with Chevy, that will be the next one to go. President Obama tries to affect the common touch, but he just doesn't have it in him. I bet he just hates those proletariant-enabling Chevy trucks that can haul anything anywhere. Bet you anything he'll keep the Buick, and I wouldn't be caught Democrat in a Buick.
