black02

I definitely felt torque steer in the Aura XE (3.5V6 I think) I rented a few weeks ago, and I was just driving it normally (it discourages anything fun). To make FWD cars fast on a race track, they just set them up to oversteer, and then they control that with the throttle. You'd never want to set up a street car that way.

If gasoline goes up to $20/gallon, what will you do?

Sure. But not best for fastest track time, which was the original discussion (CTS-V versus Panamera).

Couldn't hold that one 'til April 1st, eh?

Actually, a well-engineered AWD system will corner faster than a well-engineered RWD system. AWD lets you get maximum traction usage from all four wheels, so even though it's heavier, it'll be quicker. If AWD were an option in F1, everyone would have it. The reason it's not there is that it's outlawed. I still like RWD better, because I want more from a street car than just taking every corner at maximum speed.

Yeah, in the LA and Bay areas, almost no one buys a new domestic sedan. If you go into the central valley -- places such as Fresno and Bakersfield -- the domestics do quite a bit better (i.e. you see some). But I see quite a lot of Camaros and Mustangs in the areas where sedans don't sell. Also, the 300 and Charger do well. It definitely helps that you can't get anything like a Charger from Toyota or Honda. It's too bad that GM canceled their Zeta Chevy sedan plans.

Best bus ever built! As a bonus, the U.S. factory was in Pontiac. The bus pictured is a Canadian unit, built in Quebec. The first New Look was built in 1959, and the last in 1986.

Yeah. The GTO might have been Pontiac's biggest seller -- at least in coastal California. The G6 doesn't sell here at all as far as I can tell. My impression is that Pontiac seems to have a negative brand image among those who aren't muscle car fans. Chevy still seems to be okay. People do like the G8 and the GTO, even if they don't think much of Pontiac. Though when I suggested to a coworker that he look at a G8 instead of a slightly used 745i, he said he just couldn't see himself in a Pontiac, no matter how nice the G8 was.... This is what GM has to struggle against.

Michigan?

The best chance for Pontiac is if it clearly gets folded into the Buick and GMC franchise agreement in such a way that it could be canceled in the future with no penalties to GM. That would give GM the freedom to actually make it a niche without having to provide volume cars to the dealerships. It would also give GM a little time to make that niche plan work. Things like the G3 and the Torrent weren't part of the strategic Pontiac plan as far as I can tell. They were a response to dealer complaints. That can't continue. But as an observer, and not a mover or shaker, if I had to bet, I'd bet against Pontiac. Still, a small Pontiac lineup with Alphas and Zetas as cornerstones would be pretty neat.

I understand. The Intrigue was the best looking W-body by far, in my opinion, just as the Aurora was the best looking G. I would love to see a Commodore with a late Olds front end instead of the Pontiac with scoops. I ain't gonna get it. I was an Olds fan, though since I like RWD, while I like the look of their cars, they really hadn't had anything for me since 1987.

Okay, 2 Pontiacs a year. Do I hear 2.5? I sit corrected. The real way to save GM is to bring back Oakland, LaSalle, Oldsmobile, and continue to pump lots of money into Hummer, Saab, Saturn, and Pontiac. A car for everybody, dead or alive. I'll now duck again. In reality, I'd like to see a RWD Pontiac division as much as anyone. I just don't think it's going to happen, so I'm not going to get my hopes up.

It tells me that you bought a Pontiac. Is that wrong?

Yeah, the crowd that's been posting here would probably buy one Pontiac a year, unless GM does something to try to save itself that happens to anger one of them, in which case it might drop to .8 or .9 Pontiacs a year. That's enough for me to suggest putting another few billion dollars into Pontiac.

And how do you know that?