Where Did The Pontiac Fans Go… And Why?
Remember Pontiac? You know, the brand that “builds excitement.” And for all the advertising dollars GM spent over the years, trying to convince buyers that a Pontiac offered something that none of its other brands could, it turns out that quite a few former Pontiac owners have made the switch to Chevrolet and GMC. According to RL Polk
Looking at full-year 2010 data: the Pontiac brand saw 57,641 customers return to market and General Motors was able to recapture 53.3% of them. Historically through 2008, 60% of Pontiac owners have remained loyal to General Motors. In 2010, the loyalty rate fell to 47%, which represents a 13 percentage point decrease in overall General Motors loyalty. With the discontinuation of Pontiac: 33.5% defected to Chevrolet, 11.7% defected to GMC, 6.7% defected to Buick, and 1.5% defected to Cadillac.
Defections to other domestic corporations made up nearly 16% of owners. The Ford brand ranked 2nd in the conquest of Pontiac owners at 10.5%. Chrysler Corporation saw the Dodge brand ranked 9th, capturing 3.2%. Jeep and Chrysler combined were able to conquest 1.7%.
Defections to import makes were nearly 31%. Among the foreign automakers, Toyota was able to conquest 7.7% of Pontiac owners, while Honda was just behind capturing 7.5%.
Best and Brightest, I have to say this confuses me. How did over ten percent of GM’s “driving excitement” brand end up at the its truck brand (GMC)? How did over 14 percent of buyers replace the brand that brought us the GTO and G8 for the mainstream, thrill-free anonymity of Honda and Toyota? How on earth did Dodge, the remaining brand that most resembles Pontiac, only manage about 3%? You may have to let me down gently on this, B&B, but are automotive brands not as important as people make them out to be? Say it ain’t so!
More by Edward Niedermeyer
Comments
Join the conversation
Our family has 2 Pontiac orphans; a Vibe and a Torrent. They were purchased in 2007 by my daughter and my wife respectively. The Vibe was a replacement for an older Malibu that was totalled in an accident. My daughter bought it because it was cute. She loves the sunroof, XM radio, and it holds all her stuff. I liked it because it is mostly Toyota under the skin. The particular dealer had the VIbe in exactly the right color. While we were finalizing the deal, my wife sat in a Torrent and was thrilled that the console was exactly the right size to hold her purse. I didn't even dirve it before we wrote out the paperwork. Yes, sometimes car sales are that easy. Our dealer also sells GMC and Buick, so when it comes time to trade in, I wouldn't be surprised if the dealer at least has a shot at our business.
Well for a German cars enthusiast, I would say excity about Pontiac ended in 92 with the 3rd gen Firebird. Mercedes Benz is lacking in the statistics I hope GM will revive the brand and bring it back to old glory...