Final U.S. market Pontiac Rolls off Production Line

2009 Pontiax G6 Sedan

Will be sold as a fleet vehicle

In a quiet and joyless ceremony, the last US market Pontiac has rolled off the assembly line in Lake Orion, Michigan.

The final car, a white G6 sedan, didn't even get a triumphant send off, a speech, or a banner. Instead, a handful of employees stopped to snap cell phone pictures as the car slowly made its way down the assembly line. The subdued moment was further highlighted by the fact that the G6 will be sold as a fleet vehicle, instead of being kept as a museum piece.

As sad as it sounds, this isn't the final Pontiac that is going to be produced. That dubious honor goes to the Korean-built G3 Wave, which is scheduled to go out of production in December.

Source: detnews

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CarLife

That is indeed a sad send off for the last U.S. built Pontiac.

November 26, 2009 2:12 pm

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politz

So sad. And it saddens me the most to know the last Pontiac will be... a G3.

November 26, 2009 2:29 pm

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CarFan56

GM, your time has past. It is the dawn of the Volkswagen group era. All hail the world largest automaker!

November 26, 2009 2:39 pm

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7 replies

2010S5

Shut the hell up.

November 26, 2009 4:04 pm

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boxster127

Absolutely! All Hail VW AG; soon to add Suzuki to its portfolio as the eleventh successful brand. Come to think of it, that is yet another failed GM enterprise.

November 26, 2009 4:41 pm

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Xanavi23

Both of you phony car fans STFU, no true car fan is sad to see any automaker die regardless which country they come from. You posers are pathetic, not to mention fanboys.

November 27, 2009 1:36 pm

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boxster127

Never said that I was glad to see GM in trouble. I am mearly singing VW praises. Way to personally insult me and declare that I'm not a true car fan based on one statement. I have worked for VW/Audi/Porsche for seven years and have been a diehard car nut for much longer. I must say that it is sad to see a company like GM go down the path that they are. It however cannot be seen a surprise given the crap that they have been marketing over the last two decades. The world has responded to GM's lackluster attempts and bought from a company with real passion and engineering prowess. Once again. All hail VW AG!

November 27, 2009 6:12 pm

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Xanavi23

Fair enough, my reply was more oriented to Carfan as he's made some other ignorant posts, i shouldn't have grouped you with him automatically, you were just praising your favorite make. My sincere apology. Ultimitely, it is GMs fault while i dont want to see them suffer, they're design practices were heavily flawed, forget the trucks, everything else they built was of negligible build in all honesty.

November 27, 2009 6:49 pm

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benz_man

The trucks too...

November 28, 2009 3:35 pm

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Xanavi23

I was refering to the Trucks being the scapegoat of GMs failure but while German SUVs are good, simply put they don't match the utilitarian or practical use of a good Tahoe or Suburban. I never appreciated the X5, for similar money ild much rather own a Tahoe.

November 30, 2009 2:42 am

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sw1000

Taking into account that car in the picture this is no bad thing. I have fond memories of Pontiacs from Smokey and the Bandit when I was growing up and knight rider. What happened!!!!!!!!!!!

November 26, 2009 2:46 pm

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1 reply

CarLife

Roger Smith happened.

November 26, 2009 2:52 pm

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Renegade

What a brand, what a legend, what a history of power and coolness. Well, if GM keeps up with the recovery plan, they will be able to revive Pontiac in less then a decade. And yeah, the G6 is a pretty decent car.

November 26, 2009 2:54 pm

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1 reply

Xanavi23

This is what im hoping man. I think Pontiac will be back.

November 27, 2009 1:37 pm

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saytamaner

I'm 41 years old and I live in Turkey. I consider myself as a car nut since my childhood years when I started buying car magazines, collecting model cars, drawing car pictures, even creating my own designs. At late seventies and early eighties, my favorite car was Firebird and I always loved the Pontiac brand thanks to that car, and now I'm very sad to see the demise of the brand of my childhood dreams...

November 26, 2009 3:00 pm

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Xanavi23

Dont worry, i think we'll see them back in due time. To GM, Pontiac was always an important brand save for the last 2 decades. It is very sad to see them gone for any length of time though.

November 27, 2009 1:38 pm

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nederina

GM could have killed its other brands like Buick and kept its sporting Pontiac brand.

November 26, 2009 3:16 pm

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sw1000

Smokey & the Bandit 1 & 2 were on a few weeks back and I watched them for nostalgia. That Firebird is a true American muscle car, it pains me when you see them rusting some where or in poor condition. This is coming from someone who is no fan of American branded cars, a true classic though. I'll get youuu Banddittttt

November 26, 2009 3:21 pm

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CarFan56

nederina, Why would GM kill buick, it is an important brand in the chinese market

November 26, 2009 3:28 pm

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1 reply

nederina

I've thought of that too. But honestly, I doesn't move you as much as the Pontiac has contributed to the car industry. Sadly because of GM's mismanagement and poor products that puts it to grave. The Buick is probably a glorified Opel or Chevrolet to GM now like what Lexus is to Toyota. Maybe GM knows something I don't.

November 26, 2009 3:59 pm

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2nice

Pontiac as an icon died in the 70s .. I am not sorry for those plastic things ..

November 26, 2009 3:45 pm

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2010S5

Very sad. Never liked the brand at all but by all means, it was an American icon, around for such a long time. Congrats GM, for screwing up big time.

November 26, 2009 4:06 pm

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1 reply

Xanavi23

you dont have to like the brand but seeing a car company should always be sad news for us regardless which. Despite preferences we should all be objective about the thing we love(cars).

November 27, 2009 1:40 pm

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CarFan56

They don't care how much it has contributed to the car industry. They care how many are selling.

November 26, 2009 6:06 pm

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louisf

Before everyone picks on GM, I believe they wanted to keep Pontiac as a sub-brand to Buick, but it would not fly past Obama's review panel, and therefor killed. Considering it was recognized as the sporty brand of GM, it was worth keeping. What is their sporting brand now?

November 27, 2009 2:37 am

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richard_x

Goodbye pontiac, maker of the legendary firebird, sad to see you go, however you put it the downturn of the big car brands is the fault of the investors of GM. While stock quoted every investor in the company wants to make the most money out of the share, resulting in this.... if this situation happend 20 years ago brands like pontiac where still here, but the ignorence the me myself and I mentality has resulted in this. The clove between rich an poor is growing, stupidity by the people that invest

November 27, 2009 7:04 am

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scalafragus

The saddest part is that the G8 will not survive. This to ma was truely a beautifull and sporty sedan.

November 27, 2009 1:41 pm

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You can't really consider a brand dead as long as GM keeps the rights to the name. Just consider it a period of rest. But it is sad to think that the only American brand with mainstream cars that is worth considering buying (design, price, and spec wise) is going to be with us no more.

November 27, 2009 3:30 pm

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Razz

I don't feel bad at all .. this is the market and we all play what it sings. My only "problem" is that Firebird could have been used because it is a brand for sportscar worldwide, what can you do when they are ignorant ?

November 27, 2009 6:57 pm

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1 reply

Xanavi23

I think you're right there, making a Firebird instead of the Camaro(since chevy already has the Vette) could have helped revitalized the line-up. Halo cars can be very effective, the G8 was great but it didn't have the history of the F-bird.

November 28, 2009 1:10 am

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mldrieling

VW fans, be afraid. Yes they are making good cars right now but they were all but dead in the US in the 80's. Same with Audi and calling Suzuki a successful brand is a joke. They haven't been all that successful here in the states. Toyota passed GM as the number 1 car manufacturer only to see a rash of recalls. GM won't bring back Pontiac, there is not enough market share; they kept Buick because it was making money in China. What's sad is they killed Oldsmobile (oldest car manufacturer in the US) just as they had a good car(Aurora), Saturn (Aura), and Pontiac (G8). There is a band trend, too little too late. Rest in Peace Pontiac.

November 30, 2009 2:18 pm

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Arto-7

looks like the phoenix won't be rising from the ashes this time :-( so sad

January 3, 2010 5:48 pm

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diegmdie

It's about time. Pontiac always was trash. All americanos can now bow to there German Masters.

January 8, 2010 4:44 am

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