Pontiac under threat: Bloomberg

GENERAL Motors is considering a proposal to axe Pontiac – the brand that sells the Holden-made Pontiac G8 in North America – as part of its cost cutting moves, according to US news agency Bloomberg.Quoting “people familiar with the discussions”, Bloomberg says Pontiac and GMC might join Saturn, Hummer and Saab on the hit list of brands to be cut by GM ahead of the Obama administration’s 60-day deadline for a revised survival plan.

GM originally announced that it wanted to keep Pontiac as a niche line. Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC and Pontiac were to be kept, while Hummer, Saab and Saturn were to be closed or sold.

However, with the Obama administration task force demanding deeper cuts, GM is said to be re-examining that plan as it struggles to find ways of keeping $US13.4 billion ($A18.57 million) in government loans.

Bloomberg cautions that the decisions aren’t final.

Closing Pontiac would be a cruel blow to Holden, which exports the Commodore-based Pontiac G8 to North America. After a slow start, G8 sales have picked up recently, against the general downward trend in the US car market.

A GM spokesman declined to comment on the claims, saying: “We are continuing to assess our global operations, brand portfolio and nameplates, and will take further actions to more aggressively restructure our business. It’s premature to comment on what those actions could entail.”

Pontiac’s domestic deliveries fell 25 percent to 267,348 in 2008.

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GM closer to the brink