The Very Last Pontiac for the U.S. Market

[conrailmike]

We built-out/emptied out the line yesterday, Orion will be retooled now for a new vehicle.

Sad to see, and take part of building the very last Pontiac vehicle for the U.S. Market.
Pontiac debuted in 1926 at the New York auto show.

http://www.detnews.com/article/20091126 ... f-the-line

[SW]

Saw that. Did you get your hands on it at all?

[conrailmike]

Oh yeah, the very last car I touched. Threw my gloves out, signed my exit form, handed my badge in, said goodbye to a bunch of people and walked out....

[PAT.C]

I HAVE OWNED SIX PONTIACS IN THE LAST 10 YRS--ALL GOOD VEHICLES.
I STILL HAVE THREE OF THEM IN MY DRIVEWAY TODAY.

I BUY AMERICAN MADE VEHICLES THAT SUPPORT GM WORKERS AND RETIREES .

[A No.1]

Best car I ever had was my 88 Trans AM. That Friggin thin was SWEET.

In High School I had a 68 LeMans. 400

[Norm]

63 Tempest, 65 LeMans, 68 GTO.

[hobojim]

I currently have a 2004 grand Prix, 135k and never had a problem other than normal wear and tear. Never have had to tune it up. Best car I have ever owned.

[hobojim]

Conrailmike, When do they plan to start production of the new car?

[conrailmike]

IIRC, the Chevy Aveo is scheduled to start up in August of 2011. In 2012, there will be a Buick model around the same size and then in late 2012 the Chevy Orlando (possible replacement to the HHR?) is next in line to start up.

It's supposed to take a year to rebuild the paint shop, they are apparently going to rebuild it from the ground up (it needs it).

I put in for all the plants in Flint, and the two in Lansing. I don't want to be off that long. If I do go somewhere it won't be for awhile due to all the "96" moves going on.

We'll see...

[J T]

63 Tempest, 65 LeMans, 68 GTO.

Nice line up, Norm! I'd be even MORE impressed if you had listed a '67 GTO in there as well.

[hobojim]

yes , mike the paint shop needs to be rebuilt. I spent my first 4 years there (83-87) and my last 9 (97-06) in the paint shop as a pipefitter. The technology of painting during that time grew so fast that today the method used would be akin to Model T technology. I like being retired but I do miss the rebuilds that we have had and the new techy stuff going in.

[Norm]

63 Tempest, 65 LeMans, 68 GTO.

Nice line up, Norm! I'd be even MORE impressed if you had listed a '67 GTO in there as well.

The 68 was my "courtin' buggy". Had that when I was courting my second wife. She was attending EMU in Ypsilanti, and the women's dorm had lots of heads hanging out the window when it arrived. Married the one I cared most about Them sure were fun days.

[conrailmike]

yes , mike the paint shop needs to be rebuilt. I spent my first 4 years there (83-87) and my last 9 (97-06) in the paint shop as a pipefitter. The technology of painting during that time grew so fast that today the method used would be akin to Model T technology. I like being retired but I do miss the rebuilds that we have had and the new techy stuff going in.

Yeah, they were supposed to bring equipment from Oklahoma City's paint shop when that plant closed and it never happened. The usual GM way..... There were countless days where we would sit and be waiting on paint shop to catch up because of the humidity.

[hobojim]

Mike, I would be very surprised if the equipment from OK city is not already outdated, the technology in paint is moving that fast. By the time they could move it up here and get it set up with that cost incurred , it is probably more cost effective to just use that money and put it toward a state of the art paint shop.

[Todd Cline]

I have always been a "car-guy". I was born in 1965 and I consider the mid-'60's Pontiacs to be among the best looking cars ever built. I have always wanted a 1966 Bonneville. Preferably with a 421SD. I also liked the 1977 Trans Am, and the mid '60's Tempest/LeMans/GTO series. When I was really young my folks had a "68 Tempest 2-door with the 6 cyl. in it. I was too young to remember it now, but I wonder if that was one of those unique Pontiac overhead cam sixes. Another good Pontiac memory for me was from high school. In 1982 I was a junior in HS and took auto shop class. In the shop we had an old 1967 Catalina with a 400 2 bbl, that we used for practice. It was a 4 door sedan maroon in color. I remember distinctly the interior of that car. The dashboard was so neat, there were side by side controls for the heater/AC, and radio. They looked exactly alike. And the steering wheel was WAY cool too. It was a translucent plastic around the circumference and in the middle of the chrome horn ring (remember those?) it said "Pontiac energy absorbing" or something like that. Sadly, the next year someone donated a "75 Chevy Vega to the school and the '67 Catalina got scrapped. Too bad, it was in really good shape except for some scratches on the body due to being in a classroom environment for so many years.
But hey, at least they are re-tooling the plant to keep working on other vehicles. Better than shutting the doors......

Todd

[conrailmike]

Mike, I would be very surprised if the equipment from OK city is not already outdated, the technology in paint is moving that fast. By the time they could move it up here and get it set up with that cost incurred , it is probably more cost effective to just use that money and put it toward a state of the art paint shop.

Oh yeah, I'm sure it is. That was supposed to happen a couple of years ago... I know GM is sinking quite a big chunk of the re-tooling money into the paint shop.

[SD80MAC]

Over the years we've had a '64 GTO, a '67 Ventura, a '75 Grand Prix, a '79 Trans Am and now an '06 GTO. All great vehicles, Pontiac will be missed!

[conrailmike]

Over the years we've had a '64 GTO, a '67 Ventura, a '75 Grand Prix, a '79 Trans Am and now an '06 GTO. All great vehicles, Pontiac will be missed!

Too bad the '06 really wasn't a Pontiac... nothing like slapping a Pontiac name on an Holden. That sure was a sleeper for GM.

[SD80MAC]

Over the years we've had a '64 GTO, a '67 Ventura, a '75 Grand Prix, a '79 Trans Am and now an '06 GTO. All great vehicles, Pontiac will be missed!

Too bad the '06 really wasn't a Pontiac... nothing like slapping a Pontiac name on an Holden. That sure was a sleeper for GM.

Yeah, still a hell of a fun car to drive though!

[conrailmike]

Over the years we've had a '64 GTO, a '67 Ventura, a '75 Grand Prix, a '79 Trans Am and now an '06 GTO. All great vehicles, Pontiac will be missed!

Too bad the '06 really wasn't a Pontiac... nothing like slapping a Pontiac name on an Holden. That sure was a sleeper for GM.

Yeah, still a hell of a fun car to drive though!

Yeah, I'm sure it is