RIP: Bonneville

Right, Pontiac is killing the Bonneville. Pontiac and GM cite the reason of, "shifts in consumer tastes." That's right. As in shifting away from liking suck.

You know, we had planned to do big ol' "predictions" for 2005. But then it snowed and we just haven't gotten over that. We also had a contest here involving many, many beers. Simon won.

We still think:

Sales up for: Imports, Same or less for domestic.
Gas will hit near $3 in summer (anything over $2.70 counts!)
Hybrid sales will level off or go slightly higher
Cost of hybrid will go higher

Saturn is going to be hurtin'
Lincoln is going to have their worst year, ever. Ever, ever.
Phaeton will be killed
Jaguar will expand line of cars but sales will be lower and it will diminish brand. Hey Jaguar, kill off the X-type and hire a slick marketing guy to boost XJ sales, it's a great car.

Honda will continue to rock, Toyota will continue to be perfect but make snoozy cars and Subarus will get more and more expensive (and better looking). We're not sure what Nissan is doing but they are doing it better than Detroit.

And, finally, Pontiac will kill off the GTO because of poor sal... uh, it's a crappy ca... uh, shifting consumer tastes.

Thanks to all our fellow car bloggers for mentioning the Bonneville's demise before we managed to mention it.

Comments

[karxprt]

It was sad to see that Pontiac did not have the late-lamented Bonneville on display at the 2005 New York Auto Show. The stand seemed emptier without it. The same cannot be said for the absence of the Aztek. Pontiac filled these display spaces with more Grand Prix sedans and G6s. The Pontiac Torrent SUV-Crossover also got premium billing.

I found a new internet survey site that appears to really feed the information I provide right to the design areas of the manufacturers. vehiclevoice.com is fun and easy... and appears worth the time.

[karxprt]

It was sad to see that Pontiac did not have the late-lamented Bonneville on display at the 2005 New York Auto Show. The stand seemed emptier without it. The same cannot be said for the absence of the Aztek. Pontiac filled these display spaces with more Grand Prix sedans and G6s. The Pontiac Torrent SUV-Crossover also got premium billing.

I found a new internet survey site that appears to really feed the information I provide right to the design areas of the manufacturers. vehiclevoice.com is fun and easy... and appears worth the time.

[karxprt]

It was sad to see that Pontiac did not have the late-lamented Bonneville on display at the 2005 New York Auto Show. The stand seemed emptier without it. The same cannot be said for the absence of the Aztek. Pontiac filled these display spaces with more Grand Prix sedans and G6s. The Pontiac Torrent SUV-Crossover also got premium billing.

I found a new internet survey site that appears to really feed the information I provide right to the design areas of the manufacturers. vehiclevoice.com is fun and easy... and appears worth the time.

[Observer]

Honda is not "rocking" right now, Through February, Honda's U.S. sales were down 10.6 percent ; Civic's U.S. sales dropped 26.9 percent in the first two months of this year; Accord sales dropped 15.0 percent. These are FACTS.
Here is where these figures come from: http://www.autoweek.com/news.cms?newsId=101969

Quit passing off your uninformed opinions as "news".

[GetALifeAgain]

The GTO will have its full three year run. The Bonneville was a good car in a bad market. Come to think of it, most of GM's cars are excellent cars in a bad market.

When one blindly looks over what is blatantly in front of them, and steps out of its way to gain fortune in another, the reaction will inevitably be disaster!

[Matt]

The question is can SKY save Saturn?
http://www.saturn.com/saturn/showroom/future_vehicles/sky.jsp?nav=710&flashOK=yes