Pontiac: A Requiem for GM’s “excitement” brand

[svgallery name=”2009_pontiacs”] Story by John LeBlanc Only recently, General Motors had big plans for Pontiac. The Solstice  and Aussie-built G8 sports sedan were just the start of a rear-wheel-drive renaissance that would have allowed the brand to be a true “poorman’s BMW” that years of marketing hype promised but never delivered. But time and money […]

Top 10: Canned Cars for 2010

[svgallery name=”Top_10_canned_cars”] Story by John LeBlanc In one of the most tumultuous years ever in the auto industry, slow sales and bankruptcies have forced automakers to not only pare back on specific models for the upcoming 2010 model year, but also shed whole brands (i.e. General Motors’ Pontiac and Saturn). Some cars, like the Dodge […]

Road Test: 2009 Pontiac G8 GT V6

Story and photos by John LeBlanc The rumblings of Pontiac’s demise started just over four years ago at the New York auto show. That’s when Bob Lutz, prescient head of product development for General Motors, voiced his opinion that Buick and Pontiac were “damaged brands.” It’s taken one sharp fuel price hike and global recession, […]

Comparo: Five frugal sports cars

Story and photos by John LeBlanc If you think about it, the first sports cars – the iconic post-World War II cars from MG, Triumph or Alfa Romeo, powered by small displacement four-cylinder engines – were relatively green for their time. Then a certain chicken farmer named Carroll Shelby from Texas came along and stuffed […]

Auto Shows: 2008 New York Wrapup

Story and photos by John LeBlanc NEW YORK—Sporty and fun-to-drive vehicles dominated the debuts here, making it the first time in a few years that environmentally friendly or utility vehicles didn’t grab all the headlines at a major auto show.

« go back