Message from @LordCaledus

Discord ID: 468237308563423243


2018-07-16 02:01:54 UTC  

You could absolutely make Pontiac a company of low-revving torque monster bikes.

2018-07-16 02:02:06 UTC  

But cars? That's a tough industry to get into

2018-07-16 02:02:34 UTC  

All the safety, emissions, etc requirements make entry almost impossible

2018-07-16 02:03:11 UTC  

Unless you're Tesla and you have the government throwing millions of dollars at you (plus your own personal fortune behind you) powering your startup.

2018-07-16 02:03:17 UTC  

Oh, yeah no. Pontiac as a motorcycle company is dumb lol

2018-07-16 02:03:28 UTC  

Idk. I could see it.

2018-07-16 02:03:36 UTC  

Brand it right and it could sell

2018-07-16 02:03:51 UTC  

Worst comes to worse you have a different name for the bikes but keep the engines

2018-07-16 02:05:04 UTC  

Just use a different name. You'd get *less* customers just from using the Pontiac name. That's how they died in the first place, by making shit-boxes that didn't deserve to sit next to the Firebird and GTO

2018-07-16 02:05:17 UTC  

True

2018-07-16 02:05:24 UTC  

But what about muscle bikes?

2018-07-16 02:05:34 UTC  

Could those not sit on a lot with a Pontiac badge?

2018-07-16 02:05:59 UTC  

I mean you're right. At the very least it's not worth the risk.

2018-07-16 02:06:08 UTC  

You _could_ do it tho

2018-07-16 02:06:46 UTC  

No. That would have made Pontiac die quicker.

2018-07-16 02:06:59 UTC  

Back in the day, yeah

2018-07-16 02:07:04 UTC  

This isn't 2009 tho

2018-07-16 02:07:06 UTC  

How did GM execs not understand this?

2018-07-16 02:07:31 UTC  

The problem with Pontiac was that it didn't have an identity

2018-07-16 02:07:48 UTC  

It did, before your time

2018-07-16 02:07:53 UTC  

Like it branded itself as a sporty brand, yet it had Minivans and the Aztek.

2018-07-16 02:08:14 UTC  

Pontiac died in the 80s, dude

2018-07-16 02:08:49 UTC  

Prior to 2000, they could have salvaged it

2018-07-16 02:09:06 UTC  

Purge the minivans. No Aztek. Get rid of the stupid af rebadged chevies.

2018-07-16 02:09:15 UTC  

lol no

2018-07-16 02:09:53 UTC  

Start out with what Lincoln is doing now. Keep rebadged models, but have them be so different in nature that only a particularly savvy customer would realize what it shares its bones with.

2018-07-16 02:10:06 UTC  

Seriously, what led you to this logic? I feel like this is the same as GM execs had. I'm curious

2018-07-16 02:10:36 UTC  

Mainly, looking at Pontiacs as they "developed" after the 1970s, combined with looking at how their sales went

2018-07-16 02:10:45 UTC  

And looking at when GM was taken over by accountants

2018-07-16 02:10:57 UTC  

You're kind of right

2018-07-16 02:11:02 UTC  

Pontiac died in the 1980s

2018-07-16 02:11:22 UTC  

Because that was about when they became rebadged Chevies with literally no other worthwhile differences.

2018-07-16 02:11:43 UTC  

The logic being that they would make more money by rebadging Chevies and riding on Pontiac's reputation.

2018-07-16 02:11:50 UTC  

It worked...for a little while

2018-07-16 02:11:53 UTC  

And then it didn't.

2018-07-16 02:12:16 UTC  

This is partly with inside info. I have family that have been in the Big Three for a long time.

2018-07-16 02:12:28 UTC  

Rebadging vehicles is assuming your average customer is dumber than you think.

2018-07-16 02:12:38 UTC  

Depends on how you do it.

2018-07-16 02:12:48 UTC  

Sharing parts, to a degree, is smart.

2018-07-16 02:12:54 UTC  

You keep costs low that way

2018-07-16 02:12:59 UTC  

That's not rebadging