What are GM's plans for Canada with Pontiac gone?

[2QuickZ's]

I drove from Windsor, Ont. to Niagara Falls, Ont. and noticed there are a TON of Pontiac's in Canada. And they weren't all rental cars, either, as I looked for bar codes in the windows. I guess I never realized GM sold so many Pontiac's in Canada. There were Pontiac's everywhere and hardly any Chevrolet's. I probably saw 10x as many G5's as I saw Cobalt's and there were quite a few G3's (if that is what they are called in Canada) and only a couple of Aveo's. Is GM planning on Chevrolet picking up this volume? Are they converting Canadian Pontiac dealers to Chevrolet or are they all already combined and they are just killing off the Pontiac side?

[bobo]

I always wondered about Canada's preference of Pontiac over Chevrolet, and I thought it would be enough to ensure their survival, but apparently not. I've visited only Toronto in Canada, and what struck me was the almost complete absence of big pickups and SUVs.

[regfootball]

its a perfect example of how some folks do not want a chevy, they want something more unique and better, and that is what is maddening about ditching pontiac here.

oh, but we will all want a buick apparently.

[!!!TED!!!]

When I went to Montreal for their autoshow this January, the most common brand on the road was Pontiac. Runner up was Toyota.

Almost every second or third car on the road was a Sunfire or Grand Am.

Pontiac is HUGE in Canada.

Are they converting Canadian Pontiac dealers to Chevrolet or are they all already combined and they are just killing off the Pontiac side?

Well, dealers here are ussually grouped. You have Chevrolet as a standalone (used to be Chev/Olds). Then there is Pontiac/Buick/GMC. And you might have Saturn/Saab/Hummer (used to be Saturn/Saab/Isusu). In some cases, Cadillac (mainly standalone) is grouped with Pontiac and Buick.

I noticed one dealership in Milton (north of Toronto) is replacing Pontiac with Chevrolet.

They sell Pontiac/Cadillac/Buick/GMC.

[hyperv6]

its a perfect example of how some folks do not want a chevy, they want something more unique and better, and that is what is maddening about ditching pontiac here.

oh, but we will all want a buick apparently.

More people want Buick world wide than Pontiac. If more Americans and Canadians bought more Pontiacs it would have survived. But you guys did not buy so Buck lives on. It is all about Profit.

Remove the fleet sales from Pontiac and you will see the truth.

GM is killing many Canadian dealers and most others will become a Chevy or Buick and they will do fine.

[G_Man72]

I always wondered about Canada's preference of Pontiac over Chevrolet, and I thought it would be enough to ensure their survival, but apparently not. I've visited only Toronto in Canada, and what struck me was the almost complete absence of big pickups and SUVs.

You should come out west. They're everywhere out here.

[Robert Hall]

Maybe they will just rebadge the G3 and G5 as GMCs or Buicks for Canada.

Edited June 30, 2009 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[Cremazie]

Maybe they will just rebadge the G3 and G5 as GMCs or Buicks for Canada.

With the amount of dealers that are closing, I feel they will all sell chevy, buick, GMC in canada.

[Robert Hall]

With the amount of dealers that are closing, I feel they will all sell chevy, buick, GMC in canada.

One thing I've wondered...does Saturn have much presence in Canada? Stand alone dealers?

[ZL-1]

Looking at Canada from the other side of the Atlantic I see Chevy, Buick, GMC and Cadillac. Magna, even if they do get Opel, won't be investing millions and millions in getting the cars there as Opels - it will likely cost less to ship them over as Buicks. Chevrolet will be pushed as GM's global entry-level brand, and the other 2... well... we all know their intended placement so no argument there IMHO.

[FAPTurbo]

The lack of EXCITEMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! will mean that Canada will be even more boringer than before.

[Intrepidation]

its a perfect example of how some folks do not want a chevy, they want something more unique and better, and that is what is maddening about ditching pontiac here.

oh, but we will all want a buick apparently.

\Yes because nothing says unique and better than a Chevy than a G5 Pursuit or a G3 Wave.

[daves87rs]

Nah, they'll just be replaced by KIA....

[fightingbee]

One thing I've wondered...does Saturn have much presence in Canada? Stand alone dealers?

IIRC they were Saturn, SAAB, Isuzu dealerships? Those dealers must really be screwed these days.

[ShadowDog]

The local PBG dealership will now be a CBG dealership. This would seem to be no surprise but for the fact that only 20 kms up the road is a stand-alone Chevy dealership... and I just don't see that one surviving. You won't find a Caddy division involved anywhere here since the local dealership nixed the division from their inventory.

I think I'll like the change.