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GM to pull the plug on Pontiac
Does that mean that any car maker can brand a car as a Pontiac?
What is the status of Plymouth? If you're not using a brand name, can someone else? ------------------------------- http://money.cnn.com/2009/04/24/auto...obit/index.htm GM to pull the plug on Pontiac The brand credited with originating the muscle car will no longer be part of GM's future, according to a source. Last Updated: April 24, 2009: 4:39 PM ET ----------------- pontiac_g8.03.jpg The Pontiac G8 performance sedan has been a hit with critics but it hasn't caught on with customers. ----------------- NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- General Motors is preparing to announce that the Pontiac car brand, once marketed as GM's "Excitement division," will be killed off, according to a source familiar with the decision. An official announcement is expected Monday. GM spokesman Jim Hopson declined to comment on Pontiac's fate, saying the automaker has no announcements to make at this time. In its most recent "viability plan" - which will be updated to reflect this new brand cut - Pontiac was not named as one of GM's four "core brands." Those are Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac. But Pontiac was also not to be killed or sold off, as were Saturn, Saab and Hummer. Instead Pontiac was to continue on as a "niche brand" focusing on just a few models. That was already a step down for Pontiac which in 2008 was the third-best selling brand behind Chevrolet and GMC. That year the brand sold more than Cadillac and twice as many vehicles as Buick. Cadillac is a high-profile - and high profit - luxury brand while Buick is a hugely popular brand in China and is seen as resurgent in the United States. In 2005, GM vice-chairman Bob Lutz referred to Buick and Pontiac as "damaged brands" during a conference at the New York Auto Show. That set off speculation that one or both of these brands was doomed. With a focus on affordable luxury, Buick's hopes have been revived by models like the popular Enclave crossover SUV. Improvements in Buick Quality, which earned a top ranking in a recent J.D. Power dependability survey and a public acknowledgement by President Obama, have also helped Buick keep its place in the shrinking pantheon of GM names. Pontiac performance "There was a time, a long way back now, when you knew exactly what Pontiac stood for," said Kevin Smith, editorial director for the automotive Web site Edmunds.com. The GM unit's identity as a performance brand dates back to the late 1950s and early 1960s. Pontiac cars were designed with wider bodies for cosmetic reasons and the wheels were pushed out to match. This "wide-track" design became a selling point and was advertised as giving Pontiac cars a distinct cornering advantage over other cars. But the idea of Pontiac as a performance brand was solidified in 1964 with the creation of the Pontiac Tempest LeMans GTO. That car quickly evolved into, simply, the GTO and is often credited with creating a new class of American car, the muscle car. Under Lutz, plans were formed to bring back some actual excitement to the Pontiac brand, which hadn't seen much since the Firebird - a flashier Pontiac version of the Chevrolet Camaro - ended production in 2002. One strategy floated for Pontiac was to sell only, or mostly, rear-wheel-drive cars. That would set it apart from other GM divisions, and most cars sold in America. Rear-wheel-drive is associated with performance brands like BMW. Unfortunately, the re-introduction of the Pontiac GTO name on a performance coupe imported from Australia didn't result in big sales. So far, the Pontiac G8, a rear-wheel-drive four-door sedan also imported from GM's Australian Holden division, hasn't been a sales success either, despite good reviews. Pontiac's most popular products remain the G6, a decent but unexciting midsize car available as a sedan, coupe or convertible, and the Vibe, a small wagon shared with Toyota, which sells it as the Matrix. Any plans to return Pontiac to the heavy-horsepower days of the '70s ended as gas prices rose and Congress prepared stricter fuel economy rules for the industry. Those pressures resulted in GM quietly introducing the Pontiac G3, which had been sold in Canada only. Once again, Pontiac was selling a rebadged Chevrolet product, this time the Korean-built Aveo subcompact car. Pontiac's lack of focus as a brand may finally have brought its demise, said Smith. "That's just death in a marketplace where there's so much competition and so much quality," he said. Pontiac's current role in GM seems mostly to be to support GMC and Buick by providing a brand under which Pontiac-Buick-GMC dealers could sell non-luxury cars, filling out what then becomes a full-line showroom. The brand-channel strategy now makes it easier for GM to phase out the brand because it would cause less harm to dealers, independent business protected by strong state franchise laws. When GM phased out Oldsmobile in the early 2000's, it cost GM more than $1 billion to buy out the contracts of Oldsmobile dealers who were left with nothing to sell. This time, most Pontiac dealers will have other products to sell. |
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GM to pull the plug on Pontiac
On Sat, 25 Apr 2009 20:45:59 -0400, MoPar Man wrote:
> Does that mean that any car maker can brand a car as a Pontiac? > > What is the status of Plymouth? If you're not using a brand name, can > someone else? No you can't, GM still owns the Oldsmobile and Pontiac trademarks, you don't give up a trademark just because you aren't using it at the moment. |
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GM to pull the plug on Pontiac
The retention of trademarks/brand names of dead products is common practice
in all industries. For example, there was some speculation if Mars UK would reintroduce the Marathon name for the bar that is now known as Snickers, which I think is the more international name. DAS To send an e-mail directly replace "spam" with "schmetterling" --- "General Schvantzkoph" > wrote in message ... [...] > > No you can't, GM still owns the Oldsmobile and Pontiac trademarks, you > don't give up a trademark just because you aren't using it at the moment. |
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GM to pull the plug on Pontiac
> http://money.cnn.com/2009/04/24/auto...obit/index.htm
> > GM to pull the plug on Pontiac > > The brand credited with originating the muscle car will no longer be > part of GM's future, according to a source. > > Last Updated: April 24, 2009: 4:39 PM ET IMO the Pontiac cars were better than Chevs. A slightly more upscale Chev. Oh well, cheap is coming! |
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GM to pull the plug on Pontiac
who wrote:
> IMO the Pontiac cars were better than Chevs. > A slightly more upscale Chev. > > Oh well, cheap is coming! Yep! I had a 1989 Firebird. It was for the most part the same as the Camero. Had nicer interior, flip up headlights and some other more upscale trim features but otherwise same car. |
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GM to pull the plug on Pontiac
"General Schvantzkoph" wrote: > No you can't, GM still owns the Oldsmobile and Pontiac trademarks, > you don't give up a trademark just because you aren't using it at > the moment. Dori A Schmetterling top-posted: > The retention of trademarks/brand names of dead products is common > practice in all industries. In the past 50 or 60 years, has any car brand (or division) ever been brought back into use once it was discontinued? I'm not just talking about the 300 coming back in 1999 or the Challenger coming back last year. Will Desoto ever be brought back? Oldsmobile? Plymouth? --------------------------------- http://tinyurl.com/cbzl2r LIFE CYCLE OF A TRADEMARK STAGE 8 -- MAINTENANCE Maintenance keeps you up-to-date on any affidavit or other document that must be filed to keep your registration active. Affidavit, proving continual use, must be filed between the fifth and sixth year of registration to prevent the registration from being canceled. This applies to the Section 9 renewal application, which allows the owner of a registration to renew his or her registration every 10 years, once the initial term of registration is complete. Failure to file will result in the expiration of the registration. Maintenance can be handled by you, your attorney or a trademark service company. The purpose of a maintenance program is to ensure that no trademark registrations are canceled for failure to file necessary and time sensitive documents. -------------------------------- I've been searching the net for what additional material (if any) must accompany the 10-year renewals, and specifically if some form of "continuous use" proof must be included in each 10-year renewal (as is needed for the initial 5-6 year filing). But I haven't found anything that specifically says that some form of continuous use must occur (or needn't occur) to support each 10-year renewal. Presumably a car maker must visibly brand (badge) a car with a trademark in order to satisfy the "continuous use" criteria for that mark. |
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GM to pull the plug on Pontiac
MoPar Man > writes:
> "General Schvantzkoph" wrote: > >> No you can't, GM still owns the Oldsmobile and Pontiac trademarks, >> you don't give up a trademark just because you aren't using it at >> the moment. > > Dori A Schmetterling top-posted: > >> The retention of trademarks/brand names of dead products is common >> practice in all industries. > > In the past 50 or 60 years, has any car brand (or division) ever been > brought back into use once it was discontinued? I'm not just talking > about the 300 coming back in 1999 or the Challenger coming back last > year. Will Desoto ever be brought back? Oldsmobile? Plymouth? Bugatti. |
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GM to pull the plug on Pontiac
On Tue, 28 Apr 2009 08:50:25 -0400, MoPar Man wrote:
> "General Schvantzkoph" wrote: > >> No you can't, GM still owns the Oldsmobile and Pontiac trademarks, you >> don't give up a trademark just because you aren't using it at >> the moment. > > Dori A Schmetterling top-posted: > >> The retention of trademarks/brand names of dead products is common >> practice in all industries. > > In the past 50 or 60 years, has any car brand (or division) ever been > brought back into use once it was discontinued? I'm not just talking > about the 300 coming back in 1999 or the Challenger coming back last > year. Will Desoto ever be brought back? Oldsmobile? Plymouth? > > --------------------------------- > http://tinyurl.com/cbzl2r > > LIFE CYCLE OF A TRADEMARK > > STAGE 8 -- MAINTENANCE > > Maintenance keeps you up-to-date on any affidavit or other document that > must be filed to keep your registration active. > > Affidavit, proving continual use, must be filed between the fifth and > sixth year of registration to prevent the registration from being > canceled. > > This applies to the Section 9 renewal application, which allows the > owner of a registration to renew his or her registration every 10 years, > once the initial term of registration is complete. Failure to file will > result in the expiration of the registration. > > Maintenance can be handled by you, your attorney or a trademark service > company. The purpose of a maintenance program is to ensure that no > trademark registrations are canceled for failure to file necessary and > time sensitive documents. > -------------------------------- > > I've been searching the net for what additional material (if any) must > accompany the 10-year renewals, and specifically if some form of > "continuous use" proof must be included in each 10-year renewal (as is > needed for the initial 5-6 year filing). But I haven't found anything > that specifically says that some form of continuous use must occur (or > needn't occur) to support each 10-year renewal. > > Presumably a car maker must visibly brand (badge) a car with a trademark > in order to satisfy the "continuous use" criteria for that mark. They continue to sell parts for discontinued models, that's certainly enough to show continued use. I wouldn't be surprised if giving a license to a model maker wouldn't count also. You can buy a diecast LaSalle today even if you haven't been able been able to buy a full size LaSalle for 70 years, that alone might allow GM to retain the LaSalle trademark assuming that they issued a license to the model manufacturer. |
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GM to pull the plug on Pontiac
MoPar Man wrote:
> "General Schvantzkoph" wrote: > >> No you can't, GM still owns the Oldsmobile and Pontiac trademarks, >> you don't give up a trademark just because you aren't using it at >> the moment. > > Dori A Schmetterling top-posted: > >> The retention of trademarks/brand names of dead products is common >> practice in all industries. > > In the past 50 or 60 years, has any car brand (or division) ever been > brought back into use once it was discontinued? I'm not just talking > about the 300 coming back in 1999 or the Challenger coming back last > year. Will Desoto ever be brought back? Oldsmobile? Plymouth? I'm sure Nate will point out that there've been a number of attempts at resuscitating the Stuebaker (or at least Avanti) brand. One could also argue that Imperial has come and gone a few times, but the latter times I would say that it was just a model in the Chrysler line, not a brand of its own. I can't think of a mainstream American marque that has been successfully brought back. What I wouldn't give to see Packard again... Worldwide- what about Bugatti? Wasn't it gone for a while? I don't think Aston-Martin ever disappeared completely, but it sure had a low profile for a while. |
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GM to pull the plug on Pontiac
On Tue, 28 Apr 2009 09:29:18 -0500, Steve wrote:
> MoPar Man wrote: >> "General Schvantzkoph" wrote: >> >>> No you can't, GM still owns the Oldsmobile and Pontiac trademarks, you >>> don't give up a trademark just because you aren't using it at >>> the moment. >> >> Dori A Schmetterling top-posted: >> >>> The retention of trademarks/brand names of dead products is common >>> practice in all industries. >> >> In the past 50 or 60 years, has any car brand (or division) ever been >> brought back into use once it was discontinued? I'm not just talking >> about the 300 coming back in 1999 or the Challenger coming back last >> year. Will Desoto ever be brought back? Oldsmobile? Plymouth? > > I'm sure Nate will point out that there've been a number of attempts at > resuscitating the Stuebaker (or at least Avanti) brand. One could also > argue that Imperial has come and gone a few times, but the latter times > I would say that it was just a model in the Chrysler line, not a brand > of its own. I can't think of a mainstream American marque that has been > successfully brought back. What I wouldn't give to see Packard again... > > Worldwide- what about Bugatti? Wasn't it gone for a while? I don't think > Aston-Martin ever disappeared completely, but it sure had a low profile > for a while. Indian motorcycles came and went again. |
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