Of the things GM is doing right, the G6 Convertible isn’t one of them

Introduction

2007 Pontiac G6 Convertible

Pontiac G6 Convertible – 2007 First Drive: NORTH HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – Marketing may be the great plague of the 21st century. Everything you look at, from the Red Cross to the Holy Cross, depends on some sort of advertising to increase sales, enrollment, or as the case may be, blood donations. Just this past weekend, an especially sunny and warm one for the Memorial Day holiday, marketers were doing their evil deeds – skywriting planes butchered the brilliant blue backdrop over my city by spelling out the name of a website. Pretty soon they’ll figure out how to penetrate eyelids, literally leaving us without escape from the barrage of persuasive, subliminal messages and images.

OK, that’s feeding a bit too much from the paranoid spoon, but it’s true that marketing has its fingers in mostives, the unofficial unveiling of the V8-powered 2008 Buick LaCrosse Super, discussion about the upcoming Pontiac G5 coupe, and a test drive in the 2007 Pontiac G6 Convertible. It was the promise of a spin under the G6’s new retractable hard top that led us to spend two hours fighting traffic to reach the studio in North Hollywood.

That’s where we heard about GM’s devotion to Pontiac, one leg of a newly-created so-called brand channel, the result of which will be an increasing number of Pontiac, Buick, and GMC dealerships co-existing under one roof. In this scenario, GMC’s got trucks covered, Buick’s all over the elegant premium vehicles, and Pontiac will offer “seductive performance.” Hence, the G6 coupe, sedan, and now, hardtop convertible. When the entry-level G5 coupe is added later this year, company executives suggest these dealerships will have most anything buyers want, from inexpensive cars to heavy-duty trucks and luxurious SUVs (of course, buyers shopping on one of America’s many Boulevards of Cars could walk 100 feet north to the Toyota dealer or 100 feet south to the Ford dealer and get the same variety, but that’s beside the point).

That’s the hype part. The reality part is that at least one of the three props holding up this brand channel isn’t what GM’s marketing folks would have you believe. The Pontiac G6, while perfectly fine in many respects, is not a performance car. Not in terms of its powertrain or its handling. True, a new engine pushing about 250 horsepower is coming, but a quick look around in the G6’s segment unearths several competing models with equal or greater power, and few trying to paint themselves as performance machines. To be worthy of such a description, a car needs not only a lively powertrain, but responsive steering and tightly controlled handling. The G6 lacks all of these traits.

Ah, but it has a retractable top, making it the least expensive hardtop convertible on the market. Well, that’s what Pontiac thought before it was announced that the 2007 Volkswagen Eos will start about $500 less. Maybe putting all of the time and energy that went into making the hardtop work properly would’ve been better spent developing a powertrain and handling package befitting a performance car. Company executives admit that there’s much work left to do, but suggest that progress is being made. After driving the G6 convertible, we’d say Pontiac needs to pick up the pace.

© 2007 Autobytel Inc. All rights reserved.

Plan on a torrent of rebates

Introduction

2006 Pontiac Torrent

Pontiac Torrent — 2006 Review: During a span of about 30 years, Pontiac and its General Motors brethren filled dealers’ lots with vehicles that, for the most part, have been outmatched by the competition. When a new GM ride had plenty of power, the build quality was horrible. When build quality was improved, reliability was poor. When all else was up to par, styling varied from coma-inducing to nightmarish. There have been exceptions, but those have been few and far between. In time, owners of these products felt they’d been duped, and the result is a buying public that is leery of GM and forever fond of Honda and Toyota.

Now there’s the 2006 Pontiac Torrent SUV, which conjures up thoughts of a common saying: Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

Those cars of the 70s, 80s, and 90s are gone now and their buyers have likely moved on. But thoughts of that Fiero, and, oh, good grief, that Aztek…they remain. It’s enough to permanently banish Pontiac from the buying equation. Yet, with time, people change, priorities change, companies change, and cars change. Buyers with an open mind may have scratched over the name Pontiac with a #2 pencil, but there’s room to bring the brand back into the fray. Forgive and forget, as they say.

That’s where the shame on you part comes in. Like various Pontiacs of old, the 2006 Torrent comes with a competent powertrain, arguably good looks, and a price that puts it in the competitive ballpark. However, remove the blinders and discover alternatives with engines designed in the new millennium, style that is more than a plastic nose and badge away from a Chevy Equinox, decent real-world fuel economy, a long list of standard features and a more expansive list of options, and superior materials assembled with more attention to detail.

On the whole, the 2006 Pontiac Torrent is a fine vehicle, one that would have been somewhat impressive in 1995. However, we’re into the 2006 model year, a time when Toyota is introducing an all-new RAV4 with 268 horsepower and three rows of seats, Ford offers an Escape with up to 200 horsepower or a hybrid powertrain, Jeep sells the Liberty with true four-wheel-drive capability and an optional diesel engine, Hyundai sells two SUVs with 100,000-mile powertrain warranties and a bevy of airbags, and even little Suzuki sells a rugged, redesigned Grand Vitara that’s downright attractive and provides superior build quality. They are all options that buyers should strongly consider, and vehicles the folks at Pontiac should study.

© 2008 Autobytel Inc. All rights reserved.