Road Reality » Pontiac

UPDATE: GM recalls certain Pontiac Vibes, following Toyota’s recall

John Suit — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 21:00:10 +0000

2008 Pontiac Vibe

Following the recall announced earlier today by Toyota, GM followed suit with a recall of its own for 199,163 Pontiac Vibe cars built during model years 2005-2008. GM and Toyota created the Pontiac Vibe and Toyota Matrix as sister cars, so they share a lot of materials; namely the chassis, suspension and engines. As part of this, the Electronic Control Module is shared between the two cars, prompting the recall. Click here to read the original recall by Toyota for the details.

by John Suit

Source: GM

100 MPH crash caught by police officer’s dash camera!

John Suit — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 18:00:33 +0000

A 100-mph (estimated) crash was caught on a dashboard camera by a Sugarcreek Township police car, in the Beaver Creek area of Ohio. The driver, 19 year-old Brennan S. Eden, was driving his Pontiac Firebird on the median strip when he struck the guardrail, launched his car sideways, and careened into the center post of an overpass. At that point, he was ejected from the car and the car itself split into 3 pieces. Surprisingly, Eden lived, and was conscious at the scene, although for obvious reasons he was flown to Miami Valley Hospital where he’s listed in critical condition. The crash happened around 7:15am on August 23rd, shutting down southbound traffic for 6 hours on I-675. Click past the jump for the video.

Crash itself:

News footage:

by John Suit

Source: WDTN; thanks for the tip, John!

GM Recalls 1.3 million Chevy Cobalts and Pontiac G5s

John Suit — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 19:00:41 +0000

As a result of an earlier investigation , GM has announced the recall of 1.3 million cars. The bulk of them are in America, and are sold here as the Chevrolet Cobalt and the Pontiac G5. The latter is no longer sold (as Pontiac is being shut down), but the former will be replaced soon by the Cruze. In the mean time, 2005-2010 Cobalts and 2007 – 2010 G5s are being recalled for power steering issues. The problem stems from a power steering motor which wears out, leaving the driver with no power steering. While the car remains controllable, it requires more effort to steer, which has led to 14 accidents and 1 injury so far, in over 1,100 complaints.

The fix should include replacing the existing power steering motor with a redesigned one which should last quite a bit longer.

A statement from GM’s Vice President of Quality, Jamie Hresko, contained these quotes:

“After our in-depth investigation, we found that this is a condition that takes time to develop. It tends to occur in older models out of warranty.”

“Recalling these vehicles is the right thing to do for our customers’ peace of mind.”

Looks like GM has learned a little bit from all the trouble Toyota has had of late.

The recalled models are the following:

·2005 – 2010 Chevrolet Cobalt
·2007 – 2010 Pontiac G5
·2005 – 2006 Pontiac Pursuit (Canada)
·2005 – 2006 Pontiac G4 (Mexico)

Customers will be notified once GM has an official fix for the issue.

by John Suit

Source: GM

·2005 – 2010 Chevrolet Cobalt
·2007 – 2010 Pontiac G5
·2005 – 2006 Pontiac Pursuit (Canada)
·2005 – 2006 Pontiac G4 (Mexico)

Good Vibes for GM: Tests prove the Vibe’s brakes work

John Suit — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 18:23:08 +0000

2010 Pontiac Vibe GT

GM took out two Pontiac Vibes this past weekend to test for braking when experiencing unintended acceleration, since the Vibe is a clone of the Toyota Matrix, which is involved in Toyota’s PedalGate. They found that the Vibe’s braking system stopped the car, and within their “internal requirement for brake performance.” They tested two Vibes, one for each recall (floot mats and sticky gas pedal). Read on for more details.

So, what fits inside GM’s braking requirements: 169 meters, or 507 feet. How fast was the car going before the brakes were applied? 60 MPH. Edmunds found that from 60 MPH, only 127 feet were required to stop their tester Vibe. That’s a four-fold increase! But, on the good side, at least it stopped. If anyone gets stuck in this situation, I just hope they have plenty of stopping room.

2010 Toyota Matrix XRS

Toyota will be sending parts to GM dealers so they can perform the fix themselves. In the mean time, some 99,000 Pontiac Vibe owners will receive correspondence from GM as soon as they get more information from Toyota.

None of the complaints to GM have resulted from crash or injury, which is interesting, considering that before the Toyota-announced recall, GM hadn’t heard any complaints from customers for sticking gas pedals.

I’m glad to see that GM is getting out in front of this one. While they haven’t said much about the recall, they were probably waiting for a fix to be devised, and since they didn’t really design the Vibe, it’s understandable that they would have to sit on the sidelines until more was known. Good for them for recalling the Vibe and making sure their customers are safe.

If you have a Pontiac Vibe, please keep us informed of your experiences during this recall.

by John Suit

Source: GM

Industry Update: Company Ownership

roadreality — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:44:04 +0000

Since the early 1900s, vehicle manufacturers have been buying and selling each other, trying to grow their combined business. Some of these ploys work (GM buying Cadillac in 1909) while others fizzle out (GM buying Hummer in 1998). In today’s uncertain automotive times, the Detroit 3 are trying to streamline their companies, to cut operating costs and slough off under performing brands. In order to answer the question of whose product you’re really buying when you buy a car, truck or SUV in America, I will go into a little detail as to which companies are on the block, which have already been sold, and which are dying (or already deceased).

We’ll start with Chrysler, which has been in the news recently, following their arrival post-Chapter 11, and the subsequent purchase by Fiat. While considered a purchase, Fiat only bought 35 percent of Chrysler Group, which gives them controlling interest, from Cerberus Group, which bought out Daimler in 2007 (Daimler makes Mercedez-Benz). This includes the Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep brands.

Next up is GM. Now labeled Government Motors by many people, they have been forced to cut Pontiac, Saturn, Saab and Hummer. While Pontiac had a popular car in its G8 sedan, its other cars were far too close to their Chevrolet siblings. Saturn lost its focus in the late 1990s, and Since the Ion was introduced in 2003, sales were on the decline, leading to GM trying to sell it off. There was a deal in the works with Penske Racing, but an inability by Penske to secure manufacturing after the end of 2010, the deal was scuttled. Saab has been sold to Koenigsegg, a Swedish company known for its ultra-low production supercars, and recently the Swedish government promised 400 billion Kroners (about $399 million US) to keeping Saab alive. A deal involving Chinese company Sichuan Tengzhong – a heavy industrial machinery company - buying Hummer is still trying to be solidified.

Of the Big 3, that leaves Ford. CEO Alan Mulally’s crystal ball must work, as in 2007, he leveraged part of the company to secure $4 billion in order to keep the company afloat, and in 2008, Ford sold Jaguar, Aston Martin and Land Rover in order to streamline the company. Jaguar and Land Rover were sold to the Indian company Tata, which is notable because they produces a car there that sells for a paltry $2,500 US, called the Nano. Aston Martin was sold to a British consortium, led by Prodrive and its owner, David Richards. Ford also sold its controlling interest in Mazda, but should continue to share chassis designs, engines, and other small bits.

Now, knowing the companies in limbo, a little refresher as to which US companies are still holding on to others. Ford continues to own Volvo – known to Americans as building some of the safest cars on the road – though recent reports suggest that Volvo is now up for sale. GM is still producing Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC vehicles.

So what does this all mean to the American car buyer? It means that some of the marques, traditionally labeled as American, are either going to close up shop or be answering to new parents. The companies currently in flux or already sold will be creating new vehicles, stopping production of some current vehicles, and possibly changing their entire corporate structure and focus, in order to further differentiate themselves from their corporate siblings. You can already see this in Buick’s new lineup of crossovers and sedans. Some of them might resemble Chevrolet or GMC’s vehicles, while others have altogether different appearances.

By John Suit