Sexy not a sell for Pontiac right now
General Motors has been relying on male fantasies about muscle cars to make Pontiac sexy, and it's worked in the past. But in this economy, people are picking practicality over sex appeal. Steve Henn reports.
Logo on a Pontiac Vibe (Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images)
More on Auto Industry, Marketing - Advertising
TEXT OF STORY
Bill Radke: Chrysler might make it, but it doesn't look good for Pontiac. Later today, General Motors will announce more cost-cutting moves, including the demise of the brand that brought you the Firebird, the GTO and my first car, the LeMans. For reporter Steve Henn the love affair started even earlier in life.
Steve Henn: When I was 6 years old the car, I was going to get when I grew up sounded exactly like this:
[Sound of a Trans Am]
I wanted a Trans Am -- a black Trans Am with a big gold eagle on the hood. And Pam Murtaugh, an automotive marketing consultant, says back then, so did every other little boy in America.
Pam Murtaugh: Yeah. Because when you were 6 years old, you wanted to take over the world.
Henn: I did!
Murtaugh: And in the meantime, the world has taken over you.
Henn: So are you saying that's why I drive a minivan?
Murtaugh: Hahaha!
Murtaugh says for decades, GM has been relying on male fantasies about muscle cars to make Pontiac sexy. But in this economy:
Murtaugh: A car that comes after us with sex appeal, it's like, I've got a headache. You just don't have room for it in your life.
Pontiac might appeal to a niche audience, but GM needs mass marketing appeal to survive.
I'm Steve Henn for Marketplace.
Comments
Comment | Refresh
From Jersey City, NJ, 04/28/2009
Your Trans Am of yesterday is the G8 GXP of today!
Post a Comment: Please be civil, brief and relevant.
Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments. All comments are moderated. Marketplace reserves the right to edit any comments on this site and to read them on the air if they are extra-interesting. Please read the Comment Guidelines before posting.
You must be 13 or over to submit information to American Public Media. The information entered into this form will not be used to send unsolicited email and will not be sold to a third party. For more information see Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.