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"History doesn't repeat itself, but it rhymes." is a quote most often attributed to Mark Twain. In our case, I hope that production numbers for this new little Pontiac take a similar path to what happened just over 40 years ago....
Back then, there was a fellow at GM, John DeLorean, who took a Pontiac Tempest (a small midsized car) put a 389 V8 with a Carter AFB 4 BBL carb, dual exhaust, and a Hurst shifter in it as a test car which he drove and let others drive. It was introduced as a $325 GTO option for the Tempest/LeMans in 1964.
Will history rhyme with the Pontiac Solstice... some 40 years later? I've got my fingers crossed.
Pontiac seems to have gotten off on the right foot:
Back then, there was a fellow at GM, John DeLorean, who took a Pontiac Tempest (a small midsized car) put a 389 V8 with a Carter AFB 4 BBL carb, dual exhaust, and a Hurst shifter in it as a test car which he drove and let others drive. It was introduced as a $325 GTO option for the Tempest/LeMans in 1964.
The following years saw even greater sales. In 1965, they sold 75,352 units [gmfleet.com]. For 1966, the sales were even stronger:From PONTIAC GTO - A History of The Original Muscle Car:
"Initial sales projections called for only 5,000 units; however, the GTO was an immense hit with the public. The 1964 model run produced a total of 32,450 units."
So, GM has responded to market demand in the past, and as others on this forum have said, the Kappa, with its use of high initial investment hydroforming for frame and body components, offers substantial per unit cost savings which become even more attractive at increased production volumes.From PONTIAC GTO - A History of The Original Muscle Car:
"Several strong competitors had joined the GTO by 1966, but that didn't stop GTO sales from reaching nearly 100,000. The final tally was an astonishing 96,946 units - pretty impressive for a car that insiders doubted would sell 5,000 two years earlier."
Will history rhyme with the Pontiac Solstice... some 40 years later? I've got my fingers crossed.
Pontiac seems to have gotten off on the right foot:
- The marketing campaign that they have will certainly help them gauge customer interest levels, and gain solid sales leads.
- The first-come-first-served Early Order Program for the 1st 1000 is encouraging because of its egalitarian approach.
- The magic of the '64 GTO was that it was reasonably priced: the Solstice is likewise reasonably priced.
- The '64 GTO was born from the enthusiasts and later models could be ordered with racing oriented options: GM has indicated they will provide some factory performance upgrade parts for the Solstice (Might they become factory installed options on future model year vehicles? Time will tell.).