What's next for Pontiac?

Sunfire sales have been cut in half as the four-door sedan is eliminated.
A Pontiac version of the new small car to be built in Lordstown will be sold only in Canada, a General Motors newsletter says.
Marketing data indicate that there is no market for the car in the United States, it says.
The Lordstown Assembly Plant now makes the Chevrolet Cavalier and its twin, the Pontiac Sunfire. GM has mentioned only a new Chevrolet model for the Lordstown Assembly Plant once a $550 million renovation is completed. The Chevrolet, which dealers say will be called the Cobalt, is due out in the fall of 2004.
Rick Crooks, a Pontiac spokesman, said he couldn't comment on a replacement for the Sunfire because nothing has been announced officially.
The mention of a Pontiac for the Canadian market came in a recent Lordstown Metal Center newsletter, which recapped a question-and-answer session that employees had with plant managers. The fabrication plant makes parts for the adjacent assembly plant.
Sophia Gray, a plant spokeswoman, said the information in the newsletter was a summary of answers given by managers. She declined to provide more specifics about what was said about the Sunfire replacement. The newsletter doesn't say where the new Pontiac would be built.
Sunfire sales decrease
As questions about its future linger, Sunfire has been slumping in the market.
For the first five months of this year, Pontiac has sold about 15,200 Sunfires, which is down 56 percent from the 34,200 that were sold during the same time last year. Cavalier sales are down 18 percent at 94,100.
Crooks said sales are down because Pontiac eliminated the four-door sedan as an option for Sunfire buyers in the 2003 model year, leaving just the two-door coupe. The sedan made up about 45 percent of Sunfire sales.
Crooks said Pontiac decided it didn't need a Sunfire sedan with the arrival of the Vibe, another small vehicle. Company officials thought most shoppers looking at the Sunfire sedan would prefer the Vibe because it provides more options for the use of interior space, he said.
The coupe has continued to do well in its mission, which is attracting entry-level buyers, Crooks said.
The strategy is working because the combined sales of the Vibe and Sunfire so far this year are equal to Sunfire's total at this time last year, even though small-vehicle sales overall are down 3 percent, he said. Pontiac sold about 28,500 Vibes in the first five months of this year.
How dealers see it
Orville Bowser, new-car manager at Jim Pace Pontiac in Niles, said the elimination of the sedan has made the Sunfire strictly a car for younger buyers or a second car for families.
"Not all young families can afford a second car," he said.
The two-door model has been working well as an entry-level car, however, he said.
Jack Dugan, general manager of Youngstown Buick Pontiac GMC Truck in Boardman, said Pontiac has been updating its lineup, even if it doesn't replace the Sunfire in the U.S. market.
Besides the Vibe, Pontiac just introduced a redesigned Grand Prix as a 2004 model and is introducing a replacement for the Grand Am next year.
shilling@vindy.com