That was precisely part of the problem. The cars were competing with themselves. No brand identity or personality. Over the years...you could get the same model from GM OR Pontiac. What makes Pontiac so special then? They lost their identity...with the exception of the G6, and more importantly the G8, Pontiac is the same brand of old. It makes perfectly good sense to me, especially when you're getting your ass handed to you by imports. Circle the wagons, stop making multiple models of the same car that no one is buying, and cut costs. Oh yeah, and take some government money. I have a really close friend in management at the GM plant in Detroit proper. He was brought in to fix things...he has a track record of setting shit straight in the production process. Once he started fixing issues on the line, and making people look bad who make 2 and 3 times what he makes, all of a sudden he's the fall guy and they are trying to set him up to fail. GM hasn't changed one fucking bit.