- Jan 7, 2002
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Jonathan Wollman confesses a bias for foreign cars. That's why the 41-year-old software developer from Los Angeles is surprised to find himself so smitten with the Pontiac Solstice, a sleek two-seater coming out this summer from General Motors Corp.
"I've never owned an American car," said Wollman, who wants to trade in his Mazda Miata. "But this is really a beautiful-looking car. It's enough to really make me consider it seriously."
He's not alone. GM's performance brand already has piled up 9,000 orders for the sporty ragtop, about half the number it had planned to build this year.
But instead of celebrating, Pontiac is quietly -- and delicately -- addressing complaints that its dealers are asking "well above" the $19,995 base sticker price for Solstice, according to a memo sent to Pontiac's 2,700 U.S. dealers and obtained by The Detroit News.
The letter underscores how much is riding on the Solstice for GM, which is reeling after a $1.1 billion first-quarter loss and is counting on new models to lift sales. It also highlights the tension that sometimes develops between automakers and dealers over how to sell particular models.
The practice, while within the dealers' rights, is angering some customers who were wooed by the vehicle's low price tag, and could sour customers' experience with Pontiac for years, the memo says.
"As you sell Solstices this year, please consider more than just the near term," said the letter signed by John Larson, the general manager of Buick, Pontiac and GMC, and Mark-Hans Richer, Pontiac's marketing director. "We are at a critical point in Pontiac's resurgence and encourage a long-term perspective of the total Pontiac opportunity."
But industry analysts say inflated dealer pricing on Solstice is a problem of GM's making.
http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0506/16/A01-217876.htm
"I've never owned an American car," said Wollman, who wants to trade in his Mazda Miata. "But this is really a beautiful-looking car. It's enough to really make me consider it seriously."
He's not alone. GM's performance brand already has piled up 9,000 orders for the sporty ragtop, about half the number it had planned to build this year.
But instead of celebrating, Pontiac is quietly -- and delicately -- addressing complaints that its dealers are asking "well above" the $19,995 base sticker price for Solstice, according to a memo sent to Pontiac's 2,700 U.S. dealers and obtained by The Detroit News.
The letter underscores how much is riding on the Solstice for GM, which is reeling after a $1.1 billion first-quarter loss and is counting on new models to lift sales. It also highlights the tension that sometimes develops between automakers and dealers over how to sell particular models.
The practice, while within the dealers' rights, is angering some customers who were wooed by the vehicle's low price tag, and could sour customers' experience with Pontiac for years, the memo says.
"As you sell Solstices this year, please consider more than just the near term," said the letter signed by John Larson, the general manager of Buick, Pontiac and GMC, and Mark-Hans Richer, Pontiac's marketing director. "We are at a critical point in Pontiac's resurgence and encourage a long-term perspective of the total Pontiac opportunity."
But industry analysts say inflated dealer pricing on Solstice is a problem of GM's making.
http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0506/16/A01-217876.htm
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