The rumors had been flying all weekend but this AM it is official. GM announced that the Pontiac brand will be no more, along with the Saturn, Hummer and Saab brands as well as shedding of 42% of its selling dealers and 28% of its manufacturing plants — and the elimination of 21,000 jobs — all by this year’s end. Is this a death spiral for GM or the start of real survival? The LA Times writes:

The automaker announced the sweeping moves as part of a revised business plan it is submitting to the Treasury Department.

“The objective here is not to survive, the objective is to develop an operating plan that helps us win,” said Fritz Henderson, GM’s president and chief executive in a morning conference call. “It’s a difficult period, it’s a challenging period, it’s a very painful period.”

Henderson conceded, however, that a bankruptcy filing would still be a possibility if the company is unable to reach accords with stakeholders.

“What’s good for General Motors is good for the USA” — boy, that’s sure dated now, isn’t it? Or, maybe not — I know that I need to go on a diet! But Okie, why all the fuss about a low-performing division of a car company in dire straights? History — personal history that is. Pontiac has some special meaning for me, let me explain . . .

       Classic Pontiac “Wide-Track” advertising illustrations.The year was 1967, and for some reason I had waited several months after my 16th birthday to even attempt to get my driver’s license. Anyone who has known me since then would not have believed that, as I’ve been auto-addicted ever since. Many a forest has been felled to satisfy my auto mag hungers over the years, and if my current subscriptions are any indication, many more trees will have to die in the future!

I had been taking private driving lessons in a ’67 Mustang coupe, but the dude from the driving school didn’t show up at the DMV on my test day. Arrrrrrgh! Not wanting to wait another week for a reschedule I decided to take the test in the car that my mom drove us there in — her ’66 Pontiac Bonneville 4-door sedan. That was like going from a tidy ski boat to a 40 foot Chris-Craft. I made a few practice attempts at parallel parking the beast and then promptly aced the sucker. My eyes and reflexes were so much better four decades ago — I just hope that my judgment and experience level makes up for the deterioration I notice now.

My first car that I bought with my own coin was a 1966 Pontiac LeMans “Sprint”, which had GM’s then brand new OHC six, with a humongous Rochester Quadrajet 4-barrel carb and four-on-the-floor. Man, did that little six moan when the peddle was buried in the carpet, or mat — I can’t remember now which it was. $450 bought a lot of show, but the go part came with some caveats — I didn’t exactly pick the most reputable used car lot and was smitten by the looks — has happened a few times since, too (wish that I was only talkin’ about cars!)

The magnificent six was a sludge monkey — the previous owner evidently never changed the oil — and after a hard run it would belch up about 3 quarts of hot, smelly oil and sludge up and over the fill pipe onto the ground. Lots o’ fun, that. A totally plugged line from the crankcase to the blowback valve was the culprit, and when that was cleared the toxic-oil-spills were defeated. However, the hydraulic lifters that made this OHV engine so quiet and maintenance free compared to the European’s with their solid lifters and constant need for valve clearance adjustment were plugged with the sludge and the cam lobes were getting flattened at an alarming rate. My friend with super mechanic skills helped me through an upper tear-down and a flushing of the oil pan and circulation system with gasoline and an electric drill spinning the oil pump — don’t try that at home kiddies! Yikes! Also, don’t fire up the motor at 4 AM with no mufflers attached in the garage attached to the house, with your parents’ bedroom window just off the garage door! “Uh, no dad, we didn’t know what time it is — sorry?”

I hit a horse with that car. Don’t tow a white car home at 2 AM with the driver’s side covered with thick-dark-red blood, the roof crushed and the windshield caved in without calling first — “Un, no mom, dad. I’m OK. The horse isn’t so good though. You guys look a little pale — you all right?”

Amazing how a car only two model years old could have been such a piece of junk! It also had a few electrical problems, something to do with fuses covered with gum wrapper foil. Gotta LUV that used car dealer! After a couple of hours of my dad and I lying under the dash replacing burnt wiring so that we could get home from his drug store where I worked after school, instead of going home we went to the American Motors lot where I got a brand-spankin’ new 1969 Javelin — Big Bad Blue edition, with a 290, Carter AFB, 4-speed and reclining seats! (That’s a different story altogether.) Thank the fates for a college scholarship — which left me with money for that ride — which I kept for over 5 years.

My next Pontiac was 34 years later — a 2001 Bonneville SSEI which you can see featured in this blog’s footer. Amazing what three and a half decades of engineering advancement does: solid unibody construction, 4-wheel independent suspension and disc brakes, power almost everything, dual-zone climate control, satellite radio with Bose sound, and not to forget, an Eaton supercharger that made puttin’ pedal to carpet way too much fun!

Good bye, Pontiac — it was good to know ya!

Not that the boys at General Motors have done a bang up job or anything the last few years, but . . . I keep thinking that if the Obama crew would just focus on getting the banks fixed and credit flowing again a lot of this US business pain and suffering would self-correct. Of course, that would get in the way of the Mighty O’s channeling of his inner Hugo Chavez. Still, if any other U.S. companies are considering asking this government for a hand up, they now know that it’s gonna be a “Hand Up The ‘ol Wazzoo!”

Bottom line — the termination of GM C.E.O. Rick Wagoner was more Obama Kabuki theater gone wild — a sacrifice to the general public that would still rather buy a big pick-em-up-truck than a sh_t-box tin can, now that gas is again around the two buck mark.

Jeremy Anwyl, chief executive of the automotive Web site Edmunds.com, called the move “political theater” to appease an increasingly bailout-weary public.

“American taxpayers are not happy,” Anwyl said. “But this way you’re able to point to Rick and say he’s gone, and that creates an environment where the loans become politically palatable.”

By all accounts, Wagoner made progress in fixing GM. While CEO, he cut its U.S. work force from 177,000 to roughly 92,000 today.

Wagoner also closed factories; shed the unprofitable Oldsmobile brand; globalized GM’s engineering, manufacturing and design to save billions; and led a resurgence in quality and performance of its long-neglected cars. In 2007, the company reached a landmark agreement with the United Auto Workers that shifted massive retiree health care costs to a union-run trust and ushered in a $14-per-hour wage for new hires, about half that of a current laborer.

But critics, including many members of Congress, say Wagoner moved too slowly, failing to cut enough of the company’s huge health care and pension costs, and relying too long on high-profit pickup trucks and SUVs as gas prices rose and the market shifted toward smaller vehicles.

In the past four years, GM has piled up $82 billion in losses.

Still, Wagoner had the company moving in the right direction, Anwyl said.

Who’s next? Who knows. The Obama crew wants sweeping new powers from Congress to take over financial companies that are not banks, if they feel like it. Maybe Ford should keep an eye in it’s rear view mirror. After Chrysler is gone . . . they’re probably next!

Cause, like in the movies — “He’ll be back!”

[Update]

Laer Pierce offers this:

Who’d have thought a year ago that the federal government would today have the power to force out the head of a private corporation? And yet, curiously, those same powerful hacks seem to lack the power to remove Ron Gettelfinger, the president of the UAW. I wonder what’s up with that …

You know, if I were a less suspicious man, it might not occur to me that the Obamarxists are doing all they can to drive down the value of GM and Chrysler so that were they “forced” to take the companies over for their own good, the cost of doing so would not be so dear.

But I think that’s exactly what they’re doing.

Our fearless leaders seem bent on the destruction of the US economy. At the G20 we’ll see if they want to cripple the world at large, which is what their cap-&-trade plans suggest. Yeah, a good ol’ cap&trade war — big fun for everybody! Totalitarianism rises from the ashes of chaotic destruction like the mythical Phoenix — oh ya betcha!

Over at Track a ‘Crat an ex. pat Brit living in D.C. comments on our Pres and his actions as opposed to his campaign promises.

Some people thought that President Obama, true to his more moderate campaign language, would shy away from his radical tendencies once in office.

Suckers.

Michelle Malkin has this one:

Barack Obama, auto repairman-in-chief, is on TV promising to guarantee that your GM/Chrysler car gets serviced and repaired.

Only thing he forgot to promise: the free tire gauges!

Heh!

At Hot Air, Ed Morrissey gets this in on the All About The ‘O’ Auto Warranty Program:

Good news, American auto owners! If you’ve been eyeballing a Lexus or a CRV because you want to own a car whose maker will be around long enough to honor the warranty, take another look at Detroit. Instead of handling their own warranties, Uncle Barack and his dog Spot will handle your warranty — along with a hefty new bureaucracy: {…}

This is great news — for fans of the DMV.

{…}

Government does not belong in the business of offering auto warranties. Two years ago, that would have been so obvious as to elicit derisive laughter for even mentioning it. But when we get a bunch of used-car salesmen in the White House and Congress, this is the result.

Double heh!!

Meanwhile, in an unrelated vein, The Anchoress’ Sandra Bullock/Rush Limbaugh dream gets a poster.

Triple heh!!!

Technorati Tags: GM CEO, Obama, Rick Wagoner

Progress! On Tuesday General Motors unveiled the production version of the upcoming (2010?) Chevrolet Volt, a series-hybrid vehicle who’s motive force is an electric motor with an axillary gasoline engine on board only to recharge the battery pack after its initial 40-mile range is depleted. Since the average commute for the American driver is less than 40 miles, most Volt owners will use very little gasoline, as long as they remember to plug it in at night.

Wired Magazine quotes GM CEO Rick Wagoner as saying during the unveiling:

“Revealing the production version of the Chevy Volt is a great way to open our second century,” Wagoner said. “The Volt is symbolic of GM’s strong commitment to the future … just the kind of technology innovation that our industry needs to respond to today’s and tomorrow’s energy and environmental challenges.”

Wired goes on to preview the Volt’s features and details of its development from concept to production reality:

The Volt is not a Johnny-come-lately second-rate Prius. It’s a technological step forward and a bit of a surprise from a company that has for decades been known for evolution, not revolution. The Volt’s 17-inch wheels are driven by an electric motor that gets its juice from a T-shaped battery with 220 lithium-ion cells. GM says it’s good for 40 miles of zero-emission electric driving. The small gasoline engine under the hood acts only as a generator, charging the battery as it approaches depletion and eliminating the “range anxiety” that make EVs a tough sell for road-trip-lovin’ Americans.

The sleek, rounded car Wagoner showed off today shares little family resemblance with the angular concept he unveiled in 2007. The radical redesign was borne of necessity — maximizing aerodynamic efficiency is essential to squeezing every last mile from the battery, and the original design was about as slick as a brick.

After discovering the concept car’s wretched drag coefficient of .43 — roughly the same aerodynamic efficiency as a Chevrolet Silverado pickup — GM’s designers and engineers spent more than 1,000 hours in the wind tunnel reworking the exterior. What they emerged with is, according to GM, more aerodynamic than the Toyota Prius or the Honda Civic Hybrid. “We spent three times longer on this car than any other car [in GM’s history],” says Nina Tortosa, the engineer who oversaw wind tunnel testing. “It will be one of the most aerodynamic cars out there.”

OK, looks like the future of daily commuting is only months away . . . regardless of the beatings of the do-nothing-but-impede-with-regulation Dem-wit controlled Congress. Here’s a look at the production version outside and in, although motivated only via a small electric motor as the production drive train is only being tested in Malibu mules.

Carpe diem Volt