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Filed under: Car Buying, GM, Pontiac

2009 Pontiac G8 GXP – Click above for high-res image gallery

Of the 57,641 Pontiac owners who bought a new car in 2010, 53.3 percent of them stuck with a product from General Motors, according to a survey by RL Polk & Co. The hard numbers: 33.5 percent of Pontiac customers chose a Chevrolet, 11.7 chose a GMC, 6.7 went with Buick and the last 1.5 percent bought a Cadillac.

Within the rest of the Big Three, Ford had the best outing, grabbing 10.5 percent of former Pontiac owners. Dodge caught 3.2 percent and Chrysler and Jeep together totaled 1.7 percent of the share.

Large numbers of Pontiac owners who didn’t buy another GM product went overseas, with 31 percent opting for an import. Toyota claimed 7.7 percent of Pontiac owners, while Honda netted 7.5. Nissan and Hyundai weren’t far behind.

What the numbers show is that buyers who bought a Pontiac largely stuck with a big-name high-volume automaker when it came time for a new car. Even though some of the brands former Pontiac owners moved to are quite different than Pontiac was, they’re almost all affordable, mass produced and supported by huge dealer networks.

Gallery: In the Autoblog Garage: 2009 Pontiac G8 GXP

[Source: RL Polk via Kicking Tires]

Study: Pontiac drivers mainly sticking with GM originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 11 Mar 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Truck, Honda

2011 Honda Ridgeline

2011 Honda Ridgeline – Click above for high-res image gallery

We’ll admit it – while it has its virtues, the Honda Ridgeline certainly isn’t our first (or second… or third) choice as the best truck currently on sale. Apparently, consumers agree. In fact, Honda only sold 16,142 Ridgelines in 2010, and when you compare that to the fact that General Motors sold 24,642 of the somewhat underwhelming Chevrolet Colorado pickups, the business case for the Ridgeline seems very weak, especially in lieu of the recent death of Honda’s other offbeat all-terrain offering, the Element.

According to USA Today, however, the Ridgeline isn’t headed for the Great Parking Lot in the Sky just yet. Quite the contrary, actually. American Honda’s executive vice president, John Mendel, says the Ridgeline has developed a very strong following over the years, telling USA Today that Honda believes it has “a ways to go on the Ridgeline.”

This in mind, we’d expect to see a refreshed version of Honda’s truck within the next few years. If Honda is seriously committed to offering the Ridgeline, let’s hope the automaker can broaden its appeal to truck shoppers, because if dismal sales numbers continue, Honda may have no choice but to change its tune and reach for the axe.

Gallery: 2011 Honda Ridgeline

2011 Honda Ridgeline

[Source: USA Today]

Report: Honda says it’s sticking by Ridgeline originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 07 Jan 2011 18:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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