Pontiac gone: GM move echoed at two Valley dealers

For many years, Charlottesvillians could shop at Peyton Pontiac on West Main Street, at this structure demolished in 2004.
FILE PHOTO BY HAWES SPENCER

"I think it's a pretty darn sad day," says Carter Myers, owner of Charlottesville's Colonial Auto Center, reacting to the news that General Motors is killing its Pontiac brand. "It's about as unfortunate as what happened a few years back to Oldsmobile."

At Colonial, where Pontiac constituted a small percentage of the eight-branded dealership’s total sales, Myers says it's business as usual for parts, repairs, and–- for at least a year or two–- even for sales of new Pontiacs.

In Harrisonburg, however, GM's edict coincided with an announcement by Charlie Obaugh Pontiac-Buick-GMC that it will go out of business April 30. And in nearby Elkton, a dealership called Dick Myers Chevrolet-Pontiac announced that it would shut its doors the same day.

Colonial's Carter Myers contends that Pontiac suffered after the brand–- perhaps best known for creating the GTO, original muscle car–- stopped sponsoring Nascar races and after parent GM began offering newer lines, such as Saturn and Hummer, both already on the chopping block.

"GM just got stretched too thin," says Myers.

–last updated 3:43pm, April 28