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Tom Sparks Auto Continues Their Committment To Pontiac In Dekalb County
December 6th, 2009
The brand that put rolling excitement on the road for generations of Americans has come to an end.
The last Pontiac for the U.S. market was built by General Motors on Wednesday: a white, G6 sedan that rolled off the assembly line in Orion Township around 12:45 p.m.
There was no cake or commemorative banner or senior GM official on hand, and no media were allowed: just a group of “final process” workers to oversee the last 100 G6 models assembled.
Many workers stopped to pose for photos with the last cars as they moved down the assembly line.
It was a subdued goodbye for an 82-year-old brand that debuted under the bright lights of the New York Auto Show in 1926.
GM announced in April that it would phase out Pontiac as part of a bailout orchestrated by the U.S. government.
Unlike the last Oldsmobile, an Alero signed by hundreds of plant workers and donated to the R.E. Olds Transportation Museum in Lansing, the final G6 models will be sold as part of a fleet order.
“It’s sad that a brand that was once as prestigious as Pontiac is leaving the marketplace,” said Tim Jennings, Internet Sales manager of Tom Sparks Auto of DeKalb IL. “However, as usual, we (Tom Sparks Auto) are making the best out of a bad situation. We are committed to our Pontiac driving friends and will continue to sell and service the brand as long as there is a demand for us to do so.” Pontiac was our number 2 seller last year behind Buicks.
For some Pontiac enthusiasts, it’s an inglorious ending for a car line that popularized Silver Streak styling in the 1930s and defined the muscle car era.
The Orion Township plant will be idled and retooled to produce a new small car in 2011.
“We want to survive the next 18 months until we start building GM’s next small car,” said Pat Sweeney, president of UAW Local 5960, the union that represents workers at the factory.
Sweeney said it was a bittersweet time for the plant’s 2,400 employees.
Many of the same workers were building the Oldsmobile Aurora sedan when GM decided to discontinue Olds in December 2000.
In December, the automaker will end production of the Pontiac G3 Wave, a subcompact built in Mexico and sold only in Canada — marking the official end of production for the brand.
Launched in 1926 as a companion to GM’s Oakland division, Pontiac is the third best-selling automobile line of all time in the United States, behind Chevrolet and Ford.
Under GM’s brand hierarchy, it was slotted above Chevrolet and below Oldsmobile, and was favored for years by schoolteachers, the cast of “I Love Lucy,” and other middle-class wage earners.
But it was during the 1960s that the division came into its own, capitalizing on America’s growing thirst for racing and unbridled performance with muscle cars such as the GTO and Firebird.
More than any other GM brand, Pontiac epitomized performance, speed and sex appeal.
“It was the car teenage boys lusted after and teenage girls hoped to be seen in,” said Bob Casey, automotive historian and curator of transportation at The Henry Ford museum in Dearborn.
Rivals were forced to follow with similar muscle cars, giving Detroit automakers bragging rights over the cars that Japanese rivals were marketing based on fuel economy, quality and reliability.
Pontiac’s U.S. sales peaked in 1984 at almost 850,000 vehicles, roughly four times as many as it sold last year. Over 83 years, Pontiac sold some 41 million cars and trucks, Automotive News estimates.
For some Pontiac fans, the beginning of the end came during the 1970s, when fuel economy concerns forced GM and other automakers to downsize cars.
Foreign competition and a lack of differentiation from other GM models steadily eroded Pontiac’s customer base.
As its U.S. market share steadily dropped from around 50 percent in the 1960s, analysts repeatedly called for GM to trim its bloated lineup and focus on two or three divisions.
As it did with Oldsmobile in the 1990s, GM tried to resurrect Pontiac in recent years with new rear-wheel drive performance models such as the G8 sports sedan and the Solstice roadster.
Venerable names and models like Bonneville, Grand Prix, Firebird and Grand Am were retired.
But it also continued to market vehicles such as the G3, G5 and Torrent that were not much different than Chevy models. And it relied too heavily on fleet customers and struggled to become profitable again.
“Most Pontiacs haven’t been hot in years,” Casey said. “The consumption ladder that GM used for years — a car for every purse and purpose — no longer worked in the U.S. market.”
“Regardless of what GM is doing with Pontiac, one of our best selling cars has always been the Grand Prix and G6,” Jennings said. “We are proud of our history of selling quality pre-owned Pontiacs to the folks in DeKalb, Sycamore and will continue to do so.”
Click here To See Our Pontiac Inventory:
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Tom Sparks Auto is the premier Used Car Dealership in Dekalb-Sycamore IL. We are located in Dekalb, Illinois but we serve all of Northern IL and Chicago. We even offer FREE transportation to and from Chicago Airports. The cities we serve include Hinckley, Rochelle, Rockford, St Charles, Elgin, Waterman, Shabbona, Malta, and anyone looking for Worry-Free Car Buying in the states of Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin! At Tom Sparks Automotive we have many Used Cars to choose from including Buick, Pontiac, GMC, Nissan, Toyota, Honda, Ford, Chevrolet, Dodge, Hyundai and Kia. For more information about Tom Sparks, please visit https://www.tomsparks.com
Tom Sparks Buick
December 3rd, 2009
Tom Sparks Buick Inc is a former Buick Dealer located in Dekalb, IL. Previously Tom Sparks Buick Inc had offered many New Buick cars in the past, as well as Used Buick cars. Please feel free to Rate and Review the Tom Sparks Buick Inc Dealership so other Buick Car Buyers can have insight on the top Buick Dealerships in and around Dekalb, IL . Also, check out our Google Maps to locate other Dekalb, IL places of business Easy!
Just like at Costco and Sam’s Club. We have one of Dekalb countys largest inventory of used cars and trucks. Tom sparks Auto is like a Pre-owned Wholesale Outlet. We have some the following makes Acura, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Isuzu, Kia, Lexus, Mitsubishi, Mazda, Scion, Subaru, Suzuki, and Toyota in stock.
My name is Tim Jennings, I have 18 years of automotive experience, 15 at Tom Sparks Buick. I have successfully earned the business of 1500 people in the DeKalb area, 3500 people from 243 Illinois communities, plus over 100 people from 20 states.. I strive to do this in a friendly fashion. It is my job to search the Internet and price our vehicles as competitively as possible. I provide cars and trucks of exceptional quality and reasonable cost to our customers. All of our used cars go through a 110-point inspection process. I insure our customers satisfaction through honest sales practices, responsive service and friendly communication at all levels. At Tom Sparks we approach each customer on the Internet and in person with the belief that we are developing a life-long relationship, beneficial to both parties. You can be confident I will be here after each sale to help fill your continuing automotive needs. When you call or visit our dealership in person please ask for me. I have been the Internet manager at Tom Sparks Inc since its inception in 1999. At TomSparks.Com you will start with me.
Tom Sparks Auto is the premier Used Car Dealership in Dekalb-Sycamore IL. We are located in Dekalb, Illinois but we serve all of Northern IL and Chicago. We even offer FREE transportation to and from Chicago Airports. The cities we serve include Hinckley, Rochelle, Rockford, St Charles, Elgin, Waterman, Shabbona, Malta, and anyone looking for Worry-Free Car Buying in the states of Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin! At Tom Sparks Automotive we have many Used Cars to choose from including Buick, Pontiac, GMC, Nissan, Toyota, Honda, Ford, Chevrolet, Dodge, Hyundai and Kia. For more information about Tom Sparks, please visit https://www.tomsparks.com
Illinois Car Dealer Ramps Up Used Car Inventory: Rockford Il
November 16th, 2009
Every year at Tom Sparks Auto we shrink our inventory in or around September. Why would a car dealer not buy cars? Well, the reason is this; sometime during the fall every car gets a year older. Your car, my car, the cars we buy for resale, every car becomes a year older. We can now purchase the same car for less money. This is the best time of the year to buy a new vehicle. Selection is at the highest, prices are at the lowest of the year.
The good new is this; we are on the upswing. Our inventory just passed 80 cars to choose from! We plan on expanding the stock to approximately 120 units by January. During this time we will have a 3 month supply of cars. What does that mean to you? We now have the greatest selection with some of the best pricing in Northern Illinois. On top of that Dekalb has the lowest tax rate in the state. That certainly helps!
With the shut down of GM this summer it has been hard to get our normal inventory. In reinventing ourselves we have vehicles we have never stocked before. They’re going away, so it seems to be working.
Here is an example of the Inventory we have in stock that we have never offered for sale in the past;
This inventory combined with the GM merchandise that we have built our reputation on for over 20 years give us a strong foot print in Northern Illinois for car sales. Here is a sample of our GM inventory at time of this writing;
See For yourself sone of our Inventory:
We also have Cadillac, Toyota, Nissan, Dodge, Honda, and Chrysler in stock, ready for delivery.
Visit http://www.tomsparks.com for our current inventory listings.
My name is Tim Jennings, I have 18 years of automotive experience, 15 at Tom Sparks Buick. I have successfully earned the business of 1500 people in the DeKalb area, 3500 people from 243 Illinois communities, plus over 100 people from 2 states.. I strive to do this in a friendly fashion. It is my job to search the Internet and price our vehicles as competitively as possible. I provide cars and trucks of exceptional quality and reasonable cost to our customers. All of our used cars go through a 110-point inspection process. I insure our customers satisfaction through honest sales practices, responsive service and friendly communication at all levels. At Tom Sparks we approach each customer on the Internet and in person with the belief that we are developing a life-long relationship, beneficial to both parties. You can be confident I will be here after each sale to help fill your continuing automotive needs. When you call or visit our dealership in person please ask for me. I have been the Internet manager at Tom Sparks Inc since its inception in 1999. At TomSparks.Com you will start with me.
Tom Sparks Auto is the premier Used Car Dealership in Dekalb-Sycamore IL. We are located in Dekalb, Illinois but we serve all of Northern IL and Chicago. We even offer FREE transportation to and from Chicago Airports. The cities we serve include Hinckley, Rochelle, Rockford, St Charles, Elgin, Waterman, Shabbona, Malta, and anyone looking for Worry-Free Car Buying in the states of Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin! At Tom Sparks Automotive we have many Used Cars to choose from including Buick, Pontiac, GMC, Nissan, Toyota, Honda, Ford, Chevrolet, Dodge, Hyundai and Kia. For more information about Tom Sparks, please visit https://www.tomsparks.com