Companies come up with concept cars all the time. If consumers like it, most of the time the car maker will produce a more “pedestrian” version of the concept and push it to market.
But there are some cars out there should just be left on the drawing board, no matter what. So what’s the first car on our list that shouldn’t exist?
Pontiac G5
An inexpensive compact coupe getting an excellent 37 MPG with a punchy 155 horsepower, 2.2-liter four-cylinder engine. What’s the problem here? Well this is one of the worst cases of rebadging I’ve ever seen. As you can see, the Pontiac G5 and Chevy Cobalt are almost identical cars, inside and out. They didn’t even go through the trouble of trying to make them look different:
The G5 is a completely pointless car – the Chevy Cobalt offers a much wider variety of trims and options. Other than the sportier Pontiac image, there’s nothing the G5 offers that the Cobalt doesn’t. The sporty thing doesn’t even make sense, because the Cobalt (but not the G5) offers a supercharged version.
That’s not to say the G5 doesn’t sell a few models, but the cost that GM incurs having a extra model in their lineup instead of promoting the Cobalt seems wasteful, even though I’m sure the Pontiac G5 is very cheap for them to make, seeing as how the only difference is the front grill.
I’m also not saying the Cobalt is a good model – I hated it when I drove an early model, but I couldn’t imagine the G5 being any better.
Do you own a Pontiac G5 or don’t agree with me? Chew me out in the comments section below.
