Pontiac. Early History

The first Pontiac was the product of the Oakland Automobile Co. - a General Motors division acquired in 1909 - which produced the Pontiac 5-Passenger Coach for the New York Auto Show in 1926. It would only take 3 years for Oakland to produce 500,000 Pontiac cars. The Pontiac proved so successful, that the name of the Oakland division was changed to Pontiac. In 1929, the Pontiac "Big Six" produced 60-hp from a 200.4 cubic inch engine. Sales continued to rise throughout the 1930's and Pontiac would be one of the first automakers to target female buyers. The one millionth Pontiac would be produced in 1936. By 1937, the Pontiac 's most expensive model - the DeLuxe Eight convertible sedan - had a starting price of $1,235.