Pontiac Brand Phasing Out

04-27-09, General Motors announced eliminating the Pontiac brand by the end of 2010 due to financial problems.

Pontiac Now

Like most manufacturers, the 1980's were a slow time in the development of Pontiac vehicles. During this time, Pontiac would introduce the Pontiac Fiero, the Pontiac Trans Sport minivan, and a 4-door Grand Prix. Since the 1990's, Pontiac has worked hard to reestablish itself as the "excitement" brand of General Motors, and brought back well-known names such as the GTO. While Pontiac cars share platforms with fellow GM stablemates, the brand gets uniquely aggressive styling touches.

Pontiac Progress Pre- and After-War

The last pre-war Pontiac rolled off the assembly line in 1942 so manufacturing capacity could be shifted to support the war effort. Pontiac shifts focus to produce rocket-propelled bombs for the US military. In 1946, production resumed using models last seen in 1942. Throughout the rest of the 1940's and 1950's, Pontiac would introduce several notable vehicles, including the 1956 Pontiac Star Chief Catalina, the 1957 Pontiac Bonneville with fuel injection and the 1959 Pontiac Wide Track models, which would win Pontiac its first Motor Trend Car of the Year Award.

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.

Pontiac History

The Pontiac is a marque of automobile produced by General Motors and sold in the United States, Canada and Mexico from 1926 to the present. In the GM brand lineup, Pontiac is a mid-level brand featuring a more sporting, performance-driving experience for a reasonable price, and a youthful feel to its advertising.

The Pontiac brand was introduced by General Motors in 1926 as the subsidiary to GM's Oakland Motor Car line. The Pontiac name had been used on by another manufacturer in 1906, but that company did not survive. The first General Motors Pontiac was conceived as an affordable six cylinder that was intended to compete with more inexpensive four cylinder models. Within months of its introduction Pontiac outsold Oakland. As Pontiac' sales rose and Oakland's sales continued to decline, Pontiac became the only sudsidiary to survive its parent brand.

A Native American Headdress was used as a logo until 1956. The current Pontiac logo was originally meant to represent a Native American arrow-head. An alternate slang term for the marque among performance enthusiasts includes Poncho. Another slang term used in the early stages of brand was "Indian" due the subject matter of its logo.