A Look Back At Pontiac's History (SLIDESHOW)

Two people familiar with the latest developments in General Motors Corp.'s restructuring plan say the automaker will announce Monday that it is eliminating its storied Pontiac brand. Historical details about Pontiac:

• The first Pontiac car was introduced in 1926 after GM acquired the Oakland Motor Car Co. of Pontiac, Mich., in 1909. Pontiac was meant to be a low-priced companion to GM's "Oakland" line, but Pontiacs proved more popular. By 1929, half a million Pontiacs were sold.

• Oakland ended production in 1932 but Pontiac lived on, from the early models like the Chief and Master Six Coupe to the Star Chief and Catalina.

• Just before the 1949 models went into production, Ford Motor Co. obtained spy shots of the new Pontiacs, and both companies had created nearly identical grilles. After a phone call from Ford, Pontiac reluctantly redesigned its grille because the Ford was debuting first.

• John Z. DeLorean joined Pontiac in 1957 to head up advanced engineering. DeLorean, division general manager Semon "Bunkie" Knudsen and chief engineer Pete Estes inspired the cars that soon would reshape the division.

• Pontiac built a reputation for performance in the 1960s and 1970s with offerings like the GTO, one of America's first muscle cars and the inspiration for Beach Boys' tune "Little GTO"; and the Firebird and Firebird Trans Am.

• Efforts in recent years to revive Pontiac as a performance-oriented brand failed to work. The company had said it wanted to keep Pontiac as a niche brand with one or two models, but is buckling under government pressure to consolidate its eight brands, several of which lose money.

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The 1970s-era Pontiac Grand Am is already among the most famous muscle cars. But with the announcement Monday by General Motors that it will stop producing the fabled American brand, it will likely become more more sought after than ever.

Comments

[hunt49]

My girlfriend had a 99 Grand Prix GXP -- first (modern) Pontiac that I thought looked OK. Didn't care for the interior.

Then I drove it- what a great car. Supercharged 3.8 -- wide sure-footed stance, well-balanced, comfortable suspension but still capable, very nice for long trips, heads-up display on window.

Did I mention fast? Holy crap, fast. That 3.8 was a good engine by itself. With a supercharger - Lordy.

[planetjeffy]

I owned the red (mine was yellow) Firebird in high school in the 70's. Super fast and fun to drive. We drove from Tulsa to Dallas over 100mph the whole way. I am lucky to be alive, since the car seemed to be put together with scotch tape. Parts, like doors, wheels, exhaust systems, every molding piece - literally fell off that car. My previous car, a Grand Prix, caught on fire twice. The 2nd time, I let it burn.

[armadillious2002]

I owned a brand new 1969 Pontiac GTO Ram Air II - God what a car - and what memories. Competition orange as that was the only color it came in. I beat Camaro's, Mustangs, and Charger 440's. The only thing that outran me in the 1/4 mile was 426 Hemi's and one guy who had a Nova 396. Those were the days my friend - we thought they'd never end.

[joekerr]

I was almost sad to hear that Pontiac was no more. Supposedly I was conceived in the back on a GTO, or so my dad tells me. But then I walked past a Sunfire and an Aztec, and thought, maybe its time is up! Those two models were spectacular in their pure ugliness. The Pontiac brand lost its sizzle a long time ago.

[midbikecrisis]

My first car was a 1966 Lemans Convertible.

My second was a 1967 GTO.

The nameplate will be missed!

[bridge to somewhere]

My 88 Fiero GT 5-speed is still loads of fun! Too bad they only got the Fiero right the year they killed it.. :(
Independent rear suspension, tight steering, low-slung and wide...gre­at for windy mountain roads! We try to take every corner at twice the posted speed just for kicks! Plastic body around a solid space-fram­e...it was ahead of its time. In 84 when they came out, only a Volvo scored better in crash ratings!

There are only a few thousand 5-speeds from 88 still out there today, so mine spends most of the time in the garage...w­aiting for sunny weekends!

After having owned 4 Pontiacs, I'm sad to see them go. Time to run out and get a Solstice Coupe...it could be the next low-volume classic...

[FROGi]

Grand Am "muscle car" -- Ha Ha Ha

[steelmill]

If the Grand Am came with the 455SD(super duty) engine it ran in the 13's in the quarter mile,for a car that heavy,it's a muscle car.

[StJames]

My first car was a hand-me-down Pontiac Catalina. Gasoline was 25 cents a gallon so who cared how much that car guzzled? I remember breaking the speedometer cable when I pushed the car past 140 mph...at least that's what they told me broke the cable...my father just shook his head and said "slow down sis" Life was simpler then, no doubt about it. I'm sorry to see the Pontiac line go but there's no need for them any longer. Here is how it went demographically. Unskilled laborers drove Chevies. Skilled blue colar workers drove Pontiacs. Lower and mid-level white collar management drove Oldsmobiles. Buicks were driven by upper level management and young professionals. Estsblished professionals, business owners etc drove Cadillacs.

[local21]

ok smarty pants- who drove a hot rod Lincoln? :)

[Rule Of Law]

"and the inspiration for Beach Boys' tune "Little GTO"

Incorrect!

That song was written and recorded by Ronny and the Daytonas.

http://www.gto.vg/Pages/where.html

[fishinwithtom]

Ronny and the Daytonas did the song GTO, not the Beach Boys. Story goes that Pontiac was behind the song at that one of the Daytonas was related to someone in marketing at Pontiac. But it was a good car line.

[calgary]

Pontiac seems to appeal more to middle class blue collar workers. The problem is how many are left these days.

[JannielB]

Probably not enough to support your job.
Think about it as you peruse the unemployment statistics.

[BereftSkerrick]

I do love old metal, but being an Aussie I do have a soft spot for the G8, which in its Australian incarnations has been one of our top selling cars for around a decade or so. It's also been well rated by the Top Gear gang in the UK. Sad that the US market didn't give the G8 the respect it truly deserved. Was the US market dubious of something that wasn't US designed/made?

[GrainOSand]

The picture of the GTO is sweet. What can you say about this story except perhaps...

"Today Pontiac and American values via torture, tomorrow baseball and apple pie."

Hi mom!

[local21]

My buddy still has his 1965 Goat that he bought brand new. It still looks like it just rolled off the showroom floor. Black on black with a 389 , 4 speed, but a 4 barrel instead of the tri-power .

I love his GTO but I would rather have his other car, a 1963 Impala SS , white with blue interior, 327, automatic.

[EminemsRevenge]

NO ONE drove a Grand Am as a "muscle" car...that distinction went mainly to Camaros and the Nova SS, although my personal preference was my 73 Duster with a 361 Hemi in it...MOPAR

[marknpgh289]

There was never a Hemi Duster or a 361 Hemi engine.