Cars + Trucks
A Pontiac Retrospective
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General Motors recently announced that the Pontiac division of the company would be shut down permanently as part of the automaker’s financial restructuring plans. An official spokesman for the company denied reports that an official decision had been made, but GM officials speaking under anonymity revealed that the Pontiac brand would be going by the wayside. It does appear now that a favourite brand of many throughout the world will cease to exist in the near future. Pontiac is not the only GM brand that could face potential extinction, as Saab, Hummer and Saturn may soon be joining Pontiac in the figurative junkyard of defunct auto manufacturers. But that remains to be seen. Let’s reminisce about a brand that changed the face of the auto industry throughout its fabled history.
Why Pontiac?
A lot of Pontiac enthusiasts are probably asking the question: why Pontiac? Simply put, the dissolution of Pontiac and potentially the other brands mentioned boils down to sales. Statistically speaking, in light vehicle sales, Chevrolet makes up over 60 per cent of all GM sales, while Pontiac only makes up nine per cent of sales (as of 2008). Surprisingly though, this nine percent of all GM sales ranks Pontiac third overall, just a few percentage points behind GMC. However, this example goes to show exactly how bad things are at GM right now, essentially forcing them to cut out a sizeable chunk of their business.
A Fabled Beginning
Believe it or not, the Pontiac brand name is one of the oldest names in the modern automotive industry. The company actually started out as a buggy company in 1893 under the guise of Edward M. Murphy in Pontiac, Michigan. Murphy realized that the automobile was the next phase of transportation and started the Oakland auto company in 1907, a subsidiary of the original buggy company founded in 1893. In 1909, General Motors would acquire the Oakland auto company after the unexpected demise of Edward M. Murphy. The Oakland auto company would essentially sit dormant under the control of GM until 1926 when the company decided that it needed an affordable mid-range auto and hence, the Pontiac brand name was born.
The Classics
The Pontiac brand has been associated with sporty and lively vehicles that are also quite affordable in concern to the average consumer throughout its 82 year history. In my mind, the first milestone auto in the modern era for Pontiac was the Bonneville (in convertible form), unveiled in February 1957. For $4,000 (USD), you could have yourself 310 horses out of a massive 370 cubic inch motor. The following year the Bonneville would come in many different variations in its series form. In 1962, a Bonneville became GM’s 75 millionth auto produced.
For muscle car enthusiasts like me, 1964 was a milestone year, as Pontiac is credited with creating the very first muscle car: the Gran Turismo Omologato (the GTO). Pontiac produced around 31,000 of these monsters in 1964 and could have easily produced more to keep up with demand. In other words, the GTO was an unbridled success that still lives on in other brands to this very day.
The year 1967 saw the introduction of the fabled Firebird namesake, while two years later, the Grand Prix became a staple of the Pontiac brand. The 1970s were are a hard time for the automotive industry, especially the mid to late years, as fuel crunches and more environmentally friendly cars were the driving force for all large automakers, but Pontiac persevered with solid sales and 1978 even became the greatest year sales wise for the brand.
Declining Sales
After 1978 though, sales began to decline and have been doing so to this day. It is hard to imagine, as it is hard not to see some of the automotive industry’s greatest fair priced creations on the road to this day: The Grand Prix, the Grand Am or even a Sunfire. Surely many DriverSense readers have owned or still own a cherished Pontiac. How does the end of the Pontiac era sit in your minds? Do you think that Pontiac was simply unable to adapt to a new era of autos? Or is GM making a mistake by phasing out the name?
Photo:
Wikimedia Commons
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