General Motors (GM) established the Pontiac brand in 1926 as a companion brand for GM’s Oakland automobiles. The Pontiac was named for the Ottawa chief and was manufactured in Pontiac, Michigan. Within a few months of its introduction, Pontiac was outselling Oakland.
It should be noted that the Pontiac Spring & Wagon Works first used the Pontiac name in 1906. In 1908, the Pontiac Spring & Wagon Works merged with the Oakland Motor Company. The following year, GM acquired Oakland and the Pontiac name.
Initially, the Pontiac had a straight 6-cylinder engine and in 1933 it began using a straight eight-cylinder engine. From this time until the 1950s, Pontiac had a reputation for being a quiet, solid car. It was not, however, particularly powerful as it came with a flathead straight eight engine. This engine was cheaper to produce than the more popular V8.
Following World War II, the first all-new Pontiacs were produced in 1949. Following a Native American theme, the Chieftain line was introduced. In 1952, the Star Chief line was introduced. In 1953, the two-piece windshield was replaced with a one-piece unit. In a 1955, the V8 engine was available in the Chieftain models.
In 1957, Pontiac introduced the Bonneville: a limited edition Star Chief convertible which featured a fuel-injected engine. Only 630 of these Bonnevilles were built. They had a retail price of $5,800 or about the same as a Cadillac. By 1959, the Bonneville was the top of the Pontiac line, and the Chieftain line was renamed Catalina. At this time, Pontiac used a wider body known as the Wide Track which improved handling.
In1961, Pontiac added a compact, called the Tempest, to its lineup. This was a uni-body car which combined the frame and body into a single construction. This made the car lighter and smaller. By 1962, Pontiac was the third most popular American car, thanks in large part to the sale of the Tempest line.
In 1964, Pontiac brought out the GTO: Gran Turismo Omologato. While GM had an unwritten edict against engines larger than 330 cubic inches in its intermediate cars, Pontiac’s chief engineer John DeLorean came up with the idea of offering a 389 cubic inch engine in an option package.
In response to the popular Ford Mustang, Pontiac brought out the Firebird, a variation of the Chevrolet Camaro, in 1967.
The end of the Pontiac began in 1971 when GM mandated that all engines use the lower-octane unleaded gasoline which resulted in a decrease in both fuel economy and performance. This lead to the demise of the muscle cars. The 1976 model Pontiacs were the last of the traditional large cars with large engines.
In the 1980s, Pontiac once again focused on power and performance. In 1984 it added a Special Touring Edition to compete with the European road cars such as the Mercedes 190. In 1988, Pontiac switched to front-wheel drive (except for the Firebird and Fiero).
Pontiac ceased production in 2009, although one final vehicle was assembled in January 2010.