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Pontiac

Pontiac is an integral part of the eminent General Motors and has been since 1909. It is the native place for all those auto manufacturers who want their vehicles climb on the lines of performance. With a wide lineup of sporty cars and SUVs, the brand is renowned for its range of performance vehicles. Despite its popularity, however, the brand is scheduled to be phased out by the end of 2010 as this shut-down is a part of GM’s reconstruction policy. It has not been decided, although possible, if they will reconsider this decision.

Founded by Edward Murphy in 1907, with its original name being Oakland Car Company of Pontiac, Michigan, it was acquired by General Motors merely after two years of establishment. In 1929, Oakland had its first Pontiac vehicle. The car had a six cylinders-engine. It was launched at the New York auto. It was a great success for the company whose effect was so much predominant that the company had its new name “pontiac” which was the name of the chief of the Ottawa Indians of 18th century. Throughout the decade 1930-40, the company had produced low to mid price range sedans, coupes and wagons. One unique creation of Pontiac from the period 1930-50 was the “Silver Streak” which was decorated with silver “speed lines” that covered the whole length from bonnet of the car to the bottom of the windshield.

In the 1950s, the Pontiac Bonneville emerged. It was a dashing, straggling cruiser which had a good balance in terms performance and luxury. It was s real hit. Till 1960, the Pontiac brand was not yet truly recognized on its own. When manufacturers started to produce the compact sized substitutes to huge cruisers, Pontiac introduced to the roads the Tempest which was pretty compact. Having created the successful GTO option for the Tempest, Pontiac made a remarkable impact in the market in 1964. Pontiac introduced the first “muscle car”. Success was all that came to Pontiac during this decade which consequently brought it a lot of fame especially towards the end of the decade when it introduced its Firebird and Firebird Trans Am.

In 1970s when the whole world faced the Oil crisis, most of the car buyers started considering the mileage or fuel efficiency of the vehicle as prime criteria for buying cars. Thus Pontiac started making compact vehicles such as Ventura and Phoenix. In 1980s Pontiac had launched the ravishing two seated car ‘Fiero’, which ultimately flourished as a sports car.

The Sunfire and Montana minivan followed up in the 1990s. Because of the altering choices of people and since the line of demarcation between the models of GM division and Pontiac grew thin, the Pontiac had a downfall in its sales. Considerable efforts were made to revive the lost reputation of the brand, one of which was to introduce new unique models. New models such as Vibe, Solstice and G8 provided the substantial amount of support to regain the lost health of the company but due to the miserable financial crunch at GM in 2008 and 2009, a decision regarding the closure of Pontiac Brand by the end of 2010 has already been taken.