Pontiac

Introduced on January 3, 1926, at the New York Auto Show as a six-cylinder companion to Oakland, Pontiac quickly outpaced its parent, selling over 76,000 units in its first year and supplanting Oakland by 1931. Early innovations like the Silver Streak styling strip and the adoption of GM’s Hydramatic automatic transmission in 1948 cemented Pontiac’s reputation for accessible performance. By 1959, its Wide Track chassis gave drivers sharper handling and a distinctive look that set the stage for decades of GM performance models. Pontiac helped ignite the American muscle-car era with the 1964 GTO package on the LeMans, making high-power V8s attainable for the average enthusiast. Through the 1970s and into the 2000s, models like the Firebird, Grand Prix and G6 carried the “we build excitement” ethos. GM’s 2009 restructuring led to Pontiac’s phase-out, with the last G6 rolling off on January 4, 2010. Today, Pontiac endures as a GM-owned trademark celebrated by collectors and branded merchandise.