Pontiac

The Pontiac or formally the Pontiac Motor Division of General Motors, was an American automobile brand owned, manufactured, and commercialized by General Motors. Introduced as a companion make for GM’s more expensive line of Oakland automobiles, Pontiac overtook Oakland in popularity and supplanted its parent brand entirely by 1933.

Pontiac Car Logo

2023 Pontiac Firebird

Sold in the United States, Canada, and Mexico by GM, in the hierarchy of GM’s five divisions, it was slotted above Chevrolet, but below Oldsmobile, Buick, and Cadillac. Starting with the 1959 models, marketing was focused on selling the lifestyle that the car’s ownership promised rather than the car itself.

After facing financial problems and restructuring efforts, GM announced in 2008 that it would follow the same path with Pontiac as it had with Oldsmobile in 2004. Pontiac discontinue manufacturing and marketing vehicles under the Pontiac brand by the end of 2010. The last Pontiac-badged cars were built in December 2009, with one final vehicle assembled in January 2010. Franchise agreements for Pontiac dealers expired on October 31, 2010, leaving GM to focus on its four remaining North American brands: Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac, and GMC.

[table caption=”” width=”600″ colwidth=”20|100|50″ colalign=”left|left”]
Manufacturer, Pontiac
Type,” Automotive company”
Founder,” Edward Murphym”
Headquarters,” Detroit, Michigan, United States”
Defunct,” October 31, 2010; 11 years ago”
Founded,” 1926 96 years ago”
Key people,” Frank Hershey; Irving Jacob Reuter; Semon “Bunkie” Knudsen; John Z. DeLorean”
Parent company,” General Motors”
[/table]

2023 Pontiac Grand Prix