You've probably seen the headline about GM getting ready to drop Pontiac. Big deal, right? To most people it's not important enough to warrant their attention, but if most people were to take a closer look they might stumble upon the significance of something like this.
In 1926 GM created Pontiac to accompany their Oakland brand of vehicles (much like GMC and Chevrolet today) and subsequently outsold Oakland which caused Oakland to be dropped by GM in 1932 (perhaps some foreshadowing). For the first part of Pontiac's life, up til the early 1950's that is, Pontiac cars were very quiet, well built cars, but not particularly fast. This problem was remedied in 1955 with the introduction of a 173 horsepower V8 which quickly boosted Pontiac's sales.
Pleasantly surprised with the results, Pontiac discontinued production of all 6 cylinder engines in full sized cars and had an all-V8-line of full sized cars until 1977 when GM when through a bout of corporate downsizing. A 6-cylinder engine was used in the Tempest model in 1966 as well as the Firebird.
Jump forward to the early '70s. This was the time when the era of the unrestricted motor was coming to an end. Furthering this idea was GM's regulation that all GM engines must be capable of using a lower-octane fuel, thus reducing compression ratios, fuel economy, and performance. It seemed like the classic American muscle car was on its deathbed - and it truly was. In 1974 laws were passed to regulate vehicle emissions and with gas prices on the rise, more economical engines took over.
But Pontiac was still around. It restyled its Grand Prix in 1973 along with introducing the Grand Am, a popular car until it's end in 2004.
However, Pontiac, like most GM cars, have lost quality and popularity in recent years. That's a good size of GM's current problems. Now days the only thing separating Pontiac from Buick and Chevrolet cars is the badging and some of the exterior body. And thus, due to sales and waning popularity, GM is ditching Pontiac to focus on its core group of vehicle brands: GMC, Chevrolet, Buick, and Cadillac.
Rest in peace, Pontiac.
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