It’s Been Nine Years Since GM Announced Pontiac’s Death
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Time flies, and it’s hard to believe it’s been nine years since General Motors announced it would phase out the Pontiac brand. GM delivered the news to media on April 27, 2009.
Pontiac’s death came amid the global financial crisis as GM’s future quickly became uncertain. The automaker approached the federal government for a multi-billion dollar loan to keep its operations afloat. In the process, Pontiac, Saturn, Saab and Hummer all left the GM family in time. GM filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy about a month later.
The Pontiac brand was born from Oakland in the early 20th century. Pontiac quickly became a success and led to GM dropping the Oakland division in the early 1930s. Of course, that’s not what enthusiasts remember Pontiac for. It was the 1960s that led to Pontiac’s fame with the GTO, arguably the first “muscle car” that would kick off an automotive revolution.
We also fondly recall the Firebird, Trans Am, Solstice and the G8.
It’s easy to argue that Pontiac lost its way long before GM axed the brand. The division turned to platform sharing, uninspired cars and a lack of performance that seemed to belittle the “Excitement Division.” But, we’ll always remember the cars Pontiac graced the world with.
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there were a LOT of great cars years ago, + they were distinctly different + beautiful. today we have a lot of cookie cutter cars that are very similar, even many performance are lack luster even they are fast + handle great!!! never again will there be cars of such beauty + personality + soooooo easy to DIY!!!!!!
I have owned multiple Pontiacs since 1968.My favorites were the 65 GTO,98 Grand Prix Daytona, and the sleeper looking 2004 GTO.I am sorry I had to sell the 2004.I am looking for one now.
@Don: Perhaps you might want to consider the ’05 or ’06? Those years had scoops on the hood (unless you prefer the non-scooped hood of the ’04).
When I was about 8, my parents bought a new 1964 Pontiac Catalina Safari wagon. It was our first air-conditioned car, and the AC always worked great. The car, however, was the worst POS that anyone in my family has ever owned. I can’t even count the number of times it left us stranded.
The Firebird, Bonneville, Grand Prix, Grand AM, G8 and Solstice and Bob Lutz himself was pretty much all Pontiac needed in their portfolio to sustain a stable platform….NO Aztek, Montana or G5 was necessary!!!!!
The Firebird, Bonneville, Grand Prix, Grand AM, G8 , Solstice and Bob Lutz himself was pretty much all Pontiac needed in their portfolio to sustain a stable platform….NO Aztek, Montana or G5 was necessary!!!!!
Fortunately, Thank God, I currently own a 1966 Bonneville convertible & A 1975 Pontiac Parisienne…Both are excellent cars !
Thanks for letting Me share. I wish that Pontiac were still in existence today, Perhaps just focusing on just certain high performance models.
We’ve all seen the aftermarket Firebird Bandit or Trans Am with the screaming eagle and hood scoop of yesteryear built from the chassis of the current Chevrolet Camaro which should tell of how there’s still an audience that misses the aggressive and sometimes garish styling of Pontiac cars.
although not a Pontiac buyer ,at the tine they were popular for their styling and performance and a good seller –and the same for Oldsmobile -nothing was a best seller as the Cutlass Supreme in the early 80’s . GM made a mistake keeping Buick which was no way the seller as Oldsmobile or Pontiac —