In 1952, General Motors‘ Pontiac division released a series of training videos for its retail salespersons called Destination: Dotted Line, which provided viewers with a brief background of the automaker and gave them the tools necessary to be a successful car salesman.
A YouTube history channel recently uploaded Destination: Dotted Line to the internet, allowing us to re-live a 1950s Pontiac dealer training session from the comfort of our homes or offices.
The video starts off by delving into the history of Pontiac and showing off its Michigan-based assembly plant. It then goes on to emphasize the human element of the brand, explaining how the efforts of all its employees help to build “quality, integrity, and character into Pontiac cars.”
The video also describes its salesman as so-called “Men of Pontiac”, calling them the “final important link between Pontiac and the public it serves.” It goes onto profile these Men of Pontiac, describing them as hard-working, honest, stand-up individuals that want to help advance the company. We’re not sure how accurate of a description that is about most car salesmen, but we’ll forgive the in-house training video for being a bit optimistic.
The video also outlines the “Pontiac Sales Album” which is a bit like a glorified brochure. In addition to showing customers the various models, trim levels and optional equipment, it also displayed the brand’s lower depreciation compared to the competition. The album was intended to be pulled out during the sales process to answer questions or nullify any concerns potential customers may have regarding Pontiac’s products.
Check out this black and white training film in the video embedded below and remember, keep your windshield clean!
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Comments
Is the link to the Pontiac film really there?
After watching this video, I was able to sell 4 Pontiacs, and the back half
of a ’97 Corvette since just last night! Thanks, Pontiac!
Where is Pontiac now? Just a word in GM’s vocabulary.
I still have several early 1937-38 film strips and Pontiac stuff