Here is my little salute to the Pontiac Muscle Cars and a bit of history behind Pontiac Motors..

photo credit: mctheriot

Many people are aware of the many car manufacturers today, however, most do not know about the history behind a car manufacturer. With the sad recent news that General Motors has officially ended the Pontiac brand, it certainly seems in order to look at the Pontiac Motors History and how this storied brand began, survived, prospered, and became a vital piece of American history right up until the very end.

photo credit: robertstinnett

Pontiac Motors History starts back in 1926 with the introduction of the Pontiac 1926 “6.” At the time, Pontiac was a model of vehicle under the Oakland Motor Car Company. However, this particular vehicle far outsold any other model Oakland had and because of the Pontiacs popularity, cars that were once referred to as Oakland’s were now being referred to as Pontiacs. In 1931, General Motors, parent company of Oakland officially dissolved the Oakland Motor Car Company and the Pontiac brand was born.

Pontiacs throughout the years has always been known as a steady car manufacturer. Pontiacs were good, solid cars, and while other companies pushed the limits of style and luxury, Pontiac continued to make stylish but solid vehicles. Vehicles of note during the early years were the Pontiac 8, the Torpedo, and the vaunted Pontiac Bonneville. However, as the 1960s approached, Pontiac was about to turn the car industry on its head.

photo credit: daveoflogic

Perhaps two of the most celebrated vehicles in Pontiac Motors History came from the 1960’s, the Pontiac GTO and the Firebird. Each vehicle was a response to the muscle car trend that was all the rage in the 1960’s and the early 1970’s. The GTO was a muscle car that began as an economy car known as a Tempest. Over the years, the performance packages became more significant and the Tempest soon became the GTO. The Firebird was first introduced in 1968 as an answer to Chevy’s Camero. While Camaro and Firebird’s popularity grew, the Camero, due to the gas crunch, disappeared for a few years. However not only did Pontiac continue making Firebirds but the sales of their performance minded Firebird Trans Am sold in record numbers during those difficult economic times.

Pontiac Motors History shows that this automaker was a rock solid manufacturer of quality vehicles, and in some areas, like muscle cars, Pontiac not only set the standard, but also surpassed the bar they themselves had raised