Pontiac is no longer and has ceased being

Pontiac has formally stopped to exist, after being planned for shut down last year. The brand was jettisoned along with other under-performing brands under the GM banner. Pontiac was cut, along with Saturn and Hummer, among others. The brand was launched before the Good Depression. The thing Pontiac was known for was offering race quality speed at very competing prices.

Pontiac is no more

Pontiac had been just one of the brands that General Motors got rid of during its bankruptcy. The brand had been suffering as of 2008, and GM decided to allow Pontiac to pass away. As of Sun, Pontiac no longer exists as a corporate entity, according to USA Today. Brand enthusiasts long lamented what they considered to be a severe mishandling of the brand by General Motors, which was thought to simply field Chevrolet and Buick models in Pontiac trim. There were a lot of Pontiac muscle cars from the 1950s to the 1980s. Pontiac was known for this horsepower.

A storied history

Pontiac was launched in 1926 as a budget brand for working class families. General Motors had to rethink the car as the sales in the 1950s were really decreasing. Racing cars tended to be Pontiac cars for a while there. Then, the Detroit muscle car came out at the Pontiac GTO in 1965. "Gran Turismo Omolagato" is what GTO stands for. It was made following the inspiration from Italian sport tour cars. A small team, headed by John DeLorean, created the car, built it on the Tempest frame and put a powerful 389-cubic-inch engine under the hood. The car became extremely popular. This is why, in 1968, 17 percent of GM sales originated from this car. Other successes, like the powerful Pontiac Trans Am of the Firebird line followed, but the brand was shifted from its horsepower focus by the 1980s.

It was no longer worth it

Pontiac changed to be not as much about performance from the 1980s to the 2000s. This was shown in the sales. There were less than 275,000 sold each year beginning in 2008. The legend of Pontiac will be leaving us now which can be a really sad thing.

Citations

USA Today

usatoday.com/money/autos/2010-11-01-pontiac-vanishes_N.htm