Pontiac (make of car)
Pontiac
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legal form | Division / brand |
founding | 1899 |
resolution | 2010 |
Reason for dissolution | Restructuring |
Seat |
Detroit , Michigan , United States![]() |
Branch | Automobiles |
Website | www.pontiac.com |
Pontiac was a brand of the US automobile company General Motors . Traditionally, sporty vehicles in the medium price segment were manufactured under this name, which were intended primarily to appeal to younger customers. After the bankruptcy of General Motors in 2009 and the associated restructuring of the Group's model range, the traditional “Pontiac” brand was given up at the end of 2010.
history
The name "Pontiac" was first used by the Pontiac Spring & Wagon Works , which had existed since 1906 . This name goes back to Chief Pontiac , a chief of the Ottawa Indians who was a leader in the fight against the British colonial rule of the time in the 18th century. The 1907 Oakland Motor Company and the Pontiac Spring & Wagon Works Company merged to form the Oakland Motor Car Company in November 1908 . General Motors acquired half of the company's shares in January 1909 and then acquired the remainder in the summer, following the death of Edward P. Murphy, founder of Oakland. The vehicles were manufactured between 1908 and 1926 under the Oakland brand. The first Pontiac brand vehicle was released by General Motors in 1926 as a cheaper variant of the Oakland Motor Car. Alongside LaSalle , Marquette and Viking, Pontiac was one of four new GM brands designed to fill gaps in the model range. The other brands were abandoned, while Pontiac completely replaced the Oakland brand from 1931.
For the next 25 years, Pontiac represented the middle class in the General Motors group. This placed Pontiac above Chevrolet , where the inexpensive entry-level models were offered, but below the upscale brands Oldsmobile , Buick and Cadillac . In the mid-1950s, Pontiac came under pressure when Chevrolet offered more luxurious cars and a V8 engine for the first time. It was not possible to move upwards, as the corporate brands Oldsmobile and Buick were already there.
Pontiac was then positioned as the sports brand of General Motors. The models Bonneville (1957), LeMans (1961), Grand Prix (1962), GTO (1964) and Firebird (1967) already showed the sporty claim by their name.
This concept was very successful in the 1960s. The GTO in particular became a real trendsetter. In the 1970s, the general conditions deteriorated. Stricter emissions regulations led to a decline in engine performance, which was a particular hit on Pontiac as a sporty brand. The 1973/74 oil crisis led to a collapse in demand for high-displacement cars. Pontiac responded with the introduction of smaller models: Ventura 1971, Astre 1974, finally the T1000 1981, the smallest Pontiac that had been built up to that point. With these cars the brand identity was lost because they were all only slightly modified Chevrolet models. The T1000 was even based on the German Opel Kadett City .
In the 1980s and 1990s, Pontiac did not succeed in building on the success of the 1960s, despite various attempts. The strict rationalization in the General Motors group meant that the model range of all group brands was strongly standardized. Most Pontiac models of this era were just equipment variants of models that could be bought in a very similar form as Chevrolet, Oldsmobile or Buick. One of the few exceptions was the mid-engined sports car Pontiac Fiero (1983 to 1988), but this suffered from the unsuitable four-cylinder engine for a sports car and was not a success.
As part of its restructuring, GM as the parent company ceased production of vehicles of the Pontiac brand at the end of 2009 and announced the complete closure of the “Pontiac” brand by the end of 2010; GM will now concentrate on its core brands GMC , Buick , Cadillac and Chevrolet . On November 25, 2009, a white Pontiac G6 was made as the last model in the USA , which went into regular trade; only the production of the Pontiac G3 in South Korea continued until the end of 2009.
Models
Timeline
construction time | model series | annotation | image |
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Small car |
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1974-1977 | Pontiac Astre | First small model from Pontiac based on the Chevrolet Vega . |
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1981-1987 | Pontiac T1000 | Based on the Chevrolet Chevette or Opel Kadett C . |
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1984-1991, 1994-2000 | Pontiac Firefly | Modification of the Suzuki Swift . |
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1988-1993 | Pontiac LeMans | Revised Opel Kadett E . |
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2002-2008 | Pontiac Wave | Final score on the T200 and T250 platforms , see Daewoo Kalos and Chevrolet Aveo . |
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2009 | Pontiac G3 | Based on the Chevrolet Aveo by GM Daewoo . |
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Compact class |
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1979-1984 | Pontiac Phoenix | Sister model of the Chevrolet Citation . |
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1981-1994 |
Pontiac J2000 from 1985 Pontiac Sunbird |
Sister model of the Chevrolet Cavalier , like this based on the Opel Ascona C emerged. |
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1984-1988 | Pontiac sunburst | The Sunburst was derived from the Isuzu Gemini and later also offered as Geo Spectrum. |
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1995-2005 | Pontiac Sunfire | The Sunfire replaced the Sunbird from 1995. Body versions: notchback, coupe and convertible. |
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2002-2009 | Pontiac vibe | A compact crossover model. |
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2004-2009 | Pontiac G5 | In Canada the G5 was called the Pontiac Pursuit and in Mexico the Pontiac G4 . He was the successor to the Sunfire. However, no open variant was offered by the G5. |
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Middle class |
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1960-1970 | Pontiac Tempest | For the first time in a long time, a slightly smaller car was offered from 1960. Initially with a 3.2 liter four-cylinder engine, later also with 6 and 8 cylinders. |
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1961-1981 | Pontiac LeMans | Initially, the LeMans was the luxury version of the Tempest. After this model was discontinued in 1970, the entire series bore this name. |
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1962-2008 | Pontiac Grand Prix | It was introduced in 1962 as a so-called “personal luxury car” and was only available as a coupé. In 1988 the fifth generation came on the market, with which the Grand Prix is assigned to the middle class. In addition, a four-door notchback sedan was added as an additional body. |
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1973-2004 | Pontiac Grand Am | The first two model generations were sporty versions of the mid-range Le Mans model at the time. In contrast, the vehicles offered from 1985 to 2004 (according to American standards) belonged to the lower middle class, which functioned as the successor to the Phoenix. |
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1975-1980 | Pontiac Sunbird | The first Sunbird was a parallel model to the Chevrolet Monza, from which it only differed in details, and the Buick Skyhawk and the Oldsmobile Starfire were identical. All models mentioned were based on the General Motors H platform. |
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1981-1990 | Pontiac 6000 | Successor to the LeMan, which was converted to front-wheel drive. In addition to the coupé, there was also a sedan and a station wagon. Its sister model was the Chevrolet Celebrity . |
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2004-2009 | Pontiac G6 | The G6 was a mid-range car that was introduced to the North American auto market in the fall of 2004. It replaced the Grand Am and, in addition to the sedan and coupé, was even available as a convertible. In November 2009, the entire production of the Pontiac brand with a G6 was ended after 103 years. |
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Full size |
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1935-1951 | Pontiac Silver Streak |
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1949-1958 | Pontiac Chieftain |
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1953-1965 | Pontiac Star Chief |
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1955-1970 | Pontiac Executive | ||
1956-1958 | Pontiac Super Chief |
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1957-2005 | Pontiac Bonneville | The Bonneville was a model built for almost 50 years. Bonneville specifically referred to a high-performance convertible produced in small numbers (1957), a series of full-size models from Pontiac, which in most years marked the top of the model range (1958 to 1981) and a smaller mid-range series with rear-wheel drive as the successor to the Pontiac Le Mans (1981 to 1986) and a large sedan with front-wheel drive (1987 to 2005). |
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1958-1981 | Pontiac Catalina | The Catalina was Pontiac's classic large car for over two decades. |
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1959-1977 | Pontiac Ventura | ||
1970-1988 | Pontiac Grand Safari | large luxurious station wagon |
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1971-1975 | Pontiac Grand Ville | Top model of the full-size series, arranged above the Bonneville. Released in 1976 in favor of the Bonneville Brougham. |
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1982-1986 | Pontiac Parisienne | Originally, the Parisienne was a Pontiac model that was sold exclusively in Canada. Since the late 1950s, Pontiac has not marketed the models offered in the USA there, but vehicles that combined Chevrolet technology and Pontiac bodies, whereby the technical relationship between the full-size cars of the two brands has always been close. These hybrid models usually also had their own names, for example Pontiac Laurentian (the Canadian counterpart to the Catalina) or Pontiac Parisienne (counterpart to the Bonneville). |
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1986-1989 | Pontiac Safari | In 1986 Pontiac took the large, rear-wheel drive models of the Parisienne series out of the range, but continued to offer the station wagon under the name Safari. The Safari was the parallel model of the Chevrolet Caprice Kombi, Buick Electra Estate Wagon and Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser. The station wagon was available in a single model version with a five-liter V8 and a four-speed automatic transmission until the summer of 1989. In three years, 23,478 units were produced in the Canadian plant in Oshawa. |
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2007-2009 | Pontiac G8 | Last upper-class model from Pontiac, of which a station wagon and even a sporty truck were actually planned. Due to the financial crisis, this model, which is otherwise reminiscent of old virtues, came too late and had to be discontinued after almost two years. |
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Sport utility vehicle |
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2001-2005 | Pontiac Aztek | An unusually designed SUV was to establish Pontiac in this class as well. However, this did not succeed, which means that production of the Aztek was phased out in 2005. |
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2005-2009 | Pontiac Torrent | Successor of the Aztec. The torrent was powered by a 3.4-liter 3400 Vortec V6 engine, which is also used in the Chevrolet Equinox. The engine has four valves per cylinder, has an output of 138 kW (188 hp) and is made entirely of aluminum. The Torrent was optionally available with all-wheel drive, but the standard equipment was front-wheel drive. |
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Vans |
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1990-1999 | Pontiac Trans Sport | The Pontiac Trans Sport and its sister models Chevrolet Lumina APV and Oldsmobile Silhouette were a trio of vans from the US automobile company General Motors, which came on the market in 1990. In Europe too, attempts were made to be successful, but this failed due to poor body rigidity and quality problems. |
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1999-2008 | Pontiac Montana | Successor to the Trans Sport. Montana initially called an option package with a special fairing and wheel equipment. It was not until the generation introduced in 2005 that it was a completely new vehicle. |
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Sports car |
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1964-1974 | Pontiac GTO | A muscle car and therefore also a trendsetter. From 1964 to 1971 the GTO was a separate model series derived from Le Mans . It was only available as a two-door hardtop, cabriolet (convertible) and pillared coupé (with B-pillar) and large-volume V8 engines. 1964, 1972 and 1973 an equipment variant of the Le Mans (Tempest, A platform) and 1974 sports version of the Pontiac Ventura (X platform). |
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1967-2002 | Pontiac Firebird | The Firebird was a successful sports car for over 30 years, offered as a coupé and convertible and represented the sister model of the Chevrolet Camaro (F platform). Between 1982 and 1986, the third generation (see photo) played a prime role as a talking car called KITT in the television series Knight Rider . In August 2002 production of the Firebird was discontinued due to the ever-decreasing sales figures. |
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1983-1988 | Pontiac Fiero | A mid-engine sports car that is small by American standards . The models built include the 2M4 (stands for 2 seats, mid-engine, 4 cylinders), 2M6, SE, GT, Formula. There was a notchback and a hatchback variant, the latter not being introduced until 1986. All models had pop-up headlights. |
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2003-2006 | Pontiac GTO (2003) | The new GTO was built in Australia and is a sister model of the Holden Monaro . The reinterpretation of the former classic was unable to build on old successes. |
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2005-2009 | Pontiac Solstice | A relatively small sports car with a front engine. The sister models were the Saturn Sky and the Opel GT . In contrast to these, there was also a coupé of the Solstice, but it was only built for half a year. |
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Individual evidence
- ↑ Autogazette of April 27, 2009 ( Memento of the original of May 5, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Cuts at General Motors: Will the Opel GT go under with Pontiac? . RP ONLINE. April 28, 2009. Accessed on January 23, 2010. ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://www.detnews.com/article/20091126/AUTO01/911260411/Pontiac-reaches-end-of-the-line
Web links
- Pontiac Official Website
- Pontiac Power - Swiss fan website