By J. Smith

04.25.2009

Since this story was posted, GM has sent us a link to a press conference scheduled for 9 AM EDT Monday, April 27. The link to live video of the press conference is available here starting at 9.

Pontiac, which began life as an offshoot of General Motors’ long-defunct Oakland line of cars, looks to be headed for a visit with fellow Detroiter Jack Kevorkian. According to as-yet unconfirmed reports from CNN. Although still billed as the “excitement” division of GM, recent decades have seen a slew of not-so-exciting products, many that were thinly veiled knock-offs of other GM offerings, from the Chevette-based T1000 to the Pontiac G3 Aveo clone, and others which were bizarrely undesirable like the Aztek.

Although an of-shoot of Oakland, Pontiac soon surpassed its parent, which was axed in the midst of the Great Depression. Pontiac now seems poised to become a victim of the Great Recession, although years of confusion and neglect have taken it to this point. Alfred Sloan’s five division structure for GM had Pontiac slated above Chevrolet and below Oldsmobile (RIP, 2004). For the decades following its birth, it was the Buick of its day, appealing to elderly and conservative buyers.

Under Bunkie Knudsen and John Z. DeLorean, Pontiac introduced high-performance “wide track” models beginning in the mid-to-late 1950s, shedding its geriatric image with models like the tri-power 1958 Bonneville, which sported three two-barrel carbs. It captured the hearts of baby boomers with what many consider to be he first true muscle car, the 1964 GTO, with “three deuces and a four speed, and a 389,” as phrased by Ronnie and the Daytonas. On the strength of attractive Coke-bottle styling and a performance image, it catapulted past Plymouth (RIP, 2001) to take third position in the US market, behind only Chevrolet and Ford. Continue Reading →