Pontiac Cars Was GM Muscle?

Pontiac Cars sales peaked in 1973, at 920,000 units. Firebird provided the brand's "excitement" throughout the 1970s, starring in the Burt Reynolds film "Smoky and the Bandit," and prompting consumers across the country to make a run for black-and-gold Trans-Ams.

1982 unveiled the Fiero, a high-tech, mid-engined race design that was approved over bitter protests from Corvette executives worried about their "sports car" position.

The Fiero's innovative space-frame chassis used plastic bodywork and clip on body panels. The factory was called a show place of new production methods. Regular tours were always fully booked.

Pontiac lasted just one year longer than Oldsmobile's 20th century long run. Similar in so many respects, Oldsmobile never had the emotional connection with enthusiasts that Pontiac did. The Chief had 278,000 sales its last year and was purchased by the youngest average age of any GM brand.

Pontiac's identity as a performance brand dates back to the late 1950s and early 1960s. The cars were designed with wider bodies and the wheels pushed out to match. "Wide-track" design became a selling point, advertised as giving Pontiacs a distinct cornering advantage over other cars.

But the public acceptance of Pontiac as a performance brand was solidified in 1964 with the creation of the Pontiac Tempest LeMans Gran Turismo Omologato. Quickly shortened, the GTO is often credited with creating a new class of American car, the Muscle Car.

Pontiac was originally a low-cost alternative in GM's brand hierarchy, and a middle-class mainstay. However, Pontiac's "muscle cars" of the '60s and '70s include some of our finest American classics. There was nothing more powerfully refined, on the streets, than the GTO.

The 1970s were cataclysmic for American automakers as oil cartels formed, raised gasoline prices and sent the consuming public flooding Japan and other Asian countries for smaller, cheaper more fuel efficient autos. Any plan of returning Pontiac to the thundering horsepower of the '70s ended as gas prices continued always upward and Congress' every stricter fuel economy rules.

The golden age of muscle cars was over as GM shifted focus to an array of econo-cars which all failed to connect with consumers. Well, if you're going to put someone in a beer can for 30k, the car should have an interesting design at least. Pontiac's Swan Song earned the distinction of being ranked one of the ugliest designs ever with the pyramidal angled Aztek crossover vehicle.

So, now another farewell, to another true American original. Will Ford be the last American car company standing?

About the Author

Pontiac was GM muscle when GM had muscle. Pontiac is just the latest victim of the Federally designed restructuring of the World's once largest company. Join us for what follows Pontiac Cars.