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Pontiac

The Pontiac brand was introduced in in 1926 by General Motors in 1926 as a ‘companion’ marque and became the only marque to outlive its parent company.

The brands popularity climbed steadily into the 1940s as a car best suited to middle aged, middle income people, until it hit its first major problem in the middle of the decade. The company had developed an image of ‘an older person’s car’ which was leaving a big gap in their potential market which was the younger buyer. By the end of the decade Pontiac leaders had tackled the problem by introducing image changing cars and modernizing the engines.

The first of these changes was the introduction of the Pontiac Chieftain line, was introduced to replace the Torpedo. The introduction of models continued throughout the 50s with the Starchief and an update to the windscreen in the year before, replacing the older two-panes with one continuous window. Another change came when a powerful V8 engine replaced the outdated V6 engine that was the standard engine in their cars. This extra power helped to shake the company’s image of middle aged buyers.

When the 60s were around the corner, a new era rolled in, performance muscle cars. Pontiac answered the call by producing the 173 horsepower overhead valve V8 to be fitted in such cars like the stunning Bonneville which was the subject of the company image change of the 50s by removing the famous silver streaks from down the center of the hood. This change proved successful and brought the company quite steadily in the 60s. Here, once again, changes were made. The split grille made a come back, as well as the introduction of new bodies. A new chassis continued with the performance trend in mind by improving stability and crucially, reducing weight. The all new tempest which you can find to buy online here, was introduced and helped in winning the ‘Car of the Year Award’ from Motor Trend. Another car to go under the knife was the GT. In 1968 a RAM air engine was introduced to the market which used cold air into the carburetor to increase performance.

The 70s saw the introduction in emissions’ restrictions and power regulations due to insurance and TAX. This forced the company the let the V6 make a comeback in modern form and reduce performance in general. To combat this loss, the company began to focus on luxury on the interiors because people began spending more and more time in their cars during the daily commute. Such cars to take hold of this new step were the Astre and the Phoenix. Padded vinyl roofs became an option on basically every model along with the slow introduction of front wheel drive.

Finally the 1980s began to reintroduce performance into the car world. The firebird received the first of the company main redesigns. Another was the introduction of the classic Trans AM. With its sleek aerodynamic features, this car became an instant success and is well worth a look. Next came the Fiero, a two seat mid-engine coupe that caused a storm among its competitors at the time of its launch. By the end of the decade the company had rightfully earned its place as America’s third domestic car maker and is still producing cars.