Lewis
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By The Associated Press – 21 hours ago
Two people familiar with the latest developments in General Motors Corp.'s restructuring plan say the automaker will announce Monday that it is eliminating its storied Pontiac brand. Historical details about Pontiac:
_ The first Pontiac car was introduced in 1926 after GM acquired the Oakland Motor Car Co. of Pontiac, Mich., in 1909. Pontiac was meant to be a low-priced companion to GM's "Oakland" line, but Pontiacs proved more popular. By 1929, half a million Pontiacs were sold.
_ Oakland ended production in 1932 but Pontiac lived on, from the early models like the Chief and Master Six Coupe to the Star Chief and Catalina.
_ Just before the 1949 models went into production, Ford Motor Co. obtained spy shots of the new Pontiacs, and both companies had created nearly identical grilles. After a phone call from Ford, Pontiac reluctantly redesigned its grille because the Ford was debuting first.
_ John Z. DeLorean joined Pontiac in 1957 to head up advanced engineering. DeLorean, division general manager Semon "Bunkie" Knudsen and chief engineer Pete Estes inspired the cars that soon would reshape the division.
_ Pontiac built a reputation for performance in the 1960s and 1970s with offerings like the GTO, one of America's first muscle cars and the inspiration for Ronny & The Daytonas' tune "G.T.O."; and the Firebird and Firebird Trans Am.
_ Efforts in recent years to revive Pontiac as a performance-oriented brand failed to work. The company had said it wanted to keep Pontiac as a niche brand with one or two models, but is buckling under government pressure to consolidate its eight brands, several of which lose money.
Two people familiar with the latest developments in General Motors Corp.'s restructuring plan say the automaker will announce Monday that it is eliminating its storied Pontiac brand. Historical details about Pontiac:
_ The first Pontiac car was introduced in 1926 after GM acquired the Oakland Motor Car Co. of Pontiac, Mich., in 1909. Pontiac was meant to be a low-priced companion to GM's "Oakland" line, but Pontiacs proved more popular. By 1929, half a million Pontiacs were sold.
_ Oakland ended production in 1932 but Pontiac lived on, from the early models like the Chief and Master Six Coupe to the Star Chief and Catalina.
_ Just before the 1949 models went into production, Ford Motor Co. obtained spy shots of the new Pontiacs, and both companies had created nearly identical grilles. After a phone call from Ford, Pontiac reluctantly redesigned its grille because the Ford was debuting first.
_ John Z. DeLorean joined Pontiac in 1957 to head up advanced engineering. DeLorean, division general manager Semon "Bunkie" Knudsen and chief engineer Pete Estes inspired the cars that soon would reshape the division.
_ Pontiac built a reputation for performance in the 1960s and 1970s with offerings like the GTO, one of America's first muscle cars and the inspiration for Ronny & The Daytonas' tune "G.T.O."; and the Firebird and Firebird Trans Am.
_ Efforts in recent years to revive Pontiac as a performance-oriented brand failed to work. The company had said it wanted to keep Pontiac as a niche brand with one or two models, but is buckling under government pressure to consolidate its eight brands, several of which lose money.