Pontiac: Encyclopedia II - Pontiac - Notables

Pontiac - Notables

Since 1957 with the introduction of the Bonneville, Pontiac has been best known for its performance vehicles. A little flashier and faster than a Chevrolet, but cheaper than an equivalent Oldsmobile or Buick - that has been their mission.

The Pontiac GTO was introduced in 1964 by Pontiac's John DeLorean as an option package on the LeMans/Tempest (GM A-body) car, most famously the 389 cubic inch V-8, a full-sized engine in a compact car. In doing so launched the era of the muscle car. Throughout the 1960s, GTOs were well known for their combination of stunning looks and incredible performance.

The Pontiac Firebird, introduced in 1967, was an F-body car that closely mirrored the styling and motor offerings of the LeMans/Tempest cars but in a smaller, sportier platform - and usually with a smaller engine. This body style and its underlying Chevrolet Nova chassis was shared with the Camaro, but the Firebird's engines and trim were totally different. As upscale competition for sporty cars like the Mercury Cougar or the Dodge Challenger, the Firebird was perfectly positioned. But as time went on, the Firebird started to offer the performance of the Camaro while the average American buyer was moving away from big rear wheel drive V8-powered cars and towards smaller, front wheel drive cars. But GM's indifferent approach to updating the cars would sound the death knell. Then the Firebird began to be seen as little more than an expensive Camaro - and when sales of the F-body twins began to falter, it didn't take long for GM to pull the plug. They did so in 2002, after 35 years of continuous production.

Even more famous was the limited-edition Firebird Trans Am, which was first offered in 1969 and continued through the end of the Firebird in 2002. Early on, the Trans Am was most notable for having the very same 400 in³ V8 engine as its big GTO counterpart, but in a smaller body. This pattern continued through the late 1970s, after which the Trans Am became more of a luxury model than a real performance machine.

Just about the time that these muscle cars were getting big attention, emissions regulations and oil shortages quickly ground them to a halt. While production first started in the late 1950s, it did not hit its stride until the late 1960s. By 1972, few were left on the market. Most telling was the fate of the GTO - originally conceived as a powerful mid-size coupe, by 1974 the GTO option was offered only on the compact Ventura, a rebadged Chevrolet Nova. And then, it too was gone.

From the late-1970's on to the late-1980's, General Motors was downsizing its North American operations and had little funds to spend on independent brand-specific performance platforms. That was until the Pontiac Fiero was introduced in 1983 as a 1984 model. Drawing heavily from GM's parts bin, the Fiero was initially billed as a commuter car. While it was not performance oriented in its initial release, its final versions with improved suspension geometry and available 2.8L V6 made the Fiero a potent mid-engined sports car. With the demise of the Fiero in 1988, Pontiac only offered badge engineered products from other GM divisions.

But the performance pulse within Pontiac was not dead. In 2001, Bob Lutz, the former chairman of Chrysler Corporation was hired to help turn GM around. One of his first ideas was to bring back the GTO in order to revive Pontiac's performance heritage in light of the Firebird's demise. But since Pontiac, or any other GM division didn't offer a suitable platform, Lutz decided to look elsewhere, and found what he was looking for in Australia.

Beginning late 2004, GM's Holden division produced a version of their Monaro coupe with Pontiac trim and all the attitude of the original 1960s editions. Producing 400 hp from a thoroughly modern V8 engine, and with a world-class chassis, the new GTO is at least as good as its predecessors. But its lackluster styling turned off many buyers and forced GM to add hood scoops and other styling touches in order to make the GTO look like the originals.

In the summer of 2005, the Pontiac Solstice sports roadster arrived with GM's Ecotec four-cylinder engine. Pontiac also announced that they were going to put a V8 under the hood of the Grand Prix. Called the Grand Prix GXP, it would give the Grand Prix its first V8 since 1987.

A majority of Pontiac dealerships also sell GMC trucks - the trade name used by GM executives is the Pontiac/GMC division.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Notables", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki