On This Day

Sunday 3rd January 1926

94 years ago

General Motors introduced the Pontiac brand name. The new Pontiac line was the descendant of the Oakland Motor Car Company, acquired by General Motors in 1909. Production ended in 2009, although Pontiac remains a registered and active trademark of GM. The Pontiac cars overtook its Oakland parent in popularity and supplanted the Oakland brand entirely by 1933. Pontiac became a companion make for Chevrolet. Pontiac was sold in the United States, Canada, and Mexico by GM. Pontiac was advertised as the performance division of General Motors for many years, while specialising in mainstream vehicles. Pontiac was relatively more popular in Canada, where for much of its history it was marketed as a low-priced vehicle. In early-2009, amid financial problems and restructuring efforts, GM announced it would discontinue manufacturing and marketing vehicles under the Pontiac brand by the end of 2010 and focus on four core brands in North America: Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac, and GMC. The last Pontiac badged cars were built in December 2009, with one final vehicle built in January, 2010. Franchise agreements for Pontiac dealers expired October 31, 2010.