The USA is a land of legendary car brands, many of which have been around since the late 19th century. And it's a pity that now some of them become history, as happened with the brand Pontiac, which ceased to exist on November 1, 2010.
But its history began in 1893, when a certain Edward Murphy (Edward Murphy) founded a company in Pontiac, Michigan (Pontiac, Michigan) with the name Pontiac Buggy Companythat was engaged in the production of horse-drawn carriages.
In 1907, Murphy, realizing that the age of cars is coming, founds a company Oakland Motor Car Co.. Two years later, half of its shares were bought by General Motors (GM). William Durant, founder GM, knew Edward Murphy well and made this deal not at all because of the company itself, but rather wanting to get its founder. However, Murphy died unexpectedly the following year. Durant buys back the rest of the shares and Oakland completely under control GM. It was rumored that he did this on his own income in order to help the Murphy family, which was left without a breadwinner.
 |
| Pontiac Master Six Coupe (1936) |
In 1918, the management of GM passes to Alfred Sloan. The company by that time was not in the best position and it was decided to completely revise the very principle of its work. From now on, she should have had only five brands instead of seven. At the same time, three brands went under the knife, including Oakland, which should have been replaced by a new one. All this was done for a more harmonious price positioning of the produced car models. So, in 1926, cars appeared Pontiac. This brand took second place on the price scale, placed between the cheaper Chevrolet and more expensive Buick.
Success came in 1935 when the Pontiac Silver Streak appeared and became extremely popular. It was then that the principle was laid Pontiac - relatively affordable cars with a very powerful engine and sporty character. This defines success Pontiac at the youth. These cars (most of them coupes) are becoming not just popular, but legendary.
 |
| Pontiac GTO 400 (1967) |
Over the years of the brand's existence, many models of various designs and types have been released. Their popularity was quite high. Many of them become "movie stars". The model deserves special mention. firebird, which was produced by the concern from 1967 to 2002.
However, serious problems GM began to experience by the end of the 20th century could not but affect Pontiac. Did not help the brand and a few fairly high-profile scandals related to product quality. None of the measures taken helped, and it was decided to abandon the brand altogether. Pontiac just sacrificed for salvation General Motors. We can say that with the departure of this brand, another history of the American automotive industry was turned upside down.
