Pontiac was a famous member of the General Motors clan until it was dispatched to the Island of Misfit Car Brands in 2010.
Pontiac debuted in 1926 and subsequently produced some very cool models over the ensuing 84 years before the General took it to the train station.
Jim Sutherland
MyStarCollectorCar would like to offer our five best reasons to love a Pontiac. We realize loyal Poncho fans will have their own reasons and we respect their choices, but here are our Top Five reasons for Pontiac love.
Pontiac was a tweener car in the sense it was more than a Chevy and less than a Buick in the General Motors food chain. We give the luxury car nod to Buick over Pontiac because the brand was a higher end choice for GM customers in our opinion.
However, the extra creature comforts in a Pontiac gave the brand an edge over the Chevy models. Pontiacs cost more on average than Chevys during the post-war years because Ponchos typically offered more luxury and chrome than a similar Chevy model.
Speaking of shiny stuff, the famous Pontiac waterfall chrome on the hoods and trunks of its post-war models is our first choice for a solid reason to own a Poncho because it was such a striking design feature on their 1930s-50s era vehicles.
Our second reason to own a Pontiac was its designers’ decision to go all-in on chrome for its high-end models in 1959. Any ’59 Pontiac in full battle bling is still an amazing example of how generous brightwork on a car made it look like a terrestrial-bound rocket ship when it hit the GM showrooms that year.
MyStarCollectorCar’s third reason to own a Pontiac is its unique Canadian history. The United States and Canada engaged in an automotive trade war until their 1965 Auto Pact agreement ended a punishing volley of tariffs lobbed by both countries, a conflict that essentially nuked cross-border auto sales and ended with their ’65 peace treaty.
Consequently, Canadian Pontiacs were very different from American Pontiacs and shared much of their lineage with Chevy models in Canada. The Canadian Pontiacs’ shared heritage with Chevy included frames and powertrains that had strong Bowtie roots.
For the record, the Canuck Ponchos still create controversy at American Pontiac meets to this very day. The fistfights usually begin when an American Pontiac owner calls a Canadian Pontiac owner’s car a Chevy in drag.
The fourth reason to own a Pontiac is simple: Firebird.
The Pontiac pony car may have been born in the shadow of its Camaro stablemate, but it forged its own identity as a rock star by the 1970s when the Pontiac Trans Am models pushed their way to the front of the herd in our opinion here at MyStarCollectorCar.
The Pontiac Trans Am may have lost horses along the way in the 1970s, but few could argue with the fact a TA looked like a stallion and resisted the state-mandated gelding process for as long as possible during the Me Decade.
The fifth and final reason for Pontiac love may arguably be the best reason, namely the Pontiac GTO. The car was nicknamed “Goat”–and one would be able to add the “Greatest of All Time” Poncho acronym in our opinion here at MyStarCollectorCar.
The Pontiac GTO was a legend when it debuted in 1964 and built upon that legacy for many years after its debut. The GTO was a decorated soldier in the 1960s muscle car wars and earned its way to our list of iconic Pontiacs through the ages.
Pontiacs may be long gone from the sales floor at GM dealerships, but the iconic car brand will never be gone from the hearts and minds of its many admirers.
Jim Sutherland
BY: Jim Sutherland
Jim Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer whose work has been published by many major print and online publications. The list includes Calgary Herald, The Truth About Cars, Red Deer Advocate, RPM Magazine, Edmonton Journal, Montreal Gazette, Windsor Star, Vancouver Province, and Post Media Wheels Section.
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