The Death of Pontiac

[Bevo Incognito]

Call me an old, schmaltzy sentimentalist, but it's really a bitter pill to watch the old girl go...

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[CanaTigers]

I was really expecting them to ax Buick. I thought Pontiac actually had a few cars that were selling but rarely see Buicks on the road.

 

[PhantomHorn]

good riddence. GM has too many brands anyway. Its time to be competitive and cut out the junk.

 

[PhantomHorn]

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[Clarence Iba]

 

[Hornius Emeritus]

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[DigglerontheHoof]

I had a 78 T/A 6.6 in high school until it was totaled from behind by a car full of singing cheerleaders; it's still one of my favorite cars, evar.

 

[accuratehorn]

Part of our culture will die when the marque is gone:

Little GTO, you're really lookin' fine
Three deuces and a four-speed and a 389
Listen to her tachin' up now, listen to her why-ee-eye-ine
C'mon and turn it on, wind it up, blow it out GTO

Wa-wa, (mixed with "Yeah, yeah, little GTO") wa, wa, wa, wa, wa, wa
(mixed with "Yeah, yeah, little GTO")
Wa-wa, (mixed with "Yeah, yeah, little GTO") wa, wa, wa, wa, wa, wa
(mixed with "Yeah, yeah, little GTO")
Wa-wa (mixed with "Ahhh, little GTO") wa, wa, wa, wa, wa, wa

You oughta see her on a road course or a quarter mile
This little modified Pon-Pon has got plenty of style
She beats the gassers and the rail jobs, really drives 'em why-ee-eye-ild
C'mon and turn it on, wind it up, blow it out GTO

Wa-wa, (mixed with "Yeah, yeah, little GTO") wa, wa, wa, wa, wa, wa
(mixed with "Yeah, yeah, little GTO")
Wa-wa, (mixed with "Yeah, yeah, little GTO") wa, wa, wa, wa, wa, wa
(mixed with "Yeah, yeah, little GTO")
Wa-wa (mixed with "Ahhh, little GTO") wa, wa, wa, wa, wa, wa

Gonna save all my money (turnin' it on, blowin' it out) and buy a GTO (turnin' it on,
blowin' it out)
Get a helmet and a roll bar (turnin' it on, blowin' it out) and I'll be ready to go
(turnin' it on, blowin' it out)
Take it out to Pomona (turnin' it on, blowin' it out) and let 'em know (turnin' it on,
blowin' it out), yeah, yeah
That I'm the coolest thing around
Little buddy, gonna shut you down
When I turn it on, wind it up, blow it out GTO

Wa-wa, (mixed with "Yeah, yeah, little GTO") wa, wa, wa, wa, wa, wa
(mixed with "Yeah, yeah, little GTO")
Wa-wa, (mixed with "Yeah, yeah, little GTO") wa, wa, wa, wa, wa, wa
(mixed with "Yeah, yeah, little GTO")
Wa-wa (mixed with "Ahhh, little GTO") wa, wa, wa, wa, wa, wa

 

[utmck]

2x Puddle Cruiser,

Why do we (USA) need so many different car companies anyway. There are other divisions that don't bring anything new/different to the party like GMC, Buick, Lincoln to name a few. If it wasn't for the Navigator how many Lincoln's would be sold? How easy would it be for Ford to make a sexier Expedition to take the place of the Navigator.

As far as GTO/Trans AM those cars will always have their place in car history.

 

[NEWDOC2002]

Pontiac has a couple of niche cars and good reviews on the G8 (imported Holden) but they are irrelavent and their plasticky gimmick cars from chevy parts bins aren't marketable. Take the G8, call it a Chevy Impala and discontinue the brand. Too bad.

 

[TXSNOS]

My first car was a 1960 Pontiac Bonneville that my father bought for me for $65.00. He did some minor repair work and it ran like a charm. It looked like this but with a white top.

Interesting link with more pictures of 1960 Bonneville.

 

[GHoward]

I almost bought a Pontiac Vibe, because it's just a repackaged Toyota Matrix.

 

[CTGA_Horn]

My first car was a Pontiac

Engraving of the Death of Pontiac

 

[Giovanni Jones]

After I wrecked my Dad's (old) '68 Buick LeSabre, he got even with me by replacing it with a used 1973 Pontiac Catalina (which of course became my "college car"). It closely resembled this '72 Catalina (below), and was the heaviest, least fuel efficient vehicle I have ever driven. My friends called it the Iron Albatross.

A humongous brick with wheels, and 400 cubic inch V8.
20 mpg on the highway, max. (At 50-55 mph, and with a 30 mph tailwind.)
I drove it to 105,000 miles, by which time it was seriously falling apart and getting about 15 mpg.

 

[TXSNOS]

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[HornHuskerDad]

At least I'll still have the pictures of my 1970 GTO - the first car my wife and I bought together. It was really a girl's GTO - automatic transmission, power steering and brakes. But it would get up and go. I often suspected (but never tried it) that with the automatic and controlled wheelspin, the GTO would have beaten my 427 Vette off the line for a half-block or so.

HHD

 

[Apostle7550]

I've been working on my buddy's near flawless 1970 GTO. That car is amazing. I took my 5 year old son for drive on Sunday. After 30 minutes, he looks at me and says, "Daddy, why do all of those guys keep giving us thumbs up." In a few years, he'll get it.

 

[TxStHorn]

My first car was a 1969 Pontiac LeMans convertible.

Same body style as the GTO, with a big block.

25 years later, when I dream at night and I am driving, it is still almost always in that car.

Even the attempt to bring back the GTO a year or two ago wan't enough, I guess.

I'll miss them. I'm sentimental, too.

 

[HornBud]

They brought this to market, after hundreds of millions in r&d and market testing, their brain trust came up with this:

I mean, really? How did this get rolling? Did someone make a bet about green-lighting the ugliest car ever?

 

[Rip76]

I've always loved Pontiac.
1965 to 1977 were definitely their best years.

When I was little, my dad had a 1970 Firebird just like this one.

I remember exactly what the the dash and instrument panel looked like. It was automatic and it had the Pontiac bird in the middle of the shifter.

I've always wanted a 1970 GTO. "Judge" or not, I don't care.

Some good Pontiac photos.

Some good Pontiac commercials...

"The Humbler"
The Link

"The Great One"
The Link

Everyone here knows I tend to live in the past a bit, and this really saddens me.

 

[TxStHorn]

Of course, for many, the epitomy of Pontiac was:

 

[TexonLongIsland]

Had a Pontiac Grand Prix last weekend as a rental. What a piece of crap.

 

[gardere_owns_OU]

sioux falls is the pontiac capital of the world, this i'm sure of. i remember being up there and all the kids would drive around and around "the loop". we'd stand on the corner and just watch as the same kids would drive back by. every car i'd see up there was a pontiac.

 

[ScoPro]

Our first car when we got married in 1967 was a new Le Mans like this one:

(It was $3,200 new - out the door with bucket seats console air & auto)

 

[OldHippie]

Pontiac died April 20, 1769.

 

[DigglerontheHoof]

You think it was James Watts' improvements to the steam engine?

never mind, i see what you did there.

 

[shorty]

Hey, I have lots of great memories of being shoved in the backseat of a '66 LeMans.

At least it had a full backset and not the little bench seat that so many cars.

When my boyfriend would stomp on the gas pedal to get the four barrell carborator to kick in, you could watch the gas guage drop at least a quarter of a tank. Gas was $.25 a gallon back then so it wasn't that big of a deal.

 

[Giovanni Jones]

No fond rememberances or lamentations of the 1980s Pontiac Fiero?

During the early 1990s, I used to amuse myself during my daily commute by counting the number of Fieros that had one or both headlights permanently stuck in the "up" position. By the late 90s, it was remarkable if I saw ANY Fieros on the road.

 

[ScoPro]

Y'know, this is getting scary.

Years ago I bought an MG roadster - MG....RIP.
Years ago I bought an Oldsmobile - Oldsmobile...RIP
In 2006 I bought a Pontiac G6 - Pontiac...RIP

Now I'm afraid to buy that new Chevy Camaro next year.

 

[Rip76]

Sco...

buy an OLD camaro