The Notorious Pontiac: A Car Icon Lost in Time

One of my favorite movies ever is Smokey and The Bandit, starring Burt Reynolds, his mustache, and the 1977 Pontiac Trans Am. For decades, the film has been responsible for putting the Trans Am somewhere on everybody's dream car list. It's fast, it's sleek, and it's got a badass fire chicken on the hood. Badass fire chicken on the hood.

The pairing of box office success and a great car cemented Pontiac's place as an automotive icon in pop culture. Pontiac was around for a long, long time, opening their doors in 1926. General Motors introduced Pontiac to fill the gap between Chevy and the more expensive Oakland brand. Imagine GM as an apartment building. Chevy's in the entryway, and Cadillac's in the penthouse, with Oakland, Oldsmobile, and Buick filling in the floors in between.

GM formed Pontiac and three other brands, Viking, Marquette, and LaSalle, to build more floors. GM believed that filling these gaps would help brand loyalty, and inspire customers to buy their way up the stairs, eventually making it to the penthouse. But Pontiac was the only one of the companion brands to survive, and did so by outselling Oakland by such a wide margin that Oakland was merged into Pontiac.

Pontiac kept building their affordable and reliable cars through the 1950s when sales started to decline. The brand was gaining a reputation as a car for old people, like cable TV today, young people just weren't into it, man. So Pontiac boss Bunkie Knudsen decided to get Pontiac involved with several racing series like NASCAR and the NHRA with legends like Mickey Thompson and Smokey Yunick driving his cars.

It was a good first step, but Pontiac really got into factory performance in 1963, when Pontiac designers led by John DeLorean, yeah, that John DeLorean, decided to soup up the Tempest Coupe. This Grand Tempest Option, or GTO, was a watershed moment for the brand. It was a mid-sized car with a big engine from a full-sized car, and the result was fast.

This formula of combining a small car and a big engine would help set off one of the most important movements ever in Detroit, the muscle car era. But the GTO wasn't Pontiac's only muscle car; they released the Firebird in 1967, and with the GTO and Firebird killing it with looks and performance, Pontiac was cool.

More importantly, it was making money. Trouble started in the mid '70s. People didn't want a muscle car anymore; they couldn't afford the gas. Pontiac started to develop a car that was economical while still being fun. Originally pitched as a fuel-efficient, two-seat commuter, the Fiero promised to do just that, and it did.

People loved the Fiero, and high sales helped reignite Pontiac's reputation for affordable performance. Throughout the '80s and '90s, things were good. But Pontiac's not around anymore, and that really sucks.

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- One of my favorite movies everis Smokey and The Bandit,starring Burt Reynolds, his mustache,and the 1977 Pontiac Trans Am.For decades, the film has been responsiblefor putting the Trans Am somewhereon everybody's dream car list.It's fast, it's sleek,and it's got a badassfire chicken on the hood.Badass fire chicken on the hood.The pairing of box office successand a great car cemented Pontiac's placeas an automotive icon in pop culture.Pontiac's not around anymore,and that really sucks.Why'd we lose one of America'smost legendary auto brands?What happened to Pontiac?I'm Nolan Sykes, and this is Wheelhouse.(hip hop music)Pontiac was around for a long, long time,opening their doors in 1926.General Motors introduced Pontiacto fill the gap between Chevyand the more expensive Oakland brand.Imagine GM as an apartment building.Chevy's in the entryway, andCadillac's in the penthouse,with Oakland, Oldsmobile, and Buickfilling in the floors in between.GM formed Pontiac and three other brands,Viking, Marquette, and LaSalle,to build more floors.GM believed that filling these gapswould help brand loyalty,and inspire customers tobuy their way up the stairs,eventually making it to the penthouse.But Pontiac was the only oneof the companion brands to survive,and did so by outselling Oaklandby such a wide margin that Oaklandwas merged into Pontiac.Pontiac kept building their affordableand reliable cars through the 1950swhen sales started to decline.The brand was gaining a reputationas a car for old people,and like cable TV today,young people just weren't into it, man.I'm Nolan Sykes, and I'm 63 years old.(people laugh)So Pontiac boss Bunkie Knudsen decidedto get Pontiac involvedwith several racing serieslike NASCAR and the NHRAwith legends like Mickey Thompsonand Smokey Yunick driving his cars.It was a good first step,but Pontiac really got intofactory performance in 1963,when Pontiac designersled by John DeLorean,yeah, that John DeLorean,decided to soup up the Tempest Coupe.This Grand Tempest Option, or GTO,was a watershed moment for the brand.It was a mid-sized car with a big enginefrom a full-sized car,and the result was fast.This formula of combining asmall car and a big enginewould help set off one ofthe most importantmovements ever in Detroit,the muscle car era.(dramatic music)But the GTO wasn'tPontiac's only muscle car.They released the Firebird in 1967,and with the GTO and Firebird killing itwith looks and performance,Pontiac was cool.More importantly, it was making money.Trouble started in the mid '70s.People didn't want a muscle car anymore.They couldn't afford the gas.Pontiac started to develop a carthat was economical while still being fun.Originally pitched as a fuel-efficient,two-seat commuter, the Fieropromised to do just that,and it did.People loved the Fiero,and high sells helpedreignite Pontiac's reputationfor affordable performance.Throughout the '80s and'90s, things were good.The "Wider is better" sloganwas revived from the '60sto help promote the new GrandPrix's wide track technology,which didn't really mean anything,but it sounded really cool.The excitement around theFirebird and the Fierohad successfully trickled downto Pontiac's more practical models,but despite Pontiac'ssuccessful turnaroundfrom the '70s to the 1990s,the turn of the 21st century markedthe beginning of seriousproblems for the brand.Sales were slumping hard,and Pontiac had toreinvent itself once again,this time with a cutting-edge SUVfeaturing new-age styling andsome unconventional features.The seats were water-resistant.The tailgate had cupholders.There's even a camping lifestyle optionthat included a two-person air mattress.It also had a cool name, Aztek.It was a good car.Critics praised the Aztek forits comfortable ride and practicality.But unfortunately for Pontiac,the Aztek was plagued with airbag recallsalmost immediately after release.Despite the Aztek's great safety ratings,the recalls really taintedthe car's reputation.Also, it was kinda ugly,Pontiac needed to sell30,000 Azteks to break even,but they only sold 27,000.Not a great start to the reinvention.The great Pontiac refreshof the early 2000scontinued when Pontiacbrought back the GTO in 2004,this time as a rebadgedHolden Monaro from Australia.It was a handsome carwith good performance,but the GTO didn't quitescratch the retro itchlike Ford's new old Mustang.Everyone was like, "Yeah, it's a cool car,"but Ford's new Mustanglooks like a Mustang."I'll just get one of those."This GTO doesn't."As a result, the GTO was canceledafter only three years of production.Pontiac then introducedthe Solstice in 2006,the brand's firsttwo-seater since the Fiero.Like the GTO, the Solstice was an attemptto spice up Pontiac'sotherwise stale lineup,and like the GTO, it was a good car.Car and Driver called it asurprisingly pure roadsterfrom an unlikely source,a quote that summed upwhat people thought ofPontiac at the time,like being voted least likelyto make an exciting carin your senior yearbook.The Solstice's only crime wasbeing released at the wrong time.Unfortunately, the Solstice wasn'tthe only Pontiac killed by the economy.Pontiac had brought anotherHolden to American shores,the legendary Commodore.Pontiac called it the G8.It was a four-door sedan with a V8 engine,and it looked awesome.The G8 was so good that auto journalistswere calling it the American M3.That's high praise.It was definitely ahigh point for Pontiac,but 2008 came, and with it,a global economic crisis.- At one point, the marketfell as if down a well.- Down over 16%.- Dow, at the same time,has fallen about 18%.Everyone agrees the clockis ticking for Detroit,and the casualties are already mounting.- Consumers didn't have any moneyto spend on a new car,let alone something sportylike the G8 or Solstice.Obviously, Pontiac wasn't the only brandaffected by the crisis.General Motors as a whole had beenhemorrhaging money foryearsFor the 2007 fiscal year, GM had reporteda loss of 38.7 billion dollars,So in order to survive, Detroit askedthe government for a bailout.GM received 30 billion from Uncle Sam,but on one condition.They had to slim down.Saturn, Hummer, and Pontiacall closed their doors,and Saab was sold toDutch automaker Spyker.This decision wasn't easy for GM,but the reality wasthat Pontiac's attemptsto rebuild the excitementjust weren't successful.Despite consensus thatthe GTO, Solstice, and G8were all great cars, theyjust didn't sell well enoughto be saved by GM.In January of 2010, the last Pontiacrolled off the assembly line.There was no ceremonyto mark the occasion,and no journalists were invited.The final Pontiac was a white G6 sedan,built to fill a fleet order.It was a meek representation of a brandwith a long history ofpushing the boundaries.They helped invent the muscle car.They were one of theonly American companiesto mass-produce something mid-engined.The Aztec, yeah, it was ugly,but it was ahead of its time.It was one of the first crossover SUVs,which are huge nowadays.But in the end, Pontiacwas a mismanaged shadowof its former self that only returnedto its performance rootswhen it was too late.(melancholy piano music)Thanks for watching Wheelhouse.Remember to like, comment,share, and subscribe.What else makes you go, "Hmm,I never thought about that"?Like, where did racing stripes come from?Where did cupholders get invented?Why do we drive on theright hand side of the road?We're gonna be covering all thiscoming up on Wheelhouse.We got a lot of new shows now.We've got Wheelhouse with me on Monday.Tuesdays is Matt Field's Corvette build,love watching that.Thursdays, come on, it's Up To Speed.Fridays is The Bestest with Tony.He's ranking the top 10 everythingin the automotive world.It's a different list every week.We got shirts back in stock now, guys,shop.donut.media, you canget yourself your own,and I'll see you inthe street wearing one,and think you're one of my coworkers,pat you on the back, and guess what,I don't know you, and it's weird.Thanks for watching.