Life is transient… so also are marquee brand names like Pontiac; conceptualised to capture the potential buyers’ imagination and underpinned by sound technological innovation, they roared into public consciousness and remained entrenched in their psyche for generations. For those that are unfamiliar with American cars, Pontiac first burst onto the scene in the mid-1920s. The brand enjoyed moderate success but declining sales numbers over the next couple of decades meant that before long, the threat of bankruptcy was looming ominously over its shoulder. After nearly being declared bankrupt in the 50′s, the ailing brand was revived by General Motors(GM) in an extensive re-branding exercise that would eventually make it one of the most iconic muscle car brands of its time.

Immortalised in song by Ronny & The Daytonas, ‘Little GTO’ was anything but… The Pontiac GTO aka ‘The Goat’ singlehandedly ignited the first muscle car era in the 60′s. With a monster V8 (engine) under the hood, the GTO packed enough horsepower to match the testosterone-fuelled dash and dynamism of youth. Together with the Trans Am and Catalina models, they epitomised freedom for the youth of yesteryear as they drag-raced down boulevards, parked at drive-ins and cruised suburbia. Every guy wanted one, and every girl wanted a guy who had one. Fast car and sex symbol all rolled into one sleek gasoline fuelled package, before long it was a household name from Hoboken to Hollywood.

The Pontiac(Firebird Trans Am) became a star in its own right when one driven by Burt Reynolds roared across movie screens in Smokey and The Bandit. It’s cult-like status was further enhanced when the Trans Am made the transition from celluloid(movie screen) to idiot box(TV screen) as Kit, in the hit TV series, Knight Rider.

Circa 1999, GM began making cut backs on its Pontiac line and this naturally led to performance related problems which damaged its reputation to a certain extent. This was exacerbated by the fact that the other traditional muscle car companies (Ford etc) were upping the ante by introducing more technologically advanced cars.

The recent financial crisis was the final nail in the proverbial coffin. It is common knowledge that GM was greatly affected by the recent worldwide financial meltdown and as a result they were forced to undergo drastic restructuring. Naturally, the under-performing limbs of the company were most effected and seeing as Pontiac was one such limb, it was duly amputated. This just goes to show that even recognised brand names are not immune to the vicissitudes of a global financial crisis. It was a company that was living off the reputation of its glorious past. Stagnation, in any way shape or form is a prime ingredient in the recipe for business failure and in the current financial climate, where profit is the bottom line, it’s demise was not entirely unexpected. Ultimately it’s shutting down was deemed essential to the survival of General Motors.

Pontiac might be bought over, revamped, reinvented, re-branded and resurrected but in the interim, one can almost hear the roar of the beast (that was Pontiac) from the halcyon days of yore while…THE MEMORY REMAINS.


Music courtesy of Daniel Santos.

Pictures courtesy of www.netcarshow.com/pontiac

..and a special thanks to Chris Fothergill and Francis Malcolm Peters(The Pathfinder) for the added assistance.

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