The now defunct GM brand Pontiac does not spur considerable passion from
individuals of my generation. My first car was a Pontiac. A hand me-down
Grand Am my cousin drove in college that my uncle no longer wanted. I
promptly blew the engine in less than a year. I donated it to my high
school for a $200 tax credit. There was no doubt Pontiac was on the ropes
all through the 1990s and continuing into the new millennium. Pontiac had
become boring copies of the higher selling Chevrolet cars. Whoever looked
at a G6 and thought 'Wow what a good looking car!'
However, car buyers from earlier generations have a much different awareness
of what Pontiac could be.
In the ‘60s
and ‘70s Chevrolet was still the high seller bread and butter for GM but Pontiac
was the excitement arm of the company.
Case in point is this fine example of a 1977 LeMans with the Can Am
package.
This small coupe was stuffed
with a mammoth 400 cubic inch V8 behind the front bumper.
This is how Pontiac used to do business. Take
a small body and pair it with a massive engine. Think of the original GTO and
how it started the muscle car craze.
This
big muscle bruiser is one that I saw at the Hunter Auto Expo last month.
In a room full of classic autos, this one didn’t
just catch your eye it put you in a head lock.
That white paint and crazy stripes scream America in the 1970s.
What car is complete without a shaker hood scoop too? If GM were a house hold then Chevy is the
perfect do-nothing-immoral son and Pontiac is the child with tattoos and face
piercings.
This car does not settle for
the mundane.
Sadly this car was behind the times.
A big gas guzzler with only around 200 horse
power didn’t bring many buyers into dealerships.
In today’s market we would call this call a
niche car.
What a niche it was.
Owners of this car wanted to make a statement
and hold on to a dream.
Who cares what
Uncle Sam says you’re supposed to drive? Who cares how much gas costs?
Give this car a drag strip and a
challenge.
Take a short drive around your town and you will see that effects time had
on Pontiac.
You see boring coupes,
sedans, and maybe even an Aztec (I’m going to be sick).
After years of abuse GM finally has locked
Pontiac away for its sins.
I can’t help
but think of how I would run Pontiac if it were still around.
I think it would only need three models.
An entry level sedan based on the Chevy Cruze
but with the 2.0 liter turbo engine from the Buick Regal GS and six speed
manual, a Trans Am with an all-aluminum 7.0 liter V8 is an obvious choice, and
the G8 which GM liked so much they are bringing it back into production as a
Chevrolet SS.
I would limit the options list as much as
possible.
If you want something other
than these three cars as they sit, you can buy a Chevy or Buick that’s what
they are built for.
Pontiac would be a
performance only brand.
It would be
aimed only as performance minded drivers.
Alas, we automotive enthusiast do not run the world we merely live in
it.
What would be your ultimate car
company? Leave me some comments and let me know, or give me a shout on Twitter
at @dcengland86.
