Pontiac Falls From Muscle Car Glory to Graveyard-Official End Sunday

[RamboLiberal]

Pontiac, the brand that invented the muscle car under its flamboyant engineer John Z. DeLorean, helped Burt Reynolds elude Sheriff Justice in “Smokey and the Bandit” and taught baby boomers to salivate over horsepower, but produced mostly forgettable cars for their children, will endure a lonely death on Sunday after about 40 million in sales.

It was 84 years old. The cause of death was in dispute. Fans said Pontiac’s wounds were self-inflicted, while General Motors blamed a terminal illness contracted during last year’s bankruptcy. Pontiac built its last car nearly a year ago, but the official end was set for Oct. 31, when G.M.’s agreements with Pontiac dealers expire.

“They were C.P.R.-ing a corpse for a long time,” said Larry Kummer, a retired graphic artist who has owned more than two dozen Pontiacs and runs the Web site PontiacRegistry.com.

The G.M. brand that was advertised for “driving excitement,” Pontiac brought Americans the Bonneville, GTO, Firebird and other venerable nameplates. Sportier than a Chevrolet but less uppity than an Oldsmobile or Buick, the best Pontiacs, recognizable by their split grille and red arrowhead emblem in the middle, were stylish yet affordable cars with big, macho engines.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/30/business/30pontiac.html?_r=1&hp

[Tansy_Gold]

1. R.I.P.

[Possumpoint]

2. I Remember WIth Fondness Pontiac

I owned a 56 Pontiac (tank) 4 door sedan that snow couldn't stop. I miss that car.

[islandmkl]

3. GTO...

started it all...

you want nostalgia?...300 horsepower and 25 cent gasoline...

[SoCalDem]

7. We had a 68 Goat with a chrome Lemans bumper

traded it in on a brand new Maverick :)

Our motor-head son has never forgiven us:rofl:

[11 Bravo]

4. My first car was a 1963, fire-engine red, Pontiac Catalina convertible.

I loved that car!

[Swede]

5. Here is my Firebird.

Well,mine looked like this one. I then owned 2 Bonnevilles,after this bird.

[madokie]

6. When we first met

my wife had a 71 GTO 400 close ratio 4 speed, black with red interior. This was in the summer of '71. I on the other hand had a pretty hot VW bug that would keep up with about anything on the road except for black GTOs with 400 hp engines. 20 years later we married. She still wants me to get another bug for a project car and I might if I find the right one.

[givemebackmycountry]

8. I drove this for almost a decade - solid as a rock and a freaking tank in the snow -

I loved that ride.
It was a blast to drive.

No Mo Pontiac.
That sucks.

[Mokoil]

9. It's a damn shame

Corporate mismanagement....that's where the blame lies.