Pontiac is a brand of automobile that has been manufactured and sold by General Motors (GM). It was introduced as a companion for GM’s more expensive line of Oakland automobiles. Pontiac overtook Oakland in popularity and supplanted its parent company’s namesake, the Chevrolet marque, and it outlasted many other planned companion makes by GM. But we all wonder; when did Pontiac go out of business?
The Pontiac name was introduced by General Motors in 1926 as the companion marque to GM’s Oakland division, and production of the first Pontiac models was completed in January of that year. The Pontiac Motor Division was established with its formation on July 26, 1926, just east of Oakland (renamed from Pontiac). It continued building the same models of automobile that were marketed as Oakland until 1931 when it introduced its own designs beginning with the 1932 Pontiac.
When did Pontiac go out of business?
General Motors purchased the Pontiac company in 1909 for $2.5 million ($70 million in current dollars). It was agreed that Oakland would remain a division of the General Motors Corporation and that the combined firm (Oakland, Pontiac, Oldsmobile) would be called General Motors Company. However, the purchase was contested in court by the owner of the Reliance Motor Car Company, leading to a break between GM’s William C. Durant and August Horch.
The last Pontiac
The last Pontiac badged automobile was built on December 29th 2009. The last one rolled off the assembly line at 11:59 pm.
The last Pontiac car built was a 2010 Torrent FWD 4-cylinder EX model which was donated to the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Eastern Michigan. The Ronald McDonald House is located in Pontiac, Michigan where the final vehicle was manufactured.
According to several sources and GM’s website, they made the last Pontiac on December 28th, 2009, and donated it to the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Eastern Michigan. All other sources state that they built their final vehicle on December 29th, 2009 and that the Torrent was donated just before midnight.
Unfortunately, there is no way for us to know which is the correct information and which is not. We can only assume what we read is accurate and hope that one day GM gives us an official statement about this situation.
Founder of the Pontiac
Motor Division, Edward Murphy, died in 1952. In 1954, the final vehicles of the first generation Pontiac were introduced.
Before it was discontinued on October 31, 2009 (after 58 years), more than one million Pontiacs had been sold for this year. The last vehicle to be produced under the brand was a 2010 Torrent FWD 4-cylinder EX model which was donated to the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Eastern Michigan. The last Pontiac car built was donated just before midnight on December 29, 2009, at the assembly plant in the brand’s hometown (Pontiac).
GM discontinued the Pontiac marque and introduced a new vehicle brand named G3 (a global GM brand used in the Chinese market). G3 replaced Pontiac in Canada and the Middle East. In other markets, it was sold as a Buick.
Will Pontiac ever come back in business?
No. General Motors confirmed in a press release on February 14th, 2010 that the Pontiac brand would remain “dead” and that no more cars will be produced under the Pontiac nameplate. The last remaining facility where these models were manufactured was shut down on December 29th, 2009 at 11:59 pm. At this time, the final Pontiac Torrent (a 2010 model) was donated to the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Eastern Michigan. The donation ceremony took place just before midnight on December 29th, 2009 at the assembly plant in Pontiac, Michigan – the brand’s hometown.
On April 26th, 2010, General Motors announced that it would begin to focus on four core brands by concentrating on Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC. The other two brands (Pontiac and Saturn) were to be phased out or discontinued completely by the end of 2011. Therefore, it is safe to assume that Pontiac will never come back into business again.
Why did Pontiac shut down?
The specific reasons that led General Motors to shut down the Pontiac car brand are unknown. However, we can only assume that this was a business decision based on financial and strategic factors. Some experts believe that one of these factors is the high sales volume required for each new model (when compared with other vehicle brands such as Buick or Chevrolet).
Other experts believe that the shift of consumer preferences towards more compact, fuel-efficient, and affordable vehicles was another major factor. Manufacturers like Ford, Mercury, Nissan, and Hyundai were in a better position to address this shift in demand with their respective brands (e.g Yaris, Cobalt).
It is also important to highlight the relevance of the Pontiac brand in the past, especially during the sixties and seventies. At that time (the 1950s to 1980s), General Motors had a wide range of brands such as Chevrolet, Oldsmobile, Buick, and Pontiac.
What is the background information of when Pontiac went out of business?
Pontiac folded for several reasons including mounting debt and dwindling sales figures. The company was relatively new to the automotive industry when it was bought by General Motors in 1909. In 1932, they released a car that was designed to combat Ford’s most popular model at the time, the Model A. The car didn’t sell well because of its high price and low performance, but this is where Pontiac began to establish itself as a company focused on style and performance. It is a company that’s well-known for innovating car technology, including the first mass-produced overhead-cam engine and the first automatic transmission with overdrive.
In 2005, General Motors announced it would be ending its relationship with Pontiac as a brand because of debt and plummeting sales figures. Well, we hope we answer all the queries related to,” when did Pontiac go out of business?”
