Pontiac Classics - From Muscle to Pony And Everything In between
By Fei Lim

GM is one of the world's largest carmakers, and was founded by William Durant at the beginning of the 1900s. It is believed that many car companies were experiencing troubling times in the 1900s with stock panics, which meant that many small businesses were subject to financial ruin.

Durant saw this as an opportunity, and bought many small car building, and car part companies, and amalgamated them into the one company, which was the true birth of GM. In the early years of GM, Durant was to bring the GM Company to incredible heights, and devastating lows, as well as lose control of the company twice.

By the 1920s GM saw a new owner, in Alfred Sloan, who brought about many new, and exciting changes to the GM Company. The company fought off major competitors with two wild cards, their new focus on style, and color, and an introduction of credit to their customers. By the 1950s GM was the first car company to make sales over 1 billion dollars in a year.

The A-Z of Pontiac Classics

Below are some of the well-known classic Pontiac cars that GM introduced to the market, including some of the original models that date back to as early as the 60s.

• The 6000 was a front wheel drive sedan, released in the 1980s
• The Aztec, which was released in the early 2000s, was not Pontiac's most popular car.
• The Bonneville was a full sized sedan, was retired in 05, after 40 years, as a part of GM's retirement of top model names new structure.
• The Catalina dates back to the 60s. It was a 2-door hard top, which was considered to be popular for its time. Production of the model ended in the later part of the 70s, when GM began to make smaller bodied cars.
• The Feiro was a sporty 2-seater, built for the 80s lifestyle. Many of the parts used for the Feiro were taken from earlier models such as the Chevette. The result was an irresistible little roadster.
• The Firebird, often called a 'pony' car, was very popular. Much to the disgust of many Pontiac car lovers it was discontinued in 05. Although there is word that the firebird will be making a comeback in the near future.
• The Firefly was much the same as the Geo Metro, containing a 3 cylinder motor, and marketed around the end of the 80s through to the 90s.
• The G6 is one of the current models offered by Pontiac. It is available in coupe or sporty models.
• The Grand Am was brought out by GM in 1973, and proved to be a popular mid-range performance vehicle. Production of the Grand Am ceased in 2005, along with numerous other Pontiac models.
• The Grand Prix was originally brought out by GM in 1963, and is one of the few models that managed to stay in production after GM retired numerous models in 05. The recent models of the Grand Prix are mid-sized sporty sedans, with front wheel drive capabilities.
• The GTO was first brought out in 1967, and is a true sports car in every sense of the word. GM stopped production of the GTO in the 70s, although they have recently made a comeback through the Australian GM producer, Holden, offering all the expected luxuries including rear wheel drive and a V8 motor.
• The LeMans started out as a Tempest model, once the Tempest name was retired, the LeMans become a model of its own. Production continued up until the middle of the 1990s when it was stopped due to the introduction of a Korean car that was also named LeMans.
• The Montana was GM Pontiac's triumph in the mini-van models.
• The Parisienne was brought out in the 80s and was a close version of the Chevrolet Caprice, including a large V8 sedan with rear wheel drive.
• The Sunbird was the Chevy Cavileer, only under the Sunbird name
• The Sunfire was retired by GM in 2005, as were many cars at this time when GM restructured much of their inventory.
• The Sun Runner was a rename of the Geo Chevy Tracker
• The Tempest was most popular as a convertible, and was brought out in the 60s, a coupe that was better known as a 'muscle car'
• The Trans Sport was the first mini-van bought out by GM, although this model didn’t last long, and was soon replaced by the much more popular mini-van model Montana.
• The Vibe is a latest production vehicle, compact in size, with 5 doors, very much like the Toyota Matrix.