From its founding in the mid-1920s Pontiac was one of General Motors’ middle-tier brands, priced above Chevrolet and alongside Oakland and Oldsmobile. The brand achieved prominence in the post-war period with iconic 1950s models including Catalina, Chieftain and Star Chief. The brand stepped up its image beginning in the late 1950s and 1960s, producing the luxurious Bonneville models and, later, the performance-oriented GTO and the Firebird, Pontiac’s entry into the pony car wars of the 1960s. In its final decades, Pontiac’s design focus was on the sporty side, producing more aggressively styled vehicles than sister brands Oldsmobile and Buick. GM shut down the brand in 2010.
