Pontiac

Pontiac

Pontiac is a brand of car sold in the US, Canada, and Mexico by General Motors. Pontiac cars are considered to be mainstream performance vehicles. GM recently announced that it would phase out the Pontiac brand by 2010.

Pontiac built the cheapest 8 cylinder engines models in 1933 and Pontiac was associated with mid level prices and middle age buyers. That was to change when the Pontiac came out with the new V8 engine.

The Pontiac Firebird was produced between 1967 and 2002 and was introduced the same year as the Camaro. The vehicles were powered by various V8 engines. The first generation of Firebirds had a characteristic styling and its front and rear slit taillights were inspired by the Pontiac GTO.

Firebird was redesigned many times and the looks of the body change with each generation. Firebirds were used in the Trans Am racing series in the 60’s and 70’s. They were also used in the IROC Series for a number of years.

Pontiac a brand name of the Chrysler Corporation was one of the starters of the muscle car craze. The GTO or commonly known as the “goat” was the start of things to come. It started out as a package option on 1964 Tempest and then GTO became its own model. Pontiac took on the car market with the Firebird and competed with the Ford Mustang which was the top contender in the muscle car race.

The Trans Am was a specialty package for the Firebird. It included upgrading the handling, suspension and horsepower. The package also included appearance modifications such as exclusive hoods, spoilers, fog lights and wheels. They were produced between 1969 and 2000.

The second generation was produced between 1970 and 1981. It was featured in the “Smokey and the Bandit” series of movies and also in the movie “Hooper.” The third generation was available from 1982 to 1992. It was featured on the TV series “Knight Rider” and the car “KITT”. It was discontinued along with the Firebird in 2002.