A reeling GM moves to drop Pontiac

General Motors, fighting to survive and stave off bankruptcy, says on April 27, 2009, that it will phase out Pontiac -- a brand once synonymous with performance, speed and sex appeal -- by 2010.

GM, which had not posted an annual profit since 2004, planned to concentrate on four brands -- Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac -- as it crafted a sweeping restructuring.

The final Pontiacs for the U.S. -- G6 models built in late November 2009 -- were sold as part of a fleet order. In December 2009, GM ended output of the Pontiac G3 Wave, a subcompact built in Mexico and sold only in Canada -- marking the official end of production for the brand. It was a subdued farewell for the brand that debuted in 1926 under the bright lights of the New York auto show.

Pontiac's beginning dates to Oakland Motor Car Co., which was formed in 1907 in Pontiac, Mich., and became part of GM in 1909. The first Pontiac vehicle made its debut as part of the Oakland line, but the car's popularity prompted GM to drop Oakland.

Pontiac, later slotted between Chevrolet and Oldsmobile, popularized Silver Streak styling in the 1930s and defined the muscle car era. It became the third-best-selling automobile line of all time in the United States, behind Chevrolet and Ford.

In 1956, Bunkie Knudsen, Pete Estes and John DeLorean took the reins of Pontiac -- Knudsen as general manager, Estes as chief engineer and DeLorean as assistant chief engineer.

The trio's first car was the 1959 model and it was a sensation: great styling, a split grille and, most important, Wide-Track Drive, a phrase coined by Pontiac's ad agency, MacManus, John & Adams.

Over time, Pontiac became a favorite of schoolteachers and other middle-class wage earners. A 1955 Pontiac Star Chief convertible appeared in several episodes of the "I Love Lucy" TV show. The Pontiac Trans Am was a favorite of Hollywood celebrities such as Burt Reynolds, who starred in car-centric ‘70s movie hits such as “Cannonball Run,” “Smokey and the Bandit,” and “Hooper.”

But it was during the 1960s that Pontiac reached its zenith, capitalizing on America's hunger for racing and unbridled performance with muscle cars such as the GTO and Firebird.

By the 1970s and 1980s, amid new federal safety rules and high gasoline prices, Pontiac's luster began to fade. Some Pontiac, Buick and Chevrolet models were indistinguishable. U.S. consumers loved the hot-looking, two-seat Pontiac Fiero roadster when it debuted in 1983. But rampant quality problems -- including an engine prone to catching fire -- torpedoed the car.

The addition of minivans to Pontiac's lineup -- the Transport and Montana among them, as well as the oddly shaped Aztek, didn't help the brand's long-term prospects, either.

GM made one last attempt in the early 2000s to rekindle Pontiac's glory with sporty cars such as the Solstice roadster, GTO coupe and G8 sedan, but by then it was too late.