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The Pontiac 1926 to 194 |
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A Brief History of the Pontiac
...The first Pontiac car made it's debut in 1926, but the Pontiac
division's history actually dates back to 1893, when Edward M.
Murphy established the Pontiac Buggy Company in Pontiac,
Michigan. This company produced horse drawn carriages. It
wasn't long before it became clear that motorcar sales were going
to out distance the carriages. In 1907 Murphy started the
Oakland Motor Car Company as an offshoot of the buggy
company.
In 1909 General Motors acquired half of Oakland Motor Car
Company. GM's founder William Durant, a friend of Murphy's, was
actually more interested in his talent and expertise than his
Oakland cars. But before Durant could use these talents, Murphy
died. Shortly after this GM purchased full control of Oakland. The
Oakland was very successful car through 1920. Then, a minor
economic depression combined with inefficient production
weakened Oakland and GM. |
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General Motors was in
disarray by 1920 and Durant
who had founded the
company 12 years earlier lost
control of it again after
loosing and regaining control
several times before. The
problem was that all the
company's seven divisions
were fighting for the same
customers, and none were
trying to gain the Model T
Fords customers, which had
the largest market share. |
1926 Pontiac Coupe |
GM's prices ranged from $795 for the lowest end Chevrolet, to
$5,690 for the highest priced Cadillac. Since GM wasn't in the
position to go after the Model T, a committee of company
executives led by the new GM President Alfred Sloan, decided to
create a car to fill a long-standing price gap between Chevrolet
and Oldsmobile. Besides being a gap filler this new car would
serve as a platform to share vehicle components. This would
improve volume efficiency.
The Pontiac was created in 1926 as a replacement to the
Oakland.
The Pontiac had the distinction of being the first General Motors
car to be designed to fit in a specific market slot.
The first Pontiac was the Series 6-27, debuted at the 1926 New
York Auto Show. It was built on a 110 inch wheelbase and it
featured a Fisher designed body and a six cylinder Lead engine. |
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1928 Pontiac Landau Sport Sedan at Concours D Elegance Show 08/03
This car is owned by Frank Stirling from Langley, British Columbia Canada
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Demand soon outpaced capacity and by mid 1926, the division
began plans to build a $15 million assembly plant in Pontiac,
Michigan. In 1927 Harley Earl created an Art & Color studio, which was an
industry's first. Earl first designed the highly successful LaSalle,
and he later became head of GM Design. Art & Color and designed
all GM models, including Pontiac.
Harley Earl was with GM for many years and was responsible for
such cars as the Corvette.
He stayed with General Motors until his retirement in 1959.
For a more detailed history of the Pontiac please visit
http://www.welovepontiacs.com/history.html |
1937 Pontiac Silver Streak 4 Door
6 Cylinder |
1948 Pontiac Streamliner
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