Pumpkin Run Pontiacs

When General Motors stopped making Pontiacs at the end of 2009 it saddened a lot of people. Pontiac had been a popular, trend setting, and, yes, rule breaking line for GM. It started as a "little brother" to the Oakland line in 1926 but outpaced its parent causing GM to cease production on the Oakland in 1931. Pontiac fell into the niche between the entry level Chevy and the mid-level Oldsmobile. And it sold well. The mid-1950s saw a major change in the cars. Name changes occurred as well as some major revmped styling. The 1960s saw the biggest radical steps as Pontiac became the true performance line for GM, topped by the GTO (seen above), which stands for Gran Torismo Omolgato or Grand Touring Homologation. Their version of the Pony Car, the Firebird, was introduced during this decade as well. Unfortunately, as the muscle car era began to grind down in the 1970s so, too did Pontiac's sales begin to slow. By 2008 GM announced that they would stop making Pontiac automobiles. It was a financial decision, they claimed. And unfortunately the world lost another fine auto line. But many were on hand for the 46th Annual Pumpkin Run Nationals including the above mentioned GTO, a 1967 Tempest, a couple more GTOs, a Grand Prix, and a Catalina.