Pontiac Went Cruisin' to Find a Cure

 

Started in 1926 as a companion line to General Motor's affordable Oakland automobiles, Pontiac soon outsold its "elder brother" and essentially replaced the Oakland cars. In the hierarchy of GM's sales ladder, Pontiac sat just above the entry level Chevrolet line and just below the mid-level Oldsmobile cars. Throughout its early years and into the 1960s, Pontiac was known for building dependable, affordable automobiles. The mid 1950s saw new leadership under Semon "Bunkie" Knudsen who, along with head engineers E. M. Estes and John DeLorean would change not only Pontiac but also send a seismic shock through the entire industry. DeLorean started squeezing larger, more powerful engines into the compact Tempest and mid-sized La Mans and thus began the muscle car era. Plenty of people are still fans of the now defunct Pontiac and that was apparent at the 9th Crusin' to a Cure for ALS show in Lawrenceburg. On hand was a 1979 Trans Am, a 1968 GTO, a 1967 GTO, another Trans Am, a GTO in the Judge trim, and a 1966 GTO.