Interesting

Apr 1, 2013 The Pontiac Safari
Nice informative site - www.pontiacsonline.com/SAFARI.htm

Some Nostalgia
http://hipspics.freewebspace.com/gas/gas.html

History of Chief Pontiac - from Jim Wangers (Dec 2012)
If you have any interest in Pontiac, the old Ottawa Indian Chief here's a brief history of his life.
http://chadglass.blogspot.com/2012/12/history-of-pontiac-part-1.html#.UNcsJo7ythp

The KCBQ Radio show “It’s About the Car” with Jim Wangers
Talking about designing the 1967 Grand Prix and Col. Bill Baugh talking about his 1967 Grand Prix, is available for listening.
Go to:
http://www.itsallaboutthecar.com/past-show-downloads/

Look for:
IAATC - 1967 Grand Prix - Special Guest Jim Wangers – 1 Hour Show: Part 1- June 10, 2012
And
IAATC - 1967 Grand Prix - Special Guest Jim Wangers – 1 Hour Show: Part 2- June 10, 2012

If you have ever had an interest in old cars you will enjoy this. (Aug 2012)

http://local.aaca.org/siraaca/older_html/doyouknow.htm

May 22, 2012 - News Article from the Edmonton Journal
Edmonton Chapter President - Dave Scragg
Click Here or to get to the online link

Nov 18, 2011 Edmonton Chapter wins the Best Club Award at GTOAA Convention sponsors by the Goat Herd Club in Oregon.
Along with the award came an invitation to the Tiger Run in Oregon over the Memorial Day weekend. Congratulations

July 2011 - Mr Jim Wangers
Our club members had the extraordinary experience of meeting with and celebrating the 85th birthday of Mr. Jim Wangers. Jim is considered the father of the GTO. The Alberta Iron Indians Pontiac Club has granted Mr. Wangers a lifetime membership. We are so pleased to have a photo of Mr. Wangers in club apparel.

Feb 2, 2011
Interested in a 66 GTO - this advertisement says it all.

Pontiac Performance History -
A brief history of Pontiac performance from mid 1950's to 1960.

July 2011 - Pontiac Ghost Car to fetch $500,000
Interesting article about a Plexiglas Pontiac click here

Nov 6, 2010 - End of An Era
Pontiac, maker of muscle cars, ends after 84 years
By TOM KRISHER, AP Auto Writer Tom Krisher, Ap Auto Writer Sun Oct 31, 2:39 pm ET

DETROIT – Pontiac, whose muscle cars drag-raced down boulevards, parked at drive-ins and roared across movie screens, is going out of business on Sunday.
The 84-year-old brand, moribund since General Motors decided to kill it last year as it collapsed into bankruptcy, had been in decline for years. It was undone by a combination of poor corporate strategy and changing driver tastes. On Oct. 31, GM's agreements with Pontiac dealers expire.
Even before GM's bankruptcy, Pontiac's sales had fallen from their peak of nearly one million in 1968, when the brand's speedier models were prized for their powerful engines and scowling grills.
At Pontiac's pinnacle, models like the GTO, Trans Am and Catalina 2+2 were packed with horsepower and sported colors like "Tiger Gold." Burt Reynolds and Sally Field fled the law in a Firebird Trans Am which raced through the 1970s hit movie "Smokey and the Bandit."
By the late 1980s, though, Pontiacs were taking off their muscle shirts, putting on suits and trying to act like other cars. The brand had lost its edge.
Bill Hoglund, a retired GM executive who led Pontiac during its "We Build Excitement" ad campaigns in the 1980s, blames the brand's demise on a reorganization under CEO Roger Smith in 1984. That overhaul cut costs by combining Pontiac's manufacturing, engineering and design operations with those of other GM brands.
"There was no passion for the product," says Hoglund. "The product had to fit what was going on in the corporate system."
Although the moves were necessary to fend off competition from Japanese automakers with lower costs, they yielded Pontiacs that looked and drove like other GM cars.
By 2008, the last full year before GM announced Pontiac's shutdown, sales were 267,000, less than a third of those sold in 1968.
Formed in 1926, Pontiac made cars for the working class until a sales slump in the 1950s nearly killed it. GM revived the brand by connecting it to auto racing. From then on, each Pontiac sales boom was driven by speed; each bust generally featured outdated or boring rides.
The brand's most storied muscle car, the GTO, came about when some GM engineers took a small car called the Tempest and put a powerful V8 engine under the hood. The letters stood for "Gran Turismo Omologato," Italian for "ready to race."
Sparked by the GTO, the Pontiac brand thrived, making up 17 percent of the 5.4 million cars and trucks GM sold in the U.S. in 1968. The GTO even spawned its own 1960s hit song.
"C'mon and turn it on, wind it up, blow it out GTO," was the chorus of the tune by Ronny and the Daytonas.
Pontiac's decline stemmed from a lack of a consistent strategy or leadership. Executives rotated through every few years on their way up the corporate ladder, each with a different vision. Some even tried to make Pontiac a luxury brand.
One strategy that eventually hurt the brand was rebadging: putting the guts of less powerful GM cars inside the skins of Pontiacs.
Big economic shifts also damaged the brand. Two gas spikes in the 1970s steered Americans toward smaller cars with more fuel-efficient engines, areas dominated by Japanese automakers in the U.S.
About two dozen unsold Pontiacs now linger at dealerships around the country, including a maroon G5 coupe that sits awkwardly in a no-man's land between used cars and new models next to the showroom at Orr GM Superstore near Little Rock, Ark. The car, which is really just a poky Chevrolet Cobalt gussied up with a spoiler, fancy wheels and the red arrowhead Pontiac logo, has been on the lot for more than 700 days. Sales Manager Alex Valencia has knocked almost $7,000 off the sticker price, down to $16,585.
Despite spells of success during the last 30 years, Pontiac never returned to its supercharged sales of the 1960s.
A low point was the late 1990s, when Pontiac came up with Aztek, an attempt to merge campers with SUVs and win over young, outdoorsy Americans. The vehicle, which seemed more like a cross between a minivan and armored car, flopped.
In the mid-2000s, GM tried to rekindle the brand with powerful sedans, such as the G8, which harkened back to the GTO. But dealers wanted a full model lineup, and GM gave them renamed Chevrolets, diluting Pontiac's performance image, says Bob Lutz, GM's former product guru who headed up the effort to reinvigorate Pontiac.
This year, Pontiac's sales are less than 1 percent of the 2.2 million cars and trucks GM is expected to sell. GM built the last Pontiac in May.
Even after their Pontiac agreements expire, GM dealers will continue to service the cars and honor their warranties. But after this weekend, any new Pontiacs that remain on dealer lots will be considered used cars by GM.
Anthony "Tony" Augelli, owner of a Pontiac-GMC-Buick dealer in Gurnee, Ill., near Chicago, still has a gleaming orange 2009 Solstice roadster that's the first car to greet customers in his showroom. Despite its prime perch, the $32,000 car hasn't sold.
Augelli gets emotional when speaking of Pontiac's end.
"I miss it already," he says.

Sep 12, 2010
Here is a YouTube Clip - Pontiac Tribute from Jerry Stanic.
The last part is kind of sad.

July 26, 2010
Check out this blog, with some member participation. Good video!
http://thegearheadskeptic.wordpress.com/2010/07/24/nitrogen-filled-tires/

June 20, 2010
If you love muscle cars, you will love this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-kpIyU_8v8&feature=related

Crash Test - 1959 Chevy Bel Air vs 2009 Chevy Malibu
- A controlled head on crash of old versus new. The dummy in the Malibu suffered only minor leg injuries while the dummy in the Bel Air would have died instantly, this really shows how auto safety has progressed! The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety conducted a unique crash test to demonstrate the advances in motor vehicle safety over the last 50 years. In this test, a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu and a 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air are both going 40 mph and the vehicles collide offset, driver side to driver side. This is the same crash configuration represented by the Institute's 40 mph frontal offset barrier test, which is used to rate the frontal crash performance of new cars.
For information comparing the safety performance of new vehicles, go to the Institute's website at www.iihs.org/ratings/default.aspx

Famous Pontiacs
1977 Trans AM SE from Smokey and the Bandit

1982 Firebird Trans AM named Kitt from from Knight Rider

1967 GTO from XXX with Vin Diesel part of the Fast and Furious Series

Pontiac Twirler Sign
Below is a mid ‘40’s Pontiac dealer curb side twirler sign. The sign is in original condition and was purchased from South Carolina area. Owner C Beck

Pontiac Trivia

A. The Pontiac Trans AM from Movie Smoky and the Bandit is from the year
1. 1967
2. 1977
3. 1987
4. 1997

B. The name of the Firebird Trans Am from the TV series Knight Rider was:
1. Hal
2. Flash
3. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
4. Kitt

C. The Canadian Pontiacs and the American Pontiacs from the 60’s and70’s were essentially the same vehicle
1. True
2. False

D. Which of these is not a Pontiac
1. Firebird
2. GTO
3. Fiero
4. Vega

E. Which of the advertising promotions is a Pontiac exclusive
1. Wide tracking Pontiac
2. Built Pontiac Tough
3. May the best car win
4. More for your money

F. In 2004 Pontiac brought back the GTO. The design of this car was based on the Murano which was built in
1. U.S.A.
2. Europe
3. Japan
4. Australia

G. The name Pontiac comes from an historic
1. American mountain
2. Chief of an Indian Tribe
3. British Politician
4. Nothing - It has no historical connection

Questions:

What year was Pontiacs trademark “Split Grill” introduced?
Who was the “father” of the GTO
What year was the first Pontiac V-8 produced?
Did Pontiac ever have a rear window wiper on car?
What do the initials GTO stand for
How many Acadian Canso’s were made in 1966?
What year did production of the Pontiac 455 end?
What year and model were the last 455’s available in?
Who designed the Pontiac OHC 6 Cylinder engine?
What 60’s T.V. show spawned the “The Judge” moniker used on GTOs?
What connection does Pontiac have with the movie “Back to the Future:”
Did the Pontiac Motor Division ever produce a “Big Block” engine.
Were Pontiacs ever produced with “Big Block” Engines
What year was the last Factory Trans Am Show car produced?
How was the name “Pontiac” derived?
What car was Pontiac’s “Judge” model introduced to combat in the Muscle Car wars?