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The lights are now finally going out at Pontiac
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Credit: BLOOMBERG NEWS / BRADLEY C. BOWER
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Source: tvcrazy.net
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Source: dpa / Photoshot / Bandphoto
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Source: KPA / 91050 / KPA / TopFoto
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Source: AP / BRIAN BRANCH PRICE
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Source: Heritage-Images / National Motor Museum
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Source: KPA / 91050 / KPA / TopFoto
Source: info@helga-lade.de/Geoff du Feu
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Source: AP / Anonymous
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Credit: AFP / GABRIEL BOUYS
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Source: landov / JOHN PYLE
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Source: AP / Carlos Osorio
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Source: dpa / Harry Melchert
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Source: Pontiac / GM
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Credit: AFP / GABRIEL BOUYS
The struggling for survival US carmaker General Motors is apparently forced to deforest in its distress. Now the Opel mother has decided to end a traditional US brand. Pontiac, once the creator of the first muscle car, will in future eke out a life in museums and collections.
S.e since 1926 cars were sold by GM under the name Pontiac in the USA, although the comparatively inexpensive cars have always been of particular importance in their home market and in Canada. This is also one of the reasons that the Solstice roadster, introduced in 2006, is sold in Germany in a modified form as the Opel GT and not as the Pontiac.
Because of its positioning as an inexpensive brand, Pontiac never achieved the recognition and radiance of other American brands in the past. Few models achieved greater fame. The GTO, launched in 1964, is such an exception, because the high-performance and inexpensive vehicle is generally considered to be the first real muscle car, which thus founded an entire automotive era. In addition to many successes in quarter mile races, justified appearances in the cinema "Asphalt races" from 1971 and later in "xXx – Triple X" from 2002 the cult status of the GTO.
Even better known, however, is the Firebird sports car, which GM launched in 1966 on the basis of the Chevrolet Camaro as an answer to the successful Ford Mustang. Even if neither Camaro nor Firebird ever achieved the status of the Ford Mustang, the Firebird in particular achieved great fame through a TV series.
In the series that started in 1974 and is also very successful in Germany "Detective Rockford – just give us a call" Actor James Garner aka Jim Rockford drives a gold-colored Firebird. The car was regularly staged in a particularly spectacular way when the private detective called in as "Rockford turn" well-known driving maneuvers practiced.
Rockford reversed the Firebird quickly by pulling the steering wheel around and then fleeing in the opposite direction with smoking tires.
The Firebird also played an important role in other productions: Burt Reynolds drives in the film "A boiled rascal" a 1977 Trans Am, and David Hasselhoff’s wonder car "PUTTY" in the series "Knight Rider" is also the top model Trans Am, but from the year of construction 1982.
Recently, however, Pontiac was far from the glory of bygone times.
The Firebird, which was ultimately unsuccessful, was discontinued in 2002, the model range last consisted largely of less exciting mass-produced goods – for example, the small car G3 is based on the Korean Chevrolet Aveo.
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