Editing Pontiac (automobile) (section)

==Canadian/export models==
Pontiacs were built in Canada by Canadians in [[General Motors Canada|GM Canada]] with Canadian raw materials beginning in 1926, with factories in Oshawa, Ontario, and Regina, Saskatchewan. The models they produced were largely the same as their American counterparts. Canadian cars had Canadian oak in the bodies, not peach wood like the U.S. cars. The first significantly different model was the "224", introduced in 1937 with a Canadian-built {{convert|224|CID|L|1|abbr=on}} version of the then-new [[Chevrolet Stovebolt engine#Second generation: 1937–1962|Chevrolet straight-six]]. After 1940 the {{convert|239|CID|L|1|abbr=on}} [[Pontiac straight-6 engine#Flathead Six|Pontiac Flathead Six]] was used, but otherwise, the Canadian Pontiacs shared chassis and body parts with the Chevrolets as a measure to reduce the cost of production for the relatively small Canadian market.

After the Second World War, the Pontiac brand continued to be very popular, and the product line was further harmonized with the Canadian Chevrolet products. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, the U.S. market embraced eight-cylinder engines and Pontiacs equipped with the [[Pontiac straight-8 engine|straight-eight engine]] were popular, but in Canada, the straight-six continued to be the popular offering. Beginning in 1953 the model lineup consisted of the base "[[Pontiac Pathfinder|Pathfinder]]", mid-range "Pathfinder Deluxe", and top-of-the-line "[[Pontiac Catalina#Canada and Canadian exports|Laurentian]]". The chassis was shared with the Chevrolet, and the interiors were a combination of Chevy and Pontiac parts.

By 1955, the U.S. and Canadian Pontiac lines had diverged almost completely, with the US models positioned as "mid-market" cars available exclusively with the new {{convert|287|CID|L|1|abbr=on}} [[Pontiac V8 engine#287|Pontiac V8]], while in Canada the brand was still positioned as an entry-level marque. The Canadian dealership lines were either Chevrolet-Oldsmobile-Cadillac or Pontiac-Buick-GMC; small towns usually had only one or the other, but not both, so it was imperative to keep Pontiac prices competitive with Plymouth and Ford (and Chevrolet). Producing two entirely separate engine series would have increased costs, so the {{convert|261|CID|L|1|abbr=on}} Chevrolet straight-six replaced the Pontiac Flathead Six, and the new {{convert|265|CID|L|1|abbr=on}} Chevrolet V8 replaced the old Pontiac straight-eight.

In 1958, the "Strato-Chief" replaced the "Pathfinder Deluxe", and in 1959 the line was reorganized with "Laurentian" in mid-range and the new "[[Pontiac Parisienne|Parisienne]]" inserted at the top (similar to the U.S. market Bonneville). Even after the Canadian market was opened by the signing of the 1965 [[Canada–United States Automotive Products Agreement|Autopact]] the Canadian full-sized Pontiac lineup—and the practice of building them on Chevrolet chassis with Chevrolet engines—continued mostly unchanged into the 1980s (although the Strato-Chief was dropped in 1970).

GM Canada also built right-hand drive versions of their Pontiacs for export to Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa as [[knock-down kit]]s until the late 1960s. The interiors of these cars more closely resembled the equivalent Chevrolets than the Canadian market cars did, as the Chevys had already been designed for right-hand drive.

When the compact [[Chevrolet Corvair]] and [[Pontiac Tempest]] were introduced in 1960 the Corvair was built in Canada, but the Tempest was not. Importing the Tempest into Canada from the United States was not a viable option as the duties that would have had to have been paid would have substantially increased the price of what was supposed to be the least-expensive Pontiac. Tentative plans to build a Pontiac version of the Corvair were scrapped when the more conventional [[Chevrolet Chevy II / Nova|Chevy II]] was introduced in late-1961. GM Canada developed a new brand exclusively for the Canadian market for their rebadged Chevy IIs, the [[Acadian (automobile)|Acadian]]. Acadians were sold alongside the rest of the Pontiac lineup at Pontiac-Buick-GMC dealerships until 1971. When the mid-sized [[Chevrolet Chevelle]] was introduced in 1964 it was sold in Canada as the [[Beaumont (automobile)|Acadian Beaumont]] ('Beaumont' was formerly the top-level trim of Chevy II-based Acadian), and in 1966 Beaumont became its own marque. The Beaumont-badged Chevelles were in production in Canada until 1969.

Even after the 1965 Autopact (and [[North American Free Trade Agreement|Canada–United States Free Trade Agreement]] that replaced it in 1988), the practice of building Pontiac-badged Chevrolets for sale at Canadian dealers continued until the brand was discontinued in 2010. Such cars include the [[Pontiac Astre|Astre]] (based on the [[Chevrolet Vega|Vega]]), the Acadian (based on the [[Chevrolet Chevette|Chevette]]), the Sunburst (based on the [[Isuzu Gemini#Second generation (1985)|Spectrum]]), the Firefly (based on the [[Chevrolet Sprint|Sprint]]), the [[Pontiac Tempest#1987–1991|Tempest]] (based on the [[Chevrolet Corsica|Corsica]]), the Sunrunner (based on the [[Chevrolet Tracker (Americas)|Tracker]]), the Pursuit (based on the [[Chevrolet Cobalt|Cobalt]]; later badged as the "G5 Pursuit" and simply "G5"), and the Wave (based on the [[Chevrolet Aveo (T200)|Aveo]]; later badged the "G3 Wave" and "G3").