Editing Pontiac (automobile) (section)

=== 1926–1942 ===
[[File:Pontiac logo 1926.svg|thumb|left|upright=0.75|The first logo of Pontiac was launched in 1926 and featured the [[Pontiac (Odawa leader)|eponymous Native American chief]].]]
[[File:Pontiac New Series 6-28 8240 2-Door Sedan 1928 2.jpg|thumb|1928 [[Pontiac Six|Pontiac Series 6-28]] 2-door 5-passenger Coach sedan]]
[[File:1932 Pontiac (32463035).jpg|thumb|1932 [[Pontiac Six|Pontiac Series 402 Six]] 2-door 5-passenger Coach sedan]]
[[File:1936-pontiac-archives.jpg|thumb|1936 [[Pontiac Six#Second Generation (1935-1940)|Pontiac Master Six Series 6BB]] Coupe]]

The [[Oakland Motor Car Company]] was founded in 1907 in Pontiac, Michigan, by Edward Murphy, a manufacturer of horse-drawn carriages. The following year, another former buggy company executive, [[William C. Durant]], founded [[General Motors]] in Flint, Michigan, as a holding company for the Buick Motor Company. GM soon bought other automakers, including Oldsmobile and Cadillac. In 1909, Oakland became part of GM. The first model made its debut as the [[Oakland Four]] from 1909 until it was replaced by the [[Oakland Six]] in 1916. In 1926 the [[Pontiac Six|Pontiac Series 6-27]] was introduced as a junior brand to Oakland,<ref name=lifedeath/> which featured a six-cylinder engine. The Pontiac was more popular than the senior brand and became its own GM division when Oakland was canceled in 1931.<ref name="kimes1996">{{cite book |last1=Kimes |first1=Beverly |title=Standard catalog of American Cars 1805–1942 |date=1996 |publisher=Krause publications |isbn=0-87341-478-0 |pages=1218–1232 |edition=Third}}</ref>

It was named after the famous [[Pontiac (Odawa leader)|Odawa chief]], who had also given his name to the city of [[Pontiac, Michigan]], where the car was produced.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Gunnell |first1=John |title=Pontiac Is 75! |magazine=Popular Mechanics |date=April 2001 |volume=178 |issue=4 |page=98 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=hM8DAAAAMBAJ&dq=Pontiac+was+named+for+ottawa+chief+and+city+where+the+cars+were+built&pg=RA1-PA98 |access-date=28 December 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Whats In A Name How The Pontiac Came To Be |url= https://www.barrett-jackson.com/Media/Home/Reader/whats-in-a-name-how-the-pontiac-came-to-be/ |website=barrett-jackson.com |date=August 19, 2017 |access-date=December 28, 2022}}</ref> Within months of its introduction, Pontiac was outselling Oakland.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.american-automobiles.com/Pontiac-1926-1932.html |title=The Pontiac Automobile 1926-1932 & The Oakland Motor Car Co. |website=American-automobiles.com |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190411111253/http://www.american-automobiles.com/Pontiac-1926-1932.html |archive-date=April 11, 2019 |access-date=January 16, 2023}}</ref> Body styles offered included a sedan with both two and four doors, Landau Coupe, with the Sport Phaeton, Sport Landau Sedan, Sport Cabriolet, and Sport Roadster. As a result of Pontiac's rising sales, versus Oakland's declining sales, Pontiac became the only companion marque to survive its parent, with Oakland ceasing production in 1932.

Pontiacs were also manufactured from [[knock-down kit]]s at GM's Japanese factory at [[List of General Motors factories#Former factories|Osaka Assembly]] in [[Osaka, Japan]], from 1927 until 1941.<ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=TY4l3qWIIh4C&q=general+motors+assembly+plant+location+osaka+japan&pg=PA70 |title=American Multinationals and Japan: The Political Economy of Japanese Capital Controls, 1899-1980 |first=Mark |last=Mason |date=September 2, 1992 |publisher=Harvard University Asia Center |access-date=September 2, 2018 |via=Google Books |isbn=9780674026308}}</ref>

Pontiac produced cars offering {{convert|40|hp|kW PS|0|abbr=on}}, {{convert|186.7|CID|L|1|abbr=on}} (3.25×3.75 in, 82.5×95mm) [[L-head]] straight-six cylinder engines in the [[Pontiac Six|Pontiac Series 6-27]] of 1927; its [[Stroke (engine)#Stroke length|stroke]] was the shortest of any American car in the industry at the time.<ref name="kimes1996"/> The Series 6-27 sold 39,000 units within six months of its appearance at the 1926 New York Auto Salon, hitting 76,742 in 12 months. The next year, 1928, it became the top-selling six-cylinder car in the U.S., as well as ranking seventh in overall sales.<ref>{{cite book |author=((Editors of ''Automobile Quarterly'')) |title=General Motors, the first 75 years |date=1983 |publisher=Crown Publishers |location=New York |isbn=9780517551691 |edition=First |page=43}}</ref> When the [[Wall Street Crash of 1929]] occurred in September, both Pontiac and Oakland sales dropped dramatically and because Oakland was the more expensive, GM leadership decided that Pontiac should remain.<ref name="kimes1996"/>

1932 was the first year for the Pontiac Series 302 V8.<ref name="kimes1996"/> The 1932 V8 had an [[oversquare]] bore and stroke of {{convert|3.4375|in|mm|1|abbr=on}} x {{convert|3.375|in|mm|1|abbr=on}} displacing {{convert|251|cuin|L|1|abbr=on}} with a compression ratio of 5.2:1. Horsepower was rated at {{convert|85|hp|kW PS|0|abbr=on}} @3200 RPM using three main bearings, solid valve lifters and a [[Wheeler–Schebler Carburetor Company|Marvel]] one-barrel carburetor.<ref name="kimes1996"/> Unusually, Pontiac switched to the [[Pontiac straight-8 engine|straight-eight]] for 1933 until it was replaced in 1954.<ref name="kimes1996"/>

As the economy began to recover, by 1933, Pontiac had moved up to producing the least expensive cars available with [[straight-eight engine|straight-eight]] engines. This was achieved by using many components from the six-cylinder [[Chevrolet Master]], such as the body. The Pontiacs were differentiated by a large chrome strip on the top and center of the front hood that Pontiac called the "Silver Streak". Only eight-cylinder engines were offered in 1933 and 1934, displacing {{convert|223.4|CID|L|1|abbr=on}} rated at {{convert|77|hp|kW PS|0|abbr=on}}.

In 1935, Pontiac shared the [[Torpedo (car)|"torpedo"]] body appearance with the [[LaSalle (automobile)#1934–1938|LaSalle]] and the [[Cadillac Series 60]], just prior to its being used by Chevrolet, earning some media attention for the marque. At the [[1939 New York World's Fair]], a 1939 Deluxe Six was displayed with body panels made entirely from [[plexiglass]]. An unusual feature of the "torpedo"-bodied exhibition car was that, with the push of a button, the front half of the body would open showing the engine and the car's front seat interior.<ref>{{cite magazine|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ftkDAAAAMBAJ&dq=Car+Body+Splits+Wide+Open+to+Show+Engine+and+Interior&pg=RA1-PA25 |title=Car Body Splits Wide Open to Show Engine and Interior |magazine=Popular Mechanics |date=January 1941 |page=26 |volume=75 |issue=1 |via=Google Books |access-date=January 16, 2023}}</ref>

[[File:1938 Pontiac (3088615986).jpg|thumb|1938 [[Pontiac Six#Second Generation (1935-1940)|Pontiac Deluxe Six Series 26]]]]
[[File:1940 Pontiac Chieftain in showroom York Street Sydney AUSTRALIA January 1940.jpg|thumb|1940 Pontiac Chieftain in showroom, York Street, Sydney.]]

A major change occurred in 1937, when all Pontiac models except the new station wagon began using the all-steel [[GM B platform|B-body]] shared with Oldsmobile, [[LaSalle (automobile)|LaSalle]], and small Buicks. A new stronger X frame had a [[Hotchkiss drive]] using a two-part drive shaft. The eight-cylinder had a {{convert|122|in|mm|0|adj=on}} wheelbase, while the six-cylinder had a {{convert|117|in|mm|0|adj=on}} wheelbase.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Pontiac/1937_Pontiac/1937_Pontiac_Brochure/1937%20Pontiac-17.html |title=1937 Pontiac Brochure |website=Oldcarbrochures.com |access-date=April 24, 2015}}</ref> Both engines increased displacements with the six going to {{convert|222.7|CID|L|1|abbr=on}} producing {{convert|85|hp|kW PS|0|abbr=on}} and the eight to {{convert|248.9|CID|L|1|abbr=on}} rated at {{convert|100|hp|kW PS|0|abbr=on}}.

From 1940 through 1942, the [[Pontiac Torpedo]] was the brand's only model built on three different bodies: the "A" body shared with Chevrolet, the "B" body shared with Oldsmobile and Buick, and the "C" body shared with the large Oldsmobile, Buick, and the small Cadillac. It shared some appearances with the [[Opel Kapitän]]. In 1941 the [[Pontiac Streamliner]] appeared with a straight-8 engine, and on February 2, 1942, the last civilian Pontiac automobile was manufactured in the United States, as all automobile factories converted to military production.<ref>{{cite magazine|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=QU4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA19 |title=U.S. Auto Plants are Cleared for War |magazine=Life |date=February 16, 1942 |page=19 |access-date=April 24, 2015}}</ref>

The prewar through the early 1950s Pontiacs were not powerful as they featured the heavy and long [[Pontiac straight-8 engine]], which was less expensive to produce than the increasingly popular V8s. Their long crankshaft suffered from excessive flex, thus limiting them to a low compression ratio with a modest redline.<ref name="kimes1996"/>