Story & Photos by Mark E. Neumann
The United States is celebrating 250 years of independence. The Pontiac brand had it’s own birthday this year: 100 years old!
So where best to celebrate that milestone? In Pontiac, MI, of course, at the annual convention of the Pontiac-Oakland Club International.
Over 40 members of Arizona’s two Pontiac clubs, one located in the Phoenix area and one in Tucson, traveled to Pontiac in June to celebrate the brand’s birthday. In addition to taking home trophies in the judged and popular vote shows, chapter members enjoyed the week-long event filled with parades, visits to the growing Pontiac Transportation Museum, special speakers, cruises down Woodward Avenue, and special tours, including the nearby General Motors proving grounds.
In Arizona, members of the Valley of the Sun and Arizona chapters made the 2,000 mile journey, some transporting their restored Pontiacs, or flew into Detroit for the convention. The two Arizona chapter together have over close to300 members.
The Pontiac brand was an off shoot of the Oakland Motor Company started in 1907 after making horse-drawn buggies for many years and gradually moved to automobiles under the GM brand. The GTO, launched in 1964, is considered the first of the 1960s era muscle cars.
GM shuttered the Pontiac brand in 2010 as part of a government-imposed restructuring, leaving enthusiasts around the world who cherished the Pontiac Motor Division’s “We Build Excitement” slogan reminiscing about the GTO, Catalinas, Grand Prix, and Trans Ams. A celebration of its 100th anniversary this year help bring that history back for enthusiasts everywhere.
