Pontiac

Pontiac was a brand of automobiles manufactured and sold by General Motors (GM); though production ended in 2009, Pontiac remains a registered and active trademark of GM. The Pontiac automobile brand was established in 1926 as a companion make for GM's more expensive line of Oakland automobiles.

The Pontiac cars overtook its Oakland parent in popularity and supplanted the Oakland brand entirely by 1933. Pontiac became a companion make for Chevrolet. Pontiac was sold in the United States, Canada, and Mexico by GM. Pontiac was advertised as the performance division of General Motors for many years, while specializing in mainstream vehicles. Pontiac was relatively more popular in Canada, where for much of its history it was marketed as a low-priced vehicle.

In early-2009, amid financial problems and restructuring efforts, GM announced it would discontinue manufacturing and marketing vehicles under the Pontiac brand by the end of 2010 and focus on four core brands in North America: Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac, and GMC. The last Pontiac badged cars were built in December 2009, with one final vehicle built in January, 2010. Franchise agreements for Pontiac dealers expired October 31, 2010.

Pontiac, Michigan

Pontiac /ˈpɒnᵗiæk/ is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, located in Metro Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 59,515. It is the county seat of Oakland County. and about 30.2 miles (48.6 km) north and slightly west of Detroit.

Named after Pontiac, a war chief of the Ottawa people, the city achieved its widest reputation for its General Motors automobile manufacturing plants of the 20th century, which were the basis of its economy and contributed to the wealth of the region. These included Fisher Body, Pontiac East Assembly (a.k.a. Truck & Coach/Bus) which manufactured GMC products, and the Pontiac Motor Division, which in the city's heyday was the primary automobile assembly plant where the famed Pontiac cars were produced. They were named after the city. The city of Pontiac also was home to Oakland Motor Car Company, which was acquired by General Motors in 1909.

Also of note is the Pontiac Silverdome, the stadium that hosted the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) from 1975 until 2002, when the team returned to downtown Detroit. Super Bowl XVI was played at the Silverdome in 1982.

Pontiac (album)

Pontiac is Lyle Lovett's second studio album, released in 1987.

Chart success

Pontiac reached number 12 on Billboard's chart for Top Country Albums, and 117 in the Billboard Hot 200.

Critical acclaim

Pontiac was ranked as 201 in the list of the "500 Best Albums of All-Time" by the German edition of Rolling Stone. The album was also cited as one of the top 100 albums of the 1980s by the Italian magazines Il Mucchio Selvaggio and Velvet. The album is also one of 300 listed in the book, 50 Years of Great Recordings and appeared at number 33 the Village Voice's list of top albums for 1988.

Track listing

All songs written by Lyle Lovett

Personnel