Pontiac Made A Straight-6 Decades Before It Was Popular

Oh, Pontiac, your decease successful 2009 was a bitter pill, arsenic memories of large artifact Trans Ams and GTOs flooded distant pinch nan tears. Not that Pontiac's extremity was difficult to spot coming; nan marque had been languishing for years. There were a fewer agleam spots successful nan 2000s, specified arsenic nan GXP versions of nan Solstice and G8, but it was difficult to disregard nan rebadged leftovers and platform-thieved mediocrity that comprised astir of nan lineup. And, of course, location was nan Pontiac Aztek proving it tin ever get worse — opinionated successful nan corner, occasionally waving, eating each nan hors d'oeuvres, and making uncomfortable oculus interaction while everyone tried to disregard it.

As inauspicious arsenic nan caller millennium was for GM's erstwhile capacity division, its beginnings successful 1926 were promising. Indeed, they were much than promising, arsenic Pontiac was nan astir successful caller American automotive marque ever astatine nan time. Unlike nan image Pontiac enjoyed from nan 1950s onward — acknowledgment to nan performance-obsessed Bunkie Knudsen and John Z. DeLorean — it was primitively introduced arsenic a fund type of Oakland, a General Motors section galore of you whitethorn not beryllium acquainted with.

What was genuinely typical astir nan '26 Pontiac was that it brought high-end features retired of nan realm of expensive, narrow-market vehicles successful a "Prometheus giving humans fire" move to amended civilization. That's not hyperbole — that Pontiac group nan trajectory for nan industry, and marked nan constituent wherever cars went from luxury items to superior proscription devices. It provided a reasonable $825 starting price, an enclosed assemblage to protect occupants from nan weather, and a large, powerful, inline-6-cylinder motor making astir 40-hp (double nan output of a Ford Model T). The 1926 Pontiac was a resounding success, pinch astir 77,000 cars sold successful nan first year.

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GM — which has a long history of sidesplitting its brands — had arsenic galore divisions arsenic grains of soil connected nan formation successful nan 1920s: Pontiac, Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac, GMC, LaSalle, Marquette, Oldsmobile, Scripps-Booth, Sheridan, Viking, Yellow Cab, and Yellow Coach. There were moreover much brands for overseas markets, but much importantly, location was besides Oakland. 

The aforesaid twelvemonth Pontiac's $825 40-hp inline-6-powered coupe and two-door sedan debuted, buyers could measurement up to nan $1,215 Oakland. It featured a small much horsepower, somewhat amended brakes, and a marginally nicer interior, but nothing terribly important to warrant an other 400-ish dollars. For context, $400 successful 1926 is $7,321.49 today, and you tin astir apt deliberation of amended ways to walk 7 expansive than upgrading to a astir identical car. So, Oakland was Pontiac-ed successful 1931, 78 years earlier Pontiac was Pontiac-ed. 

It wasn't conscionable value that fto nan Pontiac outlast Oakland, though. The "lesser" marque's inline-6 was thoughtfully designed for easier servicing. While Oakland's flathead-6 utilized a single, agelong head, Pontiac's "split head" was fundamentally 2 heads covering 3 cylinders apiece. Since gasoline value was atrocious astatine nan time, heads had to beryllium removed perpetually truthful that c buildup could beryllium scraped away. Mechanics were astir apt rather thankful they didn't person to manhandle a single, weighty caput erstwhile moving connected Pontiacs. Plus, nan supplier sat betwixt nan heads and could beryllium removed quickly pinch nary disturbance to different parts.

With an 186.5-cubic-inch displacement and a 4.8:1 compression ratio, its 40 hp matched nan 200.5-cubic-inch, 4.22:1 compression Ford Model A four-cylinder. But Ford's four needed careful balancing to forestall unpleasant vibration (can corroborate from driving a '29 model), while an inline-6 is already perfectly balanced and buttery smooth.

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Pontiac's straight-6 was not nan first, arsenic Spyker's 1903 title car featured a 60-hp straight-6 — yes, that Spyker, momentary Saab savior and shaper of 1 of the astir beautiful steering wheels ever. There were besides already enclosed-bodied cars that protected buyers from rain, snow, and talkative passersby. Cheaper cars existed, too, arsenic Ford's Model T started astatine $360 successful 1926, little than half of nan Pontiac. The gyration was Pontiac's operation of power, rider protection, and price.

But nan marque that made its sanction pinch inline-6 propulsion abandoned it for a straight-8 successful 1933. And when Chevrolet introduced a straight-6 successful 1929, Pontiac income plunged. Buyers looked astatine nan 2 brands, and didn't spot a logic to measurement up to nan Pontiac erstwhile it didn't connection thing substantially different (this feels for illustration foreshadowing). Adding 2 cylinders fixed this issue, and while nan 8 didn't make overmuch much powerfulness than nan aged six, it was smoother and much refined. However, nan six couldn't enactment dead. One could reason that it was nan Great Depression that twisted Pontiac's limb to reintroduce nan six successful 1935, arsenic buyers looking to prevention money could opt for a six-cylinder exemplary starting astatine $615, aliases an 8 that began astatine $730. 

Sales favored nan six again, but trends had reversed by 1949, and buyers wanted nan powerfulness of nan eight. Some 235,000 Pontiac Silver Streak straight-8 flew disconnected showroom floors successful '49, while Chieftain sixes only recovered 40,000 buyers. 

Pontiac's six was dormant again aft 1954. Despite early attempts astatine making inline-6s cool again, specified arsenic nan overhead-cam six successful nan Firebird Sprint, a car I effort successful vain not to beryllium bitter complete my begetter trading earlier I was born, nan penning was connected nan wall. Only 8 was enough.