The last Pontiac model to be made was a G6 sedan, and it was built in 2010. A few months later, General Motors officially dismantled the company.
In a direct sense, the brand was a casualty of the 2008 financial crisis, which saw the American giant eliminate four of the eight brands it marketed; the others were Saab, Hummer and Saturn.
In the case of Pontiac, the axe fell just as it seemed to be making an interesting shift under the direction of Bob Lutz. Among other things, he had pushed for the division to market Americanized versions of certain models offered down under by Australian brand Holden.
Some will remember the G8 sedan that arrived on the market in 2008. Pretty and stylish, it turned heads and offered hope for better days. It was not to be.
Over the past 15 years, rumours of a Pontiac return have cropped up on occasion, but never with any real heft behind them.
Some of the speculation starts up every time General Motors files anew to protect the name and logo. Last month, the auto giant did it again, making a new claim with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to retain its rights to the name. But a look at what applications the request was made for should prevent any fresh rumours from bubbling up.
GM’s claim states that it wants the right to use the name on hubcaps, horns and license plate frames, for example. The Pontiac logo was also subject to an application for use on toys and gaming items.
In other words, GM is protecting the name and logo. At most, it's considering using it on certain parts or merchandise.
But hope costs nothing of course. Nothing is impossible in the long term. But in the short term, despite 2026 marking what would have been the brand's centennial, there’s nothing in the cards.