If you glance at Facebook, you will still find plenty of Pontiac fans lamenting the disappearance of their favorite marque. “Why couldn’t it be Buick?” some quip, the sting feeling greater when it’s pointed out Pontiac’s market share in North America was greater than Buick’s when the axe fell. So, would you be surprised to find a Pontiac ad inside the back cover of the May/June issue of Car and Driver?
With art direction harkening back 20-plus years, and copy that would make any Detroit-based writer fill with pride, the ad teases us with the following:
MAKE SOME NOISE
Pontiac fans, it’s been a weird 15 years since we left, hasn’t it? Now, we can’t definitely say that Pontiac’s absence influenced the events we all have been through, but c’mon. Caffeine comes out of Four Loko, and now it’s in lemonade? Everything on the road looks like an Aztek now?
You need us. America needs us. The future needs us. So Pontiac is back.
Our first model is a hybrid. Surprised? Well, it uses a battery and an electric motor to start a 667-hp supercharged 372-cubic-inch V-8. And we think you’re going to want one, because what else are you going to do? You can’t buy a new Dodge Challenger and leave the splitter guards on anymore. Don’t worry, we’ve got you—our new car’s entire front end is a splitter guard.
At Pontiac, we’re here to offer a future filled with V-8s, great sounds, gold pinstripes, and window louvers. And if someone shouts “Last call,” we’ll just smuggle in some Coors from Colorado and keep the party going.
PONTIAC IS BACK
Then, the small-print:
DISCLAIMER: Do you need to be told that this advertisement is fake and not to be taken seriously? Our lawyers think you do.
So, the ad is not quite real, but General Motors has spent tens of thousands of dollars to promote a dead brand and not any car that’s currently available in the American market. Is there something GM knows that we don’t? Is this a teaser of things to come? Pontiac’s 100th anniversary is coming up for 2026 so, for now, let’s sit back and see if more of these pop up.
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