Figured I'd start a little weekly fun game of sorts with a new Pontiac-related trivia question every Monday. Reply with your answer and feel free to reach out if you have any suggestions!

 

This week, we'll start off easy... What did Pontiac start out building? (bonus points for the year it started)

If you are referring to the start of Pontiac as the Oakland Motor Company! It was horse drawn carriages!

Hmm, i am thinking it was 1926, was the first Pontiac by its brand name and they made what was called the Series 6-27 range.

 they included the Landau coupe, sport roadster, sport cabriolet, a phaeton sedan, and sport Landau

The first vehicles named Pontiac were horse drawn carriages and sleighs starting in 1893 by the Pontiac Buggy Company. Founder Edward Murphy would later create Oakland Motor Car Company in 1908. GM would purchase Oakland in 1909.

The first automobile named "The Pontiac" HIgh Wheel Runabout was created by the Pontiac Spring and Wagon Works in 1908, not Oakland Motor Car Company. Around 50 are believed to have been built in 1908. Four are known to still exist, two of them are in Michigan. One in Flint and one in Pontiac.

The first Pontiac made by General Motors and Oakland Motor Car Company was made in 1926.

Edited April 6, 20215 yr by Frosty

48 minutes ago, Frosty said:

The first vehicles named Pontiac were horse drawn carriages and sleighs starting in 1893 by the Pontiac Buggy Company. Founder Edward Murphy would later create Oakland Motor Car Company in 1908. GM would purchase Oakland in 1909.

The first automobile named "The Pontiac" HIgh Wheel Runabout was created by the Pontiac Buggy and Wagon Works in 1908, not Oakland Motor Car Company.

The first Pontiac made by General Motors and Oakland Motor Car Company was made in 1926.

Oh sure! If you want to get real detailed about it!  Good job buddy!

5 minutes ago, Last Indian said:

Oh sure! If you want to get real detailed about it!  Good job buddy!

Thanks bud. I decided to go back and add pictures! I know how much this bunch LOVES pictures.

1 hour ago, Frosty said:

The first vehicles named Pontiac were horse drawn carriages and sleighs starting in 1893 by the Pontiac Buggy Company. Founder Edward Murphy would later create Oakland Motor Car Company in 1908. GM would purchase Oakland in 1909.

The first automobile named "The Pontiac" HIgh Wheel Runabout was created by the Pontiac Buggy and Wagon Works in 1908, not Oakland Motor Car Company. Around 50 are believed to have been built in 1908. Four are known to still exist, two of them are in Michigan. One in Flint and one in Pontiac.

The first Pontiac made by General Motors and Oakland Motor Car Company was made in 1926.

CHEAT...... This like recalling family memories for those of us from the PONTIAC MI area.

26 minutes ago, JUSTA6 said:

CHEAT...... This like recalling family memories for those of us from the PONTIAC MI area.

.....and your point is?

Is it cheating if you know it? Besides the pictures of the Pontiac buggy is from Pontiac Illinois! Neah!

17 minutes ago, Frosty said:

.....and your point is?

Is it cheating if you know it? Besides the pictures of the Pontiac buggy is from Pontiac Illinois! Neah!

Oh well, Everybody else Justa googled it.

5 minutes ago, JUSTA6 said:

Oh well, Everybody else Justa googled it.

Yeah, but how many of them knew about the High Wheel Runabout - especially since it is technically not part of the GM/Oakland/Pontiac history?

3 minutes ago, Frosty said:

Yeah, but how many of them knew about the High Wheel Runabout - especially since it is technically not part of the GM/Oakland/Pontiac history?

Of course it was a high wheel, it's made from a carriage.  Low riders were not even thought of,  hydraulics (steam power) was waay to bulky Justa make it drop into the weeds.  Raise for rock crawling or WTF would they make it bounce for?       Kidding aside, good info/pic's buddy.

2 hours ago, Frosty said:

Thanks bud. I decided to go back and add pictures! I know how much this bunch LOVES pictures.

Where’s the pictures of the sleigh?😉

5 hours ago, Frosty said:

The first vehicles named Pontiac were horse drawn carriages and sleighs starting in 1893 by the Pontiac Buggy Company. Founder Edward Murphy would later create Oakland Motor Car Company in 1908. GM would purchase Oakland in 1909.

The first automobile named "The Pontiac" HIgh Wheel Runabout was created by the Pontiac Spring and Wagon Works in 1908, not Oakland Motor Car Company. Around 50 are believed to have been built in 1908. Four are known to still exist, two of them are in Michigan. One in Flint and one in Pontiac.

The first Pontiac made by General Motors and Oakland Motor Car Company was made in 1926.

Well i for one learnt something new !!! thank you frosty,

and for me it made a world of difference with pictures    

2 hours ago, 31pontiac said:

Where’s the pictures of the sleigh?😉

 

Here you go!

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-antique-1800s-pontiac-buggy-1818317659

Frosty, the walking Encyclopedia  

Don't mess with me at Trivial Pursuit either!

All those stating horse drawn carriages (or some form of that) would be correct-o-mundo!

Quote

In 1893, Edward M. Murphy established the Pontiac Buggy Company in Pontiac, Michigan and produced horse drawn carriages thru 1906. 

If you haven't checked out our topic covering the history of Pontiac from inception to it's demise, you can read it all here: https://foreverpontiac.com/forums/topic/230-1893-pontiac-buggy-company-to-2010-pontiac/

 

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Onto this week's question! 

So we know their first "vehicle" ever produced but can you list all types of transportation vehicles which Pontiac produced over the years?

Hmmm....let's see.

Automobiles - from 1926 - 2010 - both FWD and RWD in the forms of sedans, coupes, station wagons, roadsters, mid-engine, convertibles, compacts, sub-compacts, sports, luxury, full-size, and cabriolets

Trucks - 1926 1/2 to 1928 in North America and at least part of 1929 in Australia (body by Holden) - mostly likely in kit form - Pontiac produced 1/2, 3/4,  and 1 ton delivery trucks in North America.

Ad for 1929 Pontiac pickup in Australia

Taxi Cabs - although badged/VINed as a "GMC Truck" -  Yellow Cab Company taxis of 1930  - about 1300 were built - these limited edition taxies were built by Pontiac but sold as GMCs.

MId-size crossover SUV - Aztek -2000 - 2005 & Torrent 2006-2009

Minivan - Pontiac Trans Sport / Montana - 1990 to 2004 

During WWII - Pontiac did not produce a single vehicle but provided parts, guns, torpedoes, axles, engine parts, etc.  for the war effort. Pontiac's war output is broken down here:

https://usautoindustryworldwartwo.com/General Motors/pontiac.htm

 

How did I do RIngo?

 

 

Sedan deliveries in US 1949 through 1953 and in Canada up to at least 1958.

 Grumman TBM torpedo planes during WW2...1943/1945..????

Edited April 12, 20215 yr by TWO LANE BLACK TOP

They also made the 20mm oerlikon anti- air craft cannons , aerial torpedo's, artillery shells ,axels for the m-5 stuart and m24 chaffee tanks built buy Cadillac.

They made parts for the Detroit diesel, engine parts for the gmc 270 engines, and aircraft gun mechanisms / gun tubes  including 40mm Bofors. 

Are but Frosty already said all this

On 4/12/2021 at 6:19 PM, TWO LANE BLACK TOP said:

 Grumman TBM torpedo planes during WW2...1943/1945..????

GM built, under government contract, the Grumman TBF Avenger (TBM), the Wildcat (F4F) as the FM-1, and the FM-2 (based on Grumman's XF4F-8 prototype) in the Linden New Jersey plant. Later in the war, the F3M-1 Bearcat was also produced.

As a side note, late President George H.W.  Bush flew a TBF Avenger in WWII.

https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-trending/actual-footage-george-bushs-ww2/

Actual sea rescue of Lt. Bush after being shot down.

 

Edited April 14, 20215 yr by Frosty

Got a pretty good list going, guys! Think you guys went into more detail than what I was looking for  . Fantastic! Here is overall what we were looking at:

• Carriages
• Passenger Cars
• Car Cab/Chassis
• Truck Cab/ChassisTractor
• Military 6×6
• Amphibian Truck

 

----------------------

New question for this week: did Pontiac ever build a turbine engine?

Yes they did.

They built a steam turbine engine for the Mark XIII torpedo in WWII.

https://usautoindustryworldwartwo.com/General Motors/pontiac.htm

Now technically speaking GM built several gas turbine concept cars all called Firebird I, II, III, and IV in the 1950s - but these were not built by Pontiac, but rather by Harley Earl and GM Research. Although Pontiac would later take the name Firebird and apply to its F-body starting in 1967,

Finally, Pontiac and Chevrolet did build a prototype 4-cylinder steam turbine engine and put it into a 1969 Grand Prix. and a 1969 Chevelle. The vehicles were called the SE-101/SE-124 respectively. Pontiac, nor Chevrolet, ever produced a turbine engine for production in automobiles. 

Video: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1458512590840317

https://www.hemmings.com/stories/2010/05/17/who-killed-the-steamturbine-powered-car

https://books.google.com/books?id=FyoDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA84&lpg=PA84&dq=se-124+chevelle&source=bl&ots=6ZcDT4R9Iw&sig=wLDAFVzU86kJxMJG7UHhvos_ELc&hl=en&ei=F53tS6vSOYG-Npeq2OoL&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result#v=onepage&q=se-124 chevelle&f=false

https://bangshift.com/general-news/car-features/its-not-a-chevelle-with-a-blown-radiator-its-the-se-124-a-steam-powered-chevrolet/

I will have to check with Don Keefe, but I believe the '69 Grand Prix still exists today as well.

Edited April 19, 20215 yr by Frosty