page_title: Pontiac
section_title: Style trademarks and logo
hierarchical_section_title: Pontiac / Style trademarks and logo
caption_attribution_description: English: This tie tack was given to my father by Pontiac Motors Division when he was an employee in the mid-1960s, shortly after his honorable discharge from the USAF. He left it to me, when he died.
context_page_description: Pontiac was a car brand owned, made, and sold by General Motors. Introduced as a companion make for GM's more expensive line of Oakland automobiles, Pontiac overtook Oakland in popularity and supplanted its parent brand entirely by 1933.
  Sold in the United States, Canada, and Mexico by GM, Pontiac was advertised as the performance division of General Motors from the 1960s onward. In the hierarchy of GM's five divisions, it slotted above Chevrolet, but below Oldsmobile, Buick, and Cadillac.
  Amid late 2000s financial problems and restructuring efforts, GM announced in 2008 it would follow the same path with Pontiac as it had with Oldsmobile in 2004 and discontinued manufacturing and marketing vehicles under that brand by the end of 2010. The last Pontiac-badged cars were built in December 2009, with one final vehicle in January 2010. Franchise agreements for Pontiac dealers expired on October 31, 2010, leaving GM to focus on its four remaining North American brands: Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac, and GMC.
context_section_description: A Native American headdress was used as a logo until 1956. This was updated to the Native American red arrowhead design for 1957 in all usage except the high-beam indicator lamp, which retained the original logo through 1970. The arrowhead logo is also known as the Dart.
  Besides the logo, another identifying feature of Pontiacs were their "Silver Streaks"—one or more narrow strips of stainless steel which extended from the grille down the center of the hood. Eventually they extended from the rear window to the rear bumper as well, and finally; along the tops of the fins. Although initially a single band, this stylistic trademark doubled to two for 1955-1956. The Streaks were discontinued the same year as the Indian Head emblems (1957).
  One long-familiar styling element was the split-grille design which was introduced in 1959 to complement the make's new "wide track" stance. The 1960 models, however, reverted to the full-width grille styling. The split-grille then returned for the 1961 model year and would remain as the marque's trademark. Other styling cues were the pointed "arrowhead" nose (in the 1960s and 1970s), and "grilled-over" (in the 1960s), or multiple horizontal-striped taillights. This later feature originated with the 1963 Grand Prix, and although the 1962 Grand Prix also had rear grillework, the taillight lenses were not behind it. Less longstanding but equally memorable is the "cladding" common on the doors and fenders of Pontiacs produced in the 1990s and 2000s. Rather than minimizing the side bumper, Pontiac designers put two troughs going along the length. Bumpers with this appearance were found on nearly all Pontiacs until the arrival of the G6. From 2004 onwards, new Pontiacs had cleaner, more premium styling, but retained the traditional split grille.
caption: Pontiac Motors Division, Zero Defects tie tack (mid-1960s)
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