The Pontiac brand, originally a companion marque to General Motors’ Oakland division, was named after the famous Native American leader Chief Pontiac. Its logo, the Native American “Chief’s Head,” later evolved into the distinctive red arrowhead emblem.

Pontiac became well-known for creating affordable performance cars, with the Pontiac GTO (introduced in 1964) often credited as one of the first true muscle cars. The GTO’s creation came about as a clever loophole: GM had a corporate ban on large engines in mid-sized cars, so Pontiac made the GTO an option package for the Tempest, bypassing the rule and revolutionizing the industry!