Pontiac Retuns!? Uncovering the Truth Behind the Surprising Ad

Seems like the pot has been stirred thanks to the "Pontiac is Back" ad from the most recent Car and Driver magazine issue.
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0:00-02:33 - Pure Pontiac Nostalgia
02:34-06:59 - Breaking Down the Ad
07:00-09:15 - 3 Possible Outcomes
09:16-11:35 - My Thoughts
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[@BigKleib34]

Pontiac’s 100 year anniversary is in 2026. Would be perfect for a revival date. Just sayin…

[@tommybingbong]

today would be even better

[@Very_Angry_Citizen]

My life was unrecognizable after 2008. Still haven't recovered fully.

[@Alan-tr5uj]

I misread your comment!! I saw “ My wife was unrecognizable after 2008. Still haven’t recovered fully.” I thought, “hmm- what an odd, off topic comment.. but I’ll bite.” I was going to say- “I feel you man, they all hit the wall eventually.” For a second there your comment had me cracking up until I realized I just mis-read it.

[@chickenmuffin]

Yup me too.

[@72442conv]

If only Pontiac had been around when the 2010 Camaro came out, I can't imagine how cool the Trans Am version would have been. Pontiac could always style a car so much better than Chevy could.

[@curtjeziorski350]

The 2010 camaro was a zeta platform . It's predecessor being the 2008 g8 gt. You can interchange alot of parts. The g8 was built in Australia by holden. So the camaro is basically holden tech

[@JohnDoe-xl1ig]

I never enjoyed new Camaro. I bought a Coyote, and for GM I stuck with 90s-00s Firebirds.

[@UFC_Buffalo]

I drove my GTO to work today.

[@BigKleib34]

Really miss mine. Such a great all-around car.

[@USDM_Jesus]

I drove my g8 gt to school today 😂

[@michaelm3381]

I drive my 1998 Firebird every day still. I'm thrilled Pontiac is returning!

[@revdoggandmuddogg6375]

Still got my 02 formula I bought 15 years ago

[@RedlininRednecks]

Still riding my old G8

[@MongoMotors352]

The ad said it has a battery and electric motor to start the V8. That’s called a starter!

[@BigKleib34]

I thought about that when I released it. That’s not how a hybrid works. Is it? 😂

[@MongoMotors352]

@@BigKleib34 I drove my Pontiac Solstice GXP to work today!

[@jg3000]

😂😂😂 That's what I was thinking. Not a hybrid.

[@MisterMikeTexas]

The Fast Lane channel staff said they reached out to GM, and the rep who responded told them bluntly that the company had nothing to do with the fake ad: It was all Car & Driver's doing. The joke may be on C & D though, if enough of the mag's Pontiac fan subscribers are pissed off and cancel.

[@CobraChipper]

Bring back the Trans Am !!

[@robertjohnson4784]

I had a 76 Pontiac Trans Am it was 3 years old when I got it I was 18 that car bring me into the car world I did headers exhaust intake and carb so many memories I miss that car till today

[@johnmick9457]

GM shuts down Camaro so what exactly is their plan for NASCAR? Bringing back Pontiac would make some sense with the Firebird or GTO to go racing in NASCAR.

[@brianspangler3771]

There's a possibility that Cadillac may bring the CT5-V to NASCAR maybe next year or the year after.

[@USDM_Jesus]

Took my g8 for a rip after hearing these news

[@curtjeziorski350]

I roll in my g8 every weekend! People are confused by it!

[@thesovietvorona1007]

@@curtjeziorski350don’t own a Pontiac anymore but I do roll around in a Tiburon which around me is rare as hell so even my ugly one gets looks

[@alh5470]

i've kept my trans am ws6 since 2005 and it's still breaking necks till this day..

[@BeardedPirate]

You totally missed the "Last Call" reference to Dodge shutting down it's muscle car line. Then they went on to say they would sneak down to Colorado and bring back some Coors which is a reference to Smoky and the Bandit. I believe with the end of the Camaro, GM is going to bring back the Trans Am.

[@BigKleib34]

I think I missed a lot of references here actually lol. Good catch.

[@nhardy419]

Haven’t you seen Smokey and the bandit! The beer reference is to the movie and Pontiac trans am. You must watch it.

[@BigKleib34]

Believe it or not I actually haven’t! It’s on my list

[@gopherchucksgamingnstuff2263]

Sounds like Gen X may be writing the ads now.

[@gnws6]

The Firebird logo is also a registered trademark of GM, as is Pontiac, despite them no longer being produced. GM still owns the rights to all of that. So... unless C&D, or someone else, is trying to potentially get sued, I think GM or someone working at GM, with the pull and the access to spend the budget on something like that, knows something that we don't. Either way, I want a poster of that to hang in my shop.

[@MrFreekyByg]

with the current deplorable state of GM I would hate to see what they would do with my beloved brand.

[@Raven00714]

I wish Pontiac would come back Just imagine the new TA Formula 1000

[@smooth_ops2942]

I had a 1998 GTP coupe that ran 13.4's@111 my senior year in 2003. Alot of people didnt know about that car back then. I bought it used and it was 3 years old with 59k miles, Daytona edition blue with black leather heated seats and HUD for........$6,500 😮 not sure how i got that great of a deal. It was a different time i guess.

[@BigKleib34]

I had a GTP as well. Certainly surprised a lot of 2 valve mustang guys.

[@chasesandler456]

It's not a hybrid. It's a play on words. Every gas car uses a battery and electric motor to start the car. This is a true V-8.

[@TangibleExistence]

Ok, let’s keep it simple Pontiac. Manual options, no-hybrids, no electric and keep it V8 only !!! Go lighter weight instead of battery powered for emissions bs

[@BigKleib34]

I like the manual idea. Save the stick shifts!!

[@wesw9586]

How about an entry level model too? I still want my "Sunfire" instead of the Cavalier. Definitely for the manuals and no electrics. "Driving excitement" was the mantra after all.

[@jackjacobs2433]

Want to drive a 667 hp Holden Commodore on the Australian Autobahn? Well, now you can

[@leonardrice2830]

Have missed your KZbin presence! 😃

[@rayreisenauer5311]

Did you hear. GM still has the pontiac V8 molds and plans to use an honest to goodness SD455 in the new Trans Am. Will even have a proper Q-jet carb all of you pontiac fans love.

[@JohnDoe-xl1ig]

I would like to see Pontiac back and I would like to see GTO and Firebird in the lineup. I would like to see GTO with LT1 pushrod 6.2 and the Firebird with the LT6 5.5 DOHC. GTO with a retro design based on 1969 with hidden headlights, and a modern frontend that looks just like the 1969 GTO. The Firebird however more modernized picking up where Firebird left off in 2002, use similar taillights as the 93-02 Firebird had those sweet honeycombs and a ram air hood. Come on, gotta be somebody with me on this one... give us the best of both world's for once GM, let us have our cake and eat it. I don't like new vette, and the new camaro I haven't really enjoyed other than engine... we need Pontiac in our life again. I have never been a huge chevy fan, the Pontiac was always a difference experience and a different crowd of owners.

[@MarioLT4]

I have always been a Chevy guy but went to dodge because they made an actual muscle car if Pontiac comes back and builds a real muscle car I'll be 1st in line. Come on Pontiac

[@Monopolylife33]

My dad had Pontiac Grand Pre that lasted 13 years.

[@JMD83]

Hummer did come back as a GMC... Hopefully we get a couple or a few decent Pontiac models available at either Chevy dealers or maybe as a pre-order only option through any local GM dealership...?

[@karenstanley964]

Beautiful vehicle

[@spyder5571]

No its not. Read the fine print on the bottom.

[@91sol]

Could come back as a trim or model like the Hummer

[@CarringtonHollister]

Now Ford need to bring back Mercury then we’re even.

[@knowbodiesfull5768]

And Chrysler (Stellantis) can hopefully bring back Plymouth! Hemi 'Cudas, please!

[@FrostE941]

Buick is a big seller in other countries...... as I'm typing this you mentioned it 😂

[@Caterpillarjon]

I think that with 2026 being the 100th anniversary it's possible this is real. NASCAR teams can run the Camaro for one more year and then have to go to something else. I don't think Cadillac would be a good fit for the NASCAR series. So it would be perfect timing to bring back a Firebird Trans-Am.

[@2001rams]

There would never be another Pontiac dealership again but it would not take much to add them to supporting Buick dealerships. Buick could use a boost, Chevy no longer has a Camaro or really any more cars so Pontiac could be brought back to be a sporty/performance GM segment to ad to a Buick dealership. The Challenger is gone, the Charger as we knew it is gone but the Mustang continues and will be unchallenged. Pontiac was my favorite car (and I would buy a Pontiac "car" again whereas I would not buy any other car at this point (in the world of SUVs and pickups). There may be a spot for Pontiac to come back in and be successful but it would really have to be done right and advertised right to make it happen. In the world of cars it would be unlikely that GM could have a car ready for the 2026 model year at Pontiac 100th anniversary (unless they were already working on it which is unlikely). If this whole ad was a joke, it was plain stupid to waste the advertising space. I really wish Pontiac could be brought back and be ran effectively. Pontiac used to have great brand identity with names like Bonneville, Grand Prix and Firebird that everyone desired and went to the horrible names like G6, G8, etc. that really mean nothing. Bring back Pontiac and bring back those great model names.

[@comradeyuri8492]

Try bringing back the Trans Am ! Dodge is gone as is the Camaro, big open area for a refined muscle car that is more practical than the Corvette ! Myself I owned 4 Trans Am's, and after they went away I turned to Corvette, which never as usable !

[@yeahok115sure]

The title should am I back?😂

[@jamiebaker6691]

They could make Pontiac vehicles under the Gmc brand

[@damianmooney5079]

They should go to Aussie and resurrect HSV.

[@jessegoins1866]

🤔 even if Pontiac was revived, I'm not so sure that firebird will even return considering last I knew Trans Am Worldwide still owns Firebird Trans Am. You should call them and see if they still own the rights and record it.

[@TitanreaperYT]

I need everyone to look up the 1000 horsepower 455 Super Duty TransAm this Depot holds the camaro name license

[@jamesziegler2763]

😮😮

[@bikepacker9850]

Buick is/was huge in China.

[@marvinbenjamin.]

Grand prix, gto,bonneville

[@tomc8854]

I think it might have been an attempt by car and driver or possibly someone else to wake up GM . A new Trans Am would bring them a ridiculous amount of attention to their brand and if styled right , not like the almost identical 5th and 6th gen. Camaro , it would sell! I’m thinking a modern version of the great selling second gen Firebird. But sadly except for the Corvette they’re a lost cause.

[@Flake._.]

least we still have chevy :)

[@Yain-pj1sd]

😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

[@HEYBERT1984]

Doubt it but it would be cool.

[@robm3357]

I am a grandpa and I thought GM was nuts to cut Pontiac. I figured they should have cut Buick or even the ugly Cadillacs. I do have a Pontiac Solstice in the garage. GM you we’re stupid to kill the coolest cars on the road that people could afford.

[@Moment2Forever]

Death by lemonade should be laughed at though

[@BigKleib34]

I get it, have a dark sense of humor but I don't think that GM would if this was done by them.

[@eugenecandelaria4651]

I will drive my 05 GTO to cars and coffee this morning. GM (Mary Bara) KILLED THE CAMARO Car and Driver is like that 38 yr old high school cheer leader: Hitting the Wall and desperate for attention.

[@BeeGang13]

Bring Pontiac back! Trade it for Buick

[@bobpierce115]

I think it's likely the ad was created by Car & Driver to create buzz for Car & Driver. We've lived in a transportation appliance world now for decades. C & D was always a monthly magazine up until fairly recently. I used to subscribe to it, and Motor Trend. For years though, I can't even be bothered to pick one up when (say) at Walgreen's. I get subscription offers that are so fantastic; I can't afford NOT to subscribe. Yet I don't, and won't. SUV's, trucks, hybrids, 4-door sedans, EV's. So yeah ( I feel) it's to create buzz for a magazine that's on the way down. Motor Trend, Road & Track I'm sure are also. So this talk about GM spending a fortune on this bogus ad is kind of ridiculous when Car & Driver didn't have to pay anything other than creating the ad and running it at no profit other than hoping to lure more (real) advertisers. So yes, the 3rd explanation (8:37) is most likely. When was the last time anybody talked about Car & Driver otherwise??!

[@michaelm3381]

I still subscribe to Car and Driver. I have for years, and it's about the only car magazine left.

[@bobpierce115]

@@michaelm3381 Well that's good that you're still loyal to it. Apparently Motor Trend is now a quarterly, I'm far from alone in thinking today's vehicles are extremely boring. I only subscribe to the high end Collectible Automobile, and Hemming's Classic Cars; that's it. I'd love to know what you thought of my comments, I really would. Can you blame me?

[@theragingdolphinsmaniac4696]

It's fake. The legal line at the bottom says it is. "DISCLAIMER: Do vou need to be told that this advertisement is fake and not to be taken serious!v? Our lawyers think you do."

[@scolee6408]

Errors of illiteracy in the title gets a Chanel blocked

[@johnroma9412]

Guys, I think the fake joke referee to “our first vehicle is an EV. Pontiac coming back is real.

[@MCscarfacematt]

they killed pontiac over buick because buick was selling in china as the "luxury" amarican car GM should just restructure everything in the way dodge started to. being pontiac was the performance cars have chevy trucks pontiac sports cars buick luxury cars GMC for cross overs in the way dodge has ram for trucks jeep for suv and dodge for performance cars and chrystler for luxury cars

[@michaelm3381]

It can't be a joke. Why would Car and Driver pay for a fake ad? Would McDonald's pay for a Burger King ad? No, this seems real. I can't wait. I wish it wasn't a stupid hybrid, but its a start.

[@nineeight6]

Read the ad *very* carefully.

[@michaelm3381]

@@nineeight6 I have the magazine. As I said, why would Car and Driver give up advertising space for a joke? GM is giving us a teaser of what's going to happen.

[@nineeight6]

@@michaelm3381 I meant the part where it says "Hybrid". They meant that jokingly, because the alternator uses an electric motor and the battery of the car to start the V8.

[@michaelm3381]

@@nineeight6 that's good, because I'm not impressed with hybrids.

[@markcopland3641]

Hope Obummer loses sleep over this,wonder how much shuddering he will do.

[@impalaman9707]

Yes---and get rid of Buick. The old timers who bought those are dying

[@Ksass23]

This is definitely real, no matter what they say. Can’t wait for 2026 😎

[@parkercarter3917]

Not happening. Their worthless CEO wouldn’t let it happen.

[@since1961]

Where does the app say anything about Pontiacs not? Just the firebird under the GMC banner!

[@gopherchucksgamingnstuff2263]

Car and driver is as lame as motorweek

[@SiweLSiweL]

Car and Drive would get it’s ass sued off for using GM and their vehicles without they authorization. This is totally GM allday, is it real or they won’t spend all that money for a joke they are testing the waters….

[@MicklowFilms]

Probable just an April fools joke. The magazine was published in April for the May print run.

[@davij2727]

April fools

[@nessie42786]

Could it have been an April fools joke?

[@nessie42786]

Also me : You just mentioned that.

[@crippleguy415]

Just another rebadged Chevy . Boring .🥱