GM to Scrap Pontiac Brand

GM plans to discontinue its underperforming Pontiac line, putting an end to the brand that inaugurated the era of the muscle car, CNNMoney reports. Though GM has not publicly announced the move, the fate of Pontiac has been in doubt since at least 2005, when an exec called the brand “damaged.” GM recently removed Pontiac, which was introduced in 1926, from its list of “core brands.”

Buick was also thought to be on the chopping block, but strong sales in China and renewed domestic interest have saved that line. GM will have an easier time getting rid of Pontiac than it had with Oldsmobile earlier this decade. The automaker had to pay $1 billion to scrap that line, but in 2002 GM encouraged a Pontiac-Buick-GMC package that will leave dealers with product to sell. (More Pontiac stories.)