Pontiac, or formally the Pontiac Motor Division of General Motors, was an American automobile brand owned, manufactured, and commercialized by General Motors. It was originally introduced as a companion make for GM's more expensive line of Oaklandautomobiles.Pontiac quickly overtook Oakland in popularity and supplanted its parent entirely by 1933, in turn establishing its position as one of GM's dominant divisions. 

Sold in the United States, Canada, and Mexico by GM, Pontiac came to represent affordable, practical transportation with an emphasis on performance. The division’s name stems from the Odawa chieftain Pontiac, who led an indigenous uprising around the city of Detroit from 1763 to 1766.   In the hierarchy of GM's five divisions, it slotted above Chevrolet but below Oldsmobile, Buick, and Cadillac. Starting with the 1959 models, marketing was focused on selling the lifestyle that the car's ownership promised rather than the car itself. By emphasizing its "Wide Track" design, Pontiac billed itself as the "performance division" of General Motors that marketed cars with the "we build excitement" tag line.