In an era before corporate average fuel economy (CAFÉ) requirements and emissions standards, a pioneering General Motors executive was tasked with taking over a dying division and returning it to profitability. In June 1956, Semon E. “Bunkie” Knudsen became the general manager of the Pontiac Motor Division. He injected the stodgy, boring product line with a large dose of performance. “Race on Sunday; sell on Monday” was Knudsen’s philosophy.

Although the idea of Pontiac getting into racing was far-fetched in 1956, Knudsen had a plan. In 1957, Pontiac released the Bonneville, which was a limited-edition, fuel-injected, high-performance convertible that was aimed directly at the burgeoning enthusiast market. Knudsen skillfully crafted a new youthful persona for Pontiac, and the sales began to climb.

Pontiac’s Super Duty factory-built drag cars produced an amazing line of winners. The performance mentality was clearly working, as Pontiac sales jumped to third place among the manufacturers—behind only Chevrolet and Ford.

After GM ceased all racing activities in 1963, Pontiac hardly missed a beat. In 1964, the GTO was released, and a new market segment (the muscle car) was born, which sent the competition back to the drawing boards.

In addition, Pontiac continued to create iconic muscle cars, including the 2+2, the Ram-Air GTO and Firebird, the Trans Am, the Judge, and the Firebird Formula to name a few.

*Truly a must have book authored by world renowned Pontiac historian, Don Keefe. Re-live Pontiac’s golden era today with Pontiac Performance 1960–1974: The Era of the Super Duty, H.O., & Ram Air Drag & Muscle Cars!

PART NUMBER: LIT-2089