General Motors made history on several levels in 1937, a year that would, sadly, become notorious for bloody purges in the Soviet Union, 600,000 Nazis massed with arms extended and palms down in Nuremberg, and "Oh, the humanity!" It was also the year that GM made its peace with the fledgling United Auto Workers, following a tense series of sit-down strikes at assembly plants that crippled production for weeks on end. The standoff would end up costing GM far more than the $25- million wage settlement it grudgingly accepted.
The pact ended several difficult years that nearly saw Pontiac, sprung from the loins of Oakland as a step up from Chevrolet, disappear entirely. The nameplate was rescued-literally-by a new straight-eight engine that debuted in 1933, which sold impressively at some 85,000 units produced, despite the economy dragged to nearly the nadir of the Depression. The performance led William S. Knudsen, who had been running Pontiac at arm's length while also acting as general manager of Chevrolet, to appoint Harry J. Klinger as Pontiac's very first stand-alone boss. From that point, Pontiac's products began to advance steadily in terms of quality and sophistication: Chevrolet-derived independent front suspension in 1934, a new L-head straight-six for 1935, and continued sales improvements through 1936. And when 1937 rolled around, GM was ready to roll the dice that the economy was in sustained recovery, and undertook a major redo of its mid-range brands.
For Pontiac, that genesis began tentatively in 1935, which would become the year of The Streak. This signature styling trait, which would define Pontiacs for more than 20 years, was an up-and-over band of chrome that seemingly rose out of the 1935s' waterfall grille and stretched backward along the center of the hood to the base of the windshield. The effect, brainstormed by stylist Frank Hershey, an early Harley Earl protégé, became more pronounced in each of the next two model years, with 1937 themed by a streak running down the center of a horizontally oriented grille, and now, two additional chrome streaks running along the side of the hood. The public clearly liked what it saw: Pontiac built a combined 137,505 six-cylinder cars in 1936; the following year, production leaped to 179,244. By the time Pontiac finally retired the streak treatment after 1956, there was a pair of them on the hood, and others along the sides of the body. As styling gimmicks go, the streaks had genuine "legs," as they say in the news business. Arguably, only Buick's ventiports outlasted them.
Perhaps not as noticeable, but undeniably far more significant than the streaks, was Pontiac's sharing of the General Motors B-body with both Buick and Oldsmobile, an all-steel, turret-top design that eliminated the commonplace use of wood as a construction material. In the truest sense, these models were the automobile industry's first proper car body that was constructed entirely out of steel. Not only that, all Pontiac wheelbases were stretched five inches, to 117 inches for 1937, which made them some of the roomiest cars of the era.
The pact ended several difficult years that nearly saw Pontiac, sprung from the loins of Oakland as a step up from Chevrolet, disappear entirely. The nameplate was rescued-literally-by a new straight-eight engine that debuted in 1933, which sold impressively at some 85,000 units produced, despite the economy dragged to nearly the nadir of the Depression. The performance led William S. Knudsen, who had been running Pontiac at arm's length while also acting as general manager of Chevrolet, to appoint Harry J. Klinger as Pontiac's very first stand-alone boss. From that point, Pontiac's products began to advance steadily in terms of quality and sophistication: Chevrolet-derived independent front suspension in 1934, a new L-head straight-six for 1935, and continued sales improvements through 1936. And when 1937 rolled around, GM was ready to roll the dice that the economy was in sustained recovery, and undertook a major redo of its mid-range brands.
For Pontiac, that genesis began tentatively in 1935, which would become the year of The Streak. This signature styling trait, which would define Pontiacs for more than 20 years, was an up-and-over band of chrome that seemingly rose out of the 1935s' waterfall grille and stretched backward along the center of the hood to the base of the windshield. The effect, brainstormed by stylist Frank Hershey, an early Harley Earl protégé, became more pronounced in each of the next two model years, with 1937 themed by a streak running down the center of a horizontally oriented grille, and now, two additional chrome streaks running along the side of the hood. The public clearly liked what it saw: Pontiac built a combined 137,505 six-cylinder cars in 1936; the following year, production leaped to 179,244. By the time Pontiac finally retired the streak treatment after 1956, there was a pair of them on the hood, and others along the sides of the body. As styling gimmicks go, the streaks had genuine "legs," as they say in the news business. Arguably, only Buick's ventiports outlasted them.
Perhaps not as noticeable, but undeniably far more significant than the streaks, was Pontiac's sharing of the General Motors B-body with both Buick and Oldsmobile, an all-steel, turret-top design that eliminated the commonplace use of wood as a construction material. In the truest sense, these models were the automobile industry's first proper car body that was constructed entirely out of steel. Not only that, all Pontiac wheelbases were stretched five inches, to 117 inches for 1937, which made them some of the roomiest cars of the era.
1937 Pontiac Deluxe 4 Door Sedan, Netherlands East Indies
Source :
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