Pontiac cars are named after an Indian tribal chief from Ottawa, who was born in 1720 and died in 1769.  The brand name was used by General Motors from 1926 to build automobiles in Pontiac, Michigan.  Their cars were an immediate success and the company survived the Great Depression.  After WW II, Pontiacs were marketed as the affordable and sporty division of General Motors, with “muscle-cars” such as the Firebird.  However, sales slowly declined over decades and General Motors discontinued the brand name in 2010.