Prior to the 1965 Auto Pact, Canada levied tariffs on imported cars, so American automakers all had auto plants in Canada. GM Canada until that time manufactured Chevy and Pontiac, and imported Olds, Buick and Cadillac.
Low-priced cars were always bigger sellers in Canada than in the US, partially because of Canadians' lower purchasing power, and possibly because Canadians were perhaps just a bit thriftier than their neighbors to the South.
In 1950s Canada, Chevrolet was paired with Oldsmobile, and Pontiac paired with Buick. But the Buick dealers needed something low-priced, in the Chevrolet's class, and in many remote small towns in Canada, there was only a Pontiac-Buick-GMC dealer (which is also why GMC often outsells Chevy truck in Canada), and no Chevy dealer.
So for the Canadian market, Pontiac was marketed in the Chevrolet's price class. To reduce the cost of building different Chevrolet and Pontiac frames and engines, GM rationalized and Canadian Pontiacs were built on Chevrolet frames with Chevrolet engines, and in some years, 1949-1954 in particular, Pontiacs used Chevrolet bodies with Pontiac styling cues.
Pontiac were doing much better in Canada, market-share wise, than in America in the pre-Bunkie Knudsen days, as GM had two offerings in the popular low-price bracket, and Pontiac's popularity soared in Canada as it did in America from the mid-fifties onward.
Pontiac continued to use Chevrolet frames and engines, and if you ever see a '59 Canadian Pontiac, it looks a bit odd from some angles because the "wide track" Pontiac body sat atop the slightly narrower Chevy frame. Pontiac also offered base models unseen in the US, such as the early Pathfinder, and the Strato Chief continued in Canada after it was discontinued in the US. Often, the base Pontiacs used Chevrolet trim.
GM's competitors responded, and Canadian Dodges were often de-contented, essentially being rebadged Plymouths, and Ford responded with "Meteor", a Canada-only brand that was a stripped-out Mercury. Ford dealers there for a number of years were given the "Monarch" brand, which were Mercurys with Ford-style grilles and trim, giving both Ford and L-M dealers virtually identical product lines.
GM introduced "Acadian" in the early 1960s, selling thinly-disguised Novas and Chevelles through Buick-Pontiac dealers, giving them access to these popular models. For a number of years in the 1960s, Pontiac outsold Chevrolet in Canada.
After the 1965 "Auto Pact", Detroit began to rationalise operations across the border, and gradually, Acadian disappeared, and the full-size Pontiacs were the same as the US models by 1971, except for the continued use of the "Laurentian" (Catalina) and "Parisienne" (Bonneville) model names.
Pontiac had become entrenched in Canada as a twin to Chevrolet, and nearly all Chevrolet models had a Pontiac equivalent in Canada. For example, the Vega-clone Pontiac Astre was offered in Canada years before the US. The Pontiac Acadian was the Chevette's twin (being sold alongside the T1000 for some years), and in the 80s, the Tempest was the Corsica's twin.
Canadian Pontiac dealers even got the "captive imports" sold by Chevrolet in the US. The Firefly and Sunburst were, respectively, twins to the Chevrolet Sprint and Spectrum. Since there was no Geo in Canada until '92/93, the Tracker was also sold as a GMC. PontiacCanada tried to offer a Geo-like lineup, named "Asuna", but this only lasted 93-95, and consisted of the SE and GT (Daewoo LeMans), Sunrunner (Tracker), and Sunfire (Geo Storm). Prior to Asuna, was "Passport", which consisted of the Passport Optima (Daewoo LeMans) and some rebadged Isuzu SUVs. All this was dropped around '95, and the Tracker continued as the Pontiac Sunrunner for a few years.
Saturn was set up in Canada, and began selling Saabs, and Isuzu. And occasionally, there were US models not sold in Canada, such as the Oldsmobile Bravada.
So, long before GM decided to rationalize here in the US, they had done so in Canada, with Chevy-Olds-Caddy and Pontiac-Buick-GMC existing since the 1950s (and probably before).
Thus, Pontiac had become long-entrenched as a low-priced brand, albeit with a slightly up market image, like Chevrolet, and to some Canadians was more of a "Canadian" brand, giving them sort of their "own" brand, like Holden was to Australia.
So, while many observers and fans feel something should be done with Pontiac here, either reinventing it, or merging it with Saturn, consideration needs to be taken for the substantial Canadian market. If Pontiac ever became a niche brand, Canadians would get a host of twin-nostrilled Chevrolets to keep dealers and customers happy there.
Canadians are less bothered by rebadged Chevrolets than we are simply because it's been practiced for so many years there, and the Pontiac name still has a bit more cachet than Chevrolet, giving Canadians the option of buying Chevrolets with a slightly more upscale brand.
I FOUND THIS ARTICLE ON ANOTHER U.S. CHAT LINE AND FOUND IT INTERESTING AND THOUGHT I WOULD SHARE IT. DAVE
