Pontiac is dead. Well, dying anyhow; it won’t officially be dead until 2010. Regardless, GM’s performance brand will join Saturn, Hummer and Saab as a victim of GM’s cost-cutting path to profitability. For all you fans, shed a tear.

Pontiac is the only longstanding GM brand to get axed in this current move, and rightfully so in my opinion. Perhaps no other single GM brand exemplifies everything that was right, and horribly wrong, with General Motors over the past several decades. Pontiac was the source of some of GM’s greatest cars, a hotbed of innovation and high-performance. On the other hand, it also boasted the General’s greatest blunders. Once in a while, the bad and good were mixed together within the lifespan of the car. What exactly am I referring to? Click the jump to see what made Pontiac great…and why it’s also pure garbage. If you agree, disagree, or think I missed one or more, sound off in the comments!

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