Here's What Really Happened To The Last Pontiac Ever Made
For decades, Pontiac stood tall alongside juggernauts like Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, and the now-defunct Oldsmobile as a mainstay of the General Motors family. Known for iconic models like the Firebird, the brand was nothing short of a cornerstone for the overall industry throughout much of the 20th century. Unfortunately, the early years of the 21st century proved that even the most storied automakers aren't invincible, with Pontiac flopping to the point that GM decided to permanently discontinue the brand. 2010 would ultimately mark the final year of the Pontiac line, with the majority of its final supply of cars being manufactured the year prior.
In the years since Pontiac's closure, there has been some effort from media outlets and enthusiasts to locate and somehow preserve the very last car it ever made. In 2022, a Reddit user posted a thread detailing an unfortunate fate for what was thought to be the last Pontiac unit to ever come off the assembly line. However, 2023 would bring a significant update to the situation, as the Pontiac Transportation Museum released a video in which it determined that a different vehicle was actually the last one ever made — one that is in far better condition than the car previously thought to be the last of its make. With that in mind, here's exactly what happened to the actual last Pontiac ever made, and where it is today.
The last Pontiac ever made went unrecognized for years
Prior to the Pontiac Transportation Museum's update in 2023, it was thought for some time that the last Pontiac ever made had suffered a gruesome fate. The car identified in the 2022 Reddit thread was a black 2010 Pontiac G6 with a VIN of 1G2ZA5EB5A4166962. According to the post, this car had been totaled in an accident in 2015 and was thought to be in incredibly poor condition. Many accepted this sequence of events as a depressing end for the carmaker, but several details caught the eye of employees at the Pontiac Transportation Museum.
Through research and collaboration with several Pontiac dealership owners, the museum employees eventually unearthed official documents pointing to a different car with a slightly more recent VIN of 1G2ZA5EK7A4166963. A white 2010 Pontiac G6, this unit was created at General Motors' Orion Assembly plant and shipped on January 4, 2010. Beyond that, its whereabouts were unknown. Realizing that this car was in all likelihood the actual last Pontiac ever made, the museum began a search to trace the journey of the vehicle after its departure from the plant.
Through information obtained from CARFAX, the investigators found that the last Pontiac had first gone to Boise, Idaho, for use at a rental car company. After roughly a year, it was auctioned off to a dealer in Golden, Colorado. Unable to find a buyer, they auctioned it to yet another dealer in Scott City, Kansas. Soon after, the dealer managed to sell the Pontiac to an 82-year-old woman, who subsequently kept it in everyday use all the way up to the point of the museum's investigation. Throughout this entire period, she was none the wiser about the car's historic significance.
Pontiac Transportation Museum secured the automaker's final unit
Having traced the last Pontiac ever made by the company to the driveway of an elderly woman in Kansas, the Pontiac Transportation Museum reached out to the owner's family to see if she would be interested in selling it to the museum. After several months of communication, she ultimately decided she was interested. A friend of the museum made the purchase out of their pocket and subsequently donated the car to the museum, where it has resided since.
Despite seeing more than a decade's worth of usage, the final Pontiac is in very good condition. The car saw regular maintenance when it was used and had never been involved in any sort of vehicular accident, save for a few scuffs on the front bumper that the museum removed with professional detailing. Interestingly enough, the car bears a special mark confirming its identity as the final Pontiac ever made. The compartment for the spare tire in the car's trunk features the signatures of the line workers at General Motors' Orion Assembly — ostensibly done out of recognition of the end of the historic Pontiac brand.
As of this writing, the car is located at the Pontiac Transportation Museum's physical museum in Pontiac, Michigan. Visitors can see it on display, along with a number of other significant models from throughout Pontiac's storied history. The museum has also brought the car to events like the 2023 Pontiac-Oakland Club International Convention. So while the Pontiac brand is long gone, fans can rest assured that the last of its kind is being preserved and well cared for.