The Pontiac Grand Prix was a popular car manufactured by the Pontiac division of General Motors. Produced from 1962 to 2008, the Grand Prix enjoyed seven distinct generations before it was finally discontinued in favor of the Pontiac G8.

The early years

Pontiac introduced the Grand Prix to the American public in 1962 as a full-sized luxury car. The first model borrowed many components from Pontiac's Catalina but came in a two-door coupe body style. The car came with a few V8 engine options and sports car accessories were available as options.

Pontiac introduced the only Grand Prix convertible model in 1967. In 1969, the Grand Prix was redesigned to be a mid-sized car.

The 1970s

The Grand Prix had its first V6 engine in 1972, but overall engine performance declined because of the new federal guidelines. The manual transmission was replaced with the three-speed automatic transmission.

In 1973, Pontiac had to redesign the Grand Prix along with their other vehicle lines to meet the new federal safety standards. The new bumpers and other safety equipment made the 1973 model much heavier than the earlier models.

In addition, the new emissions standards meant lower-output engines. The heavier weight and the lower power might have resulted in reduced power, but the Grand Prix remained one of Pontiac's better sellers, reaching peak sales levels in 1976 and 1977.

The 1980s and 1990s

In 1988, Pontiac introduced the fifth generation of its Grand Prix line, the first with front-wheel drive. This model was offered in a 4-door sedan and a 2-door coupe. It had various 4- and 6-cylinder engine options.

Pontiac introduced the Widetrack Grand Prix in 1997. This car featured a wide stance and the sportiest styling since the early days of the Grand Prix. Pontiac sold the car in both 2- and 4-door models. It also offered the Grand Prix GTP, a top-of-the-line model that featured a supercharged engine and performance-oriented gearing.

The end of the line

The seventh and final generation of the Pontiac Grand Prix was produced in 2004. Since Pontiac had just released the GTO sports car model, it only sold the Grand Prix as a 4-door sedan that year.