What is "pontiac"

Ottawa tribal leader (c.1720-1769), his name is given in native (Algonquian) form as bwandiag. The city in Michigan, U.S., settled in 1818, was named for him as he is said to be buried nearby. The automobile brand was begun in 1926, discontinued 2010.

Pontiac was a brand of automobiles manufactured and sold by General Motors (GM); though production ended in 2009, Pontiac remains a registered and active trademark of GM. The Pontiac automobile brand was established in 1926 as a companion make for GM's more expensive line of Oakland automobiles.

The Pontiac cars overtook its Oakland parent in popularity and supplanted the Oakland brand entirely by 1933. Pontiac became a companion make for Chevrolet. Pontiac was sold in the United States, Canada, and Mexico by GM. Pontiac was advertised as the performance division of General Motors for many years, while specializing in mainstream vehicles. Pontiac was relatively more popular in Canada, where for much of its history it was marketed as a low-priced vehicle.

In early-2009, amid financial problems and restructuring efforts, GM announced it would discontinue manufacturing and marketing vehicles under the Pontiac brand by the end of 2010 and focus on four core brands in North America: Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac, and GMC. The last Pontiac badged cars were built in December 2009, with one final vehicle built in January, 2010. Franchise agreements for Pontiac dealers expired October 31, 2010.

Pontiac, or Obwandiyag (c. 1720 – April 20, 1769), was an Odawa war chief who became noted for his role in Pontiac's War (1763–1766), an American Indian struggle against British military occupation of the Great Lakes region and named for him. It followed the British victory in the French and Indian War, the North American front of the Seven Years' War. Pontiac's importance in the war that bears his name has been debated. Nineteenth-century accounts portrayed him as the mastermind and leader of the revolt, but some subsequent scholars argued that his role had been exaggerated. Historians today generally view him as an important local leader who influenced a wider movement that he did not command.

The war began in May 1763 when Pontiac and 300 followers attempted to take Fort Detroit by surprise. His plan foiled, Pontiac laid siege to the fort, where he was eventually joined by more than 900 warriors from a half-dozen tribes. Meanwhile, messengers spread the word of Pontiac's actions, and the war expanded far beyond Detroit. In July 1763, Pontiac defeated a British detachment at the Battle of Bloody Run, but he was unable to capture the fort. In October he lifted the siege and withdrew to the Illinois Country.

Although Pontiac's influence had declined around Detroit because of the unsuccessful siege, he gained stature as he continued to encourage resistance to the British. Seeking to end the war, British officials made Pontiac the focus of their diplomatic efforts. In July 1766, Pontiac made peace with British Superintendent of Indian Affairs Sir William Johnson. The attention that the British paid to Pontiac resulted in resentment among other Native leaders, as the war effort was decentralized and Pontiac claimed greater authority than he possessed. Increasingly ostracized, in 1769 he was assassinated by a Peoria warrior.

Pontiac may refer to:

• Pontiac (person), a war leader of the Ottawa tribe during Pontiac's War
• Pontiac, the General Motors automobile brand

Pontiac (formerly known as Pontiac—Gatineau—Labelle) is a federal electoral district in western Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1949 and since 1968.

From 1980 until 2011 and again in 2015, Pontiac was a bellwether electoral district whose electoral winner also was a member of the winning party.

Pontiac is Lyle Lovett's second studio album, released in 1987.

Pontiac is a provincial electoral district in the Outaouais region of Quebec, Canada that elects members to the National Assembly of Quebec. It includes the Aylmer sector of the city of Gatineau as well as the municipalities of Pontiac, Shawville, Fort Coulonge, Sheenboro, Bryson and Waltham.

It was created for the 1867 election (and an electoral district of that name existed earlier in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada). Its final election was in 1970. It disappeared in the 1973 election and its successor electoral district was Pontiac-Témiscamingue.

However, Pontiac–Témiscamingue disappeared in the 1981 election and its successor electoral district was the re-created Pontiac.

It was named after Chief Pontiac, who led Pontiac's Rebellion in 1763 in the Great Lakes region.