Pontiac in the rear-view mirror

Re “Few weep over Pontiac’s end,” April 28

Thank you for your well-researched and nicely written article about a very sad situation.

My first car was a 1964 Pontiac Tempest, and I can remember wishing that it had the GTO’s V8 engine. Instead, it had the straight-line 6-cylinder, which turned out to be great because we were between the two 1970s oil embargoes.

I’ve been thinking lately about getting a new car, and it definitely will be American. I was leaning toward the new Dodge Challenger, but based on your story today, I think I will buy a Pontiac G8. Maybe in 30 or 40 years, it will be what a 1969 GTO is today.

John Atkinson

Westwood

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No doubt The Times will receive many letters lamenting the end of Pontiac, nostalgic paeans to a great automobile legacy.

I made the mistake of buying a new Pontiac in 1981. Mine wasn’t an actual lemon because its flaws were inherent in the car -- an overall piece of junk so bad that it shamed the manager of the dealer’s repair department.

After years of struggling with it, I started buying Japanese cars and haven’t looked back. Just one man’s story in the epic tale of the multi-decade rotting and collapse of General Motors.

Thomas Fuchs

West Hollywood