Longtime Pontiac Fans Know the Secret Meaning Behind the Aztek’s Name
You might think Pontiac Motor Division got its name from being founded in Pontiac, Michigan. But the 1926 company was quick to clarify that it was actually named in honor of Chief Pontiac, after whom the Detroit-area town was also named. That’s why its logo was always an arrowhead.
Pontiac was an Odawa chief born around 1714. He’s infamous for attacking Fort Detroit and leading the subsequent Native American uprising.
Two hundred years later, General Motors’ Oakland Automobiles division needed a new model name. Even though Oakland is another town in the Detroit metro area, the Oakland Motor Car Company was headquartered in Pontiac. So it named its junior brand the Pontiac Series—again, after the Chief, not the town. These cars sold so well that GM eventually cut the entire Oakland division, replacing it with Pontiac.
Pontiac’s legacy of Native American names
Other companies and organizations with Native American names have come under fire. One recent example is the Washington Redskins (now the Commanders). Pontiac might have been tempted to emphasize the town where it was headquartered instead of the Chief who originally inspired the model line. But nope.
Early logos included Chief Pontiac’s silhouette, headdress and all. But all logos honored the Chief in some way. The company maintained an arrowhead as its badge logo until 2010.
Pontiac also gave a slew of models Native American names, including the Chieftain, Strato-Chief, and Super Chief.
Later Pontiac models leaned into names lifted from racing series, such as the Trans Am and Le Mans. But then Pontiac launched the Firebird. The now-iconic 1967 hood emblem was first inspired by Hopi jewelry.
Fast-forward to 2001, and Pontiac was working on a vehicle that would prove to be one of its last. The mid-size, angular SUV needed a unique name. So the brand decided to take the name of another Native American tribe. It spelled Aztec as Aztek. And the rest is history.
Next, find out whether the PT Cruiser is cool yet. Or you can study up on the infamous Aztek in the video embedded below:
