In ways that aren’t often recognized today, the 1926 Pontiac signaled a profound shift in the American auto industry. 

General Motors president Alfred P. Sloan created the 1926 Pontiac with a straightforward premise: he called upon the corporation’s engineers and managers to produce what he called a “six-cylinder Chevrolet.” However, there was some sophisticated reasoning behind this apparently simple vision.

At the time, cars like the Chevrolet and its chief competitor, the wildly successful Model T Ford, were powered by four-cylinder engines. And the Model T was a perfect vehicle for the nation’s first-time car buyers—Ford truly did put America on wheels, and the Model T dominated the new car market for nearly two decades. But Sloan could see that for their second car, American would demand more: more speed, more comfort, more style.

At the same time, Sloan spotted another significant shift in consumer demand. At the beginning of the 1920s, open body styles (roadsters, tourings, etc.) accounted for around 70 percent of the new car market, while closed body styles (coupes, sedans, and so on) held down around 30 percent. But as the automobile evolved from weekend plaything to everyday transportation and buyers sought all-weather protection, that long-term trend was flipping over and soon, closed body styles would own the 70 percent. One make, Hudson’s junior Essex brand introduced in 1919, was already capitalizing on this trend.

Sloan, an MIT- trained engineer as well as a top finance and organization man, knew that marketing a successful closed car involved more than simply swapping bodies. Closed bodies are heavier, requiring a stiffer chassis. (While the Model T offered closed body styles, its flexible chassis wasn’t suited to them.) And the enclosed passenger compartment traps and amplifies noise and vibration. In basic terms, a six-cylinder engine produces 50 percent more torque impulses per cycle than a four, promising a smoother and quieter journey.

Of course, there were closed cars and six-cylinder cars before Pontiac. Nothing new there; GM’s Buick, Oldsmobile, and Oakland divisions offered them. But these were cars in the mid-to-high priced range, too expensive to appeal to the mass market audience. And for Sloan, that’s where the Chevrolet part came in. By basing his new upmarket car on high-volume, low-cost Chevy components, GM could offer a product closer to the Chevy’s price, but with enclosed body styles and a smooth, advanced six-cylinder engine.

GM’s Oakland division was chosen to produce the new Pontiac brand, largely due to its excess manufacturing and sales capacity, but Sloan stuck firmly to his six-cylinder-Chevrolet concept. At one point Oakland CEO George Hannum attempted to assert authority over the program, but he was diplomatically rebuffed by Sloan and eventually replaced by Alfred R. Glancy, a Pierre DuPont associate. To lead the development, Sloan appointed Chevrolet chief engineer O.E. Hunt, imploring Hunt to use as much Chevrolet content as possible, while Sloan’s frequent collaborator Henry Crane designed the distinctive 186 CID L-head six with paired cylinder heads.

When the Pontiac made its debut at the New York Auto Show on January 3, 1926, production was already under way at GM’s Oakland plant in Pontiac, Michigan, just north of Detroit. With the tagline “Chief of the Sixes,” the new car was deliberately limited to only two body styles: a Landau coupe and a two-passenger sedan, as Sloan and crew hammered away at the six-cylinder-closed-car marketing message.

While the Pontiac was remarkably similar to the Oakland, on paper at least, offering stylish Fisher-built closed bodies and 40 horsepower of six-cylinder power, there was a huge difference in price: $825, compared to $1,215 for the Oakland, due largely to the Pontiac’s economical Chevy origins. In the summer a four-door sedan was added to the lineup, and roadster, cabriolet, and phaeton models were eventually offered as well. More than 50,000 cars were sold in the first year, neatly doubling the Oakland division’s sales volume, and in 1932 the Oakland brand was retired altogether. Sloan had accurately predicted the future of the American auto industry, and he aimed the Pontiac directly at the bull’s eye.