After struggling through much of the Great Depression, Pontiac came roaring back in 1941 with a complete line of stylish, well-equipped cars. 

Some time back at Mac’s Motor City Garage, we told the story of the 1926 Pontiac, the new General Motors make that soon became so successful that it killed off its parent Oakland brand. (See the feature here.) But then as the U.S. economy plunged into the Great Depression, Pontiac sales tumbled nearly 80 percent.

Desperate measures were called for, and in 1933 the Chevrolet and Pontiac operations were combined to save cash. There was serious talk of dumping the newer brand altogether. But as Pontiac struggled through some bad and not-so-bad years in the ’30s with a variety of strategies, the mid-priced brand finally found some momentum and broke through in 1941. The divsion was now back on track, selling a record 330,000 cars—a 57 percent jump over the previous season.

The success must have been due, at least in part, to the 1941 product strategy, which could be called the kitchen sink approach. Buyers could choose from two engines, a 90 hp six and a 103-hp straight eight, two wheelbases, all three (A, B, and C) Fisher Body shells, and three model lines. All Pontiac models now included Torpedo in their names, a label adoped the year before for a single car. Ads boasted, “Now there’s a Pontiac Torpedo for everybody!”

The two chassis, 119-in and 122-in wheelbase, were of conventional GM design, with an X-braced ladder frame, leaf springs at the rear, and independent front suspension. While the IFS was still marketed as Knee Action, this was a standard parallelogram setup with the lever-action shocks serving as upper control arms. A GM Synchromesh three-speed (synchros on the top two gears) was the sole transmission offered. Pontiac would not get GM’s Hydra-Matic automatic transmission until 1948.

Pontiac’s ’41 base model, the Deluxe Torpedo, used the GM A-body shell on a 119-in wheelbase, while the Streamliner Torpedo was built on the larger B shell and 122-in chassis. The flagship Custom Torpedo shared the 122-in chassis but with the C-body shell and was limited to three body styles: Coupe-Sedan, Sedan, and a Hercules-built woody station wagon. The Streamliner and Custom were especially well equipped—-the Streamliner Torpedo Sedan cabin is shown above.

Credit for the ’41 exterior design goes to Pontiac lead sylist Vince Kaptur Sr., a charter member of Harley Earl’s original Art & Colour staff, and his crew. Prices started at just $828 for a Deluxe Torpedo SIx Coupe, topping out at $1250 for a Custom Torpedo Eight wagon, and Pontiac’s broad combination of style, features, and value found favor with a surprising number of Americans. With regular facelifts and upgrades, this same basic vehicle would remain in production through 1948.