General Motors Pontiac (84) General Motors auto brand that invented the muscle car under its flamboyant engineer John Z. DeLorean, helped Burt Reynolds to elude Sheriff Justice in Smokey & the Bandit, and taught baby boomers to salivate over horsepower but produced mostly forgettable cars for their children. The cause of death was in dispute: fans said Pontiac’s wounds were self-inflicted, while GM blamed a terminal illness contracted during bankruptcy in 2009. Its biggest hit was the GTO, developed in the ‘60s by DeLorean, the brand’s chief engineer, in violation of a GM policy dictating the maximum size of a car’s engine. Pontiac built its last car nearly a year ago, but the official end coincided with the expiration of GM’s agreements with Pontiac dealers, on October 31, 2010.