Happy New Year! What better way to kick off 2017 than to feature our first ever pre-war Pontiac? So few early Canadian Pontiac's survive today and it's a real treat to put this one at the top of the page. Doug Keith owns this beautiful and extremely rare 1938 Pontiac Silver Streak Deluxe Touring Sedan. I have to admit it's the first one I've ever seen and all I can say is "Wow!". Here's Keith's account on how this fine Pontiac was rescued and restored to it's current luster:

"This car was originally purchased in Medicine Hat AB, by a member of the Fischer Family, sold to another member of the same family, and finally came to rest in a slough on the family farm in 1957. In 1975, a good friend was looking to replace a 1938 Pontiac Coupe that had been stolen, and was convinced to purchase this sedan. It was towed, wheels firmly seized and skidding, out of the slough and up on to a trailer (the last time it would be on a trailer during his ownership!) By 1980 it was restored and ready to get back on the road, and they enjoyed 28,000 miles of happy motoring until 2016, when he decided that he was just not using the car enough on Calgary's busy streets. He very kindly offered the car to me before putting in in the Okotoks Spring Auction, and I was able to bring it back home to Saskatchewan. Back home to Saskatchewan is exactly what I mean, this car was number 40 of only 449 built at the GM Plant on Winnipeg street in Regina.

It is very different from the Pontiacs that were sold in the US, where they were really just re-badged Chevys. In Canada, Pontiacs were "dressed up" with a different grille, hood, front fenders and drive train. Instead of the 216 Flathead "Stovebolt 6", Pontiac boasted a 224 cubic inch overhead valve engine, three speed "Safety Shift" (three in the tree), and open drive shaft, features which did not appear in US Pontiacs until 1956. 

In 1990 we used this car to chauffeur my parents on their 50th wedding anniversary as it was very similar to the Chevy they had used in 1940. It was one of the highlights of the day!   

In 1928, GM decided to open a plant in Regina and spent almost 1.5 million dollars to build the largest building on the Prairies on 36 acres of land on the north side. The fact that construction was completed in only 5 months shows how committed the company was to producing cars in Regina. Sam McLaughlin was president, and spent enough time at the plant that veteran workers did not greet the boss as Mr. McLaughlin, but simply as "Sam". In due course the plant was turning out 150 Chevys and Pontiacs a day, the earliest vehicles produced west of Winnipeg. Then, the stock market crashed in 1929, and by 1930 the plant was forced to close its doors. It opened for a few months in 1931, but the struggling company couldn't support the work. The plant was able to open again from 1937 to 1939, and by 1941 World War II was raging and the plant was selected to support the war effort. Within six months of the last car rolling off the line, the first completed anti-tank gun carriage followed.

This rare and beautiful Glyndon Green and Tacoma Cream 1938 Pontiac with its herringbone interior is still a very reliable, enjoyable car to drive - a tribute to my friend's expertise and ability as a restorer. It is interesting to note that while the car only survived its first life for 19 years, it has now been on the road for 36 years as a restoration! I feel extremely fortunate to now be the fourth owner!"