The History of the Pontiac Lemans

The Pontiac LeMans is said to be the model name for an intermediate-sized car which was being created and manufactured by the Pontiac division of General Motors during 1962 until the early 80's.

During this period the Pontiac LeMans was considered to be a top of the line version of their Pontiac Tempest because of its sleek and sporty design. The Pontiac LeMans continued to keep its quality as those found in the standard Tempest did as well. However, by 1982 the LeMans was replaced by the Pontiac Bonneville.

From 1988-1993 a new model was sold as a Daewoo LeMans which is from South Korea.

During the early sixties from 1961-1963, General Motors introduced a top of the line street rod model named the Tempest LeMans which was sportier and sleeker than the older Tempest which included bucket seats.

That same year its name was also used on a two door coupe. The following year they made additions to the coupe like manufacturing a convertible, a beautiful sedan and station wagon. As the years went by these cars were modified into a super duty car used for racing.

During the mid to the late 60's, the street rod line was upgraded into a 215 CID six-cylinder engine as well as a redesigned 326 CID V8 and was distributed as a new performance package known as the GTO or a Gran Turismo.

The repackaging of the line helped improve sales of the Tempest and Lemans thus making the Pontiac one of the world's leading car manufacturers. Indeed, revamping the old design with the use of a sleeker and more economical design while at the same time keeping the well-defined and well-recognized mark of the Tempest and Lemans helped the manufacturer keep their vision.

When the 70's came along the Lemans and Tempest street rod designs provided a bigger engine which was normally seen as a GTO, bearing the same custom design of the two or four door pillared sedans, a four door hardtop sedan, a four door hardtop coupe and the usual convertible.

During the mid 70's, General Motors and Lemans manufactured models with changes in car size which became larger and larger as the years went by. This is simply because most car manufacturers were targeting the needs of the whole family instead of a sleek show off ride model. At the same time, the street rods being manufactured at this time would adhere to the same safety standards set forth by the law. As such most of the street rods being manufactured during this time have improved handling capabilities, improved rear-coil suspension and tires as well as the improvement in the engine emission required by the federal government in order to have a safer ride on the road.

The year 1977 marked as the finale for the Lemans vintage built colonnade body. Thus making the manufacturer build a more sophisticated and more adaptable car. During this time, they began downsizing as a result of the Arab oil embargo. And in 1981, they began to introduce the Bonneville which was trimmer and more compact in a four-door design.

The evolution of these cars led to the Daewoo Lemans manufactured by Daewoo Motors during the late 80's to the early 90's.

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