So long, Pontiac and Saturn. General Motors put a symbolic “final clearance” tag on both brands to sell out inventory as soon as possible, so GM can put all its energies into Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC. GM is closing Pontiac and Saturn as part of its bankruptcy reorganization. Pontiac hit its glory days when it sold more than 800,000 cars a year from 1965 to 1968. Since then, Pontiac had its ups and downs — mostly downs — but reached a sales record of close to 900,000 cars in 1978, according to Automotive News.

  Pontiac sales in 2009 dwindled to 169,890 in the first 11 months, down 32 percent from the year-ago period, according to AutoData Corp. Automotive News estimated that as of Dec. 1, at the present sales rate, Pontiac had less than a month’s worth of inventory.