GM trademarked the Pontiac name… but not for why you might think

A recent GM trademark application suggests General Motors might be bringing back the Pontiac name.

The GM trademark application was filed a few days ago, which will definitely be music to the ears of Pontiac fans.

There is only one minor catch.

Because the Pontiac name probably won’t come back in the form we all want it to.

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General Motors recently filed a trademark application for the Pontiac name with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

The Pontiac brand was essentially finished in 2010 after 84 years due to GM’s bankruptcy restructuring, and no vehicles have been produced in 16 years.

The last Pontiac model was the 2010 G6 (pictured below), a no-nonsense sedan based on the Chevrolet Malibu.

The problem is that this GM trademark application isn’t for new cars but for accessories like hub caps, horns, plate frames and so on.

Apparently, GM is simply trying to maintain control over the name Pontiac, but isn’t necessarily considering a relaunch.

There are publications and social media accounts that spend of time and energy keeping track of patents and trademarks filed by automakers and companies in general.

This is how we found out about the Apple car, and it’s also how we know that Apple is still considering dipping its toes in the car industry, even after canceling the Apple car project.

Patents and trademarks are how we know the next Ford Mustang might be called the Mach 4 or that the next electric Ferrari might simply be called ‘Elettrica‘.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results, as they say, but internet sleuths knew Lamborghini was going to call the next supercar ‘Temerario’ months in advance, precisely due to a trademark filing.

This is also how we know the Cybertruck was originally going to be called CYBRTRK.