Pontiac, the one-time performance division of General Motors, is expected to join Oldsmobile and Plymouth in the dustbin of automotive history as GM shrinks under pressure from the White House and the threat of possible bankruptcy.

The battered auto giant could announce as early as Monday that it will kill the 83-year-old Pontiac brand so it can save its more profitable Buick and GMC divisions, according to reports Friday from several publications, including the Wall Street Journal and Detroit News.

GM spokesman Jim Hopson declined to comment on Pontiac’s fate, saying the automaker has no announcements to make at this time.

Once known as GM’s “Excitement Division,” Pontiac helped usher in the muscle car era of the 1960s with models such as the iconic GTO and sporty Firebird, but has seen sales drop dramatically in recent years. Its line-up of vehicles now include the GTO, which is based on an Australian design, and the Vibe, a small car jointly built with Toyota in California.

Pontiac dealers said Friday that they haven’t heard any official word from GM about the fate of the brand, which is often sold in the same showroom with Buick sedans and GMC trucks and sport utility vehicles.

Jim Curley Pontiac-Buick-GMC in Lakewood normally has up to 40 potential customers in its showroom. But yesterday, there were only 15.

“It has been a tough day,” said Jim Orozco, sales manager. “But our dealership has been here for 20 years, and we’re not going away.”

Dealers have been answering questions from customers who wonder what will happen if GM files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy by June 1, the deadline the automaker was given by the federal government to restructure its operations before it can receive more taxpayer funds.

Orozco said he still believes GM will survive in some capacity.

“It’s hard to imagine no GM,” he said. “The government has said they will back up their warranties.”

President Obama has said customers should not be concerned about buying GM cars because the federal government will stand behind the automaker’s warranties.

GM had previously said it would reduce Pontiac to a niche line and sell its Saturn, Hummer and Saab nameplates so it could concentrate on core brands such as Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC.

But Pontiac sales have continued to slide. The brand sold 40,887 vehicles this year through March, a drop of more than 42 percent. Pontiac’s sales peaked at 896,980 in 1978, according to trade publication Automotive News. Sales fell 25 percent last year to 267,348 vehicles.

Pontiac started as the Oakland Car Co. of Pontiac, Mich., in 1907. General Motors bought it in 1909, and Oakland introduced the first Pontiac vehicle in 1926. Dubbed the “Chief of the Sixes,” the car was powered by a six-cylinder engine and made its debut at that year’s New York auto show.

(Source: NJ Star Ledger / AP)