automotive lacquer by Duco (a DuPont brand product), leading to the slogan "True Blue Oakland Six". The Oakland was built only in Pontiac, Michigan, which is the county seat of Oakland County. The name antedates any GM association with an automobile manufacturing facility in Oakland, California, that built Chevrolet vehicles before Chevrolet joined GM called Oakland Assembly. Oakland Six and V8 In 1913 the Oakland Six was introduced followed in 1916 by the Model 50 flathead V8 engine sourced from Northway Motor and Manufacturing company, and production soared to 35,000 in 1917. The Series 50 V8 used a flathead design shared with the Oldsmobile Light Eight and the Cadillac Type 51. The Model 50 was only available from 1915-1917 as a seven-passenger touring sedan on a 127" wheelbase and was listed at US$1,600 ($ in dollars ). In 1930, Oakland reintroduced the Model 101 V8, again using a flathead architecture, on a 117" wheelbase and offered it as a roadster, phaeton, coupe, closed body sedan and sport coupe. Prices were listed at US$895 ($ in dollars ) for the roadster or phaeton to US$1,045 ($ in dollars ) for the Custom Sedan. The Oakland V8 was shared with the Viking V8 which was a companion of Oldsmobile and was the only product sold. 1931 was the last year for the Oakland Model 301 V8 and the only vehicle available was the V8 with very few changes, and was renamed the 1932 Pontiac Series 302 V8. The 1932 V8 had an oversquare bore and stroke of x displacing with a compression ratio of 5.2:1. Horsepower was rated at 85 @3200 RPM using three main bearings, solid valve lifters and a Marvel one barrel carburetor. Unusually, Pontiac switched to the straight-eight for 1933 until it was replaced in 1954. Pontiac joins Oakland then replaces Oakland As General Motors entered the 1920s, the product ladder started with the price-leading Chevrolet marque, and then progressed upward in price, power, and luxury to Oakland, Oldsmobile, Buick, and ultimately Cadillac. By the mid-1920s, a sizable price gap existed between Chevrolet and Oakland, as well as a wide gap between Oldsmobile and Buick. Also, a product gap existed between Buick and Cadillac. General Motors pioneered the idea that consumers would aspire to buy up an automotive product ladder if a company met certain price points-called the Companion Make Program. To address this, General Motors authorized the introduction