Pontiac was a brand of automobile first produced in 1907 as Oakland Motor Company, and in 1926 was renamed to "Pontiac Motor Co." Pontiac was sold in the United States, Canada, and Mexico by General Motors (GM). Pontiac has been marketed as the performance division of General Motors for many years, specializing in mainstream performance vehicles. On April 27, 2009, amid ongoing financial problems and restructuring efforts, GM announced that it would phase out the Pontiac brand by the end of 2010 and focus on four core brands in North America: Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, and GMC.