Danno and Pontiac, Both Gone ─ Reminders of an Era that Was Sometimes (for Some People) More Fun than this One

© 2010 Peter Free

 

29 October 2010

 

Background

 

Some celebrity deaths hit harder than others.

 

James MacArthur (1937-2010), who played “Danno” of the original Hawaii Five-O (1969-1980) television show, died yesterday.

 

General Motors’ brand Pontiac (1926-2010) will finally pass on 31 October, when GM’s agreements with dealers expire.

 

A nuanced sadness

 

I liked the Danno character for his youthful enthusiasm.  He lives that way in memory.  Never aging. Connected to a time that had more American promise than now.

 

Similarly, Pontiac’s classic 1960s Bonneville, LeMans, and GTO models were cars I aspired to own for their thumb-in-your-eye macho elegance.  Fast-moving behemoths from an age when hope’s aspirations seemed more realistically achievable than today.

 

Pontiac history sums our last forty years rather well

 

Pontiac hit some home runs in the mid- to late-60s.

 

After that, it went downhill in a way that I never understood.  From being the coolest cars in the neighborhood to some of the most boring and unreliable.  It was as if everyone at Pontiac motor division went to sleep.

 

Asleep?

 

Asleep seems to be where we, as a nation, still are.

 

Often shouting, but mostly comatose when it comes to constructing an intelligent future.

 

The memorable Hawaii Five-O line is apt

 

Book us, Danno.

 

For the crime of not caring enough about America’s promise to ensure that it remained as bright for our children and grandchildren, as it once was for us.