A fine art photograph of a Pontiac Chief hood ornament. As for hood ornaments this is one of the best. Made from Bakelite, a pre-plastic resin, the ornaments adorned the hoods of many cars from the 1920s through 1950s. This one sits proudly atop the hood of a 1955 Pontiac Star Chief. One of the first of the 'muscle car area' with an overhead valve V8 engine, delivering 173-horsepower. It was the first year that GM introduced its V8 engines, up until then they were all powered by six-cylinder motors. In combination with GM's sleek design of car and the powerful new engine, Pontiac created a high selling winner, not only the in the US, but Canada also. It is interesting to note that they chose the name of Pontiac and the chief symbol for the hood ornament, for they were once the most respected and powerful tribe of Native Americans in the upper plains states. It is only a natural segway that Chief Pontiac would wind up on the hood of a car as an ornament.