@old_mopar_guy. I certainly agree after my experience with a 1955 Pontiac that its new V-8 was not a “paragon of excellence”. Yet, the 1955 Pontiac, according to later Consumer Reports issues, had a very good reliability rating as a used car.
I do know that later models of Pontiac, particularly the 1957, were reliable. Perhaps the initial problems with the engine were solved. In the early 1960s, Pontiacs were winning a lot of stock car races, particularly the Pontiacs driven by “Fireball” Roberts.