Overview & Reviews

The Pontiac brand is part of the General Motors family, and is home to many of the automaker's more performance-oriented vehicles. Currently, the marque offers a broad range of sporty cars and SUVs. However, as part of GM's restructuring plan, the brand is slated to be discontinued by the end of the 2010 model year.

Pontiac originated as the Oakland Car Company of Pontiac, Michigan, in 1907; it was founded by Edward Murphy. Acquired by General Motors in 1909, Oakland introduced the first Pontiac vehicle in 1926. Dubbed the "Chief of the Sixes," the car was powered by a six-cylinder engine and made its debut at that year's New York auto show. It was so successful that the Oakland name was phased out in favor of Pontiac, the name of an 18th-century chief of the Ottawa Indians. Throughout the 1930s and '40s Pontiac made coupes, sedans and wagons in the low-to-mid price ranges. A unique styling cue of Pontiac cars from the mid-'30s to the mid-'50s was known as "Silver Streak," a set of art-deco-inspired chrome "speed lines" that ran up over the length of the hood to the base of the windshield.

The 1950s saw the introduction of the Pontiac Bonneville. The sprawling, stylish cruiser offered equal measures of performance and luxury, and was a breakout hit. But it wasn't until the 1960s that the Pontiac brand truly came into its own. American manufacturers had begun to offer downsized alternatives to the gigantic cruisers that had ruled the highways in previous decades. Pontiac came to market with the compact Tempest. In 1964, Pontiac made its biggest impact yet with the creation of the GTO option for the Tempest. By equipping the car with the powerful 389 cubic-inch V8 from the full-size car line, Pontiac created the first "muscle car." Phenomenally successful, the GTO helped define the burgeoning muscle car category. Pontiac also saw tremendous success during the latter part of this decade with its Firebird and Firebird Trans Am.

The oil crisis of the '70s made fuel efficiency a priority for many car buyers. Following the lead of its GM siblings, Pontiac made compact vehicles like the Ventura and Phoenix a major part of its lineup. The '80s saw the launch of the two-seat Pontiac Fiero. Despite its modest beginnings (it was initially marketed as a "commuter car"), the Fiero eventually blossomed into a credible sports car.

The '90s saw the launch of Pontiacs like the Sunfire and Montana minivan. Pontiac has slowly lost sales due to changing tastes and a lack of differentiation between its models and those of other GM divisions. In hopes of recapturing past glory, the division embarked on a plan to retire aged models and introduce all-new ones with distinctive styling and personality. For a while, the effort seemed to be bearing fruit. New models like the Vibe, Solstice and G8 made Pontiac a brand to consider in many segments. However, GM's financial troubles in 2008 and 2009 have resulted in the company's decision to phase out Pontiac as a brand. It's expected 2010 will be Pontiac's last year for new models.

User Reviews:

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  Year of the Lemon - 2006 Pontiac G6
  By Charolette Webb - August 1 - 4:36 am

  Bought a 2006 G6 GT, in 2007 as a lease back. Ive changed the brakes and rotors 6 times already, Ive had 4 recalls done, which are the brake lights losing contact, the intermittent steering pin, linkage cable in the transmission, and the power steering sensor. Outside of any recall or warranty, Ive had to replace the sensor in the catalytic converter, had to replace tie rods and wheel bearings twice, the rotors twice along with faulty calipers, the heater fan, the starter is now going and the serpentine belt too. I have literally put almost as much money into it as I paid for it. And now its become a complete rust bucket. The entire bottom of the drivers door rusted away. Thats what you get for buying a car based on a moon roof and stilettos. (If you can remember the original TV commercials)

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  Mistake! - 2003 Pontiac Grand AM
  By Ashley - December 15 - 4:00 pm

  ONE owner. I bought new 10/2002 happy to have a new car. Headliner fell down 5X in the first 6 mos, then brake pads (every 4 mos & a few calipers) Owner of 5 cars in my life, ONLY 1 has done this, hmm?? Driver, doubt it. Then 2007 big ticket repairs, Dex-Cool ruined hoses, gaskets, manifolds THEN I find out about the Class Action Lawsuit too late to file my repairs. Also replaced many other parts. Do I go on? Not only did I pay of $24K new I have about $8K in repairs. Sell? find out about GMs extreme depreciation, I could not get this nightmare off my hands! 2010 with a 155K mi & needs 3K more in repairs to run, I cant give this car away at this point! Buy a GM, NEVER AGAIN!

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  Nothing but Regrets - 2006 Pontiac G6
  By nothing but regrets - November 30 - 7:46 pm

  I bought my 2006 Pontiac g6 used with 33,000 mi. After two weeks of having the car, the stearning shaft needed to be replaced. About a year after having the car, the check engine light went on and the catalitic converter needed to be replaced as well as a head gasket. Thank goodness it was still under the manufacturs warrenty. The car is loud and nothing what I expected for what I paid for the car. I am trying to get into a different car because I am so disatisfied but the trade in value is nothing and I am about $7,000 in dept compared to what the car is worth. I would not recommend anybody buying this car because it will be nothing but a headache.

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  Pontiac Headlight Problems - 2003 Pontiac Sunfire
  By smithjonathond - November 11 - 10:00 am

  The car is a lemon...I have continuous headlight problems.

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  Not to be confused with a performance car - 2007 Pontiac G6
  By mike - November 9 - 11:56 pm

  Expecting Pontiac to try and fill in the hole that the Trans AM left and what the fake GTO left, i thought the G6 would be the little performer for Pontiac...boy was i disappointed. The car sounds lighter than a V4, has no grunt in the motor and well...how can Pontiac name this a "GT" unless theres a meaning of GT i am not aware of. In all honesty, people out there who are looking for a REAL American Muscle car and werent fooled by the GTO (Holden Monro) or the new G8 (same as GTO) just wait for the 09 Camaro and bug Pontiac to make a similar car and call it a Trans AM.

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  Worst Car Pontiac Has Ever Made - 2006 Pontiac G6
  By Bob - November 9 - 3:06 am

  The car is an all around piece of junk! The styling is ok but could improve in some areas. The paint is way to thin and chips easily on the front bumper. The transmission is junk, GM made a huge mistake by mating a 4 speed automatic to a 3.5L V6 because the gear ratios are too far apart and the power and response are not their when you need it. The cruise control lacks a good base, the car may drift + or - 5 mph before the car decides it want to accelerate. The interior is not much to be desired, the seats are not comfortable, the dash ugly and the radio can not be replaced. Overall the car is a HUGE waste of money, I am very disappointed!

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  Do not buy a pontiac - 1998 Pontiac Grand AM
  By Antonio - October 24 - 8:50 am

  After buying the car with around 80K miles, we were told that it was normal wear for the manifold intake to leak. This is the coolant intake. It costs around $700 to fix for a car that has a bluebook of around $4500 best case scenario. This is just for this leak, other problems common. NO LONG TERM reliability at all. Avoid Pontiac at all costs if you need a reliable car. The WORST car I have ever owned and will never, ever buy a Pontiac again, new or used.

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  Ooooooogly!!!! - 2003 Pontiac Aztek
  By Big Deek - September 27 - 10:00 am

  This car is immensely hideous! I dont know how my wife got conned into buying this piece. The fuel pump is loud, the AC is annoyingly LOUDER and the reliability is in a league of its own: awful. This is an expensive mistake!!! Dont waste your money! Typical GM quality, er, junk. Buy a FourRunner. Foreign cars are so much better made and ten times better looking than this!

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  Brakes, brakes, brakes - 2003 Pontiac Grand AM
  By bhil1981 - September 18 - 4:30 am

  I bought this car hoping to have something that would last. I was wrong, this car eats brakes. I do not drive hard, the car is all highway miles.The turn signal clicks all the time, the car is airy and the car has had a leak since I bought it and the dealership could not find what was wrong. Im considering a G6 but Im not sure if I should give GM another chance.

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  Horrible - 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By google - September 15 - 12:13 pm

  Bought this car with about 130,000 miles on it. The transmission went out at 145 rebuilt that the car has given me nothing but trouble it leaks into the car the transmission is going out again with only 35000 miles on it. have had it mess up on me constantly. would not ever recommend this car unless you just want to blow money