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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  Gets into yer pocket a bit at a time - 1998 Pontiac Trans Sport
  By Drive-It-Til-It-Dies - October 7 - 2:00 am

  Imagine a vehicle you like which nickles and dimes you to death... I drive a lot on Chicagos tollway system...lotsa miles. The car runs good, but some failures have cost me some money. The radio display went Klingon on me, was fixed, and is going Klingon again. The power door has failed... is now a manual door. Coolant leak into engine darn near killed it and cost me over a grand to fix. But I like sitting high, and it is a great road vehicle. With the miles I put on it I wont get squat in trade, so Ill drive it until it blows up.

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  Wheres the driving excitement? - 2002 Pontiac Grand AM
  By lcs - October 7 - 2:00 am

  My car was a lemon painted to resemble a lime. It was a problem from day 1 and it never stopped until I dumped it last month. Everything from the trunk latch popping while I was moving to the radio that wouldnt go down to the struts that failed at 5000 miles to the grinding noise that no one could fix etc etc. The list goes on and on. I have finally found the advertised driving excitement in my new Acura and will never again own a GM product!

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  Pontiac vibe - 2003 Pontiac Vibe
  By Val - October 6 - 9:23 am

  A very nice and durable car. Has engine of corolla. Quite working engine and perfect fuel efficiency. fun to drive.

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  Well...its a cheap car - 2009 Pontiac G3
  By axle2152 - October 6 - 6:15 am

  I bought my G3 in August of 2009. I currently have 71,100 miles. I have not had any mechanical problems, however I have 2 camshaft position sensors go bad. This causes the car to sputter and lose power and causes a lot of jerking which is bad for the transmission. The ride is a little rough, about what you would expect in a sub-compact. Power is a joke, 12 seconds to 60 MPH, and fuel economy could be better, and other cars in its class (from the same year model) get better gas mileage and still have better performance. On-Star never worked from the start and the dealership gave me the run around about fixing it, so it never was, not that I would subscribe to a nonsense service anyway.

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  Pontiac Montana SV6 - 2006 Pontiac Montana SV6
  By George J - October 5 - 10:06 pm

  The interior design is very poor. The second row seats wont fold down because the head rests are so big they hit the front seats. Also, they dont flip up like my Chevvy Ventures seats did to make more room temporarily for cargo. They also have slippery rounded backs, so you cant carry anything on them when they are in the down position. They are too heavy for me to carry alone, whereas I could carry 2 of the Ventures seats at the same time. The third row seats are even heavier, requiring two people to move them. Further on the headrests, they are so large as to render rear vision very limited. You have to use the mirrors to back up. The dealership has been great though.

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  ECOTEC Sunfire 03 - 2003 Pontiac Sunfire
  By VLAD - October 5 - 10:00 am

  After my 98 Neon got stolen (which is kind of weird thing to happen. Who seals Neons?) I almost had to buy this car. Its fun to drive, good accleration and alright looking exterior. I smoked my friends Chrysler Sebring! :D I got it with Cavalier LS Sport chrome rims, which improved handling. Rear end sucks. It looks ugly (maybe if they had rear spoiler bigger and brought out a little bit more, that would help I guess)

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  WOW!! - 2005 Pontiac G6
  By GTOguy - October 5 - 10:00 am

  Ive been a huge Pontiac buff ever since my first car, 1986 Pontiac 6000 STE, Special Touring Edition, and then I thought Pontiac couldnt outdue themselves until the G6 came my way. This car performs like a BMW, handles the turns like and Audi, I love driving this car, I cant get enough of it. Well done Pontiac, you have another winner under your belt. Any chance of bringing back the 6000, that was a popular car.

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  A Real Car from Pontiac - 2005 Pontiac G6
  By Russell Ruggiero - October 5 - 10:00 am

  The Epsilon foundation is solid and the 17" wheel and tire package is quite stable. The 3.5L is strong off the line and should deliver 25 mpg overall. The seats and build quality of the interior is the best of any Pontiac including the GTO.

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  My car - 2004 Pontiac Grand AM
  By HadesWarrior - October 5 - 10:00 am

  I am a highschool student who just recently purchased a 2004 Pontiac Grand Am. What can i say, i love this car. It has nice pick-up, looks nice, and runs great. THe only thing i dont like about it is, after playing my subwoofers for a while, there is a rather annoying rattling comming from inside of the dash somewhere. But that is my fault, not the cars.

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  2000 4dr gt - 2000 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By Ryukyu_Warrior - October 5 - 5:03 am

  Good car, fun to drive when it runs. Poor Engine design, will run hot. and stock water pump is garbage. other than that good car.