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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  a good car so far - 2001 Pontiac Grand AM
  By Thebitz - September 8 - 10:00 am

  As I read other reviews on the 2001 GA, I realized I too have had similar problems with the engine not turning over on the first attempt. Hmmm??? This is my second GA. first was a 1996 GA GT. I think the handling of the GT was better. Overall, I have not had many problems with car. I did have to replace a tail light seal which leaked water into the truck/extra tire compartment. I would think this is a good car, but it is not a Nissan, Toyota, or Honda. You get what you pay for. The brakes are not very strong which is a known GM problem.

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  Toes Review - 2006 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By Pontiacseeker - September 7 - 11:43 am

  I love my car. Its gorgeous and drives excellent. I feel like my car is so much bigger than other cars on the road too.

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  Impressive - 2001 Pontiac Grand AM
  By Kaci TRUTXN - September 6 - 2:00 am

  I have to admit that I have a 2002, but as soon as I drove home I fell in love. It has good pick up, nice comfort in the back, plenty of trunk space. I was overall impressed. I did notice that the pain on the front has chipped off from objects hitting it off the highway. I guess I didnt expect for it to be like that. I do think it is a good car over all. I would recommend this vehicle to anyone.

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  buying foreign from now on - 2001 Pontiac Bonneville
  By Wayne - September 4 - 6:30 pm

  Bought it used. At 70,000 the plastic intake manifold cracked, at 140,000 front wheel bearings, at 141,000 a coil pack, at 145,000 another coil pack,at 149,000 MAF sensor, at 149,500 another MAF, at 149,550 a MAP sensor, and now the weakly designed tranny is slipping. It was a stylish and sporty design, but after 4 GM cars and a Dodge, my mechanic has a 401K with my name on it. He even said that if everybody owned a Toyota, hed be out of business, so I am going to do my part to help him retire.

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  As good as most foreign cars - 2000 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By bullwhip - September 4 - 1:30 am

  I have owned it since new and drive it daily for Sales work. Overall mileage has been 25.3 but I can still get 30 mpg on highway driving with 179,000 miles on it. Ive used synthetic oil since it was new. Brakes have been replace twice, third time coming soon. Front wheel bearings and inner tie rod replaced and thats about all other than some minor warranty work early on. Its a shame they wont be making them any more. :(

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  2005 G6 GT - 2005 Pontiac G6
  By sms1 - September 4 - 1:00 am

  This was the first brand new car Ive ever purchased and overall Ive had nothing but headaches with it. The first thing to go was the stereo wiring within the first year, which was fixed under warranty. Then at 62,000 miles the timing chain in my engine broke. Thankfully a call placed to the GM customer center got my engine replaced for free even though the original warranty had expired. Last year I received a safety recall on it for brake light & cruise control issues, had that fixed and now a year later, Im experiencing the same issues again with the brake lights. The only reason Ive kept it this long is that the engine now is pretty new and its almost paid for.

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  Solid For the Money - 2000 Pontiac Sunfire
  By michaelJ - August 31 - 2:00 am

  Bought it new. Below average gas milage in the city, even with 5-speed. The severe body roll of the GT, mentioned in the review of SE, is minimal for the SE. I noticed MUCH more body roll in other car makers comparable models eg. Neon, Nissian, Cavalier (it is similar but definately does NOT drive the same,). The Cavaliers steering is not nearly as tight or responsive, and most of the standard features on the Sunfire are NOT standard on the Cavalier. This car had a better turning radius than the others above.

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  Fun Little Car - 2006 Pontiac Vibe
  By secman - August 26 - 4:23 pm

  I bought this car for one reason - gas mileage - and so far it has been great, but still disappointing. I do mostly highway driving and so far, I have averaged 30.85 MPG over the first 2500 miles. This is great, but not the 34 MPG EPA estimate for an automatic Vibe. My only other complaints are that the seats are not as comfortable as they could be (they could use a lumbar support), and the side mirrors are pretty small. But now for the good: Fun, fun, fun to drive...great pickup in low RPMs. Large windows in the front and on the sides (great sight lines) Great stereo (Monsoon package) Great interior space for a little car Great height for a little car Good handling 0%/72 mos

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  Second Owner Experience - 2002 Pontiac Grand AM
  By ruffrider2k2 - August 24 - 7:19 pm

  Purchased car with 50k miles in 2009 as 2nd owner. Carfax showed well maintained. At 130k miles now. Have had to replace rear window motor twice, catylitic converter 70k (free), both cylinder head gaskets 80k, fuel pump 80k, brakes 80k, two sets of tires 85K &100k. Upgraded to better tread on second set of Yokos with 30k so far. Get intermittent turn signal failures and switch noise when not in use. Security light on rarely, but does not disable engine start. Transmission hard shifting occasionally and have to shut and restart engine to resolve. May be electronic or going out. Oil changes and maintenance regularly.

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  This Car Saved My Husbands Life - 2007 Pontiac G6
  By Denise - August 23 - 10:36 pm

  I have read numerous bad reviews on the G-6, but I have to say I truly believe this car is the reason my husband is still alive. He was almost run off the road by another vehicle trying to move into his lane on the interstate causing him to lose control, hit a guardrail and flip one and half times. The car is a complete loss of course, but my husband walked away with one stitch in his elbow and an abrasion on his hand. The interior cabin (except for the airbag and the windshield busting out) was completely untouched. Everyone including the employee at the junk yard could not believe my husband walked away. I will miss my pretty blue car but I will forever be grateful it saved his life.