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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  Vibe - 2005 Pontiac Vibe
  By Deborah - April 27 - 6:20 pm

  I love it for the versatility!

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  excellent car underrated - 1997 Pontiac Bonneville
  By william southard - April 27 - 2:33 pm

  keep the boost gauge at -5 and the gas mileage is pretty good. also ease the power on into boost for the best launch of the start.

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  Horrible squeaking and rattling. - 2000 Pontiac Firebird
  By Magnus - April 26 - 10:00 am

  The rattle started after only 1200 miles. The squeaking started the first summer when it got warmer. I have had it in the shop over 10 times and nothing has been done. They have all heard the noices but have not been able to fix the problem. It is obviously a lemon. But no one takes responsibility for it. Good warrenty, NOT.

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  Great American Car - 2000 Pontiac Bonneville
  By Stephen - April 26 - 10:00 am

  This is my 4th Bonne; 88, 93, 97 and now 00. Great car with smooth quiet ride and handles well for a large sedan. Each one was trouble free with less than $200 maint. per year (excluding tires, since thats dependent on how you drive). Fun to drive. They just get better every year.

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  Pontiac Grand Am V6 - 2004 Pontiac Grand AM
  By Mat - April 26 - 7:49 am

  This was my first newish car, bought in 2005 with 8k miles and kept until 2016 at 175k miles. Had the lower intake manifold problem, fixed. Had the "tick-tick" turn signal problem on and off for years then fixed. Ran well, other than those issues (all regular maintenance done) for 10 years then... Had the radiator fill tank fail, led to overheat. Lasted another year, then blown head gasket--possibly related to that one overheat. Car was fun to drive and good commuter, but mediocre quality.

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  Just Bought it, check engine light on - 2009 Pontiac Vibe
  By traded in 2005 vibe - April 26 - 3:56 am

  Well, we just drove it off the lot today, they had to do a dealer trade to get the exact car i wanted, Carbon Gray GT. It had 297 miles on it from the trip down from Akron, Oh. We have put about 50 miles on it and the check engine light is on, there was a knocking sound in the engine and the Vehicle Stabilitrack "VST" lights are on. And its Saturday, so no maintenance until Monday!

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  The Little Engine That Could - 2000 Pontiac Sunfire
  By Scoop444 - April 25 - 7:53 am

  Bought a red GT in 2004 with 60K Miles on it. Beautiful car, monsoon radio really pumped, I also added and amp with 3 10 speakers. I am in the army and my hometown is about 320 miles away, so I went home a lot. I used to fly up and down i-95. This car accelerates fast and handles exceptionally well. But after 4 months of use, the engine gave out on me. I replaced the engine and she never drove quite the same. The CD player stopped working after 7 months as well as the LCD display for the Monsoon audio system. You cannot replace the radio head unit because Monsoon wiring techniques. Door handle fell off and I had too super glue it back on. Its a tank tho.

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  nice van - poor quality - 1999 Pontiac Montana
  By Randy P - April 25 - 4:03 am

  I have owned the Montana for about 4 years. I purchased it used with 40K miles. I like the ride, the comfort and the features. I do not like the poor quality and the continual repairs. Engine gasket leak, fuel gauge went out requiring replacement of whole fuel system at hundreds of dollars. Even a simple brake job is expensive because the rotors have to be replaced the first time because they were built with no room to turn them even once. Electrical problems with water leakage into lights caused the whole system to act up costing hundreds to diagnose and fix.... etc etc etc.

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  GTP is the pure excitement!!!!!!! - 2005 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By Grandman - April 24 - 3:33 pm

  This is simply the best vehicle that I have owned hands down. I feel like I own the road when Im dring the GTP. I tried the Maxima and Accord, but they didnt have the excitement or looks of the GTP. The GTP is one brilliantly designed top quality car. I have over 12,000 trouble free enjoyable miles on the GTP.

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  Best Looking Car on the Road - 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By Gary C - April 24 - 10:00 am

  I think the 2002 Grand Prix competes with the big boys in looks. Actually, I like the design better than the later model design. It also added the 2002 Nascar championship to its resume. What really amazed me about my car with the 3.1 was that I got 33 mpg in pure interstate driving coming home from the dealer. In five mileage checks, I averaged 26 in town. I could not be more pleased with performance. The comfort level is very good especially with the four way driver seat control. I was not used to having automatic controls on everything and that is really nice. The security system is also a nice plus.