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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  Riding in as a kid, driving it as a teen - 2005 Pontiac Grand AM
  By poley1 - December 22 - 1:23 pm

  Im not sure how many people are going to look at a review on a 7 year old car but here is mine. My dad bought A V-6 version of this car in 05 almost new, however it was used as a rental car. The only problems we ever had with it were the windows came off track (not a big deal you can fix it yourself), the rear passenger window it dead no movement at all (happened this year), and when i was 10 i had a mini TV and my Xbox hooked up to the 12v outlet and blew a fuse and messed up the outlet. no matter what we do the fuses keep popping. But overall now that its mine it is absolutely perfect for me to go back and forth to high school and work

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  08 Solstice GXP - 2008 Pontiac Solstice
  By Mike - December 22 - 5:56 am

  Overall a very well performing car that handles darn near as good as a C6 Corvette, maybe better in some respects. Fun, and the exterior styling cannot be beat. Mechanically a very sound design. Interior needs work as far as convenience, but if you rate it from a driving perspective only, the interior is functional. As soon as you start adding niceties like where to put your spare change, sunglasses, or cell phone... the interiors shortcomings come to light quickly as does the non existent trunk space. The exterior design and performance of this vehicle is what sells.

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  love it - 2004 Pontiac Aztek
  By baseball - December 19 - 10:00 am

  I really love the car. It has really good pickup..(editors are nuts). It gets good gas mileage and is a comfortable ride.

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  Pontiac Mini/van (Canada) - 2004 Pontiac Montana
  By modencan - December 19 - 10:00 am

  This is my second pontiac Montana. The last one I had was a 2000. This doesnt seem to get the mileage of the 2000. The 2003, also seem to have been shorted on storage space in the vehicle. The 2000 had cargo nets, pockets in back of the front seats as well as bigger slots in the dash to put items and paper.

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  blank - 2004 Pontiac Vibe
  By Robert Mann - December 19 - 10:00 am

  i love it

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  2003 grand am se - 2003 Pontiac Grand AM
  By midnite - December 19 - 10:00 am

  I love this car. not too big not too small. I traded in a 2003 Corolla for this grand am. The best part is the smooth pickup with enough power to move out quick if necessary. It is a little too noisy . seems I have to turn the radio up there is so much background noise in the car. and the radio dosnt seem to have good acoustics. Gas milage is 25-28. am happy with this car. I owned a cavelier for 10 years, but enjoy the Pontiac much more . it is a 4cyl twin cam.

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  Great Little Car - 2008 Pontiac G5
  By DR - December 18 - 1:03 pm

  Purchased this in May 08. I test drove the Chevy Cobalt and ended up liking this a lot. Gas mileage is fairly good. (25 city/32 hwy). Price is right too. Beats buying the Japanese products!

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  Good - 2002 Pontiac Grand AM
  By Mabel - December 18 - 4:30 am

  So far so good, good in snow. Good gas mileage and comfortable on long trips. Lots of trunk space.

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  An Honest Review - 2008 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By stelo27 - December 17 - 8:23 pm

  I had a 2006 Grand Prix GT V6 Supercharged and fell in love with it. I have always been a big Mazda fan growing up but had to switch to Pontiac after trading in my Mazda 6S for the 06 Grand Prix GT. I had it for 8 months and then sadly wrecked it. So i turned around and jumped right back into a 2008 Grand Prix, but the GXP this time. I love it. There is room for improvement, which i believe they have accomplished it in the new G8, But people, this is an awsome car. Especially for the price. I got mine slightly used with 9k miles on it, it MSRP for $29800, but being that its the last year for the Grand Prix and with the G8 now available, I got my GP GXP for $19000 and you cant beat that.

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  STINKS ON GAS!!!! - 2004 Pontiac Grand AM
  By Edie - December 15 - 3:23 pm

  I dont know if anyone else has this issue but this car all of a sudden is getting bad gas mileage. Was getting around 32mpg before but now Im lucky if I get 14mpg. Have had other issues too and the car is only 4 years old. Will not buy a Pontiac again.