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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  Im not alone - 1998 Pontiac Bonneville
  By Charlie B - October 16 - 10:00 am

  I bought this vehicle because it looked good, had great acceleration, a smooth ride, and comfortable seats. I liked the layout of the interior and the the sound quality of the stereo. Since owning it, I have also had to replace the intake manifold. It caused about $800 worth of damage. And I have a main seal oil leak, too. Aside from this, I still like the car a lot and will consider a newer Bonneville when the time comes to replace this one.

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  Awesome car! - 2003 Pontiac Sunfire
  By Krystle Heartso - October 16 - 10:00 am

  I just got my 2003 Pontiac Sunfire, its awesome. It rides well and its fun. I dont like the older ones, but this of is defanitly nice. I had a problem the day I got it with the air conditioner, but I took it back to get it fixed.

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  LOVE IT!!!!!!! - 2004 Pontiac Vibe
  By MY VIBE - October 16 - 10:00 am

  To sum it up, I LOVE MY 2004 Vibe. It is an awesome car! It is roomy enough for 2 adults and 2 car seats, with room for luggage or something for a trip. There are alot of extra features, such as a desk or a storage bin for the hatch (which with 2 small children I will be purchasing soon!) The chrome on the inside is what sold me though! Like the song says, "Her favorite color is chrome." Until now, chrome was not important to me, but I LOVE IT! I would never buy another car again!

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  Imports are junk - 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By gtp man - October 16 - 10:00 am

  This car purely rocks. Who needs import junk, when this car blows them all away in all categories including reliability, fuel economy, and just plain hauling but !!!!

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  GETTING BETTER; not there yet. - 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By Gingee - October 16 - 10:00 am

  WHERE IS MY AUTO-DIMMING REAR VIEW MIRROR?? A performance vehicle like this should not leave its driver blinded during night driving. Ive had my GTP back to sevice several times. My rear door panels buzz. One of my security lug nut caps flew off. The emergency trunk release was not hooked up and was rolling around in the trunk lid. YIKES! The entire interior vibrates at half of the Monsoons power. If you can get past the poor quality and less than advertised refinement at a bigger then should be price, the GTP maybe right for you. My GTP looks like a Grand Am and plenty of people let me know it. Booo. The incentives swayed me to this vehicle.

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  Its been good to me so far - 2006 Pontiac Torrent
  By Margaret - October 16 - 5:56 am

  Before buying my Torrent, I also test drove its Chevy sister, the Equinox. The decision maker was the Equinox had scratchy upholstery while the Torrents was soft and comfortable. The Torrent has proven to be a comfortable vehicle, even for tall passengers riding in the back seat. Sharp exterior but the interior could use a touch of class. Three design flaws: (1) I dont smoke, but a removable ashtray should be standard for things like gum wrappers; (2) The CD storage area is not easily accessible; and (3) A wider cargo compartment would have been more beneficial than having the small side storage wells. No mechanical problems (knock on wood). Nice vehicle and GM offered 0% financing

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  Keeps on Ticking... - 1995 Pontiac Firebird
  By TreyT - October 15 - 12:10 pm

  Well this is an update to a prior review of mine. Ive owned this car for almost 3 years now. So far my list of repairs that are not routine are: Headlight Motor, Wheel Speed Sensor, Pinion Seal and a water pump. All in all not bad at all for having owned it for 3 years and put 35,000 miles on the car. It has been far more reliable than my mazda 626. Nearing 100,000 miles now and there is more windnoise and rattles than there used to be. Im not looking forward to having to sell it in spring of 07. If youre looking for an F body buy one that has been well maintained. If taken care of theyre very reliable, but if you get a bad one your life will be a livin hell as many can attest to.

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  Great value for a good vehicle - 2005 Pontiac Montana
  By Chris Luery - October 15 - 10:00 am

  We enjoy the Montana SV6. We put on a lot of miles (now 117,000 miles) each year and live in a rural area of Quebec where the winters are harsh and the snow is deep. I have the extended version and have found that it has good control on the road year round. A few problems, which were limited in scope and not serious. Consisted of the following: slight rattle in dash - easily fixed, rear windshield wiper motor has given up - will need to be replaced, paint delamination next to rear center taillight - dealer will fix. I have worked inside an Asian Automotive manufacturing plant and find the quality here relatively close but the value is in the price - probably a third cheap

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  The Best First Car Ever! - 2002 Pontiac Grand AM
  By RON - October 14 - 3:56 pm

  This Is My First New Car And Its Great. My Parents Bought It For Me For Graduation. It Is A Galaxy Silver Metalic - Fully Loaded 2dr. Coupe. It Has A Leather Interior,Spoiler,Dual Exhaust,Moonroof,Monsoon Sound System Which Is Very Very Loud Just To Mention A Few Things! The Price Is Very Great For This Vehicle!

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  love it - style, performance, economy - 2005 Pontiac Bonneville
  By clevelandbonneville - October 14 - 10:00 am

  This car is great. I bought with 90K. It now has 102K. I love the style. Very stylish car. Its big!! Its comfy. It has a very quiet cabin. The gm 3.8 is an amazing engine. Actually got 30 mpg when doing a highway trip of 480 miles. with 16 gallons of gas. It has a big gas tank at 18 gallons. Dont need to fill up much. Normal MPG is about 25 with highway/city mix and not winter out. One problem it died on me on the freeway. Kinda scary. It was the Mass airflow sensor. It happened out of nowhere. No engine lights. I would replace this at 100k miles or sooner. Thats when it died on me. Besides for that no problems. You can probably have autozone replace for you.