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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  Fun car, hindered by GM - 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By braindeadunit - May 6 - 5:42 am

  The 3.8L makes this a pretty fun car to drive, however, as a GM "cookie cutter" car, it suffers from subpar engineering and build quality. Panels like to fall off, something that couldve been prevented with a better plastic. The powertrain is generally reliable, but thats about it. You can eek pretty good mpg out of this car, but its a bit of a pain to do so. If great MPG is your priority, look elsewhere, but dont worry about this car burning holes in your pocket.

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  Going back to Ford - 2000 Pontiac Grand AM
  By kenscott - May 4 - 2:00 am

  I bought this car about 5 months ago. It ran much better than I anticipated; for a 4-cylinder that is. Gas mileage averages about 23-25 mpg. I know I can be a lead foot, but my 6-cylinder Taurus did the same mpg. Recently, I had to replace the catalytic converter- CC(covered under warranty) The mechanic noticed a bad transmission leak. He thinks that some of the knocking that I attributed to the CC was actually the torque converter in the transmission. I await the bad news. Also there is a groan at times when turning the steering wheel severely at low speeds.

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  G6 is about GM and its struggles - 2008 Pontiac G6
  By ajl - May 1 - 4:10 pm

  I have inherited this car, so its not one I would have purchased. I would have at least bought a V6 model. The build quality is pretty good. At 13k miles, its still really solid, no squeaks or rattles. The interior is much better then any GM car I can remember, although still not Honda or Toyota quality. Lots of room in the back seat, although the outside visibility is poor compared to the imports Im used to. The engine is very coarse compared to a Honda and the 4 speed automatic hunts for gears and shifts into overdrive too early. Not a bad car, not great either. FYI: Owners manual recommends premium fuel for best performance. In a base model car?

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  Love it. - 1995 Pontiac Firebird
  By Jon Bradley - April 29 - 10:53 am

  Ive had this car for almost a month now and I must say I absolutely love it. I bought it for $3500 with 164,000 miles. The previous owner (and only owner) loved this car very much! There isnt a scratch on it and the interior is better than most used vehicles I was looking at from the 2000s. I am 17 and this is my very first car, and I must say that this right now is my single most important material posession. The only thing I have had to fix on this vehicle was a bad brake light. The rest is basically like new.

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  2nd review after 40,000 miles - 2007 Pontiac G6
  By Dez - April 27 - 7:16 am

  Dont get me wrong I love this car for some reason mostly cause of the looks! but Im a car guy so I cant ignore the fact that this car is mediocre. Its leaps and bounds better than the grand am, but If you consider other cars in this class it is not on there level in refinement. suspension noise is too pronounced and is a bit underdamped. the car is not agile at all and drives big, although the steering is good. The stock stereo is crap and if you get an aftermaket unit you lose the trip computer big flaw. this car makes too many noises which effects the perception of quality. That said the car is sold it just does its job and nothing more, its like a Gap model with a personality flaw.

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  Simply amazing! - 2007 Pontiac G5
  By lrymal - April 23 - 12:10 pm

  I have this fun little car for almost a month now. Basically, it is as everyone else has said and if I were to fault this car at all, it would be for the interior plastics. The plastics are easy to scratch. Easy. I mean, you dont mean, but you look, and you see you scratched something. What did it, a coin? Ring? Finger nail? The design layout of the plastic pieces is good, and that is cause of the scratching. Theres a cubby hole for pens, an area to lay the iPod, lots of nice areas to lay thing, but that is how the scratches occur. I gave it "5" for interior design due to this.

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  Okay - 2003 Pontiac Grand AM
  By Traci - April 22 - 4:30 am

  I bought the 2003 Grand Am GT new with the SC/T package (my fav). For some reason I just had to have this car why I dont know. I actually have had a lot of little stupid problems I just dont have time to go to the dealership with. As for holding up I think it has done good I have about 55,000 miles on it. My windows are off track and pontiac said they fixed when they didnt they have done this about 4 times and I just dont feel like going car less for a day again. My gas gauge is off, and alot of other stupid things. I cant believe the depriciation on it. I have lost a lot of money with this car and I will not get another american car again. Other then that if I could get rid of it I would.

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  this is one sexy little car - 2008 Pontiac Solstice
  By gxpowner - April 19 - 5:33 pm

  i have hardly any regrets in buying this little jewel. there are some little quirks that i will address just because they are aggravating. the engineer that thought to put the radio power knob in the center of the radio where your hand hits it every time u shift into third gear must surely be proud. same goes for the mute/power button radio controls on the steering wheel. their placement turns the radio or sound completely off when hit.side mirrors r way too small. but...this is a head turning car that turns heads...they r just trying to figure out what the colored streak is that just went zooming by....lol

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  The mean looking sunfire - 2003 Pontiac Sunfire
  By JAH36 - April 18 - 10:00 am

  Trade in my 98 4 door sedan for the 2003 fell in love with it. Very quick and fast, love the stereo system

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  sharp car with dependability issues - 2001 Pontiac Bonneville
  By Wayne - April 16 - 7:46 pm

  I love the exterior styling of this car, very sporty. NO idea why GM ended its production. It handles well. The 3.8 engine is very dependable, but all the other attachments to it seem to go out. It started at 125,000 miles with a number of sensors, coil packs, alternator, starter, the plastic intake manifold, front ball joints, front wheel bearings, the list goes on. The same with my old 1989 Bonneville, only that started at 75,000 miles. And at 80,000 on my 1979 Pontiac Grand LeMans for that matter. I finally started to buy Toyota for dependability sake. GM may not have needed a bail out if they had adopted Toyotas model of quality control years ago. Daughter has it at college now.