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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  Catch It If You Can - 1998 Pontiac Firebird
  By Fish - January 9 - 8:50 am

  Bought the Bird myself when I was sixteen and havent regretted it one minute. Insurance isnt too bad since its a V6, but heck, it still wastes a majority of comparable cars (lets see you try that again, Mr. Mustang GT!). Averages about 23-27 MPG, and it doesnt take Premium like TAs need. This is a very solid car, mine is now seven years old and doesnt have a dent or crack or speck of rust or broken interior plastic. Absolutely GORGEOUS car. Only problems are with headlight motor gears, weak passenger power window, and corroded cooling system hoses (beware the black sludge). Rides rough but can turn on a dime at high speeds, and definitely turns heads! Very highly recommended!

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  It turns a few heads - 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By Eric - January 9 - 5:10 am

  Were a family of four and about to be empty nesters. We were looking for a minivan replacement, and frankly the $6K rebate is what sold us this car. Its good looking to us and the front seats are very comfortabe. But after a year with the car we have issues: cheap interior plastics are hard to clean; Engine has plenty of torque, but it always feels heavy; OEM tires impossible to keep balanced; its hard to back up; and the rear seat is downright painful for anyone over 12. (We noticed the rear seat has improved in the 2005 model) Anyway, its still fun to drive when its just my wife and I. The stereo is excellent, it handles well and its big V6 is good for interstate crusing.

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  Roomy, comfortable, problematic - 2005 Pontiac Montana
  By unsolicitedadvice - January 7 - 5:56 pm

  Purchased 1 yr old with 25K miles. Put 20K on it during ownership. Tons of room, with a comfortable-for-adults, fold-flat third row. Fits 5 adult passengers with 2nd row bench seating and 6+ full-sized luggage pieces with third row folded. Much storage. Engine was powerful to begin with, but definitely had lost noticeable "punch" after one year. CD stereo radio sound was adequate but not great. Questionable build quality created worrisome driving @ 42K miles with a loud, metallic "clanking" sound when riding over bumps (dealer attempted to fix, but sound resurfaced within 5K); "ghost" power door that closed on command but opened by itself when parked; "chirping" noises when I turned right.

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  Life with a Red GTP - 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By El Squid - January 6 - 7:20 am

  I bought a used GTP because GM decided to discontinue the 2-door version. I am amazed at how little fuel it takes to propel the GTP along open highways. Conversely, when engaging in stoplight gymnastics it rips through premium gas like, well you know what I mean. Its a shame that along with discontinuing the GTP coupe, the performance shift switch was also deleted. Hooray for Hypertech whose reprogrammer allows the return of fast shifts and also disables the silly governor. In spite of the cars 145 mph capability I drive the car within posted limits except when visiting the Nevada desert and other fun places. Besides, 30 mpg is available on the interstate if driven gently.

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  This is great car to get around L.A. - 2003 Pontiac Vibe
  By 790riford - January 5 - 2:00 am

  My vibe is 2 years old now,I have had no problems at all. I see all $30K +SUVs eat gas a $2.20 a gallon Im getting 30+ miles per gallon. Easy way give your Vibe some passing power add a K&N air filter.

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  Fun to drive for price - 1996 Pontiac Grand AM
  By ragu - January 5 - 2:00 am

  1st new vehicle I purchased and overall was a great car for me. Will be selling with 116K miles driven, sorry to see go. First weekend I had the trunk seal failed and rain water filled the trunk (defective seal). Also had problem with driver side mirror adjuster breaking (twice) early on. Lastly, transmission had a pinhole in it, luckily under warranty and was replaced for free. Great value for the price. Even though I had those problems, I was happy with the car.

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  GTO = FUN ! - 2004 Pontiac GTO
  By taosphil - January 4 - 4:46 pm

  Great FUN Car! I Love It, everytime I drive it I get a big smile on my face. Very well built, really close to a BMW in quality and performance at one half the price. Makes a wonderful Modern Muscle Car, that why I want a 2006 - 50 more ponies means that smile will be just that much bigger!

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  Feeling it out - 2005 Pontiac G6
  By anesbit - January 3 - 11:23 am

  I got my 2005 g6 last night. Even in this short amount of time I have noticed several things. I am no stranger to gm I had an Aztek before this car and the Aztek was a GREAT car. As far as this g6 goes Ill have to agree with many of you on several things. First being the rattle..When you go over a speed bump it sounds like my tires are going to spin off. It creaks and moans like an old house when driving. Yes, the sunroof is awesome but i just hope it wont leak and that was one of my firsts questions , I was advised that I had nothing to worry about when in fact Im still almost certain Ill have water inside my car.

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  Disappointed - 2000 Pontiac Bonneville
  By Disappointed2 - January 3 - 10:00 am

  Styling was underwelming. I appreciated the changes in the chassis. Interior is spacious and comfortable, the convience of the tire pump is great! Performance is adequate (I am waiting for the GTO , next year) First problem was electrical took dealer 3 times to fix. Verbal explaination of repairs, "you dont want to know!". Now have racheting noise in the steering I am told the car was bottomed out ... the "Craddle" is bent and the noise/popping we hear is body flex. We dont drive radically. Even though there are signs of the undercarraige being scraped there is no way that we impacted anything hard enough to warp the Craddle.

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  aaa - 2001 Pontiac Grand AM
  By Derick Fertle - January 3 - 10:00 am

  Overall I am very pleased w this car