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:

• 

  Zoom Zoom aint just for Mazda... - 2004 Pontiac Vibe
  By Dbear44 - December 31 - 10:00 am

  Roomy, versatile, good looks, & a real kick to drive... What more could you ask...

• 

  Pontiac Montana - 2005 Pontiac Montana
  By Mike Gaines - December 29 - 7:30 pm

  The Montana is an excellent value. Our van was completely loaded and was purchased for thousands less than comparable vans. Reliabilty and quality have been very good, with no issues to date.

• 

  Pontiac, a beast of a car - 1999 Pontiac Grand AM
  By CanuckDriver - December 28 - 8:56 am

  Bought the car used. The guy had it sitting for a year. I had to replace driver window motor, and lil odds and ends, but engine fired up right away. Driving for almost 2 yrs now, must say, found the common problem with the window motors, have to replace driver again soon. But I am very hard on my cars, cold starts, aggressive driving, stupid moves, off-road (dirt roads and old fire roads), put it in a ditch once at 90 km/h. This car never misses a beat, there is a lot of little stuff that go wrong, lights are gone on the radio, window motors, some interior stuff is falling apart but after only buying it for $1500 and putting nothing else into it. I got no complaints at with this little beast

• 

  high milage van - 2006 Pontiac Montana SV6
  By steve - December 27 - 4:30 pm

  when I bought this van I did not want a mini van my wife did, the more I drove it the better I liked it,the milage is great,keeping the tires rotated adds a lot of life to your tires,I went with mobil 1 oil after 100000 miles the milage has gotten better had it tuned up at 100000 miles also this has been a great van.

• 

  Went good to bad within a year - 2007 Pontiac G5
  By j9atv - December 25 - 11:56 pm

  Dont get me wrong all cars have their issues but the list is starting to grow on my new 2007 G5. So far within the first year and 35,000 km (21,000 miles) Ive had the fuel sensor and pump replaces, the rear bushings on both front suspension replaced, the radio replaced 4x!! because the original radio that came with the car at the time of purchase was black and the company that GM gets to do the warranty work does not carry radios with black faces (on going issue). So far Im really not impressed with the quality of my G5 and Im just waiting for the next thing to go wrong. I can tell you this my next car will not be a GM (BMW, Acura, Honda). Its sad because everyone in my family owns a GM.

• 

  Fair - 2007 Pontiac Torrent
  By Netyoda - December 22 - 7:30 am

  This SUV crossover is a good attempt by Pontiac but seems to have been more of an afterthought than a outright new vehicle. Oversights with Interior items such as a poorly placed cup holder (blocks the Emergency brake) which also allows drink-sweat to drip directly into a accessory outlet directly below the cupholders. The instrument cluster is eay to read and the blood-red color is nice at night. Although overall i am very happy with this vehicle, i woould appreciated more attention to detail such as the drink holders and the clips holding the sun visors. The clips do not firmly hold the visor so they sometimes come loose when driving.

• 

  64 to 05 - 2006 Pontiac GTO
  By Bob Negherbon - December 21 - 10:00 pm

  I have a 64 and bought the 05, Wow! What a great car! The power is fantastic and so easy to use. A great automobile and especially for the price. This can only get better and maybe GM will keep it around. There are so many things that can be offered to maintain the legend, cause the new one is truly worthy of the name.

• 

  Cross Country Driver - 2006 Pontiac Montana SV6
  By MLL - December 17 - 7:13 pm

  Rented vehicle for cross country trip from Seattle to New Jersey and back with a side trip to Northern California....9000 miles in all over a months time...vehicle ran great adequate room for three fully loaded with cargo and then some...vehicle was fully loaded,comfortable ride considering the amount of driving,wife enjoyed driving and sitting up high..like the look (SUV)but more than enough room (minus the seats)....Would highly consider buying if in the market.

• 

  Love this car - 2004 Pontiac GTO
  By Drew - December 16 - 6:13 pm

  So I just came home with a Yellow 04 GTO and I am loving everything about this car. It has the power of an american muscle car but not the crappy quality of the majority of american cars today since its built in Austrailia. It really does have the build quality like a european car but the raw power of an american bad boy car! Yes some may say the styling is bland but I personally get looks and people trying to talk to me about the car all the time. My girlfriend gets annoyed when we pull up to a light and another guy is trying to yell at us through the window to talk about the car. At first I wasnt totally sure about the yellow color choice but its grown on me and I wouldnt change a thing!

• 

  Fun to drive - 2003 Pontiac Vibe
  By chemman - December 12 - 10:00 am

  Have had it for about 2 months. AC blower motor replaced under warranty. the car is fun to drive, gets respectable gas mileage, and is very roomy. Happy with our purchase so far...