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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  Montana - spacious and economical - 2000 Pontiac Montana
  By Jeff - August 23 - 9:56 am

  Ownership of the Montana has been a pleasure. The video system helped keep our two kids busy when we drove to Yellowstone and back to Pennsylvania and later to southern Florida and back, along with trips to Massachusetts and back in between. The system takes both vhs video tapes and video game inputs. On these long trips I found the gas milage was better than expected as the most recent trip to Florida gave me at least 27 to close to 30 mpg on the highway. The digital information system helps when put on instantaneous mpg, one learns what helps and what hurts as far as gas milage goes. The vehicle has given us no major engine problems, is good on tire wear and the exterior is still good.

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  Warranty issues - 2008 Pontiac G6
  By madashell - August 20 - 10:33 am

  Bought my car brand new - $19,000 + - paid cash. First year - awesome except radio replacement due to the buttons chipping - 2nd year, serpentine belt, u-joints. 3rd year - getting radio replaced AGAIN due to chipping. Seats are fading - was told it was due to the mileage - umm, 30k only. Have GM now involved - but they just want to give me a certificate for $4k off a new GM car. You are kidding right? Im buying Ford and cannot wait until this radio is put in so I can get a decent private sale or trade in. What a joke - and what a thing for a dealer to say seats fade at 30k! No more GM for me!

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  midwife crisis - 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By Matty - August 20 - 1:43 am

  Purchased used 04 GT2 to replace mycompany car. Blows away Taurus and Intrepids at this price. Previous Pontiac owner and impressed with improvements. I love to drive it and have had many compliments.

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  2 Years and 57K miles later.... - 2001 Pontiac Aztek
  By PhillyAztekBoy - August 16 - 2:00 am

  This car still runs good. I do alot of communiting back and forth to work, and have not had any problems whatsoever! I still get people come up to me and ask "What is that? I like it!" For my few gripes 1)The hatch gets stuck way to often and I have to press the release button more than once. 2)GM made it hard to use after-market equipment (i.e. stereo stuff). I had to relocate the factory radio under the backseat. 3)Wish steering was a little more powerful. Good car folks. I love it!!

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  2001 Aztek AWD - 2003 Pontiac Aztek
  By GM AZTEK - August 16 - 2:00 am

  Love the Aztek, looks grow on you after a while, great interior, fuel milage is adequate for a SUV of this size. My only problem is the constant down shifts when driving in moderately hilly terrain or into the wind. It seems to hate staying in overdrive. The dealership has been very cooperative in trying to fix the problem but it is a desine flaw. The engine does not have enough power for the AWD.

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  Good Solid Ride (Whip) - 2008 Pontiac Torrent
  By Michigan Driver - August 9 - 5:52 pm

  I bought my Torrent used with around 90,000 miles. After a few months I started to have engine power problems transmission problems, losing power, running rough. I also had problems with the stabilitrac and antilock brakes. I went to the dealership and they had no answers or ideas on what the problem was. I did some research and a domino effect of thing were improved by a new egr valve as well as plugs and wires. I did all repairs myself to save hundreds. All the problems went away and Ive put 10s of thousands of miles on it with no more issues.

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  2005 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP w/Comp-G - 2005 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By Larry Boulier - August 8 - 12:53 pm

  My fiancee and I love this car! Fun to drive and plenty of zip off that supercharged 3800 series III V-6 rated at 260+ hp. Styling is eye appealing, the first day we took it out we received several compliments at stoplights and one challenge from some uneducated teen in a Mustang - sorry son- not my fault the 4-door "family car" left you in the dust. LOL! The vehicle interior is full of fun gadgets- though the number of buttons can be a little overwhelming at times - each serve their purpose and are nice amenities to have - such as Heads Up Displace, XM Radio, On-Star, Monitors for Oil Life, Average Speed, Trip Time, Gas Mileage and many many more helpful and informative and SAFETY!

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  Love to drive it!! - 1998 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By Kev - August 6 - 10:00 am

  I purchased my SE 12/99 as a used model. I was looking for something with good handling, ride and interior room. I got it all. The car handles like it should cost a lot more. The engine is ok, could stand a few more horses but its good enough. Now, with more than 135K, its still running very well. Have only replaced the battery, water pump and window motor for the passenger side. (may have to do driver side soon if it keeps acting stupid) Was unaware of the lens problem until I took it for the recall work and the lens was missing. They washed the car so I assumed they broke the lens. They replaced it no charge.

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  Great Car for Great Price - 2007 Pontiac G6
  By sps97tj - August 6 - 5:00 am

  I have had this car for about 2 months now & I love it! It rides good, gas mileage is decent so far. The integrated remote start was a key selling feature that has been used almost every day here in Michigan. 2 key complaints though. Lots of squeaks and rattles when it gets really cold. I got the tan interior and the driver seat already has wear/dye from jeans. Still cant beat the price.

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  Comfortable and Roomy - 2006 Pontiac Torrent
  By Stacy - August 5 - 10:40 pm

  Ive only had my Torrent for a few weeks now but I love it. I went from a 1992 Blazer junk that served me well but what a change for me! I only saw the car once in a restaurant parking lot and said that was the car for me. Its very comfortable and roomy. It has good acceleration too but I think it doesnt have good gas mileage. Overall I recommend it.