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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  Great first car - 2002 Pontiac Grand AM
  By kim2013 - January 26 - 3:26 pm

  I have a 2002 Pontiac Grand Am SE, 4 door, 4 cylinder automatic. This is/was my first car that I bought back in april 2009 I believe. This has been a reliable car for me. Mostly daily driving - school, work, etc. Mostly a town driver, then drove about 25 miles away daily for college. The only serious problem I had was a misfire and a new coil pack fixed that. Routine oil changes, brake pads and tires have been all this car has needed. I drove this car from Wisconsin to Tennesee and back at about 130,000 miles and it did wonderful. I get 24-26 mpg city and probably 30-32 highway. All in all, no big complaints. I do think the car is kind of ugly on the outside but oh well :)

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  Please dont buy this truck! - 2006 Pontiac Torrent
  By Naomi Milligan - January 18 - 12:54 pm

  I purchased my 2006 Pontiac Torrent used but GM certified the day after I drove it off the lot I had to take it back for an oil pan seal (luckily the dealer covered that since I had the car less than 24 hours) that was just the beginning and I should have RAN!! I have had this truck 3 years and thus far I have replaced the following: tires, 16 wheel bearings (all by different mechanics to rule out mechanics error), rear end, carrier bearing, CV axles (front and rear), brakes and rotors, 4 alignments (to try and fix the wheel bearing issue), ball joints, control arms, EGR tube, ABS sensor, factory radio (switched for an actermarket as Ive heard of sooooo many issues with the factory ones), cruise control, steering column, windshield washer motor, windshield (x3 dont let a pebble hit the glass, ever!), and after JUST putting over a grand in to it not even a month later (which seems to be about the timeline I get in between repairs) the check engine light is on, the alternator is going out, and there is an all too familiar grinding starting back up. I have actually decided to get a second vehicle as this one is in the shop SO MUCH and every time I go to sell it, something else BREAKS and I have to get it repaired. I am not one to beat my vehicles up (I hate paying for repairs!) and this thing STILL is nothing but problems! The interior is also cheaply made as there is paint coming off the door handles and the radio surround. Oh! And the bumper brackets broke about a month after I bought it (and continued to break) so I got innovative and started using cable ties, probably the most reliable part on this entire vehicle!!! STAY AWAY FROM THIS VEHICLE AT ALL COST!!!! Ive estimated about 8 grand (so far) in repairs and as soon as the check engine light came on it started idling hard (non-permissible content removed)!

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  Take you $26K and buy something else! - 2006 Pontiac G6
  By jen16 - January 4 - 12:43 am

  Very disappointed in this car. I had high hopes but theyve been dashed. Car is plagued with leaks, poor fit and finish, and inferior materials. Auto transmission leaves much to be desired; has trouble finding gears and when it does it is anything but smooth. The only thing GM got right is the exterior styling.

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  Should Come With 10 Year Warranty - 2000 Pontiac Montana
  By Dave - January 2 - 7:40 am

  Roomy interior, comfortable seating and reasonably economic to operate (17 mpg city/24 mpg hwy). Now for the rest of the story. Have had to replace the intake gaskets twice (once under warranty and once out of my pocket) in less than 50K miles. Handles like a Hippo on roller skates. Worst headlights of any car Ive ever driven. A/C is week. GM must have bought the interior materials on closeout from Big Lots. Will likely NEVER buy another GM product. Should have paid the extra $ and bought the Toyota Sienna. Wife no longer trusts it enough to take it out of town.

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  Wheres the quality control - 2005 Pontiac Montana
  By seabeav - December 29 - 11:20 pm

  Bought the new SV6 due to the expanding family. Looked at others but none except ford/mercury included the expanded features for a reasonable price. While I like the apperance and the creature comforts of the SV6, and the drive is typical of a minivan thats all there is to be happy or content with. My vehicle has been in the shop 4 times over the first 3 months for various reasons including a faulty aligned door, replacement of a rear sliding door motor, replacement of a door handle, replacement of body molding, steering well casing replacement, windshield stripping replacement, and a dead battery. Highway noise (wind) on this vehicle is terrible. Recommend pay extra $ for better quality

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  not happy - 2005 Pontiac Montana
  By nothappy - December 27 - 8:16 am

  Loved the van when we first bought it, but several things have happened since then. The transmission has slipped either going from park to drive or taking off from a stoplight/stopsign. Almost all of the decals have fallen off on the rear hatch. The battery also quit on us. Now I feel we are stuck until we get caught up payment wise to merit selling or trading in on another vehicle.

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  Must be just me...problems..problems - 2007 Pontiac G6
  By rob - December 27 - 1:30 am

  Ok we will start with the 6,000 mile warped rotors that they dealership told me was typical after they tried to accuse me of being to hard on the brakes??? at 9,500 miles the rack and pinion went bad..gm knows there is a problem so they put a bulliten out to grease them.well after 500 miles the grease worked its way out and then they had to replace the whole rack.squeks I can not figure out where they are coming from and neither can the dealer.just two days ago my wife handed me her key fob and told me the battery needed to be replaced..so i opened it up and surprise,surprise the soldier joints have broke??who has actually broke a key fob,Now I guess I will just have to see what breaks next

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  Realiable is the way - 2006 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By pontiacmall - December 19 - 1:15 am

  I purchased this car 2 years ago with the intention of having it temporarily and then trading it in. It has proven to be realiable after I added another 60k to the odometer. Just recently had issue with heater core which caused no heat and air. Once fixed it worked like a charm. I also put a twin mattress in the trunck with back seats down and was able to close the trunk. No pick up truck necessary!!May be time to get rid of as the kids are complaining they dont have enough back seat leg room of which I have to agree is a little on the short side. Just hope I can find something as realiable as the Grand Prix.....

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  Sad to say, but a bit of a disappointment - 2007 Pontiac Solstice
  By Cathy P - December 11 - 3:13 pm

  The car is a great looking sports car. Possibly the best on the market. But looks are deceiving. It lacks in power and interior design. The radio and XM are wonderful. The two toned interior is beautiful but Id lose the cheap plastic. As far as power, its a dud. The exterior design is gorgeous but not practical when driving. There are too many blind spots which is dangerous. The soft top is cumbersome to put up and down. When the tops up visability is worse. I traded in my 2007 Solstice for an MX5 which was way more fun to drive and roomier.

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  Nice, but.... - 2002 Pontiac Bonneville
  By boonie80mph - December 8 - 10:00 am

  The comfortable seats convinced us that this was the car for us. The ride was incredibly smooth and quiet. The handling just great. BUT...the car was in the shop more than with me the first few months, due to trunk leaking, brakes squeeking, noise coming through front doors, CD playing going crazy, fuel pump rattling, headliner rattling, etc. Most of these problems have not been able to be corrected due to design problems or "cant be duplicated".