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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  2000 SSEi - 2002 Pontiac Bonneville
  By johnnys bonny - February 26 - 2:00 am

  The more I drive this car the more I like it. I love the power this big car has left when driving at 55+. The improved headlights are great too. Ive owned SUVs for the last 5yrs, this is my first car since my single days in a sports car. Im impressed so far with this car.

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  Vibe 2006 5 speed manual - 286 000 km - 2006 Pontiac Vibe
  By vibe_06_5speed - February 22 - 10:01 am

  I bought this car when it had 170 000 km on it, since then (over 2 years ago) Ive put on many miles on it (now have 286 000 km). I am very satisfied with the car. I have not put ANY repairs since Ive had it other then repainting the top (little bit of rust started). I consistently get between 40 - 44 MPG (Canadian) doing mostly highway (that is about 33 - 36 US MPG). I drive conservative though, I keep it around 100 km/h on highway. I like the exterior of the vibe better then the matrix. The car has good cargo space and when you flip down the seats you get ridiculous amount of room back there, you dont know what your missing until youve had it trust me! Highly recommend!

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  a few problems but still a good car - 2002 Pontiac Sunfire
  By sweeties_mom - February 21 - 2:00 am

  I had my first major elec. problem within 24 hrs of pick up and 4 other others since but I have not had any problems in the last couple of months. It has been performing perfectly. I do ALOT of highway driving and this car does have alot of wind noise, especially when the sunroof is open. I would highly recommend the 2.2 DOHC engine. I came from a Cavalier Z24 w/ a v6 engine and this engine has almost as much power as that did. Despite the early electrical issues, this has been a very reliable, fuel efficient car that can be fun to drive.

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  Grand Prix - 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By scotkris - February 20 - 4:43 am

  Have driven 25-30K per year and never done anything except routine or preventive maintenance. This has been the most reliable and best performing vehicle Ive owned in 30 years of vehicle ownership. Can haul a family of 5. The flat folding passenger seat can allow you to carry items up to 8 in length.

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  Excellent. - 2005 Pontiac G6
  By Drusus - February 18 - 6:16 pm

  The G6 is an excellent car, the best Pontiac I have ever driven. The interior is comfortable, the seats firm and supportive, controls easy to operate and read. Mine has the 6CD Monsoon system, which sounds and feels magnificent. The engine is top-notch, and the car offers a surprising amount of power. The ride is smooth and very quiet. Passenger room is at a premium. My only issue comes with the electronic steering. It transmits very little feel of the road back to the drivers hands, and is very overboosted at some speeds, while the other day in a parking lot I had almost no boost at all. Its still buggy, I think. Overall, the G6 is a great vehicle.

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  Good Driving Car, Solid - 1997 Pontiac Firebird
  By Jake2007 - February 17 - 10:30 pm

  This car is an excellent car to drive, its real solid, the power is not too bad either, the formulas were actually faster than the Trans Ams, with a 5.7 second 0-60 compared to the Trans Ams 6.1 second 0-60.

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  Fun, but....... - 2000 Pontiac Bonneville
  By Lotsamiles - February 13 - 8:20 am

  We purchased new, now have 94k+. Very fun to drive, good mileage for large car. Reliability has been lousy! Same problems with windows/motors. Had dealer print out repair history; it was 12 pages long. Injectors, tie rod, windows, steering column, and so forth. Afraid to pass on to our daughter! Steering column has to be taken apart and lubed...now at our cost...every 50k miles.

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  Junk electrical with these cars - 2000 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By Earl - February 9 - 1:20 am

  Car has done very well in all areas except electrical which have been a nightmare. Can we talk? The drivers side window motor failed at less than 10k miles (in-warranty). Two of the other three failed out of warranty (one window failed after it had only been up and down ONCE). The blower motor failed at about 75k. The alternator and battery failed soon thereafter. The AC works great but makes squealing noises for years now. Have tried everything short of replacing compressor to fix it. Dealers want $400+ to fix the Pontiac- designed window motor problems.

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  First Car - 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By jdaily01 - February 8 - 2:46 am

  Bought a 2002 pontiac grand prix se for my first car only 6months ago. When I got it, it had 122000miles on it, which though high isnt too high. Since buying this car, Ive had 3 windows crap out on me, only fixing the driver side one. It cost about $350 at a dealership to get the window fixed, luckily I found a local mechanic to do it for a lot cheaper. Though now the ignition wont recognize the car as being in park, therefore not releasing the key. Problems just keep adding up, I am able to bypass the the ignition to release the key but I cannot recommend this car. There are multiple reviews online showing that I am not alone, pontiac uses cheap parts making problems more probable.

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  love it! - 1999 Pontiac Sunfire
  By brookany - February 6 - 5:16 pm

  Overall a great car... loves the cold weather, fun to drive, handles great, looks great. Sometime starts funny in hot weather. The ABS kicks in at weird, inappropriate times.