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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  Never will buy again! - 1997 Pontiac Grand AM
  By cheerjill23 - December 5 - 6:50 am

  I got this car as a gift and have had nothing but problems with it. Replaced brakes too many to count, alternator 2X, front shakes all the time, coolant constantly low and over heats. Never sure if I would make it to where I needed to go. Didnt even make it to 115,000 miles. Coolant would leak and have to refill every 7- 10 days.

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  Look it over - 1999 Pontiac Grand AM
  By lilbulah - November 26 - 2:00 am

  I got my Grand AM as a graduations gift for graduating high school. Ive had to replace the brakes 3 times in 6 months, ive had to replace the alternator. Also i wrecked this car doing 40 mph into the back of a minivan and my airbags did not deploy, even though it was totalled the insurance company still fixed it, luckly i had on my seatbelt that did enough damage. My transmission is slipping, and all my parking lights keep going out, also so are my brake lights.. I think that these are awesome looking cars but the mechanical errors need to be fixed!!!

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  Dont Buy This Car - 2006 Pontiac G6
  By Azby - November 16 - 9:46 am

  Bought this car brand new. Smelled gasoline first day - cracked fuel injector. Visor mirrors have broken repeatedly. Fixed 3 times under warranty - now just broke. At 13,000 miles, groaning in the steering column. Left outer tie rod & steering gear replaced. Now, at 20,000 miles, knocking in the steering column. Dealer response: Sorry, warranty ran out at 3 years (even though there is a Technical Service Bulletin about this problem). The starter also hesitates frequently. I dont trust the car anymore and feel unsafe driving it. A recall should have been issued when the NHTSA investigated steering issues in the G6, instead of sticking owners with the cost. I wont buy another Pontiac.

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  Grand Am 2004 - 2004 Pontiac Grand AM
  By fldeb - November 14 - 5:37 am

  I purchased my Grand Am in Oct. 2004. Carfax report said it was a rental car. It currently has 79,000 miles. The door panels developed bubbles. Had them replace since it was under warrant. Didnt last long. All 4 door panels has bubbles in them. A/c knob broke. Inside light only works 10% of the time. A plastic nut in the widowshield wippers broke, I couldnt just buy the nut I had to buy the whole motor system. trunk leaks. Biggest problem is the dashboard lifting up. Dealership says it will cost over $1200 to fix and they will need my car 3 or 4 days. The lifting dashboard crumbled my defrosters. I cant use them. Blinkers keep blinking. 3 windows need new window regulator cost $390 each.

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  06 GTP is piece of crap!!!! - 2006 Pontiac G6
  By chuck203 - November 9 - 4:17 am

  the 1st yrs i had this car is what great, but then the flood waters opened, at 49.000miles major oil leak, had that repaired, i have replaced brakes and rotors 3 times in 2 yrs, had 2 replace tire rods and ball joints, car still shakes when u brake, passenger side headlight keeps blowing out, c d player, quit working, Gm wants 600.00 4 a new 1 & 2 top it all off transmission has went out all with less than 100.000 miles on it...I c why pontiac went Under!!!

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  Dont buy it - 2001 Pontiac Grand AM
  By bob - October 22 - 4:06 pm

  Ive had this car 6 years, and Ive had ALL 4 power windows stop working (wont go down or up), I had 2 repaired and gave up on other 2. I got it with 32k miles, it has 84k now, at about 60k miles, the transmission failed. Had to have it rebuilt for about 2 grand. Ignition switch failed. Power steering pump failed 2 times. Power steering rod failed. Brakes had issues at about 75k miles, and again are grinding and just dont sound/feel right. Air conditioning still works, but speed settings 1 & 2 dont work, only 3-5 work. Rear view mirror fell off (didnt even touch it), had to re- adhere it. Its still fast, still fun, but I dont know whats gonna happen next. Im selling it soon, finally.

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  not that bad - 2000 Pontiac Montana
  By not that bad - October 22 - 2:20 pm

  Yes, this van and the other two from GM have had problems, but how many folks have heard of PREVENTATIVE maintenance? Our van has been very reliable, except for the intake gaskets that I had to replace. Otherwise, at 100k it still runs and rides pretty good. Love the room, and we use this as our truck at times as well. I do wish they had better resale. Mine is 100% mechanically, and still worth peanuts. Power sliding door needs to be reset from time to time, but other than normal care, it has been a good van

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  We call it the "crapteck" - 2002 Pontiac Aztek
  By aztec hater - October 14 - 1:36 pm

  Loved the car at first! Very comfortable and roomy--fits 4 and a dog very comfortably. Was very excited to get our first SUV and loved it for about a year. The air conditioner died at about 17k, the head gasket at 30K, the hatch never opens, anti theft system locked up for no reason & cost about $500 to replace. Head gasket again at 120K. I have a $50,000 car after all of the repairs that have been made on it--wise to quit producing this vehicle.

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  Grand Prix GTP - 2003 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By Cars4me89 - October 7 - 10:00 am

  Good performance and handling. Although rear is extremely ugly without spoiler. Lucky for me I was the next on the waiting list so that one had a spoiler.

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  Quality slips QUICKLY as car ages - 2002 Pontiac Grand AM
  By Dood - October 4 - 10:00 am

  Well, brakes replaces... now intake manifold gasket is bad... at 37000 miles. This is becoming a very weak point in these cars. As the cars get older, their weak quality shows through -- typical for GM I guess.