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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  good - 2003 Pontiac Sunfire
  By StacyBaby - July 23 - 10:00 am

  I just LOVE my 2003 sunfire!!!

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  its great - 2007 Pontiac Torrent
  By johnson - July 23 - 7:50 am

  its a great midsize, longer wider than most more room with fold flat seats, see real good, service is great, great dash

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  I love my new G6 GXP - 2008 Pontiac G6
  By Cisco Contreras - July 21 - 4:23 am

  Ive had Pontiacs in the pass but nothing comes even close to my new G6! I love the way it drives and how it handles. Wish there was a navigation with it but the interior looks are amazing! I am starting a new family and I couldnt made a better decision when buying a new car.

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  G6 GTP Coupe - 2006 Pontiac G6
  By Eric W - July 19 - 3:10 am

  The performance on this car is amazing, its 240 hp are extremely underrated. I opted for the automatic because the manual wasnt available at the time of purchase, if I had to buy again Id buy the manual. The interior is great, except people over 6 ft tall will have head room problems in the back. The only downside of this car is fuel economy, I have a hard time getting over 23.5 mpg (another reason to get a manual), although for vacation driving on the highway it will get around 25 mpg if you keep the cruise on. This has been a great vehicle and Id highly recommend it to anyone.

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  I love this car! - 1997 Pontiac Firebird
  By BP - July 18 - 7:53 am

  Gas mpg on the road right now is really nice! It is very fun to drive! Love the pop-up lights and the power of the engine! 3.8 L with 200 hp whats not to love? If I wanted to I could easily boost the hp on this thing. Why do that though when it gets such great mileage for a sporty car (we aint talking about a honda civic or anything this is a firebird). If you dont want one or dont like the one you have sell it! someone else will though!

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  A pleasure to drive - 2007 Pontiac Torrent
  By LS - July 17 - 11:03 pm

  This is my first NEW car. Prior to this purchase, my new car was a 1992 Saturn that we bought in 2000, 45,000 miles. I have truly enjoyed my 07 Torrent. Purchased it in November of 2007 with 14,000 miles. It now has over 45,000 miles on it. We have driven it everywhere, Hot Springs, AR, Marksville, LA and Greenville, TX and several other family vacations. Its very comfortable,lots of room, great on gas and stylish. I was the only one with a Pontiac Torrent in our city and now theyre everywhere; all colors. Our only problem, we had to replace a cracked spark plug at 40,000+ miles.StabiliTrak worked good when coming out of Greenville during a bad thunderstorm. Would buy again.

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  Love this car! - 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By Liz K - July 17 - 6:26 pm

  I love this car. It has a very smooth ride, and very quick pick up! Sometimes I dont even realize that Im speeding because of the smoothness. The dashboard is very easy to read/see and I love the drivers info center. I also like the way the console with the DIC and radio are tilted towards the driver for easy access. Having the radio controls on the steering wheel also are great. It took me a little bit of time to get used to the placement of the cruise control. Having it low on the steering wheel was difficult to use at first, but I got the hang of it within a week or two. The trunk is huge and I love the split rear seats. Much better than my last GP that had only had a pass through.

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  an american car that rocks - 2005 Pontiac Vibe
  By tjs317 - July 17 - 5:36 pm

  okay, I wanted to buy american & get the reliability of a toyota. Nuff said, same assembly line as toyota matrix. a 6 speed tied to the yamaha engine doesnt hurt, either!!!

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  Month 4 with a G8 GT - 2008 Pontiac G8
  By Rod - July 17 - 11:33 am

  Starting month 4 with the G8. I am getting comfortable with all of the switches. This car has proven that all of the press hype is not hype, it is fact. It is the best value that any car manufacturer has on the market for the price. If you want a real car, with real performance, room and quality this is the car. You can spend twice the money and get something like and buy a 5 series BMW, or you can buy the G8 GT get the same performance and have lots of money left over to bay the person at the gas pump. I love American Iron so I will pay at the gas pump instead of at the dealer. I vote to make Australia the 51st state.

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  How I luvd my 40th Annv. Special Ed GTP - 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By Ronnie B - July 15 - 9:03 pm

  I remember having to call 12 car dealerships to find my car, my wife had first seen it on the Internet and told me I had to see this new special tribute to gms Pontiac grand prix for 40 years of performance, we both fell in luv with it we had to have it. We had a 1999 gtp, and our lease was about up. So I went hunting after 2weeks of calling all over so. Cal I found a dealership that had one with all the options. I have had literally hundreds of compliments about it. The special edition package for the extra money is so worth it other than the loss of the (psm) performance shift mechanism, and the digital thermostat air/heat I luvd the can, it performed excellent just like my 1999