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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  Nice Car - 2009 Pontiac Vibe
  By Brotzy - March 12 - 3:23 am

  Have had for 3 months. Has been good car except for two(2) tires they had to replace. Would not balance. Also has problem with speedometer. Speedometer on GT is 7% off because of the tires. There is not fix at this time and they say that it is within acceptable variance.

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  Awesome Car!!! - 2006 Pontiac G6
  By Diana - March 11 - 5:50 pm

  I truly love this car. From being from NJ it was fun to be one of the only G6 Coupe from my area. Everywhere I go I always get compliments! I simply love this car!

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  Happy with my purchase - 2007 Pontiac G6
  By Brian R - March 11 - 12:20 pm

  The car is good looking, fun to drive, and gets really good gas mileage. Cant speak for the reliability (because Ive only owned it for a month) but Im optimistic. The cupholders are inconvenient. Overall, the car is roomy, comfortable, fast, fun, and a good buy!

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  good for awhile... then, not so good.... - 2007 Pontiac Torrent
  By rp - March 11 - 9:56 am

  Own a 2007 fwd torrent - seemed like a good vehicle for first 20000kms, then - a lot of little/annoying things started to happen: - tire pressure sensor malfunction [still is, despite two trips to dealer]... signal lights work, but clicker has stopped working..driver door lock malfunction [cant autolock all doors]...traction control system is MORE OF A HAZARD THAN ANYTHING - I turn it OFF whenever Im driving in snow and ice [which is very often!]...parking brake / cupholder design is poor to say the least ... there are better vehicles out there for similar price.....my 2004 pontiac montana was a much better vehicle...

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  GREAT VIBES! - 2003 Pontiac Vibe
  By love_my_hannah - March 10 - 10:00 am

  WONDERFUL VEHICLE! I test drove and test drove vehicles! This was my fav. Super fun to drive! Cute and I get 36 mpg better than the 34 on the sticker. Very comfortable and roomy. Has some cute options also! I love the moons and tunes and power package! Its a must!

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  Aztek is OK! - 2003 Pontiac Aztek
  By 90 SALEEN - March 10 - 10:00 am

  Although I agree with most reviews that the Aztek is not a handsome vehicle, there are many qualities to a vehicle besides looks. We bought our Aztek to haul, camp, and have enough room to cart five passengers around. It does all of these for a price much less than anything else in its catergory. Overall, we have been pleased with the Aztek.

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  More car than what you expect! - 2002 Pontiac Grand AM
  By tacmedsolutions - March 10 - 10:00 am

  I really like this car. This is the first Pontiac I have ever owned - and it has been fantastic! I have owned a wide range of cars, trucks and suvs and I must say this is just as fun, just as comfortable and in my opinion just as well built as my Mercedes. I have put just over 11000 miles on it - and have pushed the little v6 and the cars abilities as far as I would dare - and found that performance and handling was great. Only problem Ive had has been a little section of the trunk weather strip which wants to fall off.

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  new 06 - 2006 Pontiac G6
  By Theresa - March 10 - 6:53 am

  I have only had my 2006 pontiac G6 for a month so still working out some things but its very comfortable and fun to drive rides well have not taken a trip yet. but around here getting 25.6 miles to gal which is nice. there are blind spots but really like back windows that go all the way down.

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  Love the car - 2000 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By tina - March 8 - 10:16 am

  Have had a lot of problems with expensive items. Thank goodness for extended warranty GMPP. Paid for it all. 3 climate control systems, 2 radio/cd players, 2 power window motors, an engine coolant seal leak, 1 heads up display, and another $1500 repair for some kind of sensor that kept shutting the engine down when it warmed up and we stopped. I love the car even with all of the repairs because like I said I didnt pay for them GMPP did. :) I think all of the repairs have totaled about $6000

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  Will be missed - 2005 Pontiac Aztek
  By ducttapeeng - March 7 - 8:00 pm

  Our Aztec died in a crash recently and it will be missed. The minivan based design allowed it to be a great snow ski hauler since skis fit under the seat. Although the spoiler did restrict rear vision - it also appeared to always block the headlights of the car behind us when they were tailgating. It got us everywhere we needed to go. The front seats of all cars are comfortable but the often forgotten rear seat [I guess most parents think it is the kids problem not theirs] was very comfortable for the Aztec. If the look can be ignored, the function is great. Note: some Aztecs inherited all the problems. Find a good one and keep it for life.