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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  Just gets better with time - 2009 Pontiac G8
  By Larry - October 15 - 9:30 am

  Averaging about 20 mpg with mixed everyday driving.GM has provided one year of free oil changes & tire rotations for having closed the Pontiac division.Gm also offered cash incentives for Pontiac owners.I have not seen anything I would trade for. At 4k needed a wheel alignment, to correct odd tire wear.Tire wear has been very good ever since,in fact the car has been trouble free so far.Very acceptable interior room, I find the comfort level terrific, & I am very sensitive to leg room & seat comfort. Still love the performance when needed, which honestly is not very often. Just a pleasure to get in & drive,would love to be getting 30 mpg, but dont put on enough miles to economically matter.

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  Street Edition - 2008 Pontiac G6
  By zro3486 - October 13 - 12:10 pm

  Overall, this is a great car. The Street Edition package turns heads. The ground effects kit and the scoops in the hood are gorgeous. The hammerhead spoiler is a little much, but it is starting to grow on me as time goes on. The car has plenty of power and pickup, especially since it is such a small car. I also only get about 17 mpg average between street and highway driving. I blame it mostly on low speed limits in the city I live in. On a road trip, I maintained over 25 mpg.

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  lovin it - 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By hoediggity - October 13 - 10:00 am

  the most fun you will ever have in a car. a great driving experence. so many fun little features.

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  Best Car Ive Ever Had By Far - 2006 Pontiac GTO
  By Rick Francis - October 12 - 1:06 am

  Ive got the more rare Impulse Blue Metallic 06 and I love her to death. Aside from a few things breaking (Water Pump went out, Radiator died twice, gas cap lock popping loose) I absolutely love this car. Ive had several different Mustangs and once I drove this car I traded in the 94 Cobra I had to get this Lucky To Own car. I am actually designing a custom cold-air intake for mine and I hope to patent it and hopefully have it out for all you other goat lovers to buy at a much cheaper price than K&N intakes. Look for it soon! Ive had mine on the 1/4 mile twice and had a huge grin all the way down the track. Especially since I went up against a Mustang GT and won on my first pass.

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  My First Sports Car - 2008 Pontiac Solstice
  By My First Pontiac - October 11 - 6:36 pm

  Wow, Pontiac has excited me with this car! Its fun to drive and turns heads, all my lady friends want to drive it. As well as it handles and is magnetized to the road its hard to let anyone but me drive it. I purchased the car knowing there wasnt much storage space in it. Didnt buy it for storage anyway, as far as the cup holders, wouldnt care if they were there or not. Glad theres not an ashtray, gives me a reason not to let friends smoke in my car!

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  Functional work vehicle - 2007 Pontiac Vibe
  By IrishOne - October 10 - 4:50 am

  I work out of this car. I get 34 MPG overall including thruway miles at 72 mph and mountain roads. Im a big guy, 511 and 280 pounds, there is plenty of headroom and overall the drivers seat is comfortable. I do start to get uncomfortable after 7 hours in the car or trips over 150 miles without getting out. I put the back seats down and carry a full load of product in plastic containers. My product is very light so I dont know how it would be for heavy loads. This model is FWD, not AWD. AWD was not available in the 2007 Vibe, you would have to buy the Toyota version. Mileage is very important to me and overall, I am very happy with this car.

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  Cool hoop - 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By Chris - October 10 - 1:46 am

  I have had this car for about 2 years. It has about 40,000 miles on it and has been very reliable. My only complaint is that the body moldings on the two rear doors are separating from the door. Also, the front air cowl is too low and hits the parking curbs. All in all, this has been a very good car for me.

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  80,000 miles and still going strong - 2001 Pontiac Sunfire
  By rdm - October 9 - 2:20 am

  My car has been great so far. No major problems and the regular maintenance has been inexpensive.

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  We love our solstice! Fun and awesome!!! - 2006 Pontiac Solstice
  By ROBERT BOUCK - October 8 - 7:53 pm

  We received our Solstice 12/21/06,1st day of winter Solstice! We love this car.It is bright red and beautiful, handles like a dream, takes curves,etc. with great stability.The radio is great with 6 speakers and XM radio.Everywhere we go, kids from 4 to 80 yrs. old yell "Nice car" or "I like your car" as we are driving down the road. People ask us if we like our car because they are thinking of getting one. Of course, we tell them we love it,and they add "Then we are getting one, too!" These cars sell themselves.The only disadvantage is the small trunk space, but who cares! We have managed just fine! Thanks, Pontiac for a WONDERFUL ride! It makes us smile just getting into it! YAHOO!!

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  Great vehicle!! - 2003 Pontiac Aztek
  By myndcrym - October 7 - 2:00 am

  Love the styling. The ride is great. Just a little under powered but can still get up and go when needed. It has a ton of room. Buying used gets the best deals. Jeremy