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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  Enigma - 1998 Pontiac Grand AM
  By PONT98 - May 24 - 11:20 pm

  This car has only stranded me once and that was 6 mos after buying it for a shift interlock problem that cost 350 bucks. Aside from that I personally fixed the intake manifold leak the v6s are prone to that would have cost 550. The clear coat is coming off on the spoiler and one window frame. The seats are pretty rotten. Power is good and so is the tranny. Brakes need frequent replacement due to small size. The seat and paint might be my fault, but crappy plastic and intake manifold problems as well as the common front suspension creak are all normal issues with this car. By the way my car has 11200 miles on it and I have owned it for 5 years. I would not recommend this car. I am stuck w/it.

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  A real lemon! - 2006 Pontiac G6
  By brandi0521 - May 17 - 4:00 am

  I just had to have this car when it came out. Ive had it now for just over 2 yrs. This car is a piece of crap. I bought a lemon. It has been in the shop 8 times for stabilitrak. The pontiac dealership never made claims against my warranty, so never fixed it. Ive since gotten it fixed. But they were scared it was going to cause my brakes to go out. So now Ive had to pay out of pocket for front and back brakes. Ive purchased Extended Warranty. I now have a hole in my muffler that isnt covered on that. Yesterday I went to open my top and the back part opened and the top went up and fell back down. Lots of squeaks and rattles that the dealer cant fix. Truly a LEMON!

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  Love the lemon????? - 2002 Pontiac Montana
  By jalluv - May 14 - 2:00 am

  Since we got this vehicle, we have had numerous problems: The A/C was repaired 3 times, the passenger seat heater and rails needed replacing, the coil packs have been replaced 3 times, lug nut cover fell off, our tires are allegedly cupping and making a loud noise and now our AWD and ABS are disengaged for some reason and we have an appointment on Monday to find out once again what is wrong! We like what this van has to offer but hate all the mechanical problems!

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  Such a Shame - 2007 Pontiac G6
  By Forever Young - May 7 - 9:00 am

  It is such a shame that this car is so awful, I love this car, but it is a rolling junk heap. It looks great, and it is a good thing that the monsoon stereo is awesome, b/c it drowns out alot of the popping and cracking the car makes, from the dash to the, rear end to the steering column, to the sunroof, oh my at the noises!!! I am so disappointed, I need to trade it in, but I cant b/c I am so upside down in the payment. Dealerships and GM do nothing to resolve issues. I really love the car but it has so many problems, gas smell inside, stalling out, back firing, everything rattles, brakes, rotors, you name it. I have always driven Chevys and love them, I will never own another Pontiac!!

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  Never own one again - 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By Tara - May 5 - 7:33 pm

  I am a 17 yr. old female and bought my 2002 off the showroom floor. The biggest mistake I have ever made was buying that car. Yes it looks nice and will get on it but I will never buy a Pontiac again. After the first 1,000 miles it does not run the same. My horn has the tendency to go off without me pushing it. There are all kinds of sounds coming from the panels. I work at a Ford dealership and I have never seen a vehicle cheaper built than Pontiacs. I will be switching back to ford this year.

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  Good Car....for a few years - 2000 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By Tony2000GT - May 2 - 10:00 am

  My Grand Prix was great the first 4 years with the exception of trim coming off around the windows or other minor things. Just recently I have been having bigger problems. Door panels are low quality with connectors that break very easily (plastic!). Even more frustrating is the window regulator that failed. The dealership wants $450 to fix - ridiculous! They are poorly designed and can be expected to go bad in time...so beware and dont use your electric windows.

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  Lots of Problems - ready for a new car - 2008 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By tsfergus - April 26 - 4:36 am

  Was fun to drive in the summer, but living in Michigan - it is single- handedly the worst vehicle I have ever driven on snow and ice. It was so bad that it could no longer be used on the freeway during the winter. Also, for over a year now, there is a constant squeaking noise coming from the front tire. Three times to the dealership, new brakes and they still cant find out whats wrong. Have also had a electronic system failure warning pop up on the dash display twice. Not very comforting when you drive on the freeway everyday. Overall, too many problem for a new car.

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  pontiac is poor quality - 1997 Pontiac Grand AM
  By Steve Be - April 26 - 2:00 am

  My 97 grand am as cost me over 3000 dollars in repairs alone. If you are a smart buyer you should stay away from the quad four engien. I would like to say also, that in my experience pontiacs are more trouble than they are worth. I have had three of them and every one self destructs undernieth me. Little things that cost you $100 and big things that cost you $500. In my opinion a smarter buyer will go over seas or to ford for a quality car.

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  Awful Build Quality/Reliability - 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By cpuuri-3 - April 1 - 2:00 am

  At 6 yrs and 83k miles, I have a few more problems to list. Now the power door lock actuator (front, passenger) works when it feels like it ($52/part). The clear portion of the other headlamp fell off ($72/part). Dealer tried to BS me about WI climate and it not being a frequent problem (Ive done the research). Still losing about a quart of oil/change, and now the high pressure hose coming into the power steering module is leaking. I rarely get above 20 MPG, now. I have reached a dilemma, do I buy a Honda, or use the $3k I have in GM Card earnings?!?!

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  Good Car - 1997 Pontiac Grand AM
  By Rume75 - March 21 - 10:00 am

  i just bought my car a couple of days ago so i only have a few coplaimants or wishes, I think they should have given the seats more cushion, i wish my car had cruise control