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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  Driving Excitement - 2002 Pontiac Bonneville
  By Dan - April 25 - 5:03 pm

  Bought used. Had the usual problems with leaking door, intermittent steering shaft noise, and now rear passenger window regulator. No other maintenance problems. Pontiac delivers is Driving excitement promise. I get 28 MPG hwy and 18 MPG city with a Supercharged V6 awesome. This car makes me feel like Im driving a luxury car with all the extras of a sports car. The interior is simple and pleasing to look at. The full power seats are extremely comfortable for long drives. I get at least 2 compliments on the looks of this car every day. Large spacious trunk. Smooth ride. Built in trunk tire inflater is great to have. Aggressive acceleration and handling. Best SPORT luxury sedan for the price.

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  A decent car, no more, no less. - 2006 Pontiac Vibe
  By action_nad - April 25 - 12:02 pm

  Not the fastest car I have ever had, but not the slowest. Does alright on gas, around 27 mpg by my measurements, but coupled with a very small tank means a lot of stops at the gas station. Interior on the base model is cheap looking, and driving can get uncomfortable after a couple of hours for tall people. All in all, not a bad little go kart, but you can do better.

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  97 Bonne - 1997 Pontiac Bonneville
  By KMS - April 25 - 10:00 am

  Problem areas: Transmission fixed under warranty at 8000 miles to correct abrupt 1-2 shift. Tranny has been fine since. Audio speaker intermittent failure. I elected to replace with after-market speakers to improve audio quality rather that fix as a warranty item. Water pump replaced at 52,000 miles ($300 - paid by Warranty Gold).

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  My awesome WS6 Trans-Am - 2002 Pontiac Firebird
  By chris lentz - April 25 - 7:33 am

  I had a lot fun with this car, handling is great, takes hills like nothing, great on turns, good sound system, good show car, all around it was a really good car. The t-top was also a lot of fun because it kept me cool when it was really hot out. A really good pick up chick car.

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  good used car to buy - 2000 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By johnny g - April 24 - 6:43 pm

  When I bought it, it was 3 yrs old with 38,000 miles. Got a great deal. Im happy with it, fun to drive. My gas mileage is not as good as others. I get about 17 and 27. My biggest complaint are the seats, they are comfortable, but when cornering, youll slide right off the seat if you go too fast. I love the heads up display!!

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  Best Used Car Been Very Reliable - 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By Ladylynnette - April 24 - 11:53 am

  this car is the coupe and has very good suspension with the low track. Has luxury along with takes corners really well. I bought my car with 95,000 miles on it and it still runs like a new car, it now has 112,000 miles on it. I occasionally have something go wrong. I had the air mass flow sensor go out and then replaced and runs great again. It is more sporty luxury than complete sports car. I have really enjoyed it. It is much harder to find the 2 door couple which is much sportier looking.

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  Sorry Pontiac is no more; luv my Torrent - 2006 Pontiac Torrent
  By Norma - April 23 - 9:36 pm

  Mar 2006 bought brand new 06; Absolutely loved it; less than 40,000 mi since then, totalled last week. So happy with the 06, replaced with new 2009 by phone, sight-unseen, from Hubacher Cad, who ordered from Bay Area (were in Sacto, CA area.) Problem: they had no gold, only silver. Have had 3 days, not driven yet (broken ribs.) Hope its as great as my gold 2006. Original like new still, regular maintenance, and only one problem with electrical which dealer fixed immediately. Only things I didnt like were red lights on dash, and gas gauge ... cant tell when the darned things on empty until the gas tank icon lights up! Would recommend to anyone. sorry Pontiac shut down.

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  Practical and Pretty - 2008 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By Frank - April 23 - 12:33 am

  Affordable sedan that looks great, front wheel drive for Colorado snow and sporty feel and drive. Reliable and refined W platform means nice ride and long life power train (3800 Gen III) V6 engine. Power is adequate.

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  Terrible. - 2000 Pontiac Montana
  By Hello - April 21 - 5:10 am

  We bought this van to replace the chevrolet astro. $20,000, it cost us and the first day we had it the check engine message came up. Ever since then its been downhill. The transmission has gone out. oxygen sensors have had to been replaced. Basically everything you can imagine, happened to this van. The cup holders stink, they dont keep anything in place. The interior is built poorly. The bright red dash display is very annoying, why couldnt have it been blue? Why do you have to manually recline the seats? This van stinks.

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  The Best Yet - 2006 Pontiac GTO
  By wsw - April 21 - 3:50 am

  This has to be my favorite car ever. I do not know how many I have owned but the list includes Mustang GTs, Corvettes, Mercedes 560 SLs, Thunderbirds, etc. This is the ultimate driving machine so far. Outperforms everything else and is comfortable for my 63", 275 pound body. I do feel sorry for people that would have to ride in the back seat, but this vehicle was not purchased for them. I have had some initial problems that I believe are attributable to transit involving the front end and strut failure. Only 3000 miles so far so reliability would be slanted heavily by these problems if not properly viewed. Overall, this car is great and has me looking for the next generation.