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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  Doors that bend. - 2002 Pontiac Aztek
  By timbo2 - August 21 - 10:00 am

  Major design flaws with front doors--as seen in numerous investigative reports. Door that open too hard will not close again. No fixes from Pontiac offered. Completely happy with it if my passenger door would shut. Apparently the hinges mount to sheetmetal rather than body frame. Find one on a lot more than a couple of months old, and it will have a eskewed door. Do I hear class-action lawsuit?

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  I love my Sunfire - 2001 Pontiac Sunfire
  By SUNFIRErules - August 21 - 10:00 am

  I love it. Ive got the bright yellow and a 5-speed manual transmission and it is great. And the most important thing is, i can smoke cavaliers.

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  Reliable Car - 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By samryan - August 21 - 10:00 am

  We have had this vehicle for a few years now and have been very happy with it. Only problem we had was the brakes and rotors needed to be replaced (covered under warranty) however, for a car with low mileage and only a two years old, this should not have happened.

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  I love this car! - 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By CJE - August 21 - 2:46 am

  This is a great car to drive. I love taking it out on the highway. Even with 99K miles, it still has great pickup and incredible power. The 3.8L engine can really open up on the highway. I have to sell it now to get a car with better gas mileage. But I love it!

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  Okay Car - 2008 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By 2008 Pontiac - August 20 - 11:06 pm

  This is my 4th Pontiac and I do like Pontiacs, but this car has been in the shop for warranty work 3x already, and for other repairs about 2x. Thats a lot for 2 years if you ask me. My last Pontiac went 4 years before I had to repair anything. I am a little disappointed and depending on how many more problems I have, will depend on whether I keep this car or not. If this is all Pontiac has left, then it was time to retire. I have had power steering problems, constant issues with the brakes, wheel bearings have already been replaced and the car has under 50,000 miles. I guess they dont make them like they used to.

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  WORST CAR IN THE WORLD!!!!!!!!! - 2006 Pontiac Torrent
  By theoldboot65 - August 20 - 4:40 am

  Black 2006 Pontiac Torrent, one yr old paint chips off under side mirrors, three years old, on 4 set of brakes, new rear wheel bearings, and backing plates, air conditioning takes a powder. 4 years old, paint on lift gate begins to chip, on rear pass. wheel well chips, paint on hood chips and paint INSIDE drivers side pass. door all chips off--GM says this is just wear and tear, cant help us-- dealer going to do 50 -50 split on new paint job! 2 more sets of brakes, one last week and are squealing again!!! Its no wonder that GM is in trouble....no more Torrents for me, nor any other type of this make of vehicle EVER!

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  2005 gto - 2005 Pontiac GTO
  By damyankee007 - August 20 - 12:30 am

  its hard to beleive this power horse is a family car . it has great comfort (my wife is 5ft. 7 and she sat in the back she said she had lots of leg room and was quite comfortable as for my son well he feel asleep in the back, me i feel like im sitting in my living room ) , styling great for long trips and very fast.i own one with the 6 speed and i love driving it . as for price you cannot beat it . i did a comparison with the ford mustang and the dodge charger and the gto came out on top. even gas milage it was out did them both evn with 400hp under the hood . until you drive one youlsee and feel the differance.you just can not beat it.

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  MyG6forJWJCNAS - 2006 Pontiac G6
  By Jack W. Smith - August 19 - 7:33 am

  Bought as an extra car for going to work and some regional travel. The car, according to the CARFAX report, was a former rental company car since made available for consumer purchase. Weve had it for a week since we bought it and I can say we are Very Impressed with the G6.

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  Great Pontiac Ride - 2003 Pontiac Bonneville
  By Mike T. - August 19 - 4:00 am

  This car is a pure joy to own. In 150,000 miles there have been no repairs other than regular maintenance and crash repairs. The fuel economy is very good, better than some of my friends with much smaller cars. Just a note, this is just another in a long line of nearly flawless GM cars that I have owned. Bravo!!

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  Why the major problems with no recalls? - 2001 Pontiac Aztek
  By koriseyes - August 19 - 12:56 am

  The vehicle is really a nice vehicle but, and this is a big but. There are alot of problems with this car and I havent owned it a year. The a/c condenser is bad, so for most of the summer in 90 degree weather, Ive been a hot tamale. The cluster is bad in a spot or two. The odometer does not work. How is this supposed to affect my resale value when you cant see the mileage. Not to great I would imagine. And now it sounds like I may have the first Aztek to be apart of NASCAR. Everytime I turn a corner I sound like Im burning rubber. Im sure by now that Pontiac/GM know by now that every year of the Aztek has major problems so why is there not help to fixing these problems? Uh? REcall!