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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  Love My Vibe!! - 2004 Pontiac Vibe
  By Tami#1 - August 2 - 2:00 am

  The Vibe handles extremely well. Suspension and steering are nice and tight. The interior is great for those with kids or DOGS, in my case. The exterior look is more sporty than the others in this category.

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  pontiac excitement - 2004 Pontiac Vibe
  By gearjamr - August 2 - 2:00 am

  my vibe is the first pontiac ive ever purchaced,from the first drive i was sold sporty and spunky for its size.fuel economy is awsome ,espiecally with the gas prices right now plenty of power nice close shift pattern,comfortable ride and seems to have good sound barrier against vehicle operating noise compared to some other compacts ive driven.two things id change rear wiper really needs improving and the clutch pedal travel to activate the neutralsaftey switch to start car is like you have to put the pedal thru the floor board.

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  grand prix gt - 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By taryn - August 2 - 2:00 am

  this vehicle has been fun to drive. the quiet ride, passing power, style and apperance, comfort and reliability, makes me feel confident in purchasing another grand prix.

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  disappointed - 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By Fishes - August 2 - 2:00 am

  Ill start by saying that Ive always liked Pontiacs. My wife and I have owned 6 between us. I put 200,000 mi on an 86 Firebird. This is our second Grand Prix. Loved the first, the second became completly unreliable at 38,000 mi, when the transmission suffered a catostrophic failure. Being out of warranty, we paid our mechanic $2000 to rebuild it. Pontiac will not help with this cost because we used our own mechanic not theirs. To make this worse, our mechanic has not been able to solve all the issues with the transmission. Even after replacing it. 6 months and counting.

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  2001 PONTIAC GRAND PRIX GTP - 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By Johnyy - August 2 - 2:00 am

  BOUGHT THE CAR NEW AND DIDNT HAVE ANY PROBLEMS WITH IT.

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  Its a Good Point A to Point B Car - 2003 Pontiac Grand AM
  By JC30 - August 2 - 2:00 am

  Overall, the 2004 Grand Am is a good car. I typically drive about 36,000 miles per year, and it has been sufficient for me so far. I like the Monsoon sound system, along with the MP3 capability. However, the overall stlying of the car hasnt changed much in several years, and some of the structural design seems somewhat cheap. I take very good care of automobiles, but this one, after only about 4 months is already showing some wear and tear. Im not knocking the Grand Am....like I said, it has been a pretty good vehicle for me so far.

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  Gerts review - 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By Gert_R - August 2 - 2:00 am

  We have owned the GT-2 for 9 months - 8000 miles-with very few problems. The gas cap had to be replaced and your chances of breaking the plastic decorative lug nut covers are great. The dealer repaired all with no problem. We have driven this vehicle on both long and short trips and are satisfied with its performance.

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  2009 Pontiac G8 - 2009 Pontiac G8
  By gr2ar - July 31 - 6:10 pm

  I really like this car. The external design is awesome looking! The inside is nice and there arent many blind spots, either. I am averaging 22 mpg on the highway but have received 27 mpg! I get 18 mpg in the city. The car has about 1200 miles on it now.

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  What a car - 2003 Pontiac Grand AM
  By m - July 31 - 10:00 am

  This is the second pontiac Grand Am I have owned and they are great. The first Grand Am-a 94-made it to 199K miles with minimal repairs. I will only buy Grand Ams from now on.

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  No wonder Pontiac is in trouble - 2007 Pontiac Vibe
  By erif - July 30 - 12:10 pm

  We bought this car in January and put alot of miles on it, so far 21,000. We have had 3 sets of tires due to cupping. Pontiac did cover the cost but faught us on finding the cause. The result was the rear alighnment was out by 1.5 degrees. Tires cupped in 3,000 miles. Fit and finish wehn delivered was bad also. Then the icing on the cake... We had a passenger side floor that was flooded. And what did Pontiac say? It was normal to have some water enter the passenger compartment when going through a car wash with high p.s.i. water or heavy rain! I could not believe they said it was a normal occurance. They offered no fix, we are getting rid of this car and going back to Toyota!