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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  True love until 103,000 miles - 1998 Pontiac Grand AM
  By noram - April 30 - 8:16 am

  Bought new, this has been a wonderful vehicle until now. Other than brakes and a water pump there was no repair work done until 84k when the intake manifold had a coolant leak requiring a new gasket. Last week this same problem was detected at 103k. After paying my $1000+ bill I decided to start thinking about a new car. Not a Pontiac. Ive seen this same issue on elsewhere for this same vehicle, same engine for as many as 3 times on a vehicle. Poor engine design? whatever the problem is people have tried to get Pontiac to make good on it to no avail. Class action suits were mentioned. And American car companies are wondering why people dont buy American? I really want to but I cant

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  Fun to Drive, but has mechanical issues - 2000 Pontiac Bonneville
  By RPM - April 28 - 4:46 pm

  Bought this "used" car in March 2005. Very sharp and sporty looking car and very fun to drive. Plenty of power. Fully loaded, has all the bells and whistles that the SSEI has, but without the supecharged engine. But since weve bought this car, it had to go back to the garage 4 times now for minor, but annoying mechanical issues that shouldnt be happening on a 5 year old car. Now it has a water leak on the rear passenger floor. The wife really loves this car, but I wish we had waited and bought a Monte Carlo SS.

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  GRAND GRAND PRIX - 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By SARAALYSSA - April 28 - 2:00 am

  I JUST LOVE MY GRAND PRIX! I LIVE IN THE BUFFALO NY AREA AND THE CAR HANDLES JUST GREAT IN THE SNOW. HAVING DRIVEN A CARAVAN FOR THE LAST 10 YRS, I COULDNT WAIT TO COMPARE, I WILL NEVER GO BACK. THE GT2 HAS JUST ENOUGH LUXURIES TO KEEP THE COST AFFORDABLE. MORE THAN AMPLE TRUNK SPACE. THANKS FOR MAKING MY NEW CAR EXPERIENCE SO GREAT!!

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  Horrible squeaking and rattling. - 2000 Pontiac Firebird
  By Magnus - April 26 - 10:00 am

  The rattle started after only 1200 miles. The squeaking started the first summer when it got warmer. I have had it in the shop over 10 times and nothing has been done. They have all heard the noices but have not been able to fix the problem. It is obviously a lemon. But no one takes responsibility for it. Good warrenty, NOT.

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  Just Bought it, check engine light on - 2009 Pontiac Vibe
  By traded in 2005 vibe - April 26 - 3:56 am

  Well, we just drove it off the lot today, they had to do a dealer trade to get the exact car i wanted, Carbon Gray GT. It had 297 miles on it from the trip down from Akron, Oh. We have put about 50 miles on it and the check engine light is on, there was a knocking sound in the engine and the Vehicle Stabilitrack "VST" lights are on. And its Saturday, so no maintenance until Monday!

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  Used GTP 4dr - 2000 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By Deez337 - April 23 - 10:00 am

  This car has over eighty thousand miles on the odometer and is still running strong. No major problems to speak of besides one leaky head gasket. After a one day fix it still runs like a charm. I sell Fords but I can smoke a GT Mustang without feeling bad, that is just how fun to drive this car is.

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  Pretty good, improved awd - 2009 Pontiac Vibe
  By john - April 21 - 3:23 pm

  I had a 2005 vibe awd that was horrible in the snow etc. It was like it didnt even have awd so I traded it in quickly. I test drove the 2009 Vibe awd and it was much much much better in snow. Pricing is good but gm needs to put some incentive on it, even Toyota is offering 0 percent on the Matrix. So I am waiting a bit to purchase unless the Subaru Forester comes out with some good incentive (great car too) first. Subis do have the best awd. I like the new vibe the 2.4 engine is a big big improvement over the 1.8 quiter, peppier smoother. I do think they should offer the 5 speed auto Rather than the 4 speed with the awd. Mileage would be better, get up to date gm and Toyota.

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  Always there - 2005 Pontiac Vibe
  By bmore2rutgers - April 19 - 2:52 pm

  Im sad to say, that my Vibe AWD was totaled a few weeks ago when someone ran into me. The 2005 Vibe AWD was in my family since coming off the production line. We kept up with regular maintenance, and can only remember it being in the shop once for a rear output bearing leaking. The vehicle was great, and very very dependable(toyota powertrain). It lacked some pep when getting on the highway, but other than that handled great. I remember taking it through two foot of snow, and well... it made it without getting stuck. Ill miss the car. I most likely wont look to buy another one, because I felt the interior was put together a little cheaply.

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  Almost Five years of Fun - 2004 Pontiac Grand AM
  By Vanessa - April 18 - 5:23 am

  I am still enjoying my car, I love the pick up on the open freeway. The CD player went out a very long time ago. All of the repairs I have had were minor such as radiator, waterpump.. when I first got the car I had problems with the sensory switch (or security light) but that was fixed under the warranty and it never happened again. When I sell my car next year (to up grade) someone will be getting a heck of a deal..

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  transmission - 2003 Pontiac Vibe
  By lou - April 17 - 7:30 pm

  at 57,000 miles 5-speed manual transmission failed. dealer helped because out of warranty so it cost $2200 for new trans. now have 92,000 miles and starting to hear noise again, afraid its going to fail again.