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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  Great Car - 2006 Pontiac G6
  By Harry - October 26 - 7:23 pm

  I recently purchased my GTP and have put a ton a miles on it. It has been very reliable and a TRILL to drive. It hugs curves extremely well and can get to 100 mph in a flash. I test drove many cars in the GTP price range and this was by far the best. I would recommend this car to anyone.

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  Excellent, fun car so far - 2010 Pontiac Vibe
  By Chelsea Michigan - October 26 - 7:36 am

  Bought a 10 Vibe as part of CARS program -- it was very hard to find one in stock, they sold like hotcakes. We wanted a base Vibe, stripped down without add-on features (not even a/c), but couldnt find one. We wound up with a 1.8L and manual transmission, but with a/c. But thats OK. Its a very good car -- we really enjoy it! Our only complaints are the pretty tepid highway acceleration (which can be scary when merging onto highway in front of trucks), and the bizarre location of roof antenna, noted in many other reviews, which makes it hard to do much with roof rack.

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  A real shame - 1998 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By Disappointed owner - October 25 - 8:26 pm

  I love this car. And thats why it hurts so much. Drives great, comfortable, good power, decent mileage. Fun to drive. Would keep it if it didnt cost so much and so often to repair. Babied, always maintained and still have multiple repairs. Steering gear ($1k to replace) goes every 30k. Leaks oil, regardless of regular 3k oil changes. "Ghost" problems in the electronics that dont log into the computer and the dealer cant fix. Originally planned to keep it for many more years, but trading it in while it still is worth something. A gm guy to the core from the first car I ever owned, this car changed my mind. Love the car, but have to give it up. Will not buy a gm this time. A real shame.

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  fun for everyone - 2006 Pontiac Solstice
  By primecutmeats - October 25 - 3:00 pm

  this car drives out well except for one thing,when shifting it klunks with a rattle noise,when took back to dealership they said that is normal for this car & the saturn.

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  Well at least its good for one thing! - 2002 Pontiac Sunfire
  By *GTSpeed* - October 25 - 10:00 am

  I enjoyed cruising on the freeway in it and driving around the city.The sound system was excellent, but a few things needed to be changed.The exterior paint was crap.The handling was probably the largest downfall expecting tight corners and confident manuverability.I recieved upredictable feed back at high speeds and body roll at low.The engine made the car quick and fun to drive, but handling almost got me in the end.I was driving at high speeds around an over pass and hit a bumb in the road that, sent the unsure rearend out to the side of me and I lost control.My passenger and I flew off the edge of the turn.We survived, but the car had poor handling.

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  Winter Vehicle - 2003 Pontiac Aztek
  By sgwein - October 25 - 10:00 am

  With rebate there wasnt another AWD vehicle with the interior space for the price. First impressions - extremely comfortable front seats for a six footer and need for a rear window wiper. Couldnt find a thing wrong - everything worked and no rattles. The handling was ok for a SUV - its no sportscar!. Then snows came. Without having to shovel it plowed its way through about 15 inches of snow in the driveway. The brakes/ABS are excellent. The front window wipers were a pain. They had to be dug out of their "well" and sprayed with de-icer several times through the winter. Heater, window defrosters worked very well. All in all a great family vehicle for the northeast.

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  good car troubled by bad workmanship - 1999 Pontiac Grand AM
  By WillWeasel - October 25 - 10:00 am

  Bought the car used with 30k on it. bout 3k out of warrenty found out the injector system was about to fall out of the car. Cost ~$400 to fix, no help from dealership even though they had done a full inspection, that I paid for,right before the warrenty ended. Otherwise car was great right up to 75K before I slammed it into a guardrail at 60mph. Which I walked away from even thought the air bags did not deploy,which im glad I would have been injured if they had. otherwise the car was fun and did great in downtown traffic and state to state highways.

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  Plan on Spending Time in the Shop - 2006 Pontiac G6
  By Total Junk - October 25 - 9:20 am

  Shortly after purchasing this vehicle 20k miles I noticed a spring sound coming from the front passenger wheel. Turned out to be a strut problem. 30k miles replaced the drivers side strut and then had to replace the entire front suspension. Now at 52k it is doing it all again. The interior door molding is pulling away from the door. Now I also think the the bearings are bad in the front passenger wheel because the tire sounds like an airplane engine taking off and landing as I reduce speed. This vehicle has been nothing but problems and would not recommend a G6 or any other GM product to anyone that I valued as a friend. Ive replaced my rotors at least 6 times as well.

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  97 GT Sedan - 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By Ronaldo - October 25 - 8:30 am

  Ive got over 80k miles on my 97 GT Sedan. Rack and pinion assembly had to be replaced at about 50k. Some occasional minor rattling in the dash and an annoyingly short range for the keyless remotes that several dealers were unable to fix since the car was new. Other than that the car is great and I may buy another one when they redesign it possibly next model year. 3800 V6 drivetrain is fantastic, plenty of reliable power, easy to work on too.

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  Lemon this van is a nightmare - 2006 Pontiac Montana SV6
  By smitty - October 25 - 8:06 am

  Bught brand new, always had a Pontiac so I thought this van would be good. boy was I wrong. Its been in the shop every month for something. It leaks water, threw the wheel well and the carpet gets soaked. It had to be stripped out inside and totally resealed. where they asleep on the job the day they made these vans? This was turned into the lemon law through GM but no response. Will never buy another Pontiac again.