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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  grandam it! - 1999 Pontiac Grand AM
  By sad owner - October 2 - 12:30 pm

  This car is the worst thing ever. Got the car w/105K mi on it back in June 2009. While its got some giddy-up and handles well, its kind of horrible not knowing if/when the brakes are going to fail. Ive had to put a new ABS motor ($2K) in it, and now, less than 6 months later, the whole braking system is shot. And Im not talking about shoes and rotors, which it eats like a kid eats candy. It also runs really hot, esp. in summer weather. The AC doesnt work, and the drivers window keeps falling. Also its an automatic, but cant get it to downshift in to 1st with the shifter, something it should be able to do willingly.

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  2002 Grand Am SE1 (3.4L V-6, Automatic) - 2002 Pontiac Grand AM
  By macdizzle - September 20 - 3:18 pm

  I bought mine used in 2005 with 60k miles on it. I am just now (in mid 2013) through steps to fix it up a little to resell or trade in. I was attracted to it because I could by afford it, and it had a pretty sexy looking body style, an ergonomic interior design, and a nice little dose of low end torque. It was a bright red car and I dubbed it the Ferrari. I have been through a lot with it and have kept it so long that I have spent almost as much insuring it as I did to buy it. The downside is that it is a General Motors car from an era where the passenger cars where he trim, plastics, and electrical systems suffer from poor design and durability.

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  get another car - 1995 Pontiac Grand AM
  By handle-n_mine - September 17 - 10:00 am

  This year grand am had problems with the head gasket. Didnt find out until 162000 miles lucky i guess. No repair facility will touch the dohc quad 4 engine. All in all if yours is still running GET RID OF IT.

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  Gauges - 1998 Pontiac Grand AM
  By baybays4 - September 17 - 3:30 am

  I have a 98 pontiac grand am while driving it ALL the gauges stopped working, turned it off and let it sit for a few weeks, started car let it run for about 30 minutes, and guages still not working.

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  Not so family oriented - 2006 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By shoeguy72 - September 13 - 6:50 pm

  My supercharged Grand Prix seemed like the most practical way to go for me, since I needed a "ffamily oriented" vehicle that has more than 2 doors, and I wasnt willing to take the leap off the cliff to the minivan, but now that Ive owned it for 5 months, I realize how impractical this is for a family vehicle. Too low to the ground which makes car seats a real pain in the butt, rides hard, Black leather interior always makes the car warm, and it has lost so much of its value already retailed for 23k when I purchased it, and dealerships wont give me more than 13k on trade 5 months later? Id never buy one of these again.

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  Love it, but Hate it as well... - 2006 Pontiac G6
  By jen - September 12 - 9:36 am

  Purchased a red one, with a 6 speed, so it has the power I like and looks great. But within days of owning they needed it back for a recall to fix the sunroof. Then a couple months later I had a waterfall in the car. Sunroof is very loud when closed. Then the lock broke off. I had to get the rotors rotated at 20,000 miles. Will this cause more issues later? A sensor in the door must be going bad that sends the signal saying it is open or shut. The window is suppose to drop down when open & move up when closed. It moves back up before being closed & makes a horrible noise. Afraid it will break the glass. Also the radio doesnt always go off when the door is open.

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  GT is a great look on the Outside - 1998 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By Marcus - September 6 - 4:03 pm

  The pontiac Grand Prix GT is an awesome looking car and a great buy because it looks so good. However, as you drvie this car daily the one thing you realize is the drivers seat is extremely uncomfortable and has a gap in the head rest, WHY PONTIAC? I have the premium sound system and it sounds great except when I hit a bump and I realize I will eventually need to buy a new cd player because this one skips so much. The guy I bought this car from said it got up to 30 m.p.g. and it DOES NOT. It gets maybe 23 and thats on the highway. I have had no problems with my car since I have bought it, so my recommendation is if you want a good car for about 5 grand this is a great buy.

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  Only, ok. - 2000 Pontiac Firebird
  By Jim-Bob - August 27 - 12:30 am

  It was an ok car. Got me from point A to point B. Looks cool, but not enough power or look as cool as a Mustang, if it was the 5.7 that may be a different story (I still doubt it!) But even then the Firebird is way too wide making it impossible to park. Also, you can never see more than a foot of the hood. It always had computer problems and had to be taken to the shop constantly.

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  Worst vehicle Ive ever owned - 2005 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By Tom - August 26 - 2:16 am

  Great power and fun to drive, however, 2 pages of repairs including 3 transmissions, tie rod ends, 3 $340 tires, this car was towed 6 times, when I basically gave it away on a trade-in it was diagnosed with another bad transmission and a bad starter!! Drove it a total of 86K. Of all the new vehicles I owned in 35 years this one is the worst. At one point the dealer said he was going to get GM to take the vehicle back, but, that TOO didnt happen. My wife actually told me "that car or me". I love my wife.

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  a eulogy for my first car - 1998 Pontiac Grand AM
  By It is dead - August 24 - 10:00 am

  I bought it with 75K, and things went well for the first year. Then had transmition problems. Had that rebuilt for $1000. Things went pretty well for the next couple years, just regular stuff (brakes, catalytic converter, sway bars)happening. Then the head gasket blew, warping the block. That happened out of the blue and at one of the most inopportune times. Had to find another quad four engine to put in it. This one sounded funny. It was in a collision, now it is dead. It was a fun first car to have. Interior was compfortable enough for two, more than that got tough. Decent for hauling stuff on road trips, the gas mileage was usually around 30.