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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  pontiac grand am se2,not that good - 2004 Pontiac Grand AM
  By brad2471 - June 17 - 5:47 am

  I bought this grand am abought a 3months ago. its a nice car for a girl, the car is very cramped. performance is pertty good very fast car. there is some minor problems with this car. the trunks leaks bad. there is a clicking sound behind the dash. ac does not work. dash lights only half work. the fog lights do not work if pontiac comes back they need to redesign the grand am.

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  Little things got annoying over time... - 2003 Pontiac Vibe
  By andrear - June 13 - 5:03 pm

  I really liked this car at first, but over the last two years little things have started to annoy me. First of all the gas millage is awful, and always has been. I was led on to believe that this car was so great on gas and that was never the case. Also the blind spot on this car is boarder line dangerous. You cant see the dash lights in the sun because they are red and set back to far. Also the center compartment thing comes open over every bump. I ignored these things for a while, but now they are getting hard to live with. The car is not that fun to drive and handles awful in the snow.

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  Emily Bahm - 1997 Pontiac Grand AM
  By Emily Bahm - June 9 - 9:00 am

  Great car have had it for four years. Drive from Philly to Pittsburgh a lot. Only had to replace heater core recently and a lower control arm.

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  Never again - 2002 Pontiac Grand AM
  By ronnie - June 7 - 12:30 am

  I absolutely loved this car. Even though it would bottom out from time to time. And the head lights seemed to get very dirty very fast. Then the warranty ran out. Then the draining of my pocketbook started. The drivers window mechanism has been replaced twice. The spark box module needed to be replaced. Now the timing chain has went and I need a new motor! My mechanic says that this particular size motor (2.2) in his particular (2002) year has had this problem with both the Windows and the timing chain ruining the rest of the motor. From reading the other reviews, I see that this is true. I hope that people read these before they buy a grand am. I sure wish that I did!

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  grandprix gt - 2006 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By joseph neese - June 5 - 9:36 pm

  I recently bought a gp gt and i love the way it looks, but ive been having problems with everything from tires to gas, wheelbearings just everything. I only have 8000 miles on my car the best gas mileage ive gotten is 400 miles to the tank thats bad, i got better with my 90 model pathfinder. i work for a gm dealership and none of the techs can find out what the deal is.

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  I wont buy same model & mfg as gm - 1997 Pontiac Grand AM
  By Nizar - June 5 - 12:56 pm

  The dealer said the muffler would never rust. But the truth I had changed both muffler & tail pipe after 6 years. The car was accelerating without even put my foot on the gas puddle (this means unreliable).

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  gas guzzler - 2008 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By jon - June 2 - 7:03 am

  I bought this car for my wife with 30000 miles on it. It has been in the shop several times. Issues with not starting, rack and pinion leak, and trans slipping with 34000 miles. I also found out it was a Hertz rental. So it definitely has been beat on. mileage is not good, city is 14.5 no highway trips yet but definitely a thirsty engine.

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  The Best UGLY car you could ask for. - 2001 Pontiac Aztek
  By magicbus20 - May 30 - 3:28 pm

  167,000 miles is much more than I wanted when getting my first vehicle. This thing was ok and gave me a great experience. It lasted a littler over 200,000 before I gave up on her. (I cant tell for sure because of a short in the odometer.) Which brings me to the first con, electronics. There were a couple of shorts and other weird things happening. The transmission started to shift hard and slip out of gear on hot days. Overall I trusted this car with my life. Usually got me point a to b until a cold winter day. Heater had gone for some time and finally she overheated and kicked the bed, or so I thought. Family mechanic brought her from the dead. Still rotting in the yard.

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  Great Value car - 2003 Pontiac Sunfire
  By bilsfire - May 23 - 4:15 am

  Car is def. mechanically sound, solid engine and tranny(standard). Interior build quality is less than par, but for the performance factor, you get what you get. The exterior wasnt thought out 100%, the fact that its front wheel drive and comes stock with a rear spoiler, is counterproductive. As long as maintainance is under control, the vehicle will last as long as you last. Oil changes on any smaeller engine aluminum, or otherwise, with higher rev ranges, should be done every 2000-2500 miles as a rule. Performance again is great, the power to weight ratio is above average for the class of car. Plenty of torque for getting going, not too much(spin tires in snow) good horse power.

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  Good & bad - 2005 Pontiac Vibe
  By ART - May 22 - 6:26 am

  Great fuel milage 29 to 32 city and 40+ hwy,too many rattles,safety concern, when emergency braking shoe is applied to brake and gas pedal at same time so car cant stop safely. Ive had two very close calls. Shoe size is 10 d. Very uncomfortable to drive on long trips.