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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  If I knew then what I know now - 2005 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By Stuck - January 5 - 5:26 pm

  This is the most expensive car I have purchased and it has been in the shop for 4 major issues 6 times in just over 2 years. At 2 weeks check engine light-replaces senor. Then sun roof leaked twice and flooded car, burning oil-replace exhaust gaskets, steering wheel noise - had to lube steering shaft, now lights in dash burned out and constant vibration in steering wheel. Just afraid what is next? Stuck payment wise or would dump this lemon.

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  Great Car - 2006 Pontiac GTO
  By Nick - January 5 - 3:56 am

  This is the fastest car that most people will ever drive. The performance is awesome. I must say however, that the suspension does not match the engine. I guess to get that you have to spend the extra $20K and get a Corvette. Awesome car though, worth every penny.

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  First Convertible - 2007 Pontiac G6
  By First Pontiac - January 4 - 10:13 pm

  We are extremely happy with our purcahse. No problems with the top, works perfectly every time. The car is a great cruiser, it is not a sports car. Power is adequate, the car is heavy at 3800 lbs, has good ride with minimal body shake and seats are very comfortable. The car is extremely quiet with the top up and with the top down conversations can be had without yelling. The car is gorgeous with the top down and looks just like the coupe with the top up. Every time we take the car out we receive compliments on its looks. The only issue we had was the door striker was misaligned, but the dealer took care of that in 30 minutes. We would highly recommend the car.

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  Blue/Green Chrystal GXP - 2005 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By Toni Ahlgren - January 4 - 11:46 am

  My 2005 GXP is an outstanding performance sportscar. I love the output from the engine when I step on it. It feels like the rear-axle is somehow kind off "glued" when I stop and go and at a redlight if I make a normal start. Feels little bit "jerky"

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  2004 bought used - 2004 Pontiac GTO
  By gm_dave - January 4 - 5:33 am

  I purchased a one owner clean carfax GTO in December, 2012. The car developed some strange problems including the rocker panels filling with water (removing drain plugs solved the problem), which caused the interior floor to flood after it rained. The horn also went off randomly by itself and the air bag fault alarm was triggered by the airbag sensor located under the passenger seat. I had all of the aforementioned issues resolved and the car has been great since.

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  Good start, but ultimately disappointed - 1997 Pontiac Sunfire
  By HRC - January 4 - 2:00 am

  I really liked this car at first. I got it my last year of high school and took it to college. It is nice for a younger person. It has great gas mileage. It looks great; sporty, but reasonably priced. After about two years the problems started, though. I had to get the brakes fixed, the check engine light is almost always on (although Ive had it taken in to be fixed many times and they cant find a problem or they say they have fixed it), and driving performance has really taken a downturn in the last few months (it is now five years old, so maybe thats not so bad).

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  MIne - 1999 Pontiac Sunfire
  By Lauren Elizabeth - January 4 - 2:00 am

  i have seen better, much better. needs more room

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  Dont buy this car - 1996 Pontiac Grand AM
  By wgowern - January 3 - 7:40 pm

  My car had 3 recalls. The dealer didnt have the parts for one of them & I had to come back. The car failed less than a week after purchase(new). It was an electrical failure in the steering column. It was fixed and the same failure occurred less than a week later. There was several other failures (mostly electrical) over the 7 years I owned this car. Most of the plastic parts cracked or fell off,the dash panel cracked & the mirror fell off. Finally the computer failed and various other electrical components burned up (real smoke). The car repairs would have been much more than the car was worth so it went to a junkyard at 37000 miles. In a word it was a pile of junk.

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  Love the car, hate the cup holders! - 2008 Pontiac Torrent
  By torrent - January 3 - 9:43 am

  Love the car. Getting in and out is great, the interior is very roomy. Hate the cup holders. I dropped my keys in the open space and it took me an hour to get them out between the seat and the open space. Wish I knew something I could get to replace the cup holders.

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  Shes a great Pontiac - 2004 Pontiac Grand AM
  By Guitarlust213 - January 2 - 10:00 am

  Shes actually a white SE1 (SE2 was the only option in this sites menu) with the V6, 16" wheels and spoiler. Had her for several months. Got her used with 13000 on the odomoter, shes now at 22000+. Took her round trip 1400+ miles one time to Nevada from west Oregon. Lots of top speed action on the "middle of nowhere" roads. :-) Cornering is great. Stopping is great. Her only flaw would be wet weather traction. The 16s with the Goodyears need hot, dry pavement. But shes a good car. LTaken lots of coastal trips. Fun, reliable, attractive car. It easily beats most imports (i.e. wannabe racers) off the line, and gets decent mileage. Overall, good ride.