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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  Visibility Problem - 2001 Pontiac Sunfire
  By a m e - January 3 - 10:00 am

  Too many Blind spots, not fun driving at night. Front hood is extremely deceivingly large an hard to judge. I will try to get rid of my car, because I have a long commute to work and back.

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  Great Little Car - 2007 Pontiac G5
  By pobaldwin - January 1 - 6:35 am

  Our 2007 G5 has the 2.2l and 4 speed automatic transmission. This car has about 165,000 miles on it and is still going strong. Being that we live in Michigan the suspension takes a beating, but components dont seam to wear out any faster than they will on any other car. The engine and transmission still feel strong and neither has ever had a leak. The gas mileage is fantastic, we can get about 36.5 MPG driving with the cruise set around 70 MPH with the A/C on in the summer time.

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  Improvements Needed - 2002 Pontiac Grand AM
  By cin_933 - December 31 - 10:00 am

  I have had this car in the shop 12 times for repairs to the front end. It still has an annoying noise which cannot be fixed.

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  Dead Battery AGAIN!!! - 2009 Pontiac G5
  By PoorService - December 27 - 5:10 am

  Its an otherwise GREAT car but have had a dead battery 2-times!!! Serviced at Steinle GM in Fremont, OH but they cant fix it either because they dont care or dont know how. It has run down protection so the battery should never go dead. They just say "theres nothing we can do".

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  What A Disappointment - 2002 Pontiac Firebird
  By Caligirl - December 22 - 6:36 pm

  I bought this car in 2002 straight off the lot. I loved this sport, affordable car. It was fine for the first 6 year with only 60k miles on it. Then, things changed. Both window motors burned-out costing $350 a piece. Then the fuel pump, $1000. Finally, it was the use of mid-level oil filters rather than a AC Delco oil filter, that caused berrings and crank-shift damage. Never again!

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  In the shop a lot! - 2006 Pontiac Torrent
  By Joanna - December 19 - 10:33 pm

  I have taken my 2006 Torrent in to get fixed more than id like to say. The one thats bothering me the most is that during the past 23,000 miles I have had the bearings replaced 3 times... this is not normal, correct? It is in the shop right now and since it is no longer under warranty, they will not pay for the bearings to be replaced again. I am so frustrated and do not know what to do. Any advice?

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  reliable, economical car! - 2008 Pontiac G5
  By mike_sinclair - December 17 - 6:16 am

  bought the car in august of 2007 as an 08 model Ive had this car for six years now and i am amazed, this is a great little economical car great in Canadian winters never had a problem no lights ever came on only thing that i had to replace is the sway bar (links)(my fault) only because I travel on a lot of bumpy roads and dirt roads a lot of the time and about 80% of my driving is city driving barely highway kms, the car has about 200,000 kms on it again never had any problems at all no noises or service lights never hesitated to start all ways started right up like the day I bought it, and i have to admit i dont take the best care of my cars it has a couple dents(me) very reliable car!!!

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  Montana 04 Review - 2004 Pontiac Montana
  By Ray - November 25 - 12:16 am

  They had trouble with finding wind noise problem. Lost a key cost me $134.00 to replace!!! Generally good ride, very reliable.

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  not bad, not good - 1997 Pontiac Sunfire
  By Joshy - November 16 - 10:00 am

  An OK car for the money. I have had a number of repairs lately (nearly 120K mi. now). Head gasket has gone twice, starter, alternator, fuel injector head along with regular front end parts etc. A little bit gutless and a fair bit of body roll (but what do you expect for the money)

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  Do not buy this car - 2006 Pontiac G6
  By chemprice21 - November 6 - 11:10 am

  I have owned this car for just over a year. Within 6 months I had to have both bumpers repainted because the four corners of the bumpers were rubbing against the fender wells and began to chip. The warranty covered the cost of the repairs, but would not loan me a car to drive for the three days it took to repair the car. I have also had the car in the shop six times since August 2006 due to an issue with the tires. I just this week finally received a new tire after waiting 2.5 months for a replacement after the tire was diagnosed as faulty. They said even though the car was vibrating, pulling to the left and nearly hydroplaned every time it rained, this was not a safety issue. Dont buy!