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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  A WOLF in sheeps clothing - 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By captaingary - November 26 - 4:06 am

  I bought the car with 3 miles on it. I took it home and used a hair dryer to remove the Cloisone GTP emblems. They came off clean as a whistle. This car has the BEST styling of any Grand Prix ever. The supercharger is a work of art! I have basically kept up with Trans Ams and dusted off most Firebirds and Camaros. The HUD is imperative! I wish it had a 6 speed! But overall, this car is a real sleeper! Competent enough in the twisties and better than most off the line and rolling on!

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  Awesome! For two weeks. - 2006 Pontiac Torrent
  By MAD - November 22 - 9:03 pm

  I was so excited when I bought this car, for the first month. Then things started happening: A bracket snapped that held something for the emissions system, another emissions problem, two warped rotors, radio on the fritz, heated seat cushion replaced, coolant sludged up, etc. Each of these was a separate trip to the shop, the Enterprise rent-a-car guy knew me by name. All within the first couple months of owning this thing (except for the rotors, that was at 17,000 miles, still ridiculous). The car is nice looking, functional for all my outdoor needs, lots of features, but overall I cant believe how many issues Ive had with it. Worst reliability Ive ever had in a vehicle.

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  pontisol - 2006 Pontiac Solstice
  By solstice - November 19 - 12:13 am

  transmission makes "clunking" sound when shifting to 2nd and third. Sounds like housing may be loose????

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  Great Car - 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By jetpilot500 - November 15 - 3:30 pm

  Great Car! The 3.8L V6 has a lot of power. Looks great, even as a 4-door. Interior components sometimes rattle, especially when its cold. But other than that, its very comfortable and enjoyable to drive.

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  OK, so it was a former Mary Kay car... - 1998 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By smoo4asw - November 14 - 3:46 am

  ...and it was pink and had the bare minimum feature set. It did safely deliver to me the 128k I love so much from Cleveland (where wed go to buy its replacement when it crapped out on us) and it didnt have the :-(analog) cellular network driven OnStar crap that Verizon Wireless can bollox up at will. What it didnt have was durability. It was reliable until it broke, but when it broke, it was shot and that was all there was to it. Needless to say we werent going to be burned by Pontiac a third time (my Grandmother had a Phoenix and it wasnt even reliable!) It did its bit, but Im glad its gone for scrap.

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  Good car for a good price - 2007 Pontiac G6
  By Skywave - November 12 - 2:46 am

  This is a very attractive car. It feels comfortable and sporty and with some exceptions has very nice interior. I think many of the issues with the earlier years have been sorted out. Too early to tell about reliability. My example has several interior rattles. The engine feels very powerful and the car handles well but it falls short of really being a "sports" coupe. I have the sport package on mine which includes the 3.5L LZ4 and hydraulic PS which probably resolved previous handling complaints. I probably cant complain about the mileage (28 MPG in commuter service) but I still will. Stiff suspension transmits considerable road noise to the cabin, ride is OK though.

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  Great car, no problems at 120k - 2003 Pontiac Sunfire
  By fingaz - November 12 - 12:41 am

  My dad first purchased the Sunfire new in 2003 as a 2nd vehicle to commute to work. He got it with all the bells and whistles (which only is power windows, A/C, sunroof, monsoon sound system, dual exhaust and spoiler) for only $13,000! I ended up taking the car off his hands and it has NEVER failed me. 120k mile and I have never ever had one problem with it. Of course I keep up with oil changes, tires, brakes and the like. The car still looks current and modern and it does perform well for only having 140 horses!

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  You wont believe this - 2005 Pontiac GTO
  By Mark - November 10 - 9:46 pm

  Well, Love the GTO..except that the motor blew at 2800 miles. Pontiac said it was our fault...seems like it uses oil like an old lawnmower. Actually folks, the secret internal memo to Pontiac tells them to warn customers of GTOs to check the oil every 500 miles. And, yes folks, this GTO even with a new motor (and thats a whole other story) burns 1 quart of oil every 500 miles. So check your dipsticks regularly. The big thing now is that there are NO part available for these Holdens. An unfortunate incident left my GTO damaged in the front and it has been in the body shop for 3 MONTHS now while they try and find parts. RIGHT NOW there are NO front struts available for any GTOs in the USA...

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  Sunfire - 1999 Pontiac Sunfire
  By snowbie - November 8 - 2:00 am

  I owned my Sunfire for almost five years without any serious problems. I was content with the car. I recently was in an accident. From the looks of the damage, I didnt think it was too bad but it turned out to be a "total loss". Took a turn too fast for there being snow, and slid into a tree. Not even a knick in that tree and it wasnt anything that big. I guess I shouldnt be suprised since my passenger side door had almost a dozen dings because of the poor body quality. Im just glad it was a tree at 5-10 mph rather than getting in a more serious accident, who knows how badly torn to shreds that car couldve been, not to mention me.

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  Bonneville Good But Bad - 2005 Pontiac Bonneville
  By fig newton - November 7 - 2:33 am

  GPX is a great car, but if you buy a used one please get a 0 deductible warranty. Have had $6000.00 of work done. lucky all but about $800 was covered (Shocks and brake-not covered), all problems caught by dealer during normal maintenance. The problems,oil and H2O leaks, rear drive problem, Onstar/radio, control for heat and air condition, wheel bearings eta. I have one year left on warranty- lucky me.