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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  Vacation Time - 2009 Pontiac G8
  By Jean Baptiste - May 6 - 7:43 am

  I love my G8 GT for a lot of reasons. All have been stated many times over in other reviews. However, I have a special reason to like this car. In past years when my wife and I loaded up previously owned cars with maybe 500 lbs of tools and luggage for a few months at our vacation house, I had to shim the rear springs to help keep similar (and safe) driving dynamics. In my G8 GT this past fall, the heavy load had little or no impact on my mormal driving experience. I credit this to the great suspension of this car.

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  Own it - 2009 Pontiac G8
  By Ward - May 4 - 9:30 pm

  I bought this vehicle the end of July 08. Always thought I wanted a Charger. After test driving both I found I prefer the G8. It has more power than Ill ever need and very comfortable seating. My teens vibrate the whole car with their music, but otherwise the sound system in great. And I found it affordable.

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  Buy This Car - 2005 Pontiac Vibe
  By Plat2005Vibe - May 4 - 12:40 pm

  I bought my Vibe a few months ago and I love it. It is an Automatic, with "Moon & Tunes", Power group, aluminum wheels, and black leather interior. Average gas mileage is 28 city, 35 highway. Current miles: 2560. I compared this with serveral other cars and this was the most that I could get for my money. A similarly equipped Matrix would have cost me over $3000 more. Fit and finish are pretty good. The car feels solid and is surprisingly quiet inside. It maneuvers well in traffic and brakes well. For those who had problems with the car "falling apart", maybe they are a bit too rough on it. I find it to be well made. Very versatile and economical!

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  Beautiful but dangerous - 2006 Pontiac G6
  By twil - May 4 - 10:20 am

  I owned my 2005 G6 for 5 days. I purchased it from a local dealership as a GM Certified Vehicle.Unknowing to me, it had an open recall on it. It was a beautiful car, inside and out. It got great gas mileage and was a very affordable family functional vehicle. My problem is with the Steering. My family (all 4 of us) were on our way to my daughters school on Tuesday morning. The steering went out completely in a curve when we were going 50 mph. We spun through 2 lanes of traffic, flipped 4 times and landed upside down in a ditch. I dont know what component is at fault but I do know it was not driver error and I would not purchase another even though they are gorgeous.

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  Big Performance in a Big Package! - 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By JKanel - May 4 - 2:00 am

  This car is really great. You should buy one right now.

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  98 Bonn. - 1998 Pontiac Bonneville
  By emmk - May 4 - 2:00 am

  Vehicle is roomy as expected for its size.Good mileage.Will not score more then average for handling at speeds over 60.Rock and pinion was replaced at 43,000. Traction Control not much of benefit. Large moon/sun roof is a plus. Im switching to an import for price value.

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  Fantastic Little Hatchback - 2009 Pontiac Vibe
  By LostPsyche - May 4 - 2:00 am

  I have only had this car a month and I love this thing. It is really fun to drive and seems to be really solid on the road even in the turns. It is no Mazda 3 but for me it is sporty enough with a lot of practical applications. I really wish GM had not killed this car off, they could have re-badged it to a Chevy or Buick nameplate which is a shame that they just let it drop instead. The cruise control takes a bit to get used to. The Engine is nice too, a little torquey on take offs but it is a solid engine and great for quick merges.

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  A drivers car - 2005 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By mikej - May 3 - 4:53 am

  This car is outstanding with 18" wheels the ride and handling rivals anything on the road. Fit and finish are excellent, this is a drivers car. Dual exhaust also gives this car the sound of my 70 corvette.

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  Last of the breed - 2010 Pontiac Vibe
  By Dakovich - May 3 - 1:10 am

  We purchased the 1.8L with optional Auto tranny. We went with the Vibe over a Scion XD for many reasons. Better looks, better interior, way more comfortable, seats go up/down, tilt/telescope wheel, more room, larger cargo area, similar mpg, still a Toyota basically so equally reliable, and the GM warranty beats the Toyota/Scion one. 1.8L Auto has plenty of juice for us, were not aggressive drivers but it has get up and go when needed. We like the tight suspension and steering which takes bumps surprisingly well. Not many 1.8Ls left around, lots of 2.4Ls and AWDs though. We Didnt want to trade mpg for the extra power.

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  Nice Car - 2004 Pontiac Grand AM
  By montrose - May 2 - 1:30 am

  After driving larger vehicles for many years I found this car fun to drive and very economical. May 2006 when I bought it gas was around $3 gallon. Shortly after buying it I drove from Michigan to Houston and got 34-36 miles per gallon. City driving I get 20-22 mpg, not bad and its fun to drive.