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:

• 

  I am absolutley happy - 2005 Pontiac Vibe
  By Aime Nitsch - November 4 - 8:23 pm

  I love my Vibe. Lots of Pros....love the seats. Comfort! The arm rest is way to low though. I get no use out of it and I am only 55". The moons and tunes package is a must. Makes it more sporty. I absolutley HATE the beeping that goes on for 2 minutes when I put the car into drive without having my seatbelt on. I understand the safety of it though. And make sure you get a mat for the back end. The "durable" plastic gets scratched very easy. I love everything else about it. The vents cool design. All the seats fold down. The current temp. I also wish that Audio controls were offered on the steering wheel. But its a GREAT bye!

• 

  sunfire - 1997 Pontiac Sunfire
  By sunfiregirl - November 4 - 10:00 am

  the car goes great, handles well. we love the car.

• 

  A really nice ride - 1999 Pontiac Sunfire
  By JimmyJ - November 4 - 10:00 am

  Bought this car new. It is a great ride on the highway. It is also very comfortable, looks good and handles like a sports car. It never fails to get me to and from the job and has a nice sporty profile for pleasure use. It has logged over 84,000 miles requiring only regular scheduled maintenance. Good cargo space for a compact.

• 

  I Love My Pontiac Grand Am!!! - 2000 Pontiac Grand AM
  By Melba - November 4 - 10:00 am

  I absolutely love my Pontiac Grand Am SE. I have had it for two years now. I have owned several cars and this one is by far my favorite. It has a great look inside and out. It is comfortable on the highway. I havent had any problems with it whatsoever.

• 

  built for the road - 2000 Pontiac Bonneville
  By gary mcgaffic - November 3 - 12:23 am

  Great road handling ability, stabilitrak is fantastic but scary at first. Heads up display is great, day or night. The under side of the suspension system is built like a tank, extremely rugged. I get over 26 mpg on the highway which is great for a supercharged car of this size. As of 08/14/09 only 51,000 mile on it. Sill looks new...

• 

  Aztek - 2003 Pontiac Aztek
  By Derek - November 1 - 5:43 pm

  Do not buy! I bought this vehicle a year ago and have had nothing but trouble with it. So far Ive had to replace the intake gasket ($1000) head gasket ($1500), heater core ($500) and shifter ($500). I bought this vehicle at a reputable dealership thinking it would be OK, boy was I wrong. So far the tally has come to $3500 in repairs and of course the warranty covered nothing at all. Every review I read at the time said it was a great vehicle. It is anything but a great vehicle. Your better off getting something else

• 

  My first year - 2009 Pontiac Solstice
  By auto teacher - November 1 - 4:56 pm

  I am 59",165 lbs. male and find the car very comfortable. I have had no failures with the vehicle. I added an aftermarket wood, dash kit and shifter on my automatic trans. The power,window switches are just wrong and the top is a little difficult, but compared to my old MGs not that bad. I know some complain about the trunk, but it works for me. I love the car. I find some of the buff book reviews to be strangely biased towards the Miata, but my GXP is far ahead of that car. Too bad GM was mismanaged into eliminating the Kappa platform, but I got one and plan to keep it around for a while.

• 

  GM Again - 2005 Pontiac Montana
  By rsv6 - November 1 - 10:10 am

  I traded in my 99 Suburban, against my wifes wishes(!) because it was costing too much to operate. The SV6 was the perfect replacment. We took the 1SA package, because I could not pass up the deal. The dealer had loaded units available, but I really didnt all the extra items. I only wish that every option didnt come in a package. It would be nice to have rear window defroster without having to spend $2200 for everything else that come with it!

• 

  05 Sunfire - 2005 Pontiac Sunfire
  By Chet - November 1 - 3:06 am

  The new 2.2 ecotec engine is very powerful, but not as economical as the old 2.2 it replaced. I feel the quality is very good and the car has a solid feel to it.

• 

  Not Happy - 2007 Pontiac G6
  By Anonymous - October 31 - 8:00 pm

  I bought this car and immediately the speakers were blown, the roof was rattling and my interior was staining from water. GM refused to help; its been over 10 months now and the water stain issue still exists. Cant wait to get rid of this car. The roof rattles constantly and have had it in the shop at least 5 times for the roof, 3 for the interior and other times for other problems.