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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  Traveling Tek - 2001 Pontiac Aztek
  By Aztank - June 27 - 2:00 am

  The Tek is a great vehicle for our lifestyle, we love to camp, bike and canoe and have been on several trips with it. We get about 24 mpg on the highway unless were pulling bikes/canoe then we get about 20mpg. The functionality and gas mileage sold us on the Tek. The exterior caused us to dub ours "Aztank" because of the boxy lines, however, it has really grown on me. Bottom line, you get a large, practical and efficient vehicle for a great value, Azteks make a statement and are extremely practical but if you have to have a vehicle that EVERYbody envies you wont want an Aztek.

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  Vibe Review - 2004 Pontiac Vibe
  By debdeb - June 27 - 2:00 am

  I love my Pontiac Vibe. I am a 48 yr old female, and my daughter is 15. I wanted a car we BOTH liked, because this will be her car next year. I know it is called a cross-over utility vehicle but people are always asking if it is an SUV or a station wagon. What do YOU think???

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  Vibe Review - Vincent De Beer - 2004 Pontiac Vibe
  By Vincent De Beer - June 27 - 2:00 am

  Styling - New, fresh & modern. Performance & economy is very good. The GT will surely be my next car. Overall, this car seems very well "thought out," eg. the standard 115V oulet, fold down passenger seat that acts as a table and the extra 12V outlet. Love the stick shift. Sturdy handling & solid feel. Had a very good experience at the dealer. They went above and beyond to find the exact car I was looking for in a very short time. Very happy with my Vibe thus far.

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  My Sons Funmobile - 2004 Pontiac Vibe
  By Hockeyref - June 27 - 2:00 am

  I bought our Vibe as my teenage sons first car. Our family buys new cars and drives them for up to 10 years, so we thought getting him something new would be wise, especially at the price we paid. It satisfies both our needs for something small enough for him to handle, and his desire for something sporty, not to mention the hatch holds two hockey bags, or all his equipment plus an overnight bag for tournaments. Were very happy with it so far as an "in-town" car, and a couple of highway trips (200 mi. RT) have shown it to be peppy and comfortable for a small car. Sometimes Ill use it myself for errands around town.

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  Not Just For Young Drivers - 2005 Pontiac Vibe
  By vibeowner - June 26 - 6:33 pm

  My wife and I are in our mid 40s which is probably older than the target age for this car. But we love our Vibe for the most part. We looked at the Matrix but went with the Vibe because it looks better, has better stereo (even with the standard system) and roof rails. The 2005 didnt include cross bars so we paid extra for them so we could put stuff on top. There was a problem with intermitent hard/extended starting and GM issued a service bulletin. We took it to three different dealerships to get it fixed but they wouldnt do anything about it until we got lucky and the hard start happened with the service rep. GM is really bad about warranty service. Next time well go with Toyota.

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  Lovable sports car - 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By G WILSON - June 25 - 9:40 pm

  My Pontiac is full load.Love my leather heated seats speedometer on wind shield, onstar protection,the body is just hot, more power than i can handle

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  Hatchback Problem - 2008 Pontiac Vibe
  By Kay - June 24 - 1:30 am

  As you can see from our ratings, we are enjoying the comfort and gas mileage of our Vibe. However, we are experiencing one problem other Vibe owners do not seem to be having: a poor fitting hatchback. We live on a dirt road and dust accumulates inside the hatchback top, bottom and side ridges. Moisture, leaves, and twigs also are in evidence when it rains. Daylight is seen through the top of the hatchback when it is closed. This is either a poor design or a fabrication error. We intend to pursue this problem directly with General Motors as the dealership was unresponsive.

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  Not bad but not what I expected. - 2003 Pontiac Vibe
  By 93pontiacga - June 23 - 5:34 pm

  Being a Toyota, I thought I could get at least 250k miles out of it before any major repairs. They say about cars nickle and diming you after they got older. This car never did that, it just slammed me with a book. I replaced the cat once, which was under warranty. At 188k, I replaced the clutch. Great so far. It has 219k on it now and it just cost me almost as much to fix as the car is worth. Needless to say, I most likely wont get another car with a Toyota engine in it.

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  Hate this car! - 2007 Pontiac G6
  By Hate this car!! - June 20 - 7:26 pm

  I bought this car brand new in 07. I LOVED it until winter came. This car does not hold to the road in snow or rain. It is DANGEROUS! I drive 88 miles each day and dread winter because I know my life will be spent in the car driving 20 miles/hour so that I do not wreck. At 72,000 miles today, I have had to replace the brakes, rotors, and now I have a leak somewhere between the sunroof and floor board. (Car flooded overnight during rainstorm- what a nightmare to wake up to!) Interior is cheap, cheap, cheap! Take my advice- choose a different car!

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  Best vehicle Ive had so far! - 2000 Pontiac Montana
  By vipergtsdrivr - June 17 - 12:23 pm

  Ive had a short version of Montana for 5 years now. The van has 380,000km on it and it still runs. I only had to deal with minor problems. Just do your regular maintenance on this car and it will serve you well. So far this van has lived in Toronto, Edmonton and Vancouver. Im upgrading to 2003 Pontiac Montana Thunder as it has many improvements over the previous models. AWD and independent suspension are just two of the many features. If you are looking for a good, reliable and enjoyable vehicle to own, look no further; there simply is no better option given their cost.