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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  Disappointed - 2000 Pontiac Bonneville
  By Disappointed2 - January 3 - 10:00 am

  Styling was underwelming. I appreciated the changes in the chassis. Interior is spacious and comfortable, the convience of the tire pump is great! Performance is adequate (I am waiting for the GTO , next year) First problem was electrical took dealer 3 times to fix. Verbal explaination of repairs, "you dont want to know!". Now have racheting noise in the steering I am told the car was bottomed out ... the "Craddle" is bent and the noise/popping we hear is body flex. We dont drive radically. Even though there are signs of the undercarraige being scraped there is no way that we impacted anything hard enough to warp the Craddle.

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  aaa - 2001 Pontiac Grand AM
  By Derick Fertle - January 3 - 10:00 am

  Overall I am very pleased w this car

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  Excellent - 2009 Pontiac Vibe
  By Carrie - January 2 - 4:56 pm

  I was researching a 2005-2007 Vibe and one could not be found that did not have extremely high miles. That should have told me something. I purchased my Vibe on 05/03/08 and absolutely love it. It is very fun to drive and handles great.

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  Awesome car! - 2002 Pontiac Sunfire
  By Rachel - January 2 - 3:06 pm

  I bought this car in 2006 with barely 25,000 miles on it. I never had ANY problems with it, aside from totaling it last week. This car was never to the mechanic and ran very smoothly. The one thing I wouldve changed would have been a roomier back seat. The cup holders were also in an unpleasant spot. Extremely reliable car! Im going to miss mine so much!

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  Great Car - 2005 Pontiac Vibe
  By bb - January 2 - 12:50 pm

  I have had mine almost 4 years, bought with 40K, now 90k.. Amazing, only thing replaced was brakes. I live in Colorado, drive up mtn passes all the time.. plenty of power and great in the snow (not sure what the other person was saying down below).. typically get 30 mpg in mixed driving, close to 40 on the hwy only. Its so much bigger than it looks, can put my mtn bike inside without taking off the front wheel. I like the clearance as well, helps in the snow and offroad

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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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  my car - 2004 Pontiac Sunfire
  By janae benedict - December 31 - 10:00 am

  the 2004 sunfire has really good gas milage. it has alot of room and a big trunk. its fun to drive and it always gets looks when i drive down the street

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  Zoom Zoom aint just for Mazda... - 2004 Pontiac Vibe
  By Dbear44 - December 31 - 10:00 am

  Roomy, versatile, good looks, & a real kick to drive... What more could you ask...

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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.