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:

• 

  My 2004 Grand Prix GT2 - 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By Mary Humphrey - December 31 - 10:00 am

  I have traveled in deep snow pounding rain and have never lost control of my vehicle. This is the second Grand Prix I have owned and I dont think I will be changing models for a while. I buy a new car every 2-3 years and I am very happy with the grand prix.

• 

  good choice - 2004 Pontiac Vibe
  By Darl - December 31 - 2:26 am

  We were looking for a good mileage vehicle to replace our 1990 Dodge Caravan. Bought this new. Have 3000 miles on it now. We have gotten as much as 30 MPG. Always in high 20s. With the ice and snow we get here in Indiana the AWD has been a definate plus. We find ourselves creeping up over the speed limit with out even realizing it it is that smooth. The only dislike we have about it is the drippling rear windshield washer. No spray just dribbles dealer states that is the way it was made!!

• 

  Pontiac Montana - 2005 Pontiac Montana
  By Mike Gaines - December 29 - 7:30 pm

  The Montana is an excellent value. Our van was completely loaded and was purchased for thousands less than comparable vans. Reliabilty and quality have been very good, with no issues to date.

• 

  Dont waste your money - 2007 Pontiac G6
  By Mr Bill - December 28 - 11:53 am

  This is a very poorly built car. This car has only 35k and I have a list of problems as long as my arm. Brakes shimmy bad, steering column squeaks, roof rattles (this isnt even a sunroof car), dash is already warped and buckling, cruise control quit working, engine leaks oil and looks like a ball of grease from below, one wheel bearing went bad, front bumper keeps poping out under the headlights, lots of wind noise, windshield wipers are oddballs and cost a fortune. This car was babied and as soon as the 30k warranty was out everything just started falling apart. Last, this car has no trade in, or resale value. It isnt worth half of what I paid for it. Now I cant even trade it off.

• 

  Pontiac, a beast of a car - 1999 Pontiac Grand AM
  By CanuckDriver - December 28 - 8:56 am

  Bought the car used. The guy had it sitting for a year. I had to replace driver window motor, and lil odds and ends, but engine fired up right away. Driving for almost 2 yrs now, must say, found the common problem with the window motors, have to replace driver again soon. But I am very hard on my cars, cold starts, aggressive driving, stupid moves, off-road (dirt roads and old fire roads), put it in a ditch once at 90 km/h. This car never misses a beat, there is a lot of little stuff that go wrong, lights are gone on the radio, window motors, some interior stuff is falling apart but after only buying it for $1500 and putting nothing else into it. I got no complaints at with this little beast

• 

  First Car - 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix
  By Roman - December 27 - 9:23 pm

  I bought this car after having nothing but trucks sinc I was 16. I took one look at this car and it was love at first sight!! It only had about 65k on it and was in mint condition. I love everything about this car except for the rims that come on the special edition package, a minor setback. I have had no problems yet and I hope to not have any either. I love the gas mileage coming from a diesel truck that was getting around 11 mpg Yikes! It will get up and go with the best of them and stay up pretty good. It does govern out at 126 but I dont think thats a prob since I wont be going that fast all the time..

• 

  Fantastic - 2002 Pontiac Grand AM
  By sneece - December 27 - 8:46 pm

  I just totaled my 02 Grand Am and I miss her sorely. For the 5 years I had her and the 104K miles I put on her, I never had to replace anything on her that wasnt expected. I kept my up on my oil changes and took good care of her with tune-ups, alignments and everything. She was a great car. I never had any complaints and I drive in Atlanta!

• 

  high milage van - 2006 Pontiac Montana SV6
  By steve - December 27 - 4:30 pm

  when I bought this van I did not want a mini van my wife did, the more I drove it the better I liked it,the milage is great,keeping the tires rotated adds a lot of life to your tires,I went with mobil 1 oil after 100000 miles the milage has gotten better had it tuned up at 100000 miles also this has been a great van.

• 

  Dead Battery AGAIN!!! - 2009 Pontiac G5
  By PoorService - December 27 - 5:10 am

  Its an otherwise GREAT car but have had a dead battery 2-times!!! Serviced at Steinle GM in Fremont, OH but they cant fix it either because they dont care or dont know how. It has run down protection so the battery should never go dead. They just say "theres nothing we can do".

• 

  Went good to bad within a year - 2007 Pontiac G5
  By j9atv - December 25 - 11:56 pm

  Dont get me wrong all cars have their issues but the list is starting to grow on my new 2007 G5. So far within the first year and 35,000 km (21,000 miles) Ive had the fuel sensor and pump replaces, the rear bushings on both front suspension replaced, the radio replaced 4x!! because the original radio that came with the car at the time of purchase was black and the company that GM gets to do the warranty work does not carry radios with black faces (on going issue). So far Im really not impressed with the quality of my G5 and Im just waiting for the next thing to go wrong. I can tell you this my next car will not be a GM (BMW, Acura, Honda). Its sad because everyone in my family owns a GM.