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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  Great coupe for the money - 2003 Pontiac Grand AM
  By John - March 7 - 10:43 am

  I find this to be a very solid, great handling and fun to drive car. There is more then the rated horsepower available, especially considering the cars 3800 lbs. and it runs great!! I would advise i bought this NOT looking for a maintenance free car - it waas cherry but i replaced the coolant with NON DEX_COOL and a lower-tem thermostat - its a GM thing you need to correct but the engine will last foever - im a mechanic and trust me it will save you TONS of trouble. Ive seen GMs like this take some serious abuse and keep on going!!!

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  This Car Has Been Great! - 2000 Pontiac Grand AM
  By kcx1992 - March 4 - 5:44 pm

  Over all this car has been so realiable to me. The body was in rough shape when I got the car, but it just keeps running. I bought the car in Summer 2010, it is now spring 2013, the car has 178,478 miles on it! Still kick ass. Ive only had to replace a water pump (15 Dollars Brand New, Advanced Auto Parts), a starter (50 Dollars Brand new Ebay), & When I bought it the driver side window never worked. 70 dollars and an ebay search got me all new parts for both driver and passenger windows. Both work flawlessly now! also got two brand new headlights for 60 bucks, wasnt needed but wanted. LOVE THIS CAR! Still driving this car!

• 

  Still going - 1996 Pontiac Grand AM
  By jddkkd - March 3 - 10:00 am

  Ive owned this car now for 7 years and 140,000 miles. The last 2 years it has been driven by my teenage daughter. She shows it no mercy, but it keeps going without problems. Only major repair of note was replacing the water pump at 75,000 miles. (rather expensive repair for a water pump). Car is excellent on the ice and snow. It has never failed to start or died on the road. Very inexpensive, reliable transportation.

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  Sunfire - 1999 Pontiac Sunfire
  By CARR - March 3 - 10:00 am

  Not the most comfortable car, and steering is a bit tricky. The car seems to jerk slightly going into a curve, and always has. Very reliable, ok power.

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  Has anyone had this problem? - 2007 Pontiac G6
  By John - March 1 - 9:03 pm

  Love the car, but...there is a rattle noise in the right rear quarter. Very annoying. Rear back seat rattles also. Sounds like Im driving a popcorn machine. Rattles occur whether or not top is down. Makes no difference. If youve had this problem and it was fixed, let me know what was fixed. First dealership I took it to had no clue. I now have it at another dealership. Another issue is torque steer. When I get on it, hard to control the steering wheel. Anyone else experience this. Remedy, or than not getting on it? LOL.

• 

  Great first car - 2001 Pontiac Grand AM
  By easye93 - March 1 - 1:06 am

  I have a 2001 se 3.4 and its never let me down. Ive had it for 3 years, and my mom had it for about 4 years before that. It has 242,000 miles on it and its still going strong. It gets 30 mpg highway too. Ive replaced the coolant temp. sensor a couple times, brake pads and shoes, tires and a radiator hose since I got it, and no major repairs were done while my mom had it. Besides the rust behind the doors, it looks great as well.

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  Lots of power, lack of quality - 2005 Pontiac GTO
  By germie - February 24 - 4:16 pm

  I really like my GTO. It has lots of power and it sounds great in my ears even with the stock exhaust. I didnt make any modifications to mine, everything is stock. The only technical issues I had so far were a water pump replacement at 40k, engine temp gauge problem (electronic part had to be replaced) at 16k. Looks like I got lucky compared to most of GTO owners. A downside is the poor quality of the car. The shifter is wobbly and not precise, the seam on the rear driver side seat is opening up and about to burst open (nobody ever sits on that seat), the paint on the driverside doorhandle is chipping off (pass. side handle had to be repainted already).

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  Still Liking It - 2004 Pontiac Montana
  By Evie - February 20 - 9:43 am

  Never had any mechanical issues at all. Good on mileage as driven on long trips frequently. Longest trip I drove in this van was over 7000 km and never had issues with weight of luggage and tenting supplies packed in the back. Am very satisfied with my vehicle so far. Wished it didnt have such a limited load weight for pulling a camper trailer. Leaves little choice as to what type of camper trailer to pull as max towing without the optional towing package for 2 adults and gear is 2000 lbs.

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  Now that its gone, I miss it! - 2008 Pontiac G6
  By Nate - February 20 - 7:53 am

  I am updating my review for my G6 GT sedan. I bought it with 18k miles and it was a rental before. It had about 49k miles on it when i recently got in an accident, and it is now totaled. I had my entire family, wife, 2 kids under 18 months and a dog in the car when the accident occurred. No one was injured and air bags did not go off due to the fact that i wasnt going fast enough i think. MPG in city was around 22, and highway was around 30. I never had any big problems with it, was never in the shop for repairs, except when i hit a deer. other than that, very reliable and when friends drove it, they were impressed with it. I would get another one, but we decided on an SUV with 2 kids.

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  Audi to Vibe - 2004 Pontiac Vibe
  By notloyal - February 16 - 5:43 pm

  Traded an Audi Quattro for this 2004 Vibe, best trade Ive ever made. The Audi was a well built vehicle, but not reliable and expensive to repair, and there were lots of repairs. The Vibe is reliable, excellent gas mileage, easy to drive and half the cost of the Audi. Will be getting another Vibe soon.