Top 10 Worst Pontiacs Of All Time
by Chris Shunk on Apr 28th 2009 at 11:58AM 
Yesterday we showed you the Top 10 Greatest Pontiacs Of All Time. Coming up with 10 great Pontiacs was both fun and easy, as the brand is responsible for some of the best muscle cars ever made. During its heyday, Pontiac was so good that the entire brand won the Motor Trend Car of the Year award three times. Unfortunately, the oil embargo ruined Pontiac's fun, and "Driving Excitement" was converted into a ragtag collection of badge-engineered mediocrity.
While we're still nostalgic about the dying Pontiac brand, we decided to augment our original list with the Top 10 Worst Pontiacs Of All Time. There were plenty of models from which to choose, and we managed to remember the least loved Pontiac of all time: the Aztek. Click below to check out our list (in no particular order), and make sure to add your least favorite Pontiac in the comments.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
Terry 12:02PM (4/28/2009)
Stop it!!!! My eyes are burning!
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Rob 12:07PM (4/28/2009)
Yeah really. I thought we had made it clear that Autoblog needs to knock off the all caps going HEY LOOK AT ME!
The Arial Black ALL CAPS just looks cheesy. The Prom Rides, and all the toher articles usually involving the top 10 usually all suck too.
Taglane 12:10PM (4/28/2009)
Jeez. Who the hell cares? Stop bitching.
Sea Urchin 12:21PM (4/28/2009)
I did not see any pics yet but my bet is #2 is Aztek and #1 is G3
AMcA 8:28PM (4/28/2009)
Now, now.
Let's not kick them while they're dying.
Blackstar 10:08PM (4/28/2009)
My first car was a Grey '81 Pontiac Phoenix 5 door Hatchback. I traded my HiFi Stereo VCR for it. People used to joke it had more Bondo in it than 'car'. Lol.
Found a dead mouse skeleton in the left rear turn signal light so we named it "Marvin". :D
Taglane 12:08PM (4/28/2009)
While I admit I hate the G3 I have to say that it's not an bad car. A Lazily-designed car? Yes. A sad rebadge? Definitely, but it's not one of Pontiac's worst. It's not even ugly. It looks better than the Aveo, that's for sure. Believe it or not, I've ridden in an 09 Aveo, and it's not punishment. It's behind on competitors, but it's really not a terrible car like the Media says. The G3 would have been better if it got a Full redesign. in and out. But like I said before, it's not one of Pontiac's worst.
I can't believe I wrote a whole paragraph about the G3.
Also the G6 GXP isn't such a bad car. Fun to drive, but fugly. People sure do love that combo when it's coupled with the term "Honda Fit." so why is it so bad here?
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John 12:30PM (4/28/2009)
I agree with your points.
If those same vehicles had a Honda or Toyota badge on the hood the hatred spewed wouldn't be nearly as intense, if any at all.
Luis 12:42PM (4/28/2009)
John - you don't spend much time here, do you? The hate on Toyota design is very strong here.
Sea Urchin 1:03PM (4/28/2009)
John, Prius is arguably one of the best cars ever made, yet if you read Autoblog posters it is one of the worst. This blog has many Detroit groupies. I am the ONLY impartial poster here.
Taglane 1:07PM (4/28/2009)
Oh shut up.
My God you get on my nerves. every word you say.
Sure i prefer detroit to others, but Just because I don't like the Honda fit, doesn't mean I don't like Imports. I liked the 1960 Honda S600....
Beastage 1:29PM (4/28/2009)
I disagree! the Aveo is a terrible car, as someone who has experience with many cars in the genre, the Aveo is probably the worse by far.
It offers no protection, it isn't economical at all compared to the competition, the interior material are horrible, the design of the car is poor causing it to offer the least interior space in the segment.
I am no fan of Toyota or Honda but their products are superior to this, not to mention any of European brands who are far ahead in design, mainly fiat.
Aprime 1:32PM (4/28/2009)
I lol'd when I read 'Sea Urchin' and 'impartial' in the same text box.
geo.stewart 1:32PM (4/28/2009)
Yes, I thought it funny thath te G6 GXP was in for its design but they have a pic of it from the best angle. And it looks no worse than the Accord Coupe or a Solara.
And NOT defending the body side molding but the 2-tone look on the Montanas broke up the slab sides a little. I got a Montana for the wife when we had our first and apart from the transmission failing at 5K miles and the motor mounts loose at 12K miles, it wasnt a bad car. now, the customer service stunk ( I can forgive a lemon but I cant forgive terrible customer service from your call center) and thus we moved to the grand Caravan.
Frank 1:36PM (4/28/2009)
"The hate on Toyota design is very strong here."
Not true! They make really nice washing machines. Or is it dishwashers? Refridgerators?
Judy Zik 3:58PM (4/28/2009)
The internet would be a better place if Sea Urchin's Mommy would just take his internet away for good.
In a seriousness I can't believe they missed the 1990 Pontiac Trans Sport! Forget the Montana. That vehicle was the greatest insult ever hoisted on Pontiac loyalists. The Montana and even later model years were a huge improvement over the original Trans Sport that hit dealers in MY 1990.
Take a gutless 120hp engine and stick it in a van designed to carry 7 people and their stuff. Now stretch the nose so it looks like an ant eater or a Dustbuster. Make the dash so big once you stick a parking receipt on it say goodbye to it for good and a windsheild so long nobody can clean the whole thing. Oh don't forget to use the usual reflective dash materials on this dash the size of an elephant's rear end so that the glare is blinding even on a cloudy day. Use the cheapest trim and fabric you can find so that switches and knobs fall off in the kids hands and driving down the road the squeaks and rattles will be loud enough to wake a sleeping baby. Label all the switchgear with white ink so cheap it rubs off over time. Make sure the plastics are cheap enough that eventually whole panels may crack from the heat and the sun. Surround the whole thing in a boat load of needless plastic cladding to increase drag and annoy customers when it falls off. Since nobody cares about fit and finish assemble it with panel gaps big enough to stick your finger through and allow for wind and water leaks. Now sell it under your performance brand name so that your customers can feel sporty. Why not even ape your most storied name (Trans Am) by calling this admission of guilt the Trans SPORT. Of course the only thing sporty about it is the excercise the kids will get hopping out to help you push it up the hill. But at least they will be safer walking than they are sitting in the back of this beast since this family hauler also manages to score some of the worst crash tests ever. But why stop there? Give it a 3 speed transmission that leaks and may upshift late or not at all. Place your bets! Don't forget to give it a rust prone exhaust system (stainless would arrive later), leaky cooling system and tiny mirrors so you can't see little Timmy's bike behind you. Now there is a Pontiac to be proud of. The 1990 Trans Sport did the impossible. It made the other Minivans on the market at the time actually look good.
The G3 isn't a great car but it isn't horrible and neither is the G6. The 1990 Trans Sport though took awful to a whole new level. I would rather put a paper bag over my head and drive an Aztec than drive one of these pos.
bigfoote0069 6:56PM (4/28/2009)
I agree with a lot of the stuff said about the Trans sport. My family bought one right before we moved from canada in 1993 and that thing was pretty bad. I have to give it props though because we drove that thing from florida to canada at least once a year and it still ran pretty good when we traded it in for a montana in 2002. I just have to add a few more complaints. The removable rear seats were a joke. The seats had the weirdest latching system and there were multiple holes in the floor that you lock the seats into but not all holes allow you to latch the seats in. At least they weren't as heavy as the seats in the montana. Those suckers weigh like 60 lbs. Also the air conitioning broke almost every summer in the trans sport. Usually at the beginning of a very hot week.
Joe K. 12:09PM (4/28/2009)
Not a single Bonneville on the list... I'm surprised...
The G3 was a gut-check move after gas went to $3. An overreaction that was severely unnecessary.
I am sad to see the brand go, but its not like they were doing much to save it...
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Duke 2:02PM (4/28/2009)
Well, you have to give the Bonne lots of credit. People loved those things. I don't think they are anywhere near as bad as some of the cars on this list.
Also, the Aztek really was the worst SUV design ever.
Rafael Illan 12:40AM (4/29/2009)
bonneville SSEI are cool on my list