The
Pontiac Montana is a
minivanMinivan is a type of van designed for personal use. Minivans are typically either two-box or one box designs for maximum interior volume – and are taller than a sedan, hatchback, or a station wagon....
from the
PontiacPontiac was an automobile brand that was established in 1926 as a companion make for General Motors' Oakland. Quickly overtaking its parent in popularity, it supplanted the Oakland brand entirely by 1933 and, for most of its life, became a companion make for Chevrolet. Pontiac was sold in the...
division of
General MotorsGeneral Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
. Prior to the 1997 model year, it was known as
Pontiac Trans SportThe Pontiac Trans Sport and its siblings, the Chevrolet Lumina APV and Oldsmobile Silhouette were a set of minivans that débuted with radical styling in fall 1989 as 1990 models. There was also a Chevrolet Trans Sport sold in Europe until 2005 that was a version of the Chevrolet Venture that had...
. In 1997, the Trans Sport added the
Montana moniker as part of an available trim package. The package proved so popular the line was renamed Montana in 1999 for the US and 2000 for Canada. For 2005, the van was redesigned with a higher, less aerodynamic nose to resemble an SUV. The Montana name was also changed to
Montana SV6. It was discontinued after the 2006 model year in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
because of slow sales, but continued to be sold in
CanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and
MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
until the 2009 model year because of GM phasing out the
PontiacPontiac was an automobile brand that was established in 1926 as a companion make for General Motors' Oakland. Quickly overtaking its parent in popularity, it supplanted the Oakland brand entirely by 1933 and, for most of its life, became a companion make for Chevrolet. Pontiac was sold in the...
brand after the 2010 model year. Since their introduction, the Pontiac minivans were
General MotorsGeneral Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
' most popular minivans among consumers in Canada.
The
Doraville, Georgia assembly plantDoraville Assembly was a General Motors automobile factory in Doraville, Georgia, just northeast of Atlanta. The plant opened in 1947, and closed on 26 September 2008 as part of the company's cost-cutting measures...
which produced the Montana closed on September 26, 2008.
First generation (1997–2005)
The Montana nameplate was used as a trim level of the
Pontiac Trans SportThe Pontiac Trans Sport and its siblings, the Chevrolet Lumina APV and Oldsmobile Silhouette were a set of minivans that débuted with radical styling in fall 1989 as 1990 models. There was also a Chevrolet Trans Sport sold in Europe until 2005 that was a version of the Chevrolet Venture that had...
van from 1997 to 1998. GM dropped the Trans Sport name for 1999 (2000 in Canada) and the van simply became Montana. This generation was related to the previous generation
Buick GL8The Buick GL8 is a minivan sold by General Motors' Buick division in China. Introduced in 2000, the GL8 is similar to the Pontiac Montana. Unlike other GM minivans, a roof rack was never offered...
, the
Chevrolet VentureThe Chevrolet Venture is a minivan produced by General Motors from the 1997 to 2005 model years. It replaced the Chevrolet Lumina APV. Identical minivans were also sold in Europe as the Opel Sintra, and in the UK, they were badged as a Vauxhall. Opel assisted in the development of the minivan as well...
, the
Oldsmobile SilhouetteThe Oldsmobile Silhouette and its siblings, the Pontiac Trans Sport and Chevrolet Lumina APV , were a trio of minivans that débuted in late 1989 as 1990 models...
, the Vauxhall Sintra, and the
Opel SintraThe Opel Sintra is a large MPV manufactured by General Motors for the European market between 1996 and 1999. The Sintra is one of the second-generation U-body MPVs...
. The Opel and Vauxhall were only sold in Europe, although made in the same factory in the USA as the others. Chevrolet also introduced a nearly identical twin to Pontiac save for its badging for European consumption, named the Chevrolet Trans Sport. Both of the Buick GL8 minivans were only sold in China. The 2000-2005 GL8 is a similar version of the first-generation Pontiac Montana, and the 2005+ GL8 is similar to the Pontiac Montana SV6. The Pontiac Montana came in both short- and long-wheelbase models. The Pontiac Montana was one of the few minivans which provided seating for eight. For 2001, the Montana received a new steering wheel with the Pontiac symbol which replaces the one with the Pontiac letters. For 2003, the sport-style head restraints were dropped in favor of the conventional head restraints the Venture and Silhouette offered; and the anti-lock brakes became optional, as well as for the Venture, but remained standard for the Silhouette before Oldsmobile's demise in 2004.
The Montana Thunder was the most up-level model of the Montana. Introduced in 2002, Thunder featured special "Thunder" badging, Thunder-specific 16" chrome 5-spoke rims, upgraded ride and handling package, and a special spoiler on the back of the roof rack. Inside, the Montana Thunder had special two-tone black and grey leather seating, and a perforated leather-wrapped steering wheel. The Montana Thunder was produced in 2002 and 2003, but for 2004 and 2005 it was made an optional package on Montana GTs called the "Chrome-Sport" package. Only the "Thunder" badges were discontinued. Despite the Pontiac Montana's redesign in 2005,
PontiacPontiac was an automobile brand that was established in 1926 as a companion make for General Motors' Oakland. Quickly overtaking its parent in popularity, it supplanted the Oakland brand entirely by 1933 and, for most of its life, became a companion make for Chevrolet. Pontiac was sold in the...
continued to sell the original body style for the 2005 model year for fleet use. The last Montana rolled off the production line on March 31, 2004 as a 2005 model.
Safety criticism
A
crash testA crash test is a form of destructive testing usually performed in order to ensure safe design standards in crashworthiness and crash compatibility for various modes of transportation or related systems and components.- Types :...
video of the 1997 Trans Sport/Montana resulted in some criticism due to extreme damage to the vehicle in the 40 mi/h crash test. The minivan received a "Poor" rating by the
Insurance Institute for Highway SafetyThe Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is a U.S. non-profit organization funded by auto insurers, established in 1959 and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It works to reduce the number of motor vehicle crashes, and the rate of injuries and amount of property damage in the crashes that...
(IIHS). It was also ranked the "Worst Performing Vehicle". Some comments made by the IIHS after the first test in 1997 were:
- Major collapse of the occupant compartment left little survival space for the driver.
- Extreme steering wheel movement snapped the dummy's head backward.
- The unnatural position of the dummy's left foot indicates that an occupant's left leg would have been seriously injured in a real-world crash of this severity.
- The forces on the left lower leg were so high that the dummy's metal foot broke off at the ankle.
The
National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationThe National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is an agency of the Executive Branch of the U.S. government, part of the Department of Transportation...
gave the van 4 stars for driver protection and 3 stars for passenger protection in the 35 mph (56.3 km/h) frontal impact test. In the side impact test, it received 5 stars for front passenger protection, and 5 stars rear passenger protection.
However, the safety issues of the Montana were addressed with the newer Montana SV6, which earned the highest rating of "Good" given by the Insurance Institute in the frontal offset crash test.
The Pontiac Montana was a hit when it was released especially in Canada.though its stay in the market was not everlasting it was prolific nonetheless.A huge success among other competent minivans of the time ,The Pontiac Montana was a noteworthy production by General Motors
Second generation (2005–2009)
For the 2005 model year, the Montana was updated to have a less aerodynamic design, like an SUV, resulting in its new name,
Montana SV6. The 2005 Montana SV6 used a 3.5
L
High Value 3500 LX9 V6 that generated 200 hp and 220 ft·lbf (298.3 N·m). For 2006, a 3.9 L LZ9 V6, with 240 hp (179 kW) and 240 ft·lbf (332 Nm) torque, was added as an option, and the vehicle added GM badges to the front doors. For 2007, the 3.5 L V6 was dropped, leaving the 3.9 L as the base engine. Consequently, the optional AWD system was also dropped, since it could not handle the torque of the 3.9 L engine. A flex-fuel version of the 3.9 L V6 also became available for 2007, but was only available in Canada for the SV6.
Similar to the
Chevrolet UplanderThe Chevrolet Uplander is a minivan produced by the Chevrolet division of General Motors. It replaced the Venture and Astro. Although introduced for the 2005 model year, it overlapped with the final model years of the Venture and Astro. It was built on the same platform as the Saturn Relay, Buick...
,
Saturn RelayThe Saturn Relay was the first and only minivan from the Saturn brand of American automaker General Motors. It was introduced for the 2005 model year, and was built alongside its sisters, the Buick Terraza, the Chevrolet Uplander, and the Pontiac Montana SV6 in Doraville, Georgia...
, and
Buick TerrazaThe Buick Terraza is a minivan from General Motors' Buick brand that was sold from the 2005 through 2007 model years. It filled the position of GM's luxury minivan that was previously occupied by the Oldsmobile Silhouette until the division's demise in 2004...
, it was the third costliest of its cousins. In the United States, only the long-wheelbase version was sold.
In
MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, the Montana continued until the 2009 model year, with the 3.9 L V6 as the only engine option. General Motors de Mexico marketed it as the
Pontiac Montana SV6, and it was almost identical to the discontinued
North AmericaNorth America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n version, but not the Canadian-specification model.
Discontinuation
On November 21, 2005, GM announced that it would close the
Doraville, GeorgiaDoraville is a city in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States, northeast of Atlanta. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 8,330.-History:Doraville was incorporated by an act of the Georgia General Assembly, approved December 15, 1871...
assembly plant, which produced the SV6, in 2008. However, several months later, GM announced that the SV6 would be discontinued after 2006 in the US market due to poor sales. Production for both
CanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and
MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
continued due to better sales in those two countries. The last SV6 for the U.S. market rolled off the assembly line on July 7, 2006. Production ended for Canada and Mexico with the 2009 model year, with the demise of the
PontiacPontiac was an automobile brand that was established in 1926 as a companion make for General Motors' Oakland. Quickly overtaking its parent in popularity, it supplanted the Oakland brand entirely by 1933 and, for most of its life, became a companion make for Chevrolet. Pontiac was sold in the...
brand and the closing of the Doraville, Georgia plant on September 26, 2008. The last vehicle built was a Canadian-bound Montana SV6 Short-Wheel-Base in Liquid Silver Metallic.
External links