Pontiac long since has lost its macho identity. It started with the 1976 LeMans, nicknamed "Lemon" for good reason -- it was unreliable, rusted easily, and constantly nickel and dimed you to death being in the shop so much. The only model to receive any frequent positive reviews from 1976 through the nineties was the Firebird as all the other models went down the toilet. Too many customers lost faith in the brand to save it.
Buick, however has been, and still is a reliable, quality car brand. The styling is almost never flashy, but many racers won with Buick engines in their cars over the years. Buicks are reliable, well built vehicles whose ride can only be surpassed by the best of the luxury brands. My favorite car was a 1999 Buick Century -- reliable, smooth riding and averaged over 27 mpg for a full-sized car. Unfortunately, my Buick was totaled in a parking accident and I replaced it with a 2000 Mercury Sable station wagon. My Buick was parked curbside in front of my house when a pick-up truck sped around the corner and rear-ended the car. The trunk was pushed in a good three and a half feet and the car was moved at least 85 feet. So sad.
I still miss my Buick.:sad: