Pontiac Bonneville Photoshoot - Photo dump

Kinja'd!!! by "Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To" (murdersofa)
Published 09/01/2017 at 20:52

No Tags
STARS: 3


One of the best styled cars to come out of Pontiac before they died, especially the later models like this that ditched the excessive body cladding. A taken-care-of example like this or the several sub-40k-mile examples I’ve driven are no joke genuinely nice places to be. Very much an American-highway interpretation of the BMW 3 series. Exceptionally comfy without feeling like it corners on its door handles, but the FWD push is prevalent if you really go for it. Pity that 99% of these you see around have 300k miles and no straight panels.

Kinja'd!!!

Kinja'd!!!

Kinja'd!!!

Kinja'd!!!

Kinja'd!!!

Kinja'd!!!

Kinja'd!!!

Kinja'd!!!

Kinja'd!!!

Kinja'd!!!

Kinja'd!!!

Kinja'd!!!

Kinja'd!!!

Kinja'd!!!

Kinja'd!!!

Kinja'd!!!

Kinja'd!!!

Kinja'd!!!

Kinja'd!!!

Kinja'd!!!

Kinja'd!!!

Kinja'd!!!

Kinja'd!!!

Kinja'd!!!

Kinja'd!!!

Kinja'd!!!

Kinja'd!!!

Kinja'd!!!

Kinja'd!!!


Replies (26)

Kinja'd!!! "E90M3" (e90m3)
09/01/2017 at 21:02, STARS: 0

That bumper looks a little worse for wear.

My dad had a 2002 Buick Regal and my had a 2001 Olds Silhouette, neither of those cars were very good, both had a bunch of random problems and were made with the cheapest plastic known to man. They left a sour taste in my mouth and probably accounts for my distain of anything GM.

Kinja'd!!! "If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent" (essextee)
09/01/2017 at 21:16, STARS: 8

Kinja'd!!!

Kinja'd!!! "If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent" (essextee)
09/01/2017 at 21:22, STARS: 0

That shifter clearly isn’t Jewish.

Kinja'd!!! "Ssfancyfresh" (scotttt)
09/01/2017 at 21:38, STARS: 4

I’m glad that there are some of those left, that they all weren’t just given away to teenage drivers on learners permits or thrown in the trash.

I was always fond of these, myself

(Olds LSS, if kinja’d)

Kinja'd!!!

Kinja'd!!! "Scary__goongala!" (corymagee)
09/01/2017 at 21:55, STARS: 0

I saw one of those 2 door Buick Auroras parked on campus the other day. It looked to be in really good shape. I couldn’t help but think it would be great to drive across country in. Not a bad looking car I must say.

Kinja'd!!! "Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To" (murdersofa)
09/01/2017 at 22:10, STARS: 0

Buick Aurora coupe? ERr... Buick Riviera? Oldsmobile Alero coupe?

Kinja'd!!! "Scary__goongala!" (corymagee)
09/01/2017 at 22:17, STARS: 0

Alero that’s what it was.

Kinja'd!!! "DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish!" (daft-ryosuke)
09/01/2017 at 22:23, STARS: 3

“American highway interpretation flip a BMW 3 Series” is the best definition of the Pontiac driving style.

I drove a Grand Prix with the Supercharged 3800 once. I was surprised to see how well it felt in the corners. They weren’t kidding with the wide track bullshit.

Kinja'd!!! "Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To" (murdersofa)
09/01/2017 at 22:23, STARS: 2

Alero coupes are good looking cars. The fender back looks like a really fat inbred Aston Martin DB7 in my eye. Pity they’re all champagne.

Kinja'd!!!

Kinja'd!!! "Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To" (murdersofa)
09/01/2017 at 22:27, STARS: 1

They drive like big hot hatches that make super neat supercharger noises. The 40th Anniversary Grand Prix GTP is one of the most surprising cars I’ve ever driven. I still keep my eyes out for a nice condition one for a fuel efficient fun daily.

Kinja'd!!! "dogisbadob" (dogisbadob)
09/01/2017 at 22:32, STARS: 0

99% have no straight panels, and that only sub-40k mile examples are good is exactly the problem! Poor build quality of GM giving 90%

A Toyota with 300k will still have straight panels! And it will still be a nice place to be. The Accord and Maxima are also good quality.

Kinja'd!!! "shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
09/01/2017 at 22:43, STARS: 0

My dad almost bought a new LSS in ‘97. He bought a used ‘95 Aurora instead. That was a huuuuuge mistake.

Kinja'd!!! "shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
09/01/2017 at 22:47, STARS: 1

I always liked the look of these. Even when they were new, I hardly ever saw one. Copious Grand Ams and Grand Prixeseses, but hardly any of these Bonnevilles.

Kinja'd!!! "Scary__goongala!" (corymagee)
09/01/2017 at 23:14, STARS: 0

Wait no it wasn’t an Alero. It was bigger

Kinja'd!!! "C62030" (c62030)
09/01/2017 at 23:28, STARS: 1

Pontiac had their seat shit together long after most of GM. The only comfier car than my ‘91 I’ve driven was an Olds 98 with velour couches.

Kinja'd!!! "DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish!" (daft-ryosuke)
09/01/2017 at 23:33, STARS: 2

Kinja'd!!!

I’ve often thought of getting a Regal GS of the era. They look slick in the right color.

They might not handle as well as the Pontiacs, but the idea of wiping the smile off a V6 Mustang owner in a Buick is very satisfying.

Kinja'd!!! "Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To" (murdersofa)
09/02/2017 at 00:07, STARS: 1

Bigger with two doors? That’s either a Riviera or a El Dorado.

Kinja'd!!!

Probably a riv though. I had one, a 97 with a naturally aspirated 3800. Bought it for $600 and it made a 2000 mile trip to Ohio and back and got 30mpg the whole way while carrying four people, their shit, and a subwoofer and banging out tunes with the A/C blasting the whole way down the highway. It was exactly what the Riv was made for, and it did it superbly.
The Riv also managed to have tall doors and short window glass that looks 10 years ahead of its time but had superb visibility.

Kinja'd!!! "Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To" (murdersofa)
09/02/2017 at 00:08, STARS: 0

Love me a clean bonneville or a clean grand prix. The Grand Am is a horridly styled afterthought, though. The Grand Prix is an incredibly long low car and fairly light for what they are. Love me a 99-05 GTP.

Kinja'd!!! "Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To" (murdersofa)
09/02/2017 at 00:10, STARS: 1

I don’t see how the owners predeliction for abusing their cars has anything to do with the car itself. Example: the Camry Dent.

Kinja'd!!! "Scary__goongala!" (corymagee)
09/02/2017 at 00:30, STARS: 0

YES, it was the Riv. Would absolutely rock one of those

Kinja'd!!! "Nick Has an Exocet" (nickallain)
09/02/2017 at 00:38, STARS: 0

I owned a 3800 grand prix but man, I wouldn’t say the Bonnie was anything like a 3 series. It’s 300lbs heavier than the Prix, which wasn’t a svelte car either. I did love the way it drove, but there was no hiding the nose heavy FWD-ness of it. I would draw more of an Acura comparison. I always liked the 7th gen GP a bit more but preferred the mirrors on the 6th gen.

Kinja'd!!!

Kinja'd!!!

Kinja'd!!! "Svart Smart, traded in his Smart" (svartsmart)
09/02/2017 at 03:24, STARS: 2

I’m sorry but these cars are wretchedly ugly, inside and out.

But.

You take good photographs and I like that you give a shit about something.

Kinja'd!!! "shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
09/02/2017 at 09:17, STARS: 0

The Grand Prix was a really nice package. It handled well, got good highway MPGs, and was really comfortable. A buddy of mine’s wife put 200k miles on a supercharged ‘97. She didn’t want to get rid of it, but the rocker panels had completely rusted away.

I thought the final Grand Am looked decent.

Kinja'd!!! "Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To" (murdersofa)
09/02/2017 at 10:03, STARS: 0

I was never a fan of that gen Grand Prix. They ditched the coupe and made it more bloated and difficult to see out of. This, on the other hand...

Kinja'd!!!

Kinja'd!!! "gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee" (gogmorgo)
09/02/2017 at 10:18, STARS: 0

300,000 miles and no straight panels means something. It’s amazing how much abuse a g-body will take.

Kinja'd!!! "Tohru" (tohrurokuno)
09/28/2017 at 23:22, STARS: 0

Wrong generation Bonnie for my tastes.

Kinja'd!!!

Kinja'd!!!

Kinja'd!!!

Though you’re right about them always being dented in one way or another.