I Love Pontiac, and I Hope To Own Several

"Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch" (bman76) 09/03/2016 at 03:33 • Filed to: None

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But Pontiac also made many bad or silly cars. Like this Bonneville, which is one of GM’s laziest badge engineering jobs.

The first time I saw one I thought it was homemade. That’s clearly a Buick LeSabre/Olds 88.

Lots of people love to make fun of the Aztek for being ugly, but do you remember it’s successor?

Neither does anyone else.

I dare you to name this Equinox sibling without resorting to google.

Then there was the 5th gen Grand Am. I’m not sure why, but these cars fill me with contempt.

Then somebody thought it’d be a good idea to slap a “Ram Air” hood on it without adding any other sporty credentials.

Then there was its replacement, the uglier Opel Vectra G6.

In base form, it was offensively boring.

In convertible form, it looked like an afterthought hack job.

and in GXP form... it looked like the deformed love child of Cyrano de Bergerac and the ugly stick.

Then there was the Montana, why did they even bother to not try.

Especially as a follow up to the radical, and somewhat awesome, “dust buster” Trans Sport.

So damn majestic

And finally, the Sunfire convertible.

I just feel rage.

FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem > Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch 09/03/2016 at 03:49

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I actually like the Bonneville

Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch > FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem 09/03/2016 at 03:50

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To me it’s clearly a Buick with a Pontiac badge and plastic cladding.

FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem > Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch 09/03/2016 at 03:55

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I think they did a good job in distinguishing the Bonneville from the Lesabre, which I also like lol.

Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch > FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem 09/03/2016 at 04:02

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Its only redeeming factor is the L67 supercharged 3800.

PlasteredClover > Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch 09/03/2016 at 04:25

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Pontiac torrent. I feel gross just saying it

Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch > PlasteredClover 09/03/2016 at 04:28

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You should, lol

MultiplaOrgasms > Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch 09/03/2016 at 05:46

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That’s kind of an upgrade from a regular Pontiac. Oh wait they gave it a Pontiac interior didn’t they.

wafflesnfalafel > FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem 09/03/2016 at 06:55

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agree - yes, its clearly badge engineered, but it’s my favorite of the group. The bit more over the top styling seems to fit the shape better. The olds especially I thought was not very good looking but the Bonnie is nice.

fhrblig > MultiplaOrgasms 09/03/2016 at 07:13

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Pontiac interiors were disturbing, but at least the Bonneville SSEi did a good job of making you not care about the crappy interior.

fhrblig > Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch 09/03/2016 at 07:21

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Oh, son, these aren’t even the really bad Pontiacs. Well, except for the Montana, that is.

BJ > Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch 09/03/2016 at 07:48

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This is exactly what’s great about the Bonneville. The SSEi is one of the cars I grew up dreaming about. I know it’s probably not worth owning nowadays, but it was great in its time.

MultiplaOrgasms > fhrblig 09/03/2016 at 07:54

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So like a worse Oldsmobile 88 LSS then?

404 - User No Longer Available > Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch 09/03/2016 at 07:55

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You make fun of the G6 as ugly... don’t forget it was that or this atrocity:

And I think the “Ram Air” V6 in the Grand Am did provide an extra 5 hp over the standard SE V6.

Also, come to Canada for even more rebadged Pontiac love:

fhrblig > MultiplaOrgasms 09/03/2016 at 08:10

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Exactly, which is still tolerable.

for Michigan > Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch 09/03/2016 at 09:02

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Torrent. It’s a Pontiac Torrent.

Pretty sure they built it just to prove the Equinox wasn’t as ugly as it could have been.

While that Bonneville is obviously related to the LeSabre, I think it’s better looking and doesn’t look overly badge engineered.

Also, the Grand Am GT is actually decent looking as long as it doesn’t have the Ram Air hood. Way better than the Alero in any case.

area man > Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch 09/03/2016 at 09:07

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Until about a month ago my buddy’s wife had a Torrent - it was without a doubt the biggest piece of shit I have ever experienced.

Shour, Aloof and Obnoxious > Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch 09/03/2016 at 10:43

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Of course, it’s not as if Pontiac was the only nameplate to suffer like this. In the ‘70s-’00s, you could essentially line up 90% of the offerings from Chevy, Olds, Pontiac, and Buick...and they were all clearly the same damn cars, with only different grills, taillights, and badges. (In the case of ‘90s Pontiac, body cladding as well, because we build excitement!) And it was everything down to interiors and mechanicals. Brand-unique cars like the Fiero and (arguably) the Grand National (which was STILL a rebadge if you ignored that it used the turbo V6 instead of a V8 like the Monte Carlo) were exceptions to the rule, not the norm. I’m not even talking about platform sharing, I’m talking about every body panel and control stalk. (In fact, the Fiero might honestly be the only car GM made during that period that didn’t have a twin from at least one of the other brands.)

So if you have the a W-body being pumped out for Chevy, Olds, Buick, and Pontiac, but you want consumers to believe that they are actually different cars...you’re clearly going to maximize cost to profit ratio by having the Chevys and Olds sharing one set of front fenders, and the Buick and Pontiac sharing another set. It’s Taco Bell with cars: the same six ingredients dressed up differently but amounting to the same thing.

Except somehow Taco Bell really does change it up enough to really feel like you are eating two different things. I don’t think anyone ever got behind the wheels of an Iron Duke Camaro and its Firebird twin and ever really believed they drove two different cars.

BIGBLOCK472 - wide and bizarre > Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch 09/03/2016 at 10:47

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I’m no Pontiac fan or GM sympathizer, but I don't think you are giving the Bonneville a fair assessment. There's obviously parts sharing going on, but every company did it. GM just didn't hide it as well.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > PlasteredClover 09/03/2016 at 12:22

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I’m just glad I got the name right without using Google.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch 09/03/2016 at 12:26

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The Fifth gen Grand Am is one of my most hated cars. Not only is it hideous, it’s also sooo freaking common in the mid west. Even the GT model. I remember one day I sat at an intercession and counted grand arms passing by and in an hour like I saw like ten of them. This was in my small town of about 8500 poeple.

Also most of the people who drove the GTs were ass hats who thought they had a really cool car.

S65 > Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch 09/03/2016 at 19:14

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I found this Millennium yellow Z06 I thought you’d like.

https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/cto/576251…

Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch > S65 09/03/2016 at 21:11

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Wow, great find! I’d say it was expensive, but 8500 miles is ridiculous. It even has the painted wheels instead of the chrome ones. If only I had the money and lived in DC.