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- GTP_ARP93
It's too "Meh". Which means it's Seriously Uncool.
GTP Cool Wall: 1999-2005 Pontiac Grand Am
- Thread starter Wiegert
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The87Dodge
(Banned)
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- Seattle, WA
- rizkeat
Even though it did sell quite well and many are still on the roads today, it's still a terrible car. Why so? First, Pontiac, which was GM's "Excitement Division" decided that the cars would look better if they had obnoxious plastic cladding on them. Pontiac cars of the 90's and early 2000's were notorious for this, and this generation of the Grand Am had the most cladding on it out of any Pontiac. The result was, the car looked overdone, hideous, and quite silly. Not to mention the car's reliability was not that great, and it's engines (base, up level trims, and GT models) were slightly underpowered. I'd gladly take an Oldsmobile Alero, which is almost the same as the Grand Am, since it lacked the useless cladding.
And don't even get me started on the GT model. Pontiac marketed it as a sports car, but it was nothing sporty at all, and it was closer to factory rice. Compared to other compact, FWD cars from both American and foreign manufacturers, it's 175 horsepower V6 was not enough. It was also too heavy; 1410 kgs in a compact sports car is too much weight. Worst of all, it had even more cladding and ridiculous plastic details on it than the regular Grand Am, because foolish GM thought they were being sporty by adding it. The GT had fake "Ram-Air" scoops, exaggerated plastic cladding (especially on the sides), and even little designs on the rims that made them look ugly.
In my opinion, this could be one of the worst cars made in the 2000's, let alone one of the worst Pontiacs. The late 90's and early 2000's was Pontiac's worst era, due to declining sales, thanks to ugly, plastic-cladded, overdone looking models like the Bonneville, Grand Prix, and of course the Grand Am. And I'm not the only one to feel so poorly of the Grand Am and this era for Pontiac, because Business Week also criticized it, and the Pontiac brand itself. They said "Pontiac's recent history has been based on fabrication. It market's itself as an excitement division while offering a lineup of glammed up Chevrolets and Buicks, fooling no one with their faux sportiness (plastic cladding, and "gotta have it" models).
It's a resounding Seriously Uncool from me.
And don't even get me started on the GT model. Pontiac marketed it as a sports car, but it was nothing sporty at all, and it was closer to factory rice. Compared to other compact, FWD cars from both American and foreign manufacturers, it's 175 horsepower V6 was not enough. It was also too heavy; 1410 kgs in a compact sports car is too much weight. Worst of all, it had even more cladding and ridiculous plastic details on it than the regular Grand Am, because foolish GM thought they were being sporty by adding it. The GT had fake "Ram-Air" scoops, exaggerated plastic cladding (especially on the sides), and even little designs on the rims that made them look ugly.
In my opinion, this could be one of the worst cars made in the 2000's, let alone one of the worst Pontiacs. The late 90's and early 2000's was Pontiac's worst era, due to declining sales, thanks to ugly, plastic-cladded, overdone looking models like the Bonneville, Grand Prix, and of course the Grand Am. And I'm not the only one to feel so poorly of the Grand Am and this era for Pontiac, because Business Week also criticized it, and the Pontiac brand itself. They said "Pontiac's recent history has been based on fabrication. It market's itself as an excitement division while offering a lineup of glammed up Chevrolets and Buicks, fooling no one with their faux sportiness (plastic cladding, and "gotta have it" models).
It's a resounding Seriously Uncool from me.
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- 3,023
- Peruibe, SP
And it's funny it was you that suggested this car to be on the cool wall, and ironically, you voted SU for it. I was almost expecting a Low Cool from you, pff.
@The87Dodge No offense mate, but I seriously don't get you at all sometimes
but, carry on.
@The87Dodge No offense mate, but I seriously don't get you at all sometimes
but, carry on.
- 40,422
The coupe was within spitting distance in both metrics for the Cougar and Tiburon; particularly notable because the Tiburon was quite a bit smaller. The Eclipse was a decent bit more lively in power, but weight wise it was even more of a lardass than everything else in the segment. The main actual performance benefit all of its closest competitors had over it were that you could get all of them with a stick. They would all be wrecked by the RSX and the final Celica, but that's not really relevant since they weren't really in the same market.
As far as the sedan goes, it didn't really have much in the way of direct size competition since it occupied the same no-mans land of the earlier Corsica and Beretta. The Sonata was the closest, and perhaps the Passat, but they were neither lighter nor significantly more powerful than the Grand Am. The CamCord were otherwise the smallest midsized cars on the market.
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The87Dodge
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Obelisk
Premium
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All of those ars sports cars...
The87Dodge
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- RacingCowboy570
- RacingCowboy570
The Bonneville SSE and SSEI were overdone on the exterior, whilst the base model SE was the more plain and most down to earth. The Grand Prix looks just fine to me, but these are just my opinions.
- 27,385
- Toronto
- NewAesthetic
- SlipZtrEm
You compared a hum-drum car to the hotted-up versions of sport compacts?
Wait, even more bizarrely, you compared all of them against Lexus' near-30k sport sedan 3-series fighter?!
None of those are sports cars.
The87Dodge
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All trims of the Grand Am got the tacky cladding, but the GT got the most. I'm not sure why it was on the base model though. But the face lifted Grand Ams had less cladding on them.
I wouldn't consider the GT humdrum, but I would consider all the other trims to be that. It is a fair statement that none of the cars I compared were true sports cars, but they were performance versions of otherwise humdrum cars. For example, the Focus SVT had more power and sports amenities than the regular Focus, just like the MazdaSpeed 3, and Dodge SRT4.
Whoops, I meant IS250, not 300.
And @Tornado, since you probably know more about GM cars than I do, do you know why Pontiac put plastic cladding on all their models in the 90's and early 2000's, because I am not sure why. They didn't make the cars cheaper, look better, perform better, or cause higher sales.
- 17,720
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- GranTurismo0517
- RandomCarGuy17
Tornado was on point with his comment about these things, I remember seeing these all of the time throughout my childhood. I would see at least 10 in every parking lot and I still see a lot of these now. Though, I never cared for it; I still don't care for it.
Though, I was surprised to see that there were Grand Ams without the spoiler or that silly line paneling on it. That's not the case for every Grand Am though. With that said, this car gets an uncool vote from me. Plus, I never liked the fake ram air vents on the GT model.
Though, I was surprised to see that there were Grand Ams without the spoiler or that silly line paneling on it. That's not the case for every Grand Am though. With that said, this car gets an uncool vote from me. Plus, I never liked the fake ram air vents on the GT model.
- 40,422
How fast do you think most of the typical sporty small cars in the segment actually were for the first few years this Grand Am was on sale?
Because the SVT Focus with the best driver under the best conditions wouldn't be able to convincingly outrun the girl fresh off her Sweet 16 with her brand new Grand Am V6.
Which didn't exist until 2007.
Nissan pulled the wraps off of their SE-R Spec V just the year prior. Volkswagen had turned up the boost on the 1.8T the year prior. Subaru had finally brought the WRX to North America the year prior. Mazda finally gave the Protege enough power to utilize its chassis with the Mazdaspeed version that same year.
All of it, WRX excepting, was completely moot when Dodge strapped a turbo to what had already been one of the quicker and better handling cars in the segment and put humongous tires on it. The SRT-4 made the poseur sport cars like the Grand Am and Eclipse and Tiburon irrelevant, but it also made everything short of the RSX and WRX irrelevant at the same time.
Which didn't exist until 2005, and still wasn't anything like the Grand Am.
...
It was a styling theme.
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Sage Ages
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The IS250 didn't exist for that generation. I believe you mean the IS200, which was never available in the States.
- 5,065
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- That_sneaky_azN
They don't even compare to the Grand Am... And the MS3 didn't even exist around that time (released 2007)
- 1,004
- Madison, WI
- FerrariF1GT
- FerrariFan24
Oh no, I hope it doesn't become like the disaster that was the Aries thread. . .
The87Dodge
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Yes, because the Grand Am was slower than all of them. It would compare if it had a more powerful V6.
- 4,762
- Houston, TX
My grandma had one. SU.
- 34,816
- NoDak
- Cy-Fi
A Honda Fit having a larger engine does not put it in the same market as a Veyron. And just like Chevrolet (LS, LT, LTZ, etc.), Toyota (LE, XLE, Limited, etc.), etc., the GT designation was a trim level, it didn't magically put the Grand Am into a different market.
- 19,431
- HSV
Some things that will still puzzle me for years: How did the 1990s Pontiac design team hold onto their jobs? Which designs were deemed too bland for Pontiac? And which ones were too over-the-top for GM to approve on the brand?
One thing is for sure: GM was a half-decade ahead of the tasteless second-hand and fourth-rate ricer culture in terms of stylistic excrescences.
You still see them, and it looks like a shelved Tommorrowland Exhibit which escaped after a few years in the tortuous sun.
Maybe I'm the crazy one...uncool.
One thing is for sure: GM was a half-decade ahead of the tasteless second-hand and fourth-rate ricer culture in terms of stylistic excrescences.
You still see them, and it looks like a shelved Tommorrowland Exhibit which escaped after a few years in the tortuous sun.
Maybe I'm the crazy one...uncool.
Jahgee
(Banned)
- 16,282
- New York
- Jahgee1124
Love this car, drove down to the end of Long Island for my cousin's graduation in one when I was a solid 8. Played Midnight Club 3 Dub Edition Remix for the first time down there and also had shoestring potatoes and Nesquik milk for the first time on the way down. Lot of fond memories about that trip so sentimentally I had to vote Sub Zero
- 40,422
And no matter how powerful of a V6 Pontiac put in it, the Grand Am still wouldn't be a competitor to a car that didn't exist until after the Grand Am went out of production, or a car from a luxury brand targeted as a 3-Series competitor.
