I'm home...!

[[ChaosweaveR]]

Mine had 176K on it, seeing ones over 200K on the original engine or trans, was extremely rare.

The LA1 engine and 4T45E transmissions were just outdated compared to what the Grand Am's competition was, and even with meticulous maintenance kept up, most proved to be troublesome anyway.

I speak that out of experience of my own, and the many I fixed on the job. These days, I hardly see them anymore. The last time I did a junkyard run, I saw hundreds of them in yards...whether you love Pontiac or not...seeing things like that are kinda hard not to figure that they weren't exactly popular or loved...

[Sonicfan287]

Hmm, that's surprising honestly. 

 

Maybe I'm just biased as a former GA owner but I did love mine and honestly do see a lot of them on the road in CT, and I mean a lot. I'd say it's the Pontiac I see the third most behind the G6 and Grand Prix. Whether or not everyone who owns those Grand Ams is happy with them is another matter... I guess i'm not too surprised that their engines didn't make it past 200k too often.

 

That said, of course I don't adore every Pontiac vehicle. Like most, I don't get the point of the Pontiac Aztek (lol why was this made??) and not a big fan of the Pontiac Vibe, Torrent or any SUV style Poncho. I know this won't be a popular opinion, but not a huge Bonneville fan either with the exception of some of the later models (I'd still take the Bonneville over the other ones I mentioned though) 

 

I also have to question why there's a Pontiac G3 and G5? They're not bad looking cars but it just seems redundant considering the G6 and G8 are the more well known models 

[[ChaosweaveR]]

I had my Grand Am for over seven years. I knew it inside and out not out of curiosity, but necessity because of the issues I was always trying to fix.

As for the other models, near the end of Pontiac, it was GM being GM. They didn't want to fully invest in the brand, so they kept badge engineering new models. The G5 was so painfully obvious that it was a Cobalt. The G3 was a joke, just like the Aveo.

As for the G-names, I thought it was stupid. Even if the G8 was sold as the Pontiac Commodore, it might have sold better. But it was a redundant problem.

[Ringo64]

Hmm, that's surprising honestly. 

 

Maybe I'm just biased as a former GA owner but I did love mine and honestly do see a lot of them on the road in CT, and I mean a lot. I'd say it's the Pontiac I see the third most behind the G6 and Grand Prix. Whether or not everyone who owns those Grand Ams is happy with them is another matter... I guess i'm not too surprised that their engines didn't make it past 200k too often.

 

That said, of course I don't adore every Pontiac vehicle. Like most, I don't get the point of the Pontiac Aztek (lol why was this made??) and not a big fan of the Pontiac Vibe, Torrent or any SUV style Poncho. I know this won't be a popular opinion, but not a huge Bonneville fan either with the exception of some of the later models (I'd still take the Bonneville over the other ones I mentioned though) 

 

I also have to question why there's a Pontiac G3 and G5? They're not bad looking cars but it just seems redundant considering the G6 and G8 are the more well known models 

 

I actually really like the Torrent and I only really like 2 SUVs, the Torrent and the GMC Terrain. 

 

The "G line", despite their silly name was a smart idea, just not for your "Excitement division" lol. The G3 being a small, econo car was the smallest number and car. The G5 was a Cobalt, a little sportier and bigger car hence 5. The G6 was a mid-size sedan/coupe with a large engine, hence 6. G8 was a powerful V8 monster, hence the largest number. It satisfied my OCD'ness at least

[Sonicfan287]

Maybe it's just the song (like a G6) but I actually found the names G6 and G8 to be highly marketable. I mean, Acura has cars that are just "letters" (TLX and whatnot) so I had no problem with the G-series. The G5 is clearly a Cobalt lol. i have a friend who drives a blue Chevy Cobalt and I happened to see a blue G5 the other day and would've sworn it was the same car with a red arrow pasted on the back.

 

That is sadly, a GM type move (re badging), although I feel the G8 was well done. Yes, its a Holden Commodore (and of course they wouldn't draw attention to that by keeping the surname) but for some reason, call me crazy, I like it a ton more than the Commodore. Of course, I've never driven either one but from a pure aesthetic point of view, yes, yes and more yes.

 

Also, Ringo, I may be mistaken but didn't some G8 models have a V6 engine as an alternative?

[Ringo64]

Also, Ringo, I may be mistaken but didn't some G8 models have a V6 engine as an alternative?

 

That they did. The G6 also had a 4 banger option. 

[[ChaosweaveR]]

I think the G8 didn't do so well because they made the V6 model look like the GT, and didn't really distinguish the base and GT well.

[Sonicfan287]

I think the G8 didn't do so well because they made the V6 model look like the GT, and didn't really distinguish the base and GT well.

 

That's part of the tragedy of it is that GM probably knew (or had a good inkling) that the Pontiac brand was doomed by the time they were pushing the G8, which could explain them putting out various trims of the G8 but not bothering to distinguish them or make them accessible to different styles of drivers. Also, I can't speak for myself but I could understand there being a lack of enthusiasm from the car buying public knowing that the car they're buying (i.e. a 2009 G8) won't be supported by GM anymore within the calendar year.

 

That doesn't stop me from still wanting one, of course 

[Ringo64]

That's part of the tragedy of it is that GM probably knew (or had a good inkling) that the Pontiac brand was doomed by the time they were pushing the G8, which could explain them putting out various trims of the G8 but not bothering to distinguish them or make them accessible to different styles of drivers. Also, I can't speak for myself but I could understand there being a lack of enthusiasm from the car buying public knowing that the car they're buying (i.e. a 2009 G8) won't be supported by GM anymore within the calendar year.

That doesn't stop me from still wanting one, of course

All Pontiacs were and if by some miracle still have warranty would still be supported by GM. Just because Pontiac went away doesn't mean GM stopped supporting the cars they sold

[[ChaosweaveR]]

By federal law, there needs to be at least eight years of support for parts and service to keep the last cars with warranties and such on the road.

[Sonicfan287]

Okay, well, I guess I didn't mean that GM would cut the cord cold turkey but by the same token, I can't imagine there's much motivation to buy a car that was destined to be discontinued (unless you're a Pontiac enthusiast of course). I suppose that's my only concern though is that when I do buy my G8 (which probably won't be for another couple of years, what with finances and everything) is that parts will be harder to come by since it will be well outside the 8 years 

[Frosty]

I would submit that the aftermarket has embraced the G8 with its LS3 powerplant (along with the modern Chevy SS successor), so I would expect suspension and powertrain parts will be readily available for quite sometime. That said, certain mundane parts will become difficult to get over time.

 

Chaos is right, the feds do require parts must be available for several years after it goes out of production.

[[ChaosweaveR]]

Yup. That's what my dealership does with Suzuki.

But geez, what a mixed bag of crap Suzuki had through the 2000's...

The GM/Daewoo sourced models they were given were just...bleh. The Suzuki Forenza/Reno was based off of the Daewoo Lacetti, which was also sold as the Chevy Lacetti in other parts of the world. Fun fact, the Lacetti still lives on, we just buy them as a Chevy Cruze.

The Forenza/Reno/Lacetti were plagued with coolant/head gasket issues (notice a pattern? ) but their resale value has dropped like a rock. None of them are even worth more than $3K on the used market anymore.

Suzuki also got the Daewoo sourced Magnus, sold here as the Verona. GM had their variant called the Chevy Epica, which were sold for a brief time in Canada.

The 07-09 Suzuki XL-7 was all GM stuffs, it's a bastard child of the 1st gen Equinox and Traverse. And just like its sister cars, it was plagued with timing chain issues with its 3.6L DOHC LY7 variant. People either love them, or despise them.

Suzuki's only actual models were the SX4, which was a popular and affordable compact, the Grand Vitara (Escudo in Japan) and later the Kizashi. But sales weren't good enough, and people weren't buying up SX4s and Grand Vitaras anymore and the Kizashi just started to pick up steam when Suzuki pulled the plug on its North American branch.

[Sonicfan287]

Oh yeah... .whatever happened to Suzuki? When I learned of their discontinuation, I felt like my friends who weren't aware of Pontiac's fate until I told them. I knew Suzuki wasn't doing well but I figured they'd always be around (in North America) for whatever reason. I don't know much about Suzuki but I do remember seeing a lot of their cars in the 1990s and then... not so much 

[[ChaosweaveR]]

November 2013 they left the NA market, the only thing from Suzuki sold here now are their motorcycles, quads, scooters and outboard marine engines.

Which my dealership shifted to, as Suzuki gave them the opportunity to stay with the company as a bike dealership.

Motorcycles and quads are a WHOLE different ballgame compared to cars...

OH! Check out the Off Topic forum when you get the chance, I know you're as much of a Sonic fan as I am, I've posted my play through vids there, you might enjoy those. =]

[Sonicfan287]

Thank you Chaos, I do believe I will

[Sonicfan287]

So, I now have a new laptop and am able to post some pictures of my 05 Grand Am. I apologize the pictures aren't the best quality since they're still shots from videos I had made. I really wish I had taken more photos of her... (on a side note, I will be taking pictures of my 2012 Elantra soon since I have a pretty good camera). For whatever reason, the 'Garage' wasn't letting me add pictures, I even converted them to png and jpg so they would work but I always get the same error message (image move has failed). I also inadvertently made 3 Pontiac Grand Am's in the garage (I only owned 1, although 3 would be nice) and I can't seem to find a way to delet the other 2? 

 

Eh, whatever, the more the merrier, I suppose.

 

 

[Ringo64]

So, I now have a new laptop and am able to post some pictures of my 05 Grand Am. I apologize the pictures aren't the best quality since they're still shots from videos I had made. I really wish I had taken more photos of her... (on a side note, I will be taking pictures of my 2012 Elantra soon since I have a pretty good camera). For whatever reason, the 'Garage' wasn't letting me add pictures, I even converted them to png and jpg so they would work but I always get the same error message (image move has failed). I also inadvertently made 3 Pontiac Grand Am's in the garage (I only owned 1, although 3 would be nice) and I can't seem to find a way to delet the other 2? 

 

Eh, whatever, the more the merrier, I suppose.

Odds are the picture is too large, the Garage has different parameters than everything else. Can PM the links to the ones you want to delete and I can do it, as only Admins can delete garages

[Sonicfan287]

Odds are the picture is too large, the Garage has different parameters than everything else. Can PM the links to the ones you want to delete and I can do it, as only Admins can delete garages

 

Is 1280x720 too large? It seems like other images take up a bigger window when I open them and are much higher resolution but I suppose that could be the case. 

[Ringo64]

Is 1280x720 too large? It seems like other images take up a bigger window when I open them and are much higher resolution but I suppose that could be the case. 

 

I just upgrade both file-size so give it another go  

[Sonicfan287]

Thanks

 

I just did and still no go. "Image move has failed". I wasn't trying to move the image -- only get it online. I can't move it if it was never on the site (well, other than this forum post) 

[Sonicfan287]

On a side note (since I realize this was such a chief concern of the Pontiac population at large lol), I tried for the heck of it to re-upload my Pontiac Grand Am images and they worked! Thanks Ringo, for your help! While I was at it, I also took some new pictures (and uploaded) of my 2012 Hyundai, my current ride. Its both funny and sad when friends can't find my car because they think I still drive the Pontiac. 

[Ringo64]

Glad it worked now

[Ben2009GT]

Welcome

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Sonicfan287]

Thank you much. I'm happy to say I've been enjoying my time immensely here so far