(first posted 12/23/2016) Dare I nominate a Pontiac Grand Prix, a GM W-Body car, one of GM’s Greatest Hits? Have I lost my mind? Wait, hear me out…
Let’s think about some of the more common criticisms of GM vehicles from the 1970s, 80s and 90s:
- Badge engineering was rampant and everything looked the same, with no real brand identity
- Many of their cars appealed only to dyed-in-the-wool GM fans, bargain shoppers, fleets and the elderly
- Many of their cars were bland
- Some were unreliable
- Product lifecycles were too long
Whew, that was about as exhaustive a list as I could muster. Did I miss anything? No? Well, let me tell you why the Grand Prix was successful. Hint: it avoided most of these sins and offered a compelling product in an incredibly competitive segment.
In a way, the mid-sized segment of the late 1990s could be likened to a very diverse dinner party. The Camry and Accord were the refined, Japanese-American houseguests, polite to a fault and delightful company to have. The Oldsmobile Intrigue had some witty anecdotes to share and a charming personality, but it seemed as though he was putting on airs and perhaps wasn’t as sophisticated and urbane as he purported to be. The Volkswagen Passat was a stylish, worldly guest and utterly engaging, although you might realize after a few dinners that perhaps he wasn’t reliable enough to entrust with bringing the wine. The Hyundai Sonata was eager to please if a little immature and the Nissan Altima and Mazda 626 were lovely girls somewhat lacking in personality.
Then there was the Grand Prix, ignoring the dress code and exuding brash American swagger. Sure, this guest was a little rough around the edges and maybe some of his stories were a bit bawdy for polite company but he was charming and engaging. There would be no glass of Chianti next to his plate—this all-American guest was far more likely to be knocking back a couple of bourbons. Call him Randy.
No, the Grand Prix wasn’t perfect. Build quality couldn’t match the Accord and Camry although it did follow the adage, “A GM vehicle runs poorly for longer than other cars run at all.” So while the reliable powertrains and transmissions kept on ticking, a Grand Prix driver might expect to eventually find pieces of trim fall off or accessories fail. The Accord and Camry may not have had exciting interiors but they were less prone to squeaks and rattles and generally used nicer materials.
A 1997-2000 SE
One other problem with the Grand Prix was endemic of GM as a whole. They had not yet matched the Japanese and their 5-year model cycles, this generation of Grand Prix remaining on the market for 7 model years. Still, this was shorter than the first-generation W-Body Grand Prix, and future GM intermediates’ lifecycles would be shorter still. A minor nip-and-tuck might have helped retain freshness; the contemporary Accord and Camry received mid-cycle enhancements, even if they were mostly cosmetic in nature. The one exterior modification was made in 2001, when the SE swapped its unique fascia for that of the GT and GTP models.
The failings of the W-Body cars have been well-publicized, perhaps more so than any other GM car of the era, due to the sheer importance of the mid-sized segment. The first W-Body Grand Prix had a bungled launch – the sedan delayed by two years – and was initially underpowered, then later offered with thrashy and/or unreliable engines. Build quality was mediocre while airbags arrived much later than in rivals. But GM had taken some promising steps, making a greater effort to differentiate the four different W-Body lines and rid the corporation of generic, me-too styling. The 1991 Grand Prix GTP, in particular, was distinctively and aggressively styled and packed a punch.
The second-generation W-Body Grand Prix furthered this progress. Its front-wheel-drive layout followed the Accord/Camry mold but the Grand Prix didn’t simply mimic those class leaders. While Chevrolet had its blue-light special Lumina to sell, Buick tried not to offend older buyers with its Century and Regal, and Oldsmobile’s Intrigue tried to go toe-to-toe with the imports, the Grand Prix offered a uniquely American and satisfying interpretation of the mid-sized sedan.
First, there was the styling. First previewed in near-production spec by the 1995 300 GPX concept, the new Grand Prix was the prettiest Pontiac in years, toning down the plastic cladding theme so often employed by Pontiacs. Design staff were happy to have the freedom of unique sheetmetal, the Grand Prix not sharing any exterior panels with its W-Body siblings. Marketing harkened back to the swinging sixties, Pontiac’s salad days, by dubbing the new car the “Wide-Track” Grand Prix. It wasn’t just marketing fluff: track width was increased by 2 inches fore, 3 inches aft and the wheelbase lengthened by 3 inches compared to other W-Bodies, affording the Grand Prix a more aggressive stance. The sleek styling didn’t come at the expense of cabin room, although the surprisingly good rear headroom was achieved by keeping the rear bench close to the floor which created an uncomfortable seating position for some.
Then there were the engines. Some may have scoffed at GM for offering a pushrod, two-valve-per cylinder V6 – complete with cast-iron block and heads – that dated back to 1962 but the company had continued to enhance and refine its 3.8 V6 enough to earn it a recurring spot on the Ward’s 10 Best Engines list. In Series II form, the 3800 produced 200 hp at 5200 rpm and 225 hp at 4000 rpm. This was good for a 0-60 time of 8.2 seconds, slightly faster than the less torquey Camry V6 and considerably faster than other V6 rivals. The 3800 had plenty of low-end grunt and was mated to a smooth-shifting four-speed automatic; no manual was available. Fuel economy was also superior to the Camry V6 automatic: 17/27 mpg (21 combined), while the Camry posted 17/25 mpg (20 combined).
Rather than offer a four-cylinder base engine like Japanese and Korean rivals, the entry-level Grand Prix SE stuck with the carryover 3.1 V6, rated at 160 hp at 5200 rpm and 195 ft-lbs at 4000 rpm. In 2000, this was retuned for an extra 15 hp. While GM often had a frustrating reluctance in offering a competitive, base four-cylinder engine – or even any four-cylinder engine at all – there was one available in the smaller Grand Am, a “compact” that was extremely close to the Camry in size and which undercut it in price.
Pricing was another strong suit for the Grand Prix. Despite dimensions closer to the Avalon, the base Grand Prix undercut the cheapest V6 Camry by $2k. Even the cheapest Grand Prix, the SE, came standard with anti-lock brakes and traction control. At the top end, the flagship GTP cost the same as the flagship Camry XLE.
That GTP model was the real ace up the Grand Prix’s sleeve. In today’s market, the GTP’s performance figures would still be competitive if not class-leading. During the Grand Prix’s run they were exemplary. The GTP’s 3.8 V6 featured an Eaton M90 surcharger that boosted power to 240 hp at 5200 rpm and 280 ft-lbs at 3200 rpm. This meant the GTP produced almost identical power to the Ford Taurus SHO and trounced it in torque (by 50 ft-lbs) and in the 0-60 (by 1 second), all while costing $5k less; a regular 3.8 Grand Prix posted almost identical times to the SHO. As for lesser Taurus V6s and the Japanese, the GTP left them in the dust with a 0-60 time of under 7 seconds. Standard was a head-up display, a rarity in the market, and the transmission was a beefed up 4T65-E with a dash-mounted performance switch that delayed upshifts and provided more aggressive downshifts. The Grand Prix GTP’s strong performance at a lower price point than the Taurus SHO paved the way for ever-faster rivals: the 2002 Nissan Altima packed an optional 240 hp 3.5 V6 that helped further a V6 horsepower race in the segment.
The Grand Prix wasn’t just about straight-line power, with critics praising its overall dynamic ability. Consumer Guide said the Grand Prix “feels agile and sure-footed on winding roads” while the SE and GT’s ride “absorbs most bumps well and provides capable handling with little body lean”. The GTP’s firmer set-up was said to sharpen handling at the expense of some ride quality although they said “the ride still does not rate as harsh”. These superior dynamics were the result of a stiffening of the W-Body structure and the substitution of the old car’s rear composite leaf spring with coil springs. Pontiac also benchmarked BMW for the steering, which was much improved over earlier GM set-ups; optional was a variable-assist Magnasteer set-up that Motor Trend praised for excellent feecback.
While the Grand Prix may not have been to everybody’s tastes, it was consistently popular and avoided a recurring GM trend of sales declining precipitously during a model’s run. In its extended debut year, the Grand Prix posted 159k sales. Sales dipped slightly for its sophomore season but later increased, with 172,772 units sold in 2000.
The good news for GM was the majority of these were the higher-end GT and GTP models. In 2000, for example, Pontiac shifted 59k GT sedans and just over 23k GT coupes to 62k examples of the sedan-only SE. In comparison, in the Grand Am lineup the base SE outsold the GT three-to-one.
Was the Grand Prix close to the Camry and Accord in sales? No, but for a more narrowly-focussed model with a lot of internal competition, not just from the other W-Bodies but also from the Grand Am and Bonneville, the Grand Prix sold well. The demographics of Grand Prix buyers were also encouraging: Road Report reported the average buyer age was 45 with an annual income of $55,000, almost identical to that of the average Accord coupe buyer and younger and more affluent than key rivals’ average buyers.
Unfortunately, the Grand Prix’s successor was little more than a visual redesign, acting as a stopgap model for the much more exciting G8 sedan. The 2004 Grand Prix simply didn’t advance the car’s mission. Interior quality and performance were scarcely improved – but for a V8 flagship model that exposed the limitations of the chassis – and the exterior styling traded sensuous curves for aggressive and rather unsightly bulges. Those seeking a uniquely American interpretation of the family sedan were better served by the exciting new Dodge Charger.
The 1997 Grand Prix showed GM could successfully differentiate various cars on a platform. It also showed GM knew how to use a common platform and still create a Pontiac that looked and felt like a Pontiac should. Furthermore, for the Grand Prix, GM threw away the Camry/Accord/Taurus rulebook and made something that was not only class-competitive (and in some respects, class-leading) but also authentically and distinctively American. For that, I believe the Grand Prix earns Greatest Hits status.
GT photographed in Washington Heights, Manhattan, NY.
SE photographed in Cow Hollow, San Francisco, CA.
First generation W-Body sedan photographed in Hollywood, CA.
Related Reading:
Curbside Classic: 1997 Chevrolet Lumina – GM’s Deadly Sin #28 – The Re-Gifter
Curbside Classic: 1988-96 GM-10 Buick Regal – Right Car, Wrong Time
I quite like the Grand Prix, certainly that black GTP.
Interesting to see that the Pontiac and also the Toyota Camry are in the same league as cars like the VW Passat and Honda Accord (see photo-overview with the 6 car models in the article).
We had that generation of the Camry too and it was seen as an “executive car”, Toyota’s top model. With competitors like the Opel Omega, Ford Scorpio and Peugeot 605.
In the nineties Toyota’s direct competitor for the Passat and Accord was the Carina E, see below. The Camry was the next level. Substantially bigger, higher priced, and available with a V6 engine (something the Carina E never had).
One of GM’s better latter-day styling efforts, I think. There are some elements of the exterior detailing that don’t look quite right to my eye — that spoiler doesn’t do it any favors, for example, and I wish they’d done something different with the taillights — but the stance and proportions are pretty good, especially compared to contemporary competitors. The 3800 and 4T65-E Hydra-Matic were pretty well-developed by this point and could return some surprisingly good gas mileage given that this was a big car with a 3.8-ilter engine.
I’m less happy with the interior, which aside from so-so materials had a real overdose of gadgetry. I understand that they were trying to differentiate the GP from the other W-cars, but it’s like The Sharper Image catalog threw up.
It’s the one and only GM car I ever purchased for myself (I’m not counting various ex’s cars over the years). I saw the GPX (I thought it was GTX, but I suppose Mopar already had that name copyrighted) concept car at the auto show in 1995 and said to my Dad, “If Ford ever stops making Thunderbirds, I’d make the switch to GM for one of these”. My last T-Bird was a 1997, and in 2000 (for my 40th birthday), I bought myself the 1997 (used with only 25K on the clock) GTP Coupe. My then almost wife worked as a tech at a Pontiac dealer, and when I went to pick her up for lunch one day, there it was, parked up against a building, not even yet having been put into the dealer’s inventory. The GTP was love at first sight. Within three days, it was mine. In 2008, I traded it in on my Mustang, but it gave me great service for nearly 8 years. The Grand Prix had 165K on the clock the day I parted with it. In my shed, I still have the twin exhaust tubes that I wanted to install to make it look like the 1995 GPX concept car. I just never got around to it….
Here’s the aft view…. and yes, I know I’ve shared these pictures here before, but this is the first time the article was about my very car! – Great write up, William.
I’m sold, Will. An excellent read, and I share your affinity for what I consider to be one of the (if not the) best modern Pontiacs. When these came out, I thought the styling was a knockout – and it has held up well, in my opinion. I was disappointed with the looks of the ’04 redesign, but I did rent one of those while on vacation, and it was actually a very nice car. My parents liked it, too.
While I missed the days of a distinctively styled GP coupe, I thought the sedans looked great. I wonder sometimes what it would have been like for Pontiac to make these the base “Tempest” and give us a proper GP coupe based on the platform, though I realize the market for a midsize personal coupe had shrunken dramatically since the days of the GP coupe’s popularity.
Take another look: the ’04-’06 GTO was the unique coupe variant vs the sedan-only GP after the redesign. Offering a boldly styled sedan on a fwd platform that out powered the competition while doing the coupe as a no-compromises rwd performance car is how this should have been handled from ’88-on. The GTO flopped for two reasons: the styling would have been cutting edge in ’94 but by ’04 it was dated. Hell, the GP sedan looked more aggressive and that’s ass-backwards. The other thing that killed the GTO is it was V8 only. With no V6 model to build volume it couldn’t sell in the numbers GM had hoped. All 3 of the current ponies (and lump the Charger/300 in there too) are only possible because the V6 variants make up 50% or more of the total volume.
Supposedly had Pontiac lived, the Holden based rwd cars would have been the backbone of the lineup. The G8’s edgier styling would have been the basis for GTO 2.0, a ute was planned as well as a wagon. All available with LS power and available 6 spd. But Uncle Sam knows best right? I for one think the Volt was a much better investment and since the roads are literally CLOGGED with them, id say the automotive landscape is much richer for it. *sarcasm alert *
Great catch with the GTO. I realized after the fifteen minute window for editing comments had passed that I had forgotten to clarify that I was talking about domestically-sourced Pontiacs. I actually liked the styling of the last GTO / Holden Monaro, but (and to your point) it wasn’t the freshest looking thing by 2004.
That’s funny because when the Monaro was launched in Australia in 2001/02 there was a V6 (as well as the V8 of course). It was the V6 supercharged with auto trans only, but they were dropped after 18 months because but only about 100 were sold.
Holden did a concept of a coupe based on the VE/G8 (called the Coupe 60), and to my understanding built the wagon on the basis it would be sold in the US – the VE Commodore program was slashed once it was decided the vehicle would not be built in North America.
I have always really liked the looks of the coupe version of this car. To the point where I’d still consider buying one, if it wasn’t used up. And I agree, this was the car that showed GM had finally, finally figured out how to build distinct cars on the same platform. I had high hopes for GM when I saw the new GP.
Randy is the perfect name for this car. Great article.
While somewhat outside of the range of your article here, I liked the 2004-08 model as well, for largely the same reasons as you put forth here. We rented one on a 1,500-mile trip around North Dakota, and through all those miles, the Grand Prix was really a great car to drive. In fact, it was the only rental car I remember thinking that I’d seriously consider buying at some point.
Yes, by that point, the concept had aged and should have been updated, but still it was competitive and (as you point out) offered much more personality than an Accord or Camry.
+1 on the rental experience. See my post further down.
You’re right, ‘Randy’ is perfect. Especially since it me think of Rob Riggle’s character in ‘Stepbrothers’. Loved Riggle ever since!
The “Prolonged lifecycle” argument is a complete conversation stopper for me. The “great” (and I really mean the quotes!) VW Type 1 (bug/Beetle) was praised for not changing for years (a fact that VW played up in ads). This was a theme for a lot of imports as as POSITIVE., Meanwhile those “silly” Americans with “planned obsolescence” three year cycles! Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. IDK if the GM10 or “W”were great or not, but I’ll be more likely to give a proven platform a chance. End of rant.
James, I’m with you. I’ve said the same thing.
I find it a virtue if a car has been in production for a long time. Especially engines and transmissions. Part of the reason for my purchase of a new 99 Cavalier.
That’s an extreme example, but I loved all the yester-tech of it and it was completely without problems in the time I had it.
Bob Lutz once explained that the 2004 Grand Prix was rushed into production due to an executive bonus plan, while GM was well aware the car was half-baked. Meanwhile the 7-year old model was still selling so there was no real urgency. The 2004 model flopped hard of course.
The 1997 Grand Prix must have been the last Pontiac that was a genuine hit. I believe the Aztek just killed Pontiac’s reputation among buyers, and the later cars like GTO and G8 never really won back that audience.
I would agree that the 2004 GP could have been delayed maybe even cancelled. The latter year models of the 1997-2003 era GP were still selling strongly. My local Pontiac dealer put dozens and dozens of those cars on the roads around here.
You give the Aztek way too much credit for killing Pontiac. In some regards it was like the current Buick Encore, an ungainly car that has a lot of nice features and is a good value. But people hate on it anyway. The initial Azteks came to market loaded and priced beyond what they probably should have been. By 02-03 GM got the content and pricing worked out, but the damage was already done. The Aztek correctly predicted styling trends and the rise of the CUV as a major change in the way folks bought cars. The damage was done with far too many gilded Chevys and not enough “driving excitement”. Did Pontiac really need a minivan?
Same thing with the GTO. It was not cheap. When the 04 model hit the dealerships, there were all kinds of mark-ups on these cars. People stayed away in droves. While the Aztek’s styling was jarring, the New GTO was almost completely inconspicuous. It looked like a fat Cavalier.
I really think resurrecting the GTO name was a mistake for this car. I remember reading in the motoring media and the Pontiac fanzines that the folks (who weren’t going to buy these new, anyway) thought the car should look more like a 1969 GTO Judge, not like a 1964 Tempest GTO. GM tried to gussy them up more, but again, people stayed away in droves.
Just my $0.02
My take is the Aztek was an excellent idea which would have been perfect for the market, had not the actual execution been so awful.
It was slathered with Pontiac-styling motifs like ribbing and hoodscoops and then became the object of public mockery. The people who liked that kind of Pontiac excess suddenly realized they were being laughed at. Sorta like mullets, a lot of guys still thought they were great while others were making a joke out of them, and then they all disappeared.
After the Aztek, Pontiac never had any real sort of identity, the cars were vaguely sporty, but generic-looking, and none of them sold well. I’ve heard all the excuses about the GTO and G8 not selling, but I think the record shows the Pontiac brand was seen as an enormous negative towards the end.
The Aztek was a very oddly proportioned mess – great idea though, and one whose time has come.
I remember the first time I saw one in the flesh – holy good God it was just as hideous as the pictures – gray cladding (didn’t work for the Avalanche, Baja or Element either), oversized headlights, hacked down hatch cut. Again, great idea – horrid execution.
I’ll give you the fact that older engines and transmission are generally well-sorted, but at this point, “proven platform” doesn’t mean much. In the case of recently-retired platforms like the W-body and the Panther platform, it means antiquated structures that aren’t competitive in terms of safety.
If it worked, it still works. Newer is not necessarily better. Especially new newer, while they are still figuring out what breaks. These days, newer usually means over-gadgeted because that’s what seems to impress younger people with disposable income. I wonder what will happen to all these modern cars with specific black box and touchscreen basic controls once they age a little. The absolute best cars to buy are ones that they have been building for a while. Worst are the “all-new” “radical” cars. Often they are nightmares.
Safety is actually probably the easiest part for manufacturers to update existing platforms with. Boxing/bracing/gusseting weak areas of the structures, adding crumple zones in certain areas etc. Look no further than Ford’s Fox platform, which would have never made it past the 90s if not for the substantial structural updates and additions around the existing floorpan for the SN95 generation.
Weight, size and proportions are bigger factors as to why an automaker will opt to start from scratch, because there’s really no way to make a small platform big or a big platform small if that’s what the models on it demand. Even then though they make due – Ford’s D3 was always too big for any car they tried basing on it until they turned it into an Explorer – When you couple that on top of needing safety or suspension improvements (which may have an effect on useable space) then it’s time to reset.
The Panther I’m sure could have been updated to stay in production to this day, but it needed a new body and it was effectively redundant, and had been for some time, with the Taurus with the Civilian market, and it just became more cost effective to make a police interceptor D3 than keep two completely different car lines. The W-body even probably could have been updated, but it simply couldn’t be packaged right for the standards of today.
I agree. I like to imagine what GM could have done if they had spent the money on refining and rebodying the G body platform and never introduced the W at all.
I am pretty sure after I swap an lt1 into my 1987 Grand Prix there will be nothing my wife’s 2000 GTP does better. I also have to say at a little over 100,000 miles on both cars at 13 years older the 1987 has held up so much better. I always find myself putting off the things I want to do to my car to do the things that need to be done to her car.
I agree these were very good looking–one of the best GM styling jobs of the era. I think the two key issues were 1) material quality (interior plastics felt cheap) and 2) size–though classified as mid-size, these were arguably full-size cars. I think Pontiac should have branded the 4-door “Bonneville” and kept the 2-door as “Grand Prix.” No need for the slightly larger H-body Bonneville… Size-wise, the Grand Am was really more of a competitor for Accord/Camry/Altima et al.
After my 77 GP and not living the Pontiac life for more than a decade, I ordered a 99 SE as a company car in black. Night and day compared to the Lumina they gave me. I received many compliments on that car. Six years later I ordered a 2006 GT to replace my 2003 GA (new company – new car). I loved it too, stylish, quick enough and very versatile. The rear seat folded down and the front passenger seat back folded forward to allow “SUV like handling capacity”.
Shame that GM got it right with this Pontiac flavored Pontiac.
It seems an outlier for the brand given the follow up products: Montana and Torrent, G3, G5. Even the G6 didn’t carry the momentum of the previous Grand Am.
Even if the Grand Am was only flash, it had character that the G6 never had and an established name.
The Gx nomenclature was badly implemented. There was a logic to it, each car wa the then current generation of the platform. Grand Prix=G8. Grand Am=G6 Sunfire=G5. I don’t think that was ever adequately explained by GM. They threw away tons of recognition over a harebrained scheme to modernize? internationalize? the Pontiac brand.
Frankly, I didn’t like it either. They could have been vacuum cleaners or rooftop air conditiong units. In fact, the Kirby Vacuum company did have G4 and G5 as model names. I have a G6 Sport Sedan that I rather like and occasionally have referred to it as the Grand Am or the STE.
I don’t know that it would have made much of a difference if the cars had names or not. By the time of the Great Recession and the Automotive Task Force, Pontiac would be sacrificed. One note, GM has never sold the intellectual property rights to Pontiac. They sold off the IP rights to Hummer and Saturn, though.
That was a delight to read, William. No deadly poison was served. But now, weren’t there enough chairs around on the dinner table? Why weren’t the Taurus and the Sable invited to the party? Weren’t they worthy of contributing the mashed potatoes and the cheese mac? Can’t live from meat alone, you know. At least the SHO made a cameo appearance.
Back in 2000 or so my family vacationed on Kona, the Big Island of Hawaii. We were handed the keys to a white Pontiac Grand Prix and for one week we thoroughly enjoyed the car. I loved it from the driver’s seat. Since I did all the driving it was the only seat I used. From that seat the car was Goldilocks just right on so many things that I wondered what Consumer Reports meant when they called it “mediocre” in their annual buyer’s guide. The drive train was a delight with lots of torque, the steering was spot on and properly weighted, the ride was poised in every situation and yet comfortable. Even the exhaust note was right. I gushed about this car after that vacation.
The Taurus would be your cousin Sid from Cleveland, who used to be a pretty reasonable fellow, but inexplicably shows up for dinner wearing a Billy the Marlin mascot costume and spends the rest of the night bragging about how much it cost.
What about the Sable?
My wife had a 97 GP SE when I met her. She loved it but I never liked it. As time went by the car started having issues. A headlight lense fell off, the windsheild wipers would shut off anywhere on the windsheild except for where you’d want them, the power door locks were a pain in the ass cuz they had a mind of their own. It went like hell but facing more electrical gremlins, we sold it. I was not sorry to see it go. By that time, neither was my wife.
+1 on the wipers… I had completely forgot about having that very glitch with my GTP (Pictured above)… They would just stop in weird places on the windshield and you had to keep turning them on and off until they figured it out. One day, on my way home from work in a driving thunderstorm, they quit working all together. This storm would not let up. I limped along in the right lane with my flashers on until I got to a gas station and pulled up under the awning at the pumps. I ran down to the auto parts store half a block away (getting soaked of course) and bought some Rain-X. I treated the windshield, and was able to drive away the rest of the way home sans wipers. My wife took my car to work the next day and swapped out the wiper motors and mechanisms. I never had a problem after that.
I forgot about this issue myself. It was reoccurring for me–ice would clog up between the hood and windshield, then they’d go haywire and the whole mess would start again. The wiper motor went out on me during a snowstorm..I had to turn around and stay in a hotel because I couldn’t see. I had to replace the clouded headlights too..very weak little things.
I wonder if these would qualify for “cockroach of the road” status; they were EVERYWHERE in my GM town, and there are still more than a few running around, looking a little worse for wear.
Nice interpretation, William, of a car that has blended into the woodwork for me due to “market saturation” in my area.
Quite the contrast to the West Coast. GM had a very hard time selling passenger cars out here after the debacle of the 1980s, and these, along with the rest of GM’s cars, were rather scarce. I’m sure there were still pockets of die-hard GM fans here and there, but this car was decidedly out of the mainstream out here. And they’re hard to come by anymore. Most of the old GM passenger cars out here were probably former rental cars, which is why there are still so many of the A-Bodies around.
I’m glad this car has its fans. GM’s Greatest Hit? Hmmm….
” GM’s Greatest Hit? Hmmm….”
The platform lasted for quite a while and they got a lot of mileage out of it. Did it turn a profit for the company?
Youre right ‘Greatest Hit’ might be debateable. But considering some of the waste of money turds that GM has pooped out over the years, you have to give the W bodies SOME credit for being a good car with some redeeming qualities. I think sometimes people get the idea that anything that isn’t the top seller in its class is a ‘failure’ somehow.
I have to imagine the W-Body turned a profit at some point, but I imagine didn’t happen until everyone who conceived it had retired or left the company. It’s neither a hit or failure, or great or awful, the W-Body just existed.
The 97-03 Grand Prix was really the only car on it that realistically be called a hit.
Definitely out of the mainstream in California, but still more common (along with GrandAms) than most other contemporaneous GM passenger cars. Or perhaps in Silicon Valley in the late ’90’s through mid-2000’s half the cars on the freeways were business rentals, hence their prevalence. I agree that there were never any to be seen parked curbside in my residential neighborhoods or local malls.
I was thinking the very same thing about these being a COTR candidate. I still see them occasionally, and they’re invariably being driven with reckless abandon, blasting along while weaving in and out of traffic.
Great job on this writeup, very entertaining! The dinner guest comparison definitely put a smile on my face.
Ive always liked these GP’s and while Im no GM fan by and large, the general ‘excitement and performance ‘ themes have always struck a chord with me. Even if these W bodies aren’t hardcore performance cars they at least give you a taste of it. The competing cars were plain white bread. These at least gave you some garlic and parmesan to make it tasty.
Looking at that list of criticisms of GM vehicles of the era just reminds me of how history repeats itself….with only the names changing. Every one of those criticisms now apply to Toyota,, just change the reliability one to read too many recalls and slipping quality, and its spot on.
A co-worker of mine had a 2000 Grand Am, which she seemed fairly happy with. One day, she pulled in with a new 02 Grand Prix. Her husband had decided with new grand kids, they could use a bigger car. To say they drove the hell out of that GP was an understatement. Her son was so impressed with it, he bought a matching Coupe for himself. She loved that car, and when her husband decided to jump on the Camry bandwagon in 07, she decided to keep the GP. Anytime she would drive her husband’s Camry to work, she’d complain about what an awful car it was, and how she much preferred her car. In short order, the Camry started having the typical transmission and oil sludge issues that generation was plagued with so, her husband moved onto an 09 Fusion, which her really liked. She soldiered on with the GP. Upon her retiring in 2010, her husband convinced her to get a Chrysler minivan to tote the grandkids around in. Needless to say, she liked the convenience of it, but, she missed her GP.
I’d have to say that it’s my favorite looking FWD Grand Prix, save for the ugly schnoz of ’97-’00 SE.
And I’ve heard that the Oshawa, ON built cars had great assembly quality.
Last generation didn’t do anything for me, I’d take Bonneville over GP.
Am I wrong in thinking that in later performance models the front wheels were bigger than the rear wheels in an attempt to combat torque steer?
It’s a wild solution. I wonder if it worked?
I don’t know about the later models, but my ’97 had 225-60-16’s all around; the same size wheel and tire as my old ’88 Thunderbird Turbo-Coupe.
As far as torque-steer goes, even with the blower, my GTP wasn’t all that bad in that regard. Torque-Steer is much more noticeable on my 2016 Turbo-Charged Honda Civic if I get into the sweet spot in its power-band.
Johnny Reno: You’re right, the latter day GXP models had 19″ wheels up front and 18″ in back. It was to counter torque-steer. The GXP that I drove had lots of power and the torque steer didn’t seem to be an issue. Keeping my speed down to the legal limit *was* an issue. Great fun.
I suspect it was just to balance out things, especially the handling, given the much greater forces at work on the front wheels due to all that power, steering and braking the front wheels had to do. Comparable to putting bigger wheels and tires on the back, like on a Porsche 911.
I don’t see how this could have any effect on torque steer, which can occur from a number of different sources, not only from uneven-length drive shafts. Various aspects of the front end geometry can influence it. But not a smaller rear wheel/tire on the back.
The GXP had trick Bilstein struts up front and 18″ wheels all around, but they were (IIRC) 245 series up front and 225 in the rear. When I worked at Hertz, there were a surprising number of GXPs and Impala SSs in the fleet. I remember driving a 35k mi (very beat) GXP on snowy roads on heavily abused original tires and not finding it very fun.
They made a good sound, though. And didn’t have the quality issues we experience with nearly new GTs around then (in ’06 the GT became the midrange supercharged version). Fuel tank leaks, wheel bearings, power steering pumps all happened multiple times on Series III s/c cars.
I really liked this car at the time and I still do looking back. Although, I never actually considered buying one, and I was in the market for a similar car it the time. It appears that a sedan with a 3.8 would have been a little less expensive ($1,200 based on MSRP) and quite comparable to what I bought, or leased actually, a 1997 Nissan Maxima base model with a 5-speed. I’m not quite sure why I didn’t even compare the Pontiac but I suspect it was the lack of a stick shift transmission available, because at the time I wouldn’t consider an automatic.
As we’ve been having debates lately on CC about why Americans may have abandoned GM and/or American cars in general, I think it’s possible that one thread we’ve failed to discuss is what seems like GM’s fairly early near abandonment of manual transmissions. I may be overstating it, but the Maxima I leased came in a stick in either bottom or top of the line. The Grand Prix, not at all.
I always liked that the body-side mouldings were high enough to offer door-ding protection. Around here (Iowa) these seem to have badly rusted rocker panels while the rest of the body seems to be pretty rust free.
PA is rust intensive and time has revealed the W-Body to be weak along the pinch welds to begin with. In addition, all GT and GTP level Grand Prixs came with the plastic rocker trim and door cut-outs, which trap water and salt and cause even worse rust damage. Later first-gen Mazda6s, Ford Contours/Mercury Mystiques, ’96-07 Taurus and Sables, and late-90s/early-00s Mercedes C-/E-/ML-/S-Class all suffer from the same issue.
Was always hoping to see a ’97+ Grand Prix article here.
I drove one ’til just under 300k miles. The coolant light was blinking and I could hear some sloshing, so I said enough was enough with that old car. I had the coolant hoses replaced twice and wasn’t going to risk it in the summer heat (100 degrees), so bought another GM with the same venerable 3800.
The GP had endless power and never missed a beat, even at the end. I spent a ton on misc. stuff but the car was so dead-reliable I couldn’t let it go.
The Wide-Track really must have been truth in marketing…that car handled so well in ice and snow, whereas my next cars feel tipsy and non- confidence inspiring.
Even though I cursed that car many a time, it was one of my favorites, and it would be pretty fun to get behind the wheel of one again!
Great write-up! I remember seeing this car for the first time at an auto show. It was a bright red four-door sedan with all of the bells and whistles. A handsome car for the time, and one that has held up well over the years. The slightly revamped 2004 model was, as the article says, not a step forward.
Interestingly, I recall reading that when Bob Lutz re-joined GM, one of the first cars he delayed for a revision was that revamped Grand Prix. An anonymous GM designer claimed that the original front fascia made the car look like “Bucky Beaver.” So it could have been worse.
In the early 90’s I fell in love with the Chrysler LH cars. Not that I could do much about it, I had young children back then and a couple of lousy paying jobs. But the first car from GM to get my attention in a very long time was the 1997 Grand Prix. I remember the first time I saw one on my street, I was amazed. I had no idea you could take the dowdy early W-bodies and turn it into something like that. I was completely stunned.
In the intervening years, I’ve known a bunch of people who had these, in all trim levels. When I see one lately it’s in one of two conditions: near mint or ready for the junkyard. Back in the spring I saw an SE model not unlike the one in the picture and realized I hadn’t seen one in a very long time. Around here, the GT & GTP models were very popular. As much of the GM/Pontiac fanboi that I am, I’ve never owned one of these W’s. I think these were the pinnacle of the FWD Grand Prix, the one before was dowdy and the one after was anodyne.
I was at my buddy’s shop a couple of months ago, he was working on one of these GPs and he mentioned the owner would like to sell. I sat in that car and was reeeeeeallllyyyy considering buying it, but I have no room for another car. If I did, that would be a great candidate.
Very well thought-out writeup of a car that probably doesn’t get enough credit. It did do a *lot* of things right, and was probably the last real success Pontiac enjoyed. (The G8 was an excellent car but a sales flop, probably due to impending brand death). I didn’t realize that both the wheelbase and the track were wider than the Olds/Buick platform-mates; that goes a long way in explaining why these look quite a bit better-proportioned.
The follow-up generation wasn’t as successful externally but what really killed it for me was the interior styling. I sat in one while used-car shopping once and could not stand the dash design one bit. Way too many round vents, nonsensical curves, and oddly placed blank plastic panels. Probably the work of the same geniuses who did the 1st-gen CTS interior with its absurd bulging center stack.
A classic and very unique design. I love how the greenhouse looks “dropped down” on these.
I liked these a lot. And actually the interior quality was better than written about in this piece. I did not enjoy the ride quality though. The Grand Prix was a rather thumpy ride. But one of GMs better efforts? Definitely. I wish Pontiac had stayed around, even if it meant selling the name off to someone else. The name has so much history and innovation behind it.
Right after college, two friends and I took a month-long road trip around the country to see as many Major League Baseball stadiums as we could, and our ride was my friend’s ’99 Grand Prix GTP. It was just 4 years old at the time, a black 2-door with gold trim, totally gorgeous (when clean), and really easy to drive. I loved the HUD in particular, wish more cars had them. The back seat was awful, though – it really was too close to the floor, felt like you were sinking and hard to get comfortable for long stretches, and I’m not particularly tall. We did try to trade off though. Overall it was a great car and a great trip!
In 1997 my wife was an outside sales person and need a new car. I found a red 1997 Grand Prix with sunroof and leather. Asking price was $49 over invoice for a total of $20178. My wife didn’t like the trunk opening, as she had many sample cases and needed to access each easily.
We looked at a Concorde LX? Similar equipment with an asking price of $22,300.
We got a Regal only because of the trunk access. In three years we got a Supercharged Regal which included the stiffer suspension, better tires etc. One of my favorite cars ever. I looked at a new 2004 Grand Prix and couldn’t believe how poor the design and materials were.
The second Regal was our last GM car.
Excellent article William and I think you’ve very validly made the argument in favor of the Grand Prix’s merits. It still will never be a car I particularly like, but you’ve opened my eyes a bit more into the effort that went into this Grand Prix, unlike so many other Pontiacs and GMs of the era. The dinner party metaphor is clever too!
I appreciate the in-depth research and enthusiasm, but I’ll have to respectfully disagree having had a lot of time in these. I think driving one back to back with an Accord might dampen your enthusiasm quite a lot.
It’s one thing to be enamored by styling and performance figures online, but it’s a whole other ballgame to get the visceral experience of structural rigidity, ergonomics, handling, steering feel, interior quality, etc. As was way too typical of GM in this era, this was a great “numbers” car. Headroom, horsepower, wheel track, etc. Sounded great on paper, and the styling appealed to some (I never liked it for the same reasons I don’t like the 96-99 Taurus) But from an enthusiasts perspective, there’s only so much you can do with the heavy, soft W-body. Steering benchmarked by BMW? Ooof! I’m sure they tried, but decreasing the power assist on a cheap family sedan does not lead to anything close to genuine steering feel of a RWD German car, or even an Accord, to be honest. If you can even look past the fact that the steering wheel itself feels like a Tupperware container forged into an automotive part.
Don’t get me wrong, this was a massive improvement over the awful Gen1. Better rigidity, handling, styling. You can tell Pontaic actually, sort of, well… tried this time. Like many prior commentators have said, these were incredibly popular in GM towns and I have a ton of hands-on experience with them. The base SE was just as soft and squishy as the garden variety Lumina/Century, the GT tightened things up but these were just so big, heavy-feeling, and “numb” in that classic GM way no matter the configuration. The 98-02 Accord was lithe and athletic in comparison, and hardly slow with the V6, with excellent quality to boot. At best, the Grand Prix was more of a 4-door Grand Tourer than an actual sports sedan. And the interiors were beyond awful. I get where you’re coming from, and they have their merits, but “Greatest Hit” is a huge stretch. (it’s also worth noting that Consumer Guide and Motor Trend are some of the most neutrally-worded car websites online and I take their reviews with a grain of salt. The latter is notoriously non-critical of domestics in particular)
These wore out and hit the junkyards vastly quicker than their Buick/Chevy counterparts, but that probably has to do more with their ownership base than anything. The angrily styled 2004-2008 models are hitting beater territory really fast, and most of the 97-03s are either off the road or sitting on blocks in a trailer park. The “Randy” metaphor is spot on – I picture him wearing a faded jean jacket with cut off sleeves and greasy stained fingernails from a long day of work at the supplier warehouse on the south side of town. These cars are almost as good at living up to cliche driver stereotypes as their little brother, the Grand Am (but let’s not even go there…)
I always liked the styling of these cars, and felt that they were intended to compete with the Dodge Intrepid above all else.
Overlooked and/or forgotten is that the SE sedan could be had with a split front bench in the early years of this body style (97-99). Something that was becoming unusual in a car of sporting intentions by that time, and skipped entirely by the import oriented Intrigue over at Oldsmobile. Pontiac touted the “airbank” system (a term coined at Cadillac a few years prior), which provided a larger passenger side airbag in bench seat equipped GPs to help protect the center passenger in the event of deployment.
I had a 97 red GTP sedan, I bought used in 99. One of the most fun cars I have owned. Now it seems like ever auto sedan on the market in top engine form is as fast, but back then it always caught people by surprise. My car must have been a Wednesday car cause even though the interior was all plastic, nothing fell apart, fit and finish was decent, and I only had it for 3 years, but I was around 22-23, so I drove it everywhere like I stole it, and nothing failed on it. It helped I was a member of a GTP car forum, and turned it into a 12 sec car. Unlike the bland sedans the general was pumping out in that era, it genuinely was a looker, had that nice coke bottle shape, and it helped that the car was designed as a sedan first, then the coupe, because the coupe looks awkward. People used to always come up to me at gas stations, and ask about it, especially asking is that a “widetrack” from the ads of the time.
God do I miss that car.
Pontiac was never my thing, as I have realized more and more over the years.
This model always appeared to me as it was just a redone Grand Am, and I wondered why they were doing this car in the first place. I had no idea who the target market was, other than GM repeat buyers. It was hard to keep track of all their models. Bonneville, Catalina, Grand this and Grand that. Pontiac was more relevant to my eyes in the 1960s.
Then again, everyone needs a greatest hit..
This was when GM had a good niche for sedans. No, they weren’t as good overall as the imports, but they were cheaper and weren’t as bland or forgettable.
These also weren’t service headaches. Simple, straightforward and easy to service.
This era Pontiac was genuinely a sexy looking sedan imo.
My Intrigue would lose the lube in the steering shaft and clunk about every 20k miles. The brakes would start pulsing 10k intervals from new. Very irritating. Was that common to the W body? The Shortstar was fun and had all of one sensor failure in 120k miles, but I was glad to ditch the car.