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Pontiac Bonneville
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Comments
Ken
We have a 2000 SSEi, got it in January 2000, has 18,000 miles. No squeaks or rattles. No trips back to the dealer 'cept for oil changes and a wheel balance. Actually just did the wheel balance because I thought it made sense at 10,000 miles, there wasn't any vibration before or after the balance. Oh... and a new rear bumper from a parking lot hit and run.
I love the power, the styling and the features (Heads-up, radio/CD/Cassette quality, stabile-trac, programmable options (how the doors lock, security system options, etc.), handling (firm suspension), and on and on.... I actually like the covered cup holders, they are outta sight, but that has been changed for 2002.
Drawback is the 24 mpg on premium gas... but then again that is not a huge expense when compared to the other costs involved with owning a car.
I use Mobile-1 oil. Our other cars are a 89 Grand Am, that has been a good machine and still serves us well, and a '98 Corvette. The Vette is a super car, but I wish it was as trouble free as the Bonnie. In it's three and a half years it has been a bit of a pain in the neck from a nit-pick point of view (brake-rotors, broken exhaust pipe (very noisey), memory seat with a mind of it's own, noisey fuel pump) but they were all fixed by GM with no fuss... of course I'm outta' warranty now, so the next nit-pick will probably make me less happy than the prior ones
Bottom line though... Bonnie is a fun car to drive, especially when ya want to pass on a two lane road.
Bill
dan - How's your dad doing?
it was a blast in Ottawa - 21 Grand prix's, me, couple of Zed's and 3 stangs. Let me say that the convoy to the tracj was spectacular with 12 GP's in a row. We turned a lot of heads - and they really liked the Bonne.
racing wasnt great due to heat - nothing better than 14.73 at 94mph. great bunch of guys though, really know their cars. we went to topkarts in Hull after - OMG 48mph on a go-cart indoors. I wanna go back!
As for the "how's it been" - ive had mine just about the longest, Nov99 - and have 62,000KM (35-40000miles?)
Its an SSEi - and I too was a victim of early brake/rotor/pads problems - all handled well by the dealer.
I have a couple squeeks, nothing serious and I suspect any car with my miles would have them.
I have mofified it mechanically and it has done a lot of "fast runs" and still is strong as ever.
Its been up to 180KmH and smooth as silk. Still avgs 26-28mpg on the freeway at 70mph.
No flaws in the exterior. Nothing mechanical out of the ordinary . . . loose wiper arm nut, gas cap actuator froze stuck open... replaced cd/radio main unit when soem of lights went out,...blew a couple of tweeters (stereo is always at 10)
Only problem, (and I dont mind the cupholders) is the stock tires arent up to what I would like to see (especially since I race it) but they are good allweather.
Brakes are strong...steering and suspension very good for a big car....ive been on 8 hour straight highway cruises and been a little stiff , but im not a big adjuster of seats, i just sit and go.
Heater really cranks out lots and fast to warm up in Canadian winter.
Ill stop now . . . .later
Dennis
Ken - just wanted to let you know that when I said I saw a number of Bonnevilles in the south, they're still not as commonplace as a lot of other cars in the south (Japanese cars, so forth). But I do seem to see more of them than you guys/gals up north. It could just be that you're better drivers and keep your eyes on the road (like I should be doing instead of trying to look at various cars all the time when I'm driving)! Also, it could be you have more people buying cars where I live because it doesn't snow. Never having lived in snow, I would imagine SUV's and trucks are better for that climate.
Dennis: Dad's great - 21 days past a 3ple bypass and he just yesterday got his licence back - 9 days ahead of schedule. He's very strong and a great guy (who, BTW, loves my Bonneville - he drives a '99 Regal LS). Thanks for asking.
Stacey: From an aesthetic point of view, I hate car bras but I see the need - in some circumstances. My question has always been: what are you preserving the front end of the car for if you're always covering it with an ugly bra? Still, if you have brittle paint that chips easily....
Bugs can be washed off (but not always easily) and, promptly removed, they rarely damage a paint job. If you have a finite "bug season", I would suggest a preventative layering of good quality wax - it makes bug removal MUCH easier.
I'm averaging 24.1 mpg since day 1 (11,000+ miles since December '00) in mostly urban/suburban driving.
Aren't those go-carts a blast?
And here's a link on magnasteer: GM Techlink: Magnasteer.
Anyway, I think these are great links - I hope GM keeps them up and open to the public.
TIA
However, I'm wondering how he attached the bug screen behind the grille... Could you shed some light about it?
TIA
I imagine he'll be over in a few days to look at my Grand Prix to see if it will work. I don't know if there's space to work with between the radiator and grille in my new car. I looked under the hood but since I'm not engine-oriented, I can't really say.
I'll let you know once he gets here and tries it. I imagine what I said in the first paragraph, you could have figured out yourself.
BTW, if you don't have a recent version of MIE, you might want to consider downloading an upgrade while you're at the Microsoft site (the upgrade's several MB's but the product is better - IMO - and still free).
Good luck.
Ken
The other feature of TPO vs. vinyl is that it makes the dashboards far more recyclable than before and less toxic for those which aren't recycled. Vinyl is apparently notoriously poisonous as it breaks down in landfills. The first uses of TPO in a car were with a couple of '98 and '99 Mercedes. The Bonny was the first NA car to feature it - others will slowly follow suit.
Stephen: I'm glad the wallpaper worked for you. I have LView Pro (a photo editing software) and this allowed me to crop the photo, changing its dimensions enough that it works quite well as wallpaper. BTW, we had similar experience with our children in the few months when we had both the Bonny and our old Villager - they just like that wide, comfortable rear seat. I had forgotten you were coming to Canada (Quebec - right?) - has your trip already taken place?
Scott
2000 SSEi
336 crank horsepower per dyno
13.661 @ 100.85 mph per Norwalk Raceway Park
I agree - the car is fantastic.
When these guys do the 0-60, is there a set of standards they follow - or is it just wherever and whenever they did the test?
They always used to have lots of Pontiac Parisiens around - then the Canadian Bonneville. Did you see any?
Dan - no Bonnevilles still being sold that way - right?
Ken
Someone from Florida was mentioning the increased Bonnie sightings in his area. This is probably due to the rental market in Florida. Bonneville has always been a favorite of various rental agencies.
noe im using 92-94 and dont see anything special happening - when the temps drop ill stick with mid range, and maybe go back to low grade if they jackl the prices. Im told it is less important as the temps go down.
How's this: http://aviation-safety.net/database/incidents/19830723-0.htm
(And what does this have to do with the Bonneville? ;-)
On to things more "Bonnevillian": (lovely pic of a) Convertible 1958 Pontiac Bonneville. Yum!
1958 arguably (IMO) had the flashiest styling of the decade (Oh OK, the 57 Chevy excepted) - some would say simply the guadiest.
Nice to post about vintage Bonnevilles here occasionally.
Have a great day all - we're in a streak of magnificent late summer weather here in New England - clear, dry and comfortable - gotta love it!
Ken
Did anyone see the new commercials for the 2002 Bonneville yesterday during Kickoff 2001? Very Nice! I'm sure it's going to heat up all those LS & 300M owners out there!
Peace
KZM
What did they show as far as smoking a 300?
Did they mention numbers - or was it a visual?
Sign me
Curious
I admit, the whole peice was "eye candy". But, that's what gets people's attention. Also, it was thrilling to see Pontiac take on it's competition like that with a new advertisement, not one that's rehashed!
Curious -
I was too busy looking at the visuals, but Pontiac's website show the info that's I believe the commercial was aimed at:
"THE COMPETITION IS BEHIND US ALL THE WAY.
AND WE HAVE THE TEST RESULTS TO PROVE IT.
Recently, SSEi beat out some formidable rivals: Chrysler 300M, Lincoln LS, and even Lexus GS 300. Under strict testing procedures, SSEi outperformed the competition in key acceleration tests. * In simulated highway merging (0-60 mph sprints), SSEi showed them nothing but taillight. In everyday commuting (30-50 mph runs) and highway passing maneuvers (50-80 mph runs), SSEi left them in the slow lane. And in the all-out ¼-mile blast, SSEi finished ahead. In addition to outperforming the competition, SSEi trumps them in technology too. This Bonneville gives its drivers more standard technology that it's supposed rivals, with features such as supercharging, Stabilitrak stability enhancement system, Magnasteer, OnStar, and HUD (Head-Up Display). When it comes to cars in this class, the prestige is in the performance.
* 2002 SSEi versus 2001 competitors."
OFFICIAL RESULTS
0-60mph 30-50mph 50-80mph 1/4 mile
SSEi 7.64 sec 2.85 sec 7.38 sec 16.60 sec@ 89.2 mph
300M 8.48 sec 3.30 sec 7.82 sec 17.10 sec @ 85.9 mph
GS 300 8.39 sec 3.26 sec 7.65 sec 17.02 sec @ 86.4 mph
LS V6 9.71 sec 3.75 sec 8.93 sec 18.09 sec @ 82.9 mph
Here's the link: http://www.pontiac.com/bonneville/outperformed.html
(Go Giants!)
Peace!
KZM
Did they have 4 people and camera gear in the car or what ?
I have 3 time slips in front of me that show 14.7 and 2 14.8 1/4 miles ? Stock .
Now i have to go read that article . . . . sheesh
Dennis
Ken
Glad to have you back with us Ken.
I had a great trip from the Chicago area to Maine on August 29. Drove straight through in 17 hours and as usual, the Illinois/Indiana/Ohio/Pa/New York interstate sections were pretty boring although the scenery in eastern New York is pretty if you're driving during daylight. The good stuff came on the two lane roads in extreme eastern New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and of course, Maine. It was late at night and early in the morning so didn't get too many chances to pass but when I did, there was plenty there. The twisties were lots of fun and got 27.5 mpg over the 1065 miles.
However, and a big however, the next day the Bonneville left our place on the back of a tow truck just as it had done this spring when it wouldn't start and the dealer replaced the ignition cylinder. I had pulled into our place and couldn't get the key out nor would it start. Called the local Chevrolet dealer who said call Pontiac so I called the 24 hour #. When I explained that I had a 2000 Bonneville, the person who answered the phone asked if it was a Chevrolet. Without going into all of the details, needless to say, it went downhill from there.
This was the Friday before Labor Day so I didn't expect the dealer to drop everything. However, it wasn't until the following Thursday that the dealership it was towed to told me that the problem was a stretched shift cable, there was a service bulletin on it, and they couldn't get the parts. The next day they said they had the cable but that the bulletin required the cable to be rerouted using different bolts. They had the cable but couldn't get the bolts. I just find this unbelievable that once GM decided there was a problem, they didn't go all out to have the parts available. I asked the dealer to put the car back together using the old, stretched cable but they wouldn't do it. I also asked them to use any bolts they could get their hands on so that I could drive the car back to Illinois. Also, no dice.
The bottom line was that I drove our old Caravan with 190,000 miles on it in order to get back. The dealer in Maine now has my car and I won't be back until October. So much for GM's customer satisfaction efforts.
Enough complaints. I would highly recommend that any of you invent a reason to take a trip on two lane roads with one of these cars. They are a real joy to drive(when they run).