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Pontiac Bonneville
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Comments
If anyone remembers the Dire Straits song "I want my MTV", substitute "Bonneville" for "MTV" and that's me. Looking on the positive side-as hard as that is, the dealer in Maine has saved me from putting another 3,000 miles on the Bonneville which would have been all the way up to 14,000 by the time I return to Maine next week to pick it up. One thing the Caravan can do much better than the Bonneville is haul stuff. Right now it is packed with a dresser, 5 old kitchen cabinets for the basement in Maine, a coat rack, a floor fan, and an undercounter microwave plus other miscellaneous things.
I saw a reference in the paper today about a new 2002 Bonneville. Did I miss something or was it a misprint?
Mark
I have to say, that I STILL love the Bonny, I still get people walking up to me in parking lots asking me about the Bonneville and I still turn my head whenever I see a new-style - even though that's a daily occurence. There's a black SE I see fairly regularly now (I don't recall if I had seen one of those before I first spied this one), a couple of SLEs and about 1/2 dozen SSEis. And, yes the '02 reference in your paper was misleading - the cupholders might be new but the car isn't.
I note that sales of the Bonneville are quite slow - well off GM's expectations and not likely to increase now. I don't think that that bodes well for its future but, given that GM has now confirmed the demise of the Aurora for 2003-04, a dead Bonny would leave only Buick with an H-body. Perhaps there's no market for an affordable, full-size sports sedan any more - I hate to think it though. This is my first Bonneville and I have every intention of buying another in 3 or 4 years.
My mileage is still hovering around the 24 mpg mark and, at 13k miles, there have been NO mechanical problems save that ignition cylinder replaced on day 2 (an inauspicious start!).
I haven't had time to Zaino it in months (sorry Dennis!) and the days when I'll be able to are rapidly disappearing. I saw 48° F register on the dash this a.m. and shuddered thinking that that'll be downright balmy in 2 months' time!
Over for now.
Here's a link to the press release on the Oldsmobile production phase-out: GM.com.
"Pontiac will also continue to offer excitement with performance powertrains, including the supercharged Grand Prix GTP and Bonneville SSEi and the forthcoming Vibe GT."
Given that a local Pontiac dealership told me that they were selling 1 or 2 F-bodies a month, I won't expect line-ups to snap up GTPs and SSEis.
I'd be happy buying an Aurora next time around - or buying a Bonny with the 4L Northstar under the hood. Whichever will suit me jes' fine.
Mark
I assume Pontiac has thought this all the way through. First thing that came to my mind was that no longer can you get a $10 spare key but instead have to get a $50+ remote. Next thing is what happens if the battery goes dead? Also a little tougher to hide a key somewhere for when you need it. I'm not sure if this also applies to the trunk.
As for the retirement of the Bonneville - the (small) difference in the two cars (remember, I have a '00 Bonnie SLE and a '01 GP GT so I can attest to this) IS the root of the thinking here. The plan that I heard was to simply name the top of the line Grand Prix a Bonneville and equip it more luxuriously - and sportily. That might also mean the death of the GP GTP.
We shall see.
We'll have to wait and see.
I assume if they cancel the SE that we can still get good service on our cars.
I think what happens with the GP SE will be dictated by what they do with the Grand Prix / Bonneville and Grand Am
http://www.forbes.com/2001/10/01/0928flint.html
It reads, in part:
Those people love cars like the Camaro. One by one, GM has axed time-honored nameplates such as the Chevrolet Caprice and Buick Riviera and Roadmaster. GM even killed an entire division--Oldsmobile. The word is out that the Buick Park Avenue, Cadillac Eldorado and Pontiac Bonneville are also headed down Cemetery Lane. Meanwhile, GM isn't winning hearts and minds with replacement vehicles such as the Pontiac Aztek.
When they kill all the heritage, what will be left?
Boys and girls, what an awesome car! I spent the weekend volunteering to run errands with a big grin on my face!
;^)
Roomy, silent, smooth, plushy, powerful, and sure looks sharp! What a joyous ride!Thank you all again for your comments.
I'm envious!
Best wishes for many enjoyable miles and years of Bonneville driving.
Ken
BTW - I still love my 2000 SE - despite present vibrations and have no interest in trading it for anything any time soon.
Ken
I have two small children. For those of you who are or who have been in "that place", I don't have to itemize what I found down there. For the rest of you, just rest assured that there is a place for pocket change and candy to go.
It occured to me tht one of the nice points about a removable rear seat is the ability to sun-dry and air it out in the event of a spill which soaks through the cloth (or in our case the perforated leather).
I'd like them to keep the name but slow sales loom larger than history in GM boardroom discussions I am sure.
Dan - A dark bronzemist Bonneville passed me on the interstate today. I saw a dark bronzemist a while back but it could have been the same car.
Ken - I see a green Bonneville (2000+) quite often. It must be the same car and the owner lives in my part of town. Don't know if it's the spruce green or a 2001 that's a different shade of green. I was trying to see the side of her car to see if it was an SE but couldn't tell. It did have a single exhaust pipe as best I could tell. Didn't want to look too much and look like I was a stalker.
I believe I've seen most of the colors around town but am not sure about black.
evandro - I've seen a silver one too.
The 2002 model has, as far as I could tell, different cup holders and new exhaust tips, more noticeably. Even though I prefer a covered cup holder, I have to agree that the previous design it was sometimes impossible to use both receptacles at the same time. They're now staggered and hidden from sight somehow by the console bin. I have no problem with them, although with the cover it was more refined.
The new exhaust tips are oval, like the Grand Prix's, not trapezoidal as before, which were a bit on the overdone side,
IMO
. I think it looks better balanced now, even if a bit more squareness would improve them a little.I think it's also new for the 2002 the 5-spoke wheels, instead of the previous crisscrossed style.
I showed it to a couple of closer friends who own a Lexus and a Volvo and they were impressed with the Pontiac. They had no idea that it was actually comparable to their cars, costing $$$ less. Both thought it was an amazing car!
It is a very exclusive ride, most have no clue what car it is. And I love it!
;^)
;^)
I have seen some Bonnevilles in what I assume is Bronzemist and they look very good indeed. However, when I see what I believe to be the same color on Intrigues, Malibus, etc., it looks different -- dull, muddy-looking, not at all attractive.
The question: is this the same paint for all, or is Pontiac's shade different somehow?
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
Pontiac also has a light bronzemist but you can definitely tell the difference with that color.
Stacy - you are almost certainly seeing a 2000 Bonneville. No green offerings existed in 2001 as I recall. My Spruce Green is not a teal hue and does have a definite yellow tint in the color - not like any other green I've noticed except other Pontiacs. If you see large chrome letters on the side panels it's an SLE or SSEi. The SE is more understated - but has BONNEVILLE in chrome letters accross the trunk lip and a chrome strip running along both sides. If you looked at the front of an SE vs the other two - SLE and SSEi you would see a difference in the grille - lower and 'edgier' in the latter two, chrome lipped and less aggressive on the SE.
Now you're armed for instant recognition!
Best to all
Ken
I note that GM says that the SE's front and rear fascia have been redone (I haven't seen the rear yet). But I really like the new front clip - it appears from the photo to have less bright trim - always a plus to my tastes. Heck, if there was no such trim around the nostrils, I'd even consider swapping the clip on my SLE.
I also notice that early reports about the retirement of dark bronzemist Bonnies have now come true. Pity.
Front end changes are very minor. The two or three fins in the lower air dam now replaced by one. No other changes obvious to me.
Wheels are apparantly unchanged.
Evandro - there is no cladding on SE models - only SLE like yours and the SSEi.
Still a classy automobile - I'm proud to drive one!
Best wishes to all
Ken
I've always preferred less bright trim (although it works on dark colours) so I like the new look
evandro: I do not detect any changes to the sheet metal.
I've long felt that chevrolet bronzemist and pontiac dark bronzemist were different. But I'm not so sure about it any more.
The advantage of cladding is the protection it will afford the doors and rocker panels over the life of the car. Stone chips, door dings - you name it. Paint's adhesion to plastics is very good these days and if plastics can be used for bumpers - which nowadays wrap from one wheel to the other - they can certainly be used for cladding.
Being body-coloured, the side cladding on the Bonneville is less intrusive than say on the outrageous Aztek or Avalanche but I can still see why it catches people's attention - positively and negatively. I somewhat prefer the less-straked and more coke-bottle look of the SLE/SSEi's sides to the SE's but concede that this look could have been achieved with sheet metal. I think the answer as to why common sheet metal is used is obvious.
To be honest with you, I never saw the side cladding as the Bonneville's aesthetic achilles heel. Rather, I think the foglights and exhaust tips on the SLE/SSEi are overdone - and the ribbed treatment of the tail-lights "GrandAms" the car too much. If I were to polish the SLE/SSEi's looks, I'd:recess the fogs (keep them centred though)and make them somewhat smaller;change the front headlights to something closer to what we see on the IS300 (and other cars) and I'd make them HID;swap the exhaust tips for those on the Caddy STS; andswap the tail-lights for virtually anything out there from Chrysler, Cadillac, Acura, etc. (you know, something "jewelled" but not clear - a "refined" look)
That's not a tall order - and that points to what a nice looking car this really is.
Other than for some really beat-up Bonnevilles, I have not seen any running around with missing cladding. The previous generation Bonnies had cladding attached with nylon fasteners which could break or weaken. The cladding is now attached with adhesive tape. On my SSEi, I've noticed that at the edges of the doors the tape is not adhering, but only at the very edge. Hopefully it will not worsen over time.
No big deal...
The new one matches 100%.
Enjoy the ride.