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Pontiac Bonneville
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Comments
quite frankly, looking at the 300C also makes me wish Pontiac made a better attempt with the GXP. The Northstar engine they used should blow the Hemi away in terms of refinement, but the engine is too expensive and not as powerful, attributes that in this category of cars, ppl would be turned off by, me included. High power/low price is king. If i wanted refinment, i'd get a CTS (v6 but still).
The GXP has no Nav system (as far as i know) and is FWD. Dam. Im not knocking it, the GXP looks good, clean and refined appearance, but the all American bravado from the Gerhard Shreoder 300C kinda has it whipped
Well, from a specs/observers point of view thats my 2 cents, what do you guys think?
Michael - I will be delighted to bring you a big box full of cold New England air! You can put it in your freezer and take some out whenever you need it.
I totally agree with your size comments. Size DEFINITELY matters! LOL The Bonneville feels like the absolutely perfect size to me. I don't like the cramped feeling you get in a car of smaller dimensions - particularly in width. Personal breathing and stretch space is a luxury too! I've had many cars this size - they used to be called 'intermediates' 30 years ago -like my '74 Olds Cutlass coupe, a '78 Chrysler LeBaron, even my first car - an old (even then) 65 Impala - all relatively the same size as this 'full sized' Bonneville. It just feels right. Our other vehicle today is a Suburban - like your Tahoe. Next to those big boys this Bonneville is downright small!
I seem to remember a Nov. or Dec. timeframe for initial dealer ordering . . .
Anyone seen one at a dealer?
- Ray
Just curious . . .
I got the Bonneville to have something fun and zippy for getting around town when the weather's nice. My ex-girlfriend had an Alero which was a great car -- I thought of it as a baby-Bonnie -- and was also fun and quite comfortable up front but the back seat is not a place I would want to cram three adults into on the lunch run. I agree, the Bonnie is the perfect size for a sedan. Besides, this is America, where bigger is better! (IMHO, ;-)
GXP production should have begun by now, I was expecting to see the cars showing up in early February. I was a little disappointed that the only tri-coat paint color is white-gold; an early press release indicated that there would be at least three tri-coat colors. At least they should have made the original show car color (Graystone) a tri-coat.
ice
Is there much scenery to view along the drive or is it mostly lined with tall trees as in those pics?
Great looking Tahoe BTW - looks like you can go anywhere with those tires!
I imagined more along the lines of Model T's. I think the rich folk rode Flagler's railroads to those grand old hotels. :-)
or, they could have pilfered the entire Aurora interior.
they did a good job decladding the car and putting a proper engine in it.
I got 2 separate estimates- one from my local mechanic that I've been using for years- $400.00 to $450.00 Approx.- complete-upper and lower replacement- clean-flush engine if necessary, new oil/filer etc. and one from the Pontiac Dealership-that we use for my wife's 2003 Grand Prix. The Dealership's estimate was DOUBLE- around $885.00
Needless to say- the car goes in this Thursday at my local mechanic's for the repair at the lower cost of $400 to $450.00
I don't think there is any other engine problems from this as the car is running very well- no overheating- hesitation, starting problems whatsoever.
I just feel that i've been playing Russian Roulette and based on all the info I've been reading about people needing NEW Engines etc.-I think I pushed the envelope far enough.
Anyonelse get this fixed recently?
Just curious. It seems there is no set average in regards to age of the cars, make or mileage. If it has the 3800 Series II engine, sooner or later your going to have a problem
Mine is a 98 SSE with 85,300 now, but the leaking probably started with around 70,000 to 75,000 on it.-just nursed it this last year.
In the recall, GM replaced the "engine throttle body fasteners with redesigned fasteners, and added cooling system sealant to the radiator tank."
According to the letter I received, the recall only applied to 2000 to 2003 MYs. But I wonder if there's a hidden warranty on other cars - particularly if you bought it new. If it's the same root cause, I'd appeal to GM. Incidentally, this recall is good until July 31, 2005 and GM has a deadline of July 31st, 2004 for claims for work that had been paid for prior to the recall.
You might also be interested in these links:
-On line petition: GM should recall faulty Intake Manifold Gasket installed in their vehicles
-gmjunk.com
-Reviews - this link has a suggestion that, if you replace this other than at a dealer, get an aftermarket one - because the replace plastic manifold is, in many people's opinion, equally bound to go.
-Automotive forum - this one refers to an aftermarket kit.
-service technician's perspective on plastic parts
The problem isn't on the SSEi because it doesn't use the composite plastic manifolds on the supercharged engine.
55k miles on the '00 SLE, 35k miles on the '01 GP GT - just had the service done in November on both cars and experienced no leaks before or since. Will be watching tho'...
ice
I have a '98 3800.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
The issue up to '98 was different than '99 and on.
Dexcool has nothing to do with it though, as it doesn't with global warming, WMDs, sperm whales, etc.
:-)
I did not buy the car new and only took out an extra 6 month warranty back in 2002- so it looks like i'm biting the bullet on this one but its still better than not having it done and then having the coolant ruin your engine and really have to pay big bucks as some less fortunate owners then I have had happen to them already.
I know there are class action suits against GM on this but its really a shame that GM still denies they designed this wrong and should make amends.
Ken: I had the same service recall done on my wife's 2003 Grand Prix GT.- I could be wrong here but I do not believe that they completely drained/replaced the entire coolant system- I think they just put in different fastners, added a radiator sealant and re-added any fluids that were low.
Ken, remember my white 2000 Bonneville SE I had,
now that I think about it, I was adding a little bit of coolant on occasion but never worried about it
as it had only around 35,000/40,000 miles on it
when we traded it in for the Grand Prix.
There probably was a leak on it but I never gave it a second thought at the time.
Evandro: You are right- GM is treating this as two separate issues. 2000 and newer for the voluntary recall etc and prior to 2000- no help for anything.
Imidazo197: I've heard both pro and con for changing the coolant from Dex-cool back to the Green. A former Service Manager at a Pontiac Dealership told me once that Dex-cool was bad and caused clogs/corrosion etc.and not to wait the 5years or 150,000 miles to have the system flushed etc.
I think I also read somewhere that its almost impossible to make sure that all of the Dex-cool is out before you switch and because if it isn't it can contaminate the regular green anti-freeze as they don't/can't mix. I need help guy's/girls on verifying if this is true or not- I really don't know for sure.
I'm not going to change mine back to Green. I could be wrong here but I have not had any overheating problems/radiator problems
etc because of the Dex-cool so when the job is done this Thursday I'm having them replace with the Dex-cool.
17000mls after a new intake manifold, the level has been the same for about 5000mls since the recall.
Sure do hope to be heading your way next month. The temps have moderated from the deep freeze but it's a lonnnnnnnngg time till spring here and more dreaded 'wintry mix' is headed our way tomorrow!
:-D
Just got the car back this afternoon- Total Cost $492.17
Upper and lower intake manifold gaskets/replace anti-freeze/ oil/filter/water temp switch and 5 hours of labor! NO COOLANT CONTAMINATION!
Upper manifold gasket was the problem area.- no sludge/gunk/ coolant in engine compartment.
Engine clean and running strong!
Turns out all the cheap air fares are long gone for that week so we'll do the 1700 mile roadtrip which is fine with me. I may even let my wife drive a while - perhaps even more than the 100 miles she drove on the same trip last April!
My wife was a DJ for many years ("Renee Andrews" in mid-Michigan :-) until we got married, and even she loves XM. I installed a second SkyFi cradle in her car in September for a road trip, and it was awesome listening to tunes while traveling. When we got stuck in traffic in Chicago, we turned on the comedy channels to lighten the mood. She liked it so much that I didn't get my SkyFi back, until I bought her a Roady for Christmas. I've converted several family members and co-workers to XM. Especially now that the music channels have no commercials, it's awesome - the sound quality, the music selection (I'm a big 80's music fan/buff), and the variety of channels - it's worth the $10/mo. to me (that's less than the cost of one CD, or a little more than eating lunch out).
For anyone who spends a lot of time alone in the car, it's highly, highly recommended.
--Robert
whose 12-CD changer in his Aurora hasn't been used in months
I did checkout the Philly Auto Show last Sunday and after seeing the V8 Bonnie, how hard would it be to place that in 2000-2003 cars? Hopefully they don't have a problem with the manifold gasket.
Ice,
Although it will be some time before the Affinity tires are replaced, a tire dealer in the Philly area is carrying the Nokian tires that you have on your Bonnie. It seems that those tires have done well for you in Toronto.
Ken, hope your doing well and when you leave for Florida, I will deliver some cheese steaks to you for your ride down.
Steve
Ken, will you be going through NJ or PA on your trip to Florida? You may see my parent's down in Florida as well since they are leaving at the end of February. If you see a black 1997 Buick Riviera speeding past, it will be them.
Next Saturday I will be taking the Bonnie up to State College PA to meet up with a friend from Penn State. Should be a nice drive and it has been many years since I was there.
ENJOY
http://www.napleton.com/nfg/nfgweb.nsf/VEH/StartupDates.html
I'm waiting for my GXP too, but I'm beginning to think that Pontiac may be delaying the launch and making it a late spring intro (M/Y 2005). Does anyone know anything more on this? The dealers seem clueless.
After visiting the Cadillac board I am much more comfortable with the LD8 in the GXP than if GM had decided to use its sister engine, the 300 HP L37 Northstar. Reason: the LD8 was designed a year later than the L37 (now 11 years old) to have better low end “grunt” than the L37. The LD8 makes 275 HP @ 5600 rpm and 300 lb-ft @ 4000 rpm, compared to the L37’s 300 HP @ 6000 rpm and 295 lb-ft @ 4400 rpm. The difference is in the camshaft grinds. The GM Powertrain website says the LD8 “is edgier, higher revving with more peak horsepower and a higher redline and it puts more emphasis on quick launch and part-throttle response with more peak torque.” And in the GXP application, the LD8 also comes with a 3.71:1 transaxle, whereas in the Cadillac it uses a 3.11:1 transaxle. Between the LD8 and the 3.71:1 transaxle, the GXP should have plenty of “squat and git.”
There is a fellow on the Cadillac Forums pages (username bbobynski) who says he has put 4,300 miles on one of the first GXP production cars that went into his test fleet (I’m not sure what line of work he’s in) and he says “it is one of my favorite cars of all time.” He says the GXP handles so well he would put it up against a great many RWD cars. In his words, “It sticks like a slot car on freeway loops and can make most cars look silly and it still goes in the snow we’ve been having.” He feels it offers the same performance and comfort of an STS but at $15k less.
I’m still waiting on word from my dealer regarding when one of those beauties is going to arrive here.