Pontiac Bonneville

ezrapon · March 2001

Saw a 6000 mile black SSEi with ALL options for 25 grand here in the midwest. Anyone need one I can email you the specs and location... seemed reasonable. Good birthday present (day late) for someone.

tlc125 · March 2001

tlc125 · March 2001

Sorry about that last attempt at posting. I'm curious as to whether the 2002 model year is really the end for the Boneville. Has GM made any announcement about this, or is it a nasty rumor? If it's true, will they replace it with another "big" car?

I had even heard rumors that the Aurora would come over and replace the Bonny. But THEN I heard rumors that GM is discontinuing the 3.5 Shortstar engine.

I'm so confused! Any clarification would help!
Thanks.

tpken · March 2001

for a marathon hike out to the driveway to see that spiffy Bonneville. Now that I'm OLD, I just can't seem to remember things any more - anyone seen my trifocals? You young whippersnappers - just you wait - you'll thank your lucky stars for geritol! Got to go eat my prunes now.

LOL

Ken (counted 5 grays this morning!)

P.S. When I go pick up my Pontiac at the dealer today, I will try to rip off on of those Aztec visors if I can muster the strength in these ancient biceps!

tpken · March 2001

Pat - the flags are great! Super Idea.

Now perhaps an hour glass to designate decades lived!

Ken

teo · March 2001

Happy Birthday buddy!!!

Are you celebrating your B-day behind the wheel of your Bonneville SE on an open stretch of highway and your favorite CD?? (And good company?)

Claudio::: Glad to have a participant from Mexico. I am hispanic myself (Born in Colombia many moons ago)so it is nice to also gain some perspective and insight from fellow GM owners South of the Border...

Do you know any 2000 Impala owners that currently reside in Mexico?

Again, welcome!

tpken · March 2001

Thanks for the good wishes, Frank.

Resuming my monthly biz trips to PA next week. Driving the 400 miles from Maine in the Bonneville is something I have been chomping at the bit to do since I picked her up in Jan. Looks like clear sailing weather wise and I'll have the new rear window installed as of today so I'll check out the defroster/radio interference situation - should be fine now. Also got that missing rear seat belt installed - all under warranty.

The dealer called yesterday to say the car needed to stay overnight since he didn't have the window molding - and he offered me a rental car to use - along with apologies. I was impressed! Didn't need the car though - borrowing my mother-in-law's Coupe DeVille for my 100 mile round-trip commute. She has 44K on a blue 88! Needed a good run I'd say!

Take care buddy

Ken

tpken · March 2001

Shall I e-mail my address? You can have my gift shipped here anytime!

Sorry for the multitude of postings - I'll be quiet and listen now!

Ken

pat · March 2001

now THAT's a scary thought. :-)

Pat
Host
Sedans and Women's Auto Center Message Boards

zzahh · March 2001

Success comes not with age and your grey hairs, but rather with the number of grey hairs you can make appear on passengers with pure exceleration and g-forces. At 43 going on 20, I find thee SSE without the i uninspirational. Call me immature, I can take it.

ezrapon · March 2001

I had the title and keys for the ssei and a airline ticket to st. louis ready to put in the mail, however, our local airline TWA seems to be a bit shakey at the moment. I guesss the dealers offer of 2450 might entice me in another direction... perhaps next birthday we'll have a better airline.

theiceman · March 2001

looks like "Dan |||||||||||". I'm not sure that's an improvement over "Driver 1". I thought I had seen somebody else posting a while back that their results were likewise. A tad inelegant to be sure. Has anybody else had more satisfactory results? If not, I'll get them to change it next time to something like "Welcome Dan".

On another note: a guy in the service department pointed me to a local shop who can reprogram my chip to boost hp, remove the rev and speed limiters, etc. - all for about $350 (CDN!). This shop has a good rep and, in fact, I used to bring my old MX-6 there about 10 years ago. I'll be looking them up 2 be sure.

cuzinbrucey · March 2001

Hello Bonneville Fanatics! Your enthusiasm has convinced me to choose an SSEi as a replacement for my 1994 Accord (though I don't see myself making any performance mods).

A few observations about the SSEi market in North & Central New Jersey follow. I have been using the gmbuypower site from Edmunds to find dealers and check inventory.

Black seems to be the most popular color. Silver is second. Not too crazy about those. I think black gets dirty about 5 seconds after you wash it! I haven't seen any reds at all. The dark bronzemist looks interesting (IMHO). My wife is partial to the midnight blue we saw. It was the only one with the 12-cd changer. Maybe I should go for that one for the endless tunes. And they all seem to come with the sunroof. I rarely use the one in the Accord.

One question about pricing: There are two dealers I have seen who have a base price that is $150 above the norm, and the heated seats are $70 more than other dealers are charging (on the sticker). Does anybody have a clue as to why? Are they printing their own stickers and "sticking" it to the customer for an extra $220? I believe the 2 vehicles in question are very recent additions to the dealerships, if that is any clue.

Well, thanks for listening to the rambling.

theiceman · March 2001

Just a humble SLE owner here - couldn't find an SSEi without a sunroof (too much headroom lost)& didn't want to have to buy premium gas. Kinda regret it since - I think the s/c, stablitrak, HUD and memory seats more than justify the upgrade. Still love my SLE though.

I say ask your dealership why the discrepancies in list prices for the seats/etc. and then ignore them - go for invoice price.

I also agree on the dark bronzemist - that's the colour I bought and it is a looker (IMHO) - I get lotsa compliments specifically on the colour. Washed and waxed, the colour plays with the light & has an almost "3D" character - I had a similar reaction to pearl '99 Auroras I was looking at before I finally settled on my '00 Bonneville. The bronzemist certainly hides the dirt better than black (crucial in the current "wiper fluid" season) but I will confess that this is one sharp looking car in black - freshly waxed with the chrome wheels. I'll also say that I don't think there's a bad colour for the Bonnie.

Buy that Bonneville!!!! and then come join us. Just promise us that you won't get a light chaser licence plate frame, dark tinted windows and the "BONNEVILLE" windshield emblem. We have an image, you know.

Ken: Does your SE come with keyless remote? I would think that would be a handy feature for you guys with walkers. And we'll be looking out for reports of visor-less Azteks on dealer lots in your area.

smfran · March 2001

My dealer was able to program STEPHEN in to my DIC with no problem. He even made a point to tell me he centered it vs. left or right justified. Ice, if your dealer can't figure it out, I'll give you the name and number for him to call. These dealers should be happy to help each other out.

theiceman · March 2001

I'll try again in another 5,000 kilometres (that's 3,000 miles for you US types).

I had to take a short trip this a.m. on secondary roads and since had I gassed up only last night (the tank was pretty full), I was able to hit 537 miles (or 863 kms) on the DIC fuel range for a good stretch - then I hit towns & the fuel range sputtered. I guess that kinda makes me "King DIC".

Eagerly waiting to be de-throned, the iceman

pat · March 2001

Happy St. Patrick's Day theiceman - and everyone.

You are wearing your green quite nicely!

Pat
Host
Sedans and Women's Auto Center Message Boards

mfahey1 · March 2001

I too passed up black because it is so hard to keep clean on a daily driver. We picked the light bronzemist and although I do like it, unfortunately several hundred thousand Grand Prix and even worse, Grand Am owners do too.
I'm in the enviable situation of having three cars for two drivers, not counting my 1970 Camaro. Therefore, the Bonneville is almost never driven when it could get dirty. Also, because I've managed to keep it away from my wife and I'm a fanatic about where I park, after a little more than a year, it literally doesn't have a scratch or nick on it. My philosophy on washing the car is that even though hand washing is usually considered to be the best method, the reality is that anytime anything is wiped across the surface of the paint, you'll wind up with microscopic scratches no matter how careful you are. I go to the touchless washes and even though they're not great on getting road film off, you do avoid the accumulated dulling of the finish. I just chamois the car when I get home and it still looks like it did when we took delivery.

cuzinbrucey · March 2001

Iceman: You are right - there is no bad color for a Bonneville, but the dark bronzemist is certainly a fine one. I took my wife to see it Saturday afternoon and it is now her favorite color (replacing midnight blue). We saw an Aztec in the dark maple red and it too looked nice (the color, not the Aztec!) But I haven't seen any of the reds listed in dealer inventory.

Also, the higher prices for the base and heated seats reflect pricing that went into effect Mar 2, 2001. But when negotiating, I may choose to ignore it.

And when I buy, I promise not to wreck it by adding all those fancy doo-dads!

mfahey1: thanks for the tips on washing. I'll have to check to see if there are any touchless car washes in my neck of the woods.

rea98d · March 2001

Off topic question, but, how'd you do the green?

ezrapon · March 2001

unless you own it and become overly obsesive with it. Mine is a year old and when I approach it (clean) in a parking lot, it always blows me away. However when I wash it and see the tiny imperfections in the paint from washes and daily wear it appears awful, it shows dust, and swirl marks, but I think it looks worse to the owner than to others.

refiner · March 2001

Mine is also black and a year old. I don't know how many strangers have told me what a great looking car I have. It is a pain to keep nice but its worth it. Especially with this never ending winter.

zzahh · March 2001

Ok, back to serious questions. When I purchased the '94 SSEi I had the Pontiac dealer run a scope on it. I bought it cheap, and was willing to do the repairs it would require to make it "right". The car would not run well at all under WOT, and the dealers "professional equipment and scope" showed it needed plug wires, to the tune of $ 160. Right. So I install a new set of good wires, and the problem is better, but not fixed. It would seem to me that the problems are electrical, and I am thinking coil packs.

My question is, who do you trust? How do you get accurate answers? I don't mind so much paying to have the car repaired. If it costs $ 200 to fix and fix correctly, fine, so be it. But had I paid the $ 160 for wires and still had the problems I would be hot to say the least. This hunt and peck solution process with my wallet doesn't appeal to me.

It so happens I am designing a home for the gal who works at the corporate HQ of a local auto dealer enterprise, one dealership of which is a Pontiac dealer. So I can get parts reasonably.

Any thoughts on the idea of new coil packs? Seems to cough and sputter after the engine is warm, or after extended operation f elevated rpms.

mfahey1 · March 2001

Check out post 157 by alcan on the Bonneville trouble board. It talks about the procedure to check for a plugged catalytic converter.

tpken · March 2001

Ezrapan - thanks for the good intentions buddy! Maybe next year.

Iceman - yes I have the remote and do enjoy it as much as anyone in their ancient forties is still capable of enjoying anything in life!

I have been looking out for a Dark Bronzemist Bonneville but have not yet seen one except in pictures which appear gorgeous. The green that I own is a great color on this car and I have not seen too many others this color. The Maple Red and Black seem to be the colors I've noticed most frequently. In my opinion, white does absolutely nothing for this car.

Yesterday afternoon I drove from my home in south coastal Maine to PA - about 430 miles the way I went. It was a great drive and I had been eagerly anticipating it for weeks. The Bonneville handled great and the ride was smooth, quiet and well mannered. I averaged 30 mpg traveling 75 mph most of the way - exactly what I'd hoped for. It was a very comfortable ride and I found myself deciding to take a little longer route to avoid the major congestion being reported around the various Hudson River crossings - what a shame - having to spend an additional 30 minutes in the Bonneville. Then I missed my exit for Rt 87 south and had to go 15 minutes out of my way to get back on track. YESS!!!

I played with the RDS system and found that program information does not travel the same distance as the actual broadcast signal itself. For example - approaching NYC, I searched for Classical stations and found nothing. I tuned in manually to the powerful classical station WQXR 96.3 and listened for quite a while before the program information appeared on the display. I was wishing I had the steering wheel radio controls - oh well - next car for sure!

Enough for now - have a great day everyone.

Ken

martyb4 · March 2001

I'd like to add to the list of annoying things.
(I almost hate to say that about a car I love, however, the non-functional cupholder is ridiculous)

In my 2000 SLE, I have noticed that if I have my Driving Lights switched on, ALL exterior lights are on continuously regardless of daylight. Is this so for all of you?

This was not the case with the '93 & '97 Bonnies I owned. I am wondering if this is a problem with my Twilight Sentinel feature, or just another "hair-brain" change GM/Pontiac made for some unknown reason. Basically, I like to keep my Driving Lights on whenever I have the headlights on. I like the additional lighting and just think it looks good. However, I don't like driving around with all of the lights on in broad daylight. I know, I shouldn't be so lazy to want to not have to switch off the Driving Lights, BUT...

Let me know if this seems different than any of yours.

ICEMAN - I got my Fuel Range to read up to 549 miles. Just missed that 5 and ½ mark. My goal now is to someday see 600! Also, that was me with the dealer adjusted readout showing "HI MARTY ||||||||"
I think they just didn't know how to handle this, they even questioned whether it could be done at all initially. Apparently it defaults to all "|||||||||'s". When I go in next time, I am going to ask to have it centered and the extra |||||||'s done away with.

Later

theiceman · March 2001

Your 549 miles on the fuel range has to make you the reigning King DIC. Long live the king! However, given that GM boasts that the highway fuel range of the Bonneville is 555 miles, I guess even your reign is going to be short lived.

And thanks again for the clarification on the driver name - I'll be getting mine cleared up. Stephen: maybe you could just post the name and ph. # of your dealer and Marty and I will pass this info on to our loser dealerships.

Thanks for the RDS update Ken - I haven't used it meself. First off, I listen to CBC (that's the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) and they're in every major market in Canada so it's not much of an issue to me (since they're pretty easy to find).

Re. getting colors, I'll have to point you to any site which covers programming fonts and colors in html. It can actually be an eyesore in these kinds of fora, so I try not to use them too much. Still, if you can program html, it's pretty easy to do.

theiceman

smfran · March 2001

I chose the Midnight Blue Metallic due to the advice of the detail guy at my dealer. I had a 1988 black Bonneville and loved it, but experienced the negatives some of you have spoken about. I also had a "test loaner" in black right before I finalized my deal. It was gorgeous but helped me make up my mind to go with the blue. I'm glad I did! The blue is rare; I've never seen another, and is just as sharp as black when clean. I have a double thin white pin stripe which accents the lines beautifully.

One of the reasons I have had 5 Bonnevilles is the steering wheel radio controls. My '88 and '91 even had climate controls on the wheel. It is a fantastic feature I would not want to be without. I now feel the same way about the HUD which I had for the first time in my '97.

Marty - By driving lights do you mean Fog Lamps? I believe that my daytime running lights go out when I turn on my Fog Lamps when it is light out. The orange parking lights and the tail lights also go on. I don't remember what the arrangement was in my '97, but you may be right; you could just have only the Fog Lamps on.
For whatever it's worth, I never put my Fog Lamps on in the daylight. I only use them in rainy, foggy conditions. I really don't think it looks good to have them on when it's nice out.

jashou · March 2001

Has anyone install one yet in their Bonne? I just received shipment of mine, I will have it installed this week, I will let you know the outcome.

theiceman · March 2001

I too never use my fogs during the day. I'm not going for looks as much as longevity of bulbs. Marty, I'm a little confused as to the nature of your problem: is it that you're overriding the sentinel and turning your riding lights on and, as a consequence, those lights stay on and your setting is not in turn overridden by the sentinel when light conditions change? In other words, when it gets dark or you drive into a parking garage, if you're on manual, your headlights won't come on? Clarify for me and I'll check it out. It would seem logic enough that they'd work this way.

jashou: yes, let us know - I know that I'm eager to hear about your experience. Considering going that way meself.

re. demise of the Bonneville (post #854): I had also heard that '02 might be the Bonnie's swan song and that '03 might see the Aurora coming over to Pontiac. Pontiac needs (okay, my opinion) a strong flagship and the Grand Prix just isn't going to cut it - without some serious upgrading. The overlap in size/performance with the Grand Prix is undoubtedly limiting the Bonnie's sales and further differention (and refinement) of the product is probably a good idea. The Northstar is an obvious first start but (again, IMHO) this does not require the demise of the Aurora - they could do that now. Cutting the Bonnie loose without a replacement would not spell good things for Pontiac. Hey, if/when the Firebird goes, they'd be left with Sunfire/Grand Am/Grand Prix - hardly builds excitement. (love that GP GTP though...)

theiceman

smfran · March 2001

Marty needs to clarify.

smfran · March 2001

I don't think so. First of all, the Bonnie is a flagship that cannot be replaced by the likes of an Aurora. The Aurora does not lend itself to the wide market a flagship like Bonneville does. It is too specialized and is not a consideration for company fleets. Also, why would GM totally redesign the Bonneville, even after eight years of sameness, if they were going to delete it in only three more?

mfahey1 · March 2001

Where are you located in southern Maine? We have a summer cabin on Long Pond south of Kezar Falls. I would love to take the Bonneville on a long trip from here in Chicago to Maine but unfortunately, hauling "stuff" isn't one of the Bonneville's strong suits. The supercharger wouldn't have done much good on the interstates or the New York Thruway but it would have been fun through Vermont and New Hampshire and saved time in passing people who are poking along. Passing with a 3.0L Caravan is an exercise in patience.

Mark

tpken · March 2001

I live in Kittery which is the southernmost town (the gateway) in Maine. Our house is right near all the outlet malls you may have shopped at on your way through. I have been to the Kezar Falls area - a long time ago - very pretty on all of those lakes. We have a summer 'camp' in NH, so when all the tourists arrive in July we head to camp and come back in Sep for school. Water's way to cold here at the beach to go into anyway ( except for kids ).

I hear you on the traveling vehicle situation - we use our 95 Suburban for the trips and pulling my boat back and forth to camp. The Bonneville is my commuting car ( I drive 100 miles a day back and forth to Mass plus these monthly trips to PA ). It's a pleasure to spend 8 hours behind the wheel of this fine road car.

Have a great day. Next time your coming through Kittery let me know - we could meet and talk Bonneville.

Ken

theiceman · March 2001

My apologies if my post #881 sounded like I was suggesting that the Aurora replacing the Bonneville made sense. It doesn't. 'Course, that in no way means that GM won't do it.

Consider: last year, Pontiac sold 60,000 Bonnevilles - an improvement over 1999's 45,000 units and a little over double the number of Auroras sold in the same period. Still, since about 60% of the Bonnie's sold were SE's, I suspect that Olds' profits rivalled or bested Pontiac's for their flagship.

Think about the 28,000 Auroras that were sold last year! Just what GM does to make sure that these buyers go over to Buick or Pontiac (doubtful they will move to Chev.) will be interesting to see. Just how this all affects Pontiac's flagship of course interests us Bonnie owners more.

On another subject, I saw my first dark bronzemist SSEi ever today - right behind me on the drive home and it had its fogs on. I thought the fogs on looked pretty cool - might make me rethink my "fogs-off" policy.

Stephen, you're right about the midnight blue - sharp looking colour but I'll have to imagine it on the Bonnie because I have never seen it in this trim, whether on the road or in the showroom. And Ken, I've seen another dark green SE and it is a looker too.

theiceman

smfran · March 2001

Just kidding about the title, but as soon as I posted about not seeing another Bonnie in my color, I hit the road and then one came up behind me! It too had it's fog lights on and Marty is right, the daytime running lights were on also. I still don't believe in having the Fog Lamps on when it is sunny, but if I did, I would want only them on. They should defeat the other lights when the Sentinel isn't calling for head lamps on.

mfahey1 · March 2001

I wanted to thank the people at Edmunds for this and the other forums. I'm addicted to this one to the point that my wife is trained not to log off until I get my fix on Edmunds. I know I have learned some valuable pointers here and hope that others feel the same way. I miss Doug's contributions that disappeared after his encounter with Bambi. I had the same type of up close and personal experience about 10 years ago except I nailed mine at about 60 mph and did nearly $5,000 damage back then. Maybe if we get DSL, I can get a continuous dosage rather than my couple a day ones as at present. The pricing and discussion section was invaluable to us when we bought the Bonneville last year and our Caravan this year. One comment about the section that lists the features though and that is that if you are comparing two different makes of cars, it can be difficult to do a side by side comparison of what each vehicle comes with with the way that the information is presented. Perhaps some standardized format on features would aid in comparison shopping. Just a thought.

vtech83 · March 2001

How did your seats hold up during the trip??? I gather from your previous posts that you're not too happy with the comfort.

I'm trying to get some feedback here since I might consider replacing the seats in my LeSabre one day. The seats are comfortable, but have no lateral support at all. I'm curious how everyone feels about the seats in the Bonnveille since they appear to have a little more support than the LeSabre seats. Also, the Bonneville seats are available in Taupe, which is the same color I have in my car.

Let me know.

- vtech83

martyb4 · March 2001

Please excuse me if this a repeat posting. I tried posting this already, but it didn't seem to show up.

Yes, many refer to them as Fog Lamps, I guess I am just use to calling them Driving Lights. I think of Fog Lamps as amber colored lights.

I pretty much leave my Twilight Sentinel alone, set to go off 20-30 seconds after turning the ignition off. I don't want any lights, other than the Daytime Running Light's, on during daylight hours. The problem is that if the Driving/Fog lamp switch is turned on - then all of my exterior lights (headlamps, taillights, etc.) come on as soon as the ignition is turned on, regardless of the amount of ambient light. In my '93 and '97 the exterior lighting only would come on when the dashboard mounted sensor sensed a definite decrease in ambient light (i.e. nighttime, parking garages, shaded areas during twilight, etc.).

Like I said, no big deal, but it is just a little annoyance (for me) that I hadn't experienced in the older model years. Just wondering if this is so for all 2000 models, or maybe a lighting module problem with mine. I haven’t asked my dealer about this (yet).

Later

theiceman · March 2001

...that Pontiac has decided that fog lights are just that and, if they're on, it means that you need illumination. Odd for a car that provides itself on customization.

theiceman

whogault · March 2001

have been away from the forum for awhile. Have been thinking about dumping my 2000 ssei. Why? Not because I don't love driving it. It is a stone cold gas. Fattest car I've ever owned. Most gadgets, too. But when I drive it, and I am 6'4 and big framed, and my 6'5" 16 year old sits in the passenger seat, and we both have the seats all the way back, and have the seat backs at an angle that gives us some head room( damn sunroof!)my 12 year old complains about sitting in the back with no knee room! Been thinking of a DOTS or a UV. But I love my Bonnier Put the I&N in as well as the 3.5 pull. Want to install HID lights ( only $600 ) and finally put on the wood dash I bought 4 months ago. What am I to do? This puppy is really so much smaller than my 94'. And hats this I have read about a CM mod?

ezrapon · March 2001

I am 6' 3" and have never had a problem with head room. Yes I have a SUN ROOF. I would not want to sit behind me. I was behind a new silver SLE today (not fot long) I noticed it had the word Bonneville indented on the left side of the rear bumper. Is this new for 2001 or unique to the SLE? The ONLY place my SSEi says Bonneville is on the left head light cover. Took it to the dealer for an irritating squeak that only occurrs at night when the car is cold. The service manager said he will drive it home tonight. I wonder if he will notice the extra horse power. Got an Azteck for a loaner. Rides pretty nice, butt-ugly though. The only other ones I've ever seen have dealer tags. Not many customers stepping up to the plate on these bad boys. Lots of head room whogault!

theiceman · March 2001

...sucks. I searched high and low for an SSEi without a sunroof - it makes all the difference in the world. Couldn't find one - so I bought an SLE. I'm only 6'2" but I could absolutely not be comfortable driving with the seat tilted as far back as I would need in order to drive this car comfortably.

Back in '88, I bought a Mazda 626 (a nice car for its time) off the lot and the only one they had in the colour I wanted had a sunroof. My sole condition for the sale was that they pull out the driver seat, cut 1" out of the chair supports and re-install. It cost me $150 (Cdn - at current exchange rates, that's about $3.75 US - or does it just feel that way?). They made me sign a waiver absolving the dealership of any legal liability in case of accident, blah, blah, blah.... Who cared? They did a great job and the extra inch made that car liveable. I owned it for 4 years and never gave the headroom another thought.

I'm not sure that the Bonneville's driver seat has the kind of support structure that would allow the same modification but it would be worth examining - especially if you love the car. I would think that headroom would be worth the investment more than HID (but that's just me).

Message to Pontiac: there are people over 5'11" in this world! Make a car within decent headroom & the (tall) world will beat a path to your door.

Wonder what Michael Jordan drives. Get me one of those.

Ezrapon: My 2000 SLE has "Pontiac" embossed in the rear bumper. Like yours, "Bonneville" is on the headlight cover but the SLE's badge also contains the word "Bonneville". You don't see too many SLE's on the road up my way and I'm not sure that I've yet seen an '01. I'll keep my eye out for sure. Yeah, and the Aztek loaner that I had last week had a sunroof and still had tons of headroom.

BTW, just noticed that my previous post got contorted by spell check (Either that or I had been drinking) as it should have said "Odd for a car that prides itself on customization". Cut me some slack, okay?

theiceman

whogault · March 2001

Geez,, many of the first letters of words are missing from my post. I don't spell THAT bad. Well should all know that total height does not mean that all tall people have the same distance from hip to head ( pivot point). That is why the head room will be a big issue to some, and not to others, regardless of height. Let's face it, the Bonnie is a great 4 door 2+2! The rear seats are just not that big for a car the size of this one. It is the biggest sedan Pontiac makes, and my family of four does not really fit. Which, 80 % of the time is no problem. ( By the way, for my body dimensions, the Grand Prix, because of its dash and door layout, is a more comfortable fit than my Bonnie!) But I still love it to death!
SO, guys...is there a PCM out there for our ride that works? Is it available?

tpken · March 2001

Got home to Maine last night from PA - rain following me all the way - it's pouring here today and secondary roads are flooding seriously. The interstate ride home was FANTASTIC! I felt so comfortable and not at all cramped or tired after 8 hours of driving - I would have gladly gone another 4 hours if I could have. Vtech83 - The cloth seat in my SE turned out to be extremely comfortable with the addition of a small rectangle of foam egg crate style packing material - now that I know this I will pursue having the seat repadded by an upholstery shop when I get the chance. BTW - the leather seats do have just that extra amount of padding that makes the difference - what's up with that? Talk about cost cutting!

Gas mileage averaged 27.5 on the return leg - not as good as the 30 I experienced going south on Sunday - and I always found this to be true on my old Grand Marquis as well - not certain why. No. 1 son says "It's because your travelling up not down!" Maybe he's got a point. LOL

On the way home I saw very few new Bonnevilles - perhaps 3 or 4. One was an SE in the dark Bronzemist with beige leather - VERY NICE!! New Impalas and LeSabres abound and Auroras are easily sighted too - where have all the Bonnies gone??

Wood Dash - wow that's interesting - anyone ever seen one installed? How much is it and where do you get one?

Badging - going to have to check this out on mine. I know there is a Bonneville nameplate at the base of the trunk lid and I think Pontiac embossed into the rear bumper - right I think - will have to notice tonight when I go out to the car.

Headroom - is fine for me at 6'0 and no sunroof. I have wished that the seat would raise higher as in the Impala but that might bring it too close to the ceiling. Will have to sit in a LeSabre sometime and check out that headroom.

Back to work - have a great day all. If you're here in the Northeast - stay dry!!

Ken

refiner · March 2001

Check out post 779. Their expensive but they remove the speed limiter and raise the rev limiter. And you have to send your PCM in. Their web address is asechips.com. Intense did you send your PCM in?

mlm4 · March 2001

I'm about 6' 3" and the headroom with the sunroof is tight. I like to have the seat up pretty high, and my hair brushes the headliner constantly. It is a little irritating, but I suppose I could lower the seat a bit. As I said earlier, I deal with it, because I like having the sun pour in. My parents' '93 SSE also had a sunroof, but those cars were boxier and had lots of interior space. The smaller dimensions were one reason they didn't trade for a new Bonnie.

I noticed that SLE and SSEi sedans now carry the "Bonneville" name embossed into the left side of the rear bumper last year at the two car shows I attended. These were all 2001 models but I have also seen some 2001's (with window stickers, so I know they were '01's) without this new feature. I think it may have been a late production change after last year's supply of bumpers ran out. I kind of like how the name is not obvious on my 2000 SSEi - it keeps people guessing ("Is that a new Grand Prix?").

On my car all of the exterior lights turn on when the Driving Lights are activated, even when it is light out. I think I can defeat the headlights by turning the headlamp switch to the parking lamp setting (as you can do at night to douse the headlights), so if you really want the driving lights without the headlights, it can be done. There is a Bonnie SE I have seen running around my neighborhood with all of its lights on all the time. I think the driver must have the driving light switch pushed in and not know it - or not care.

mfahey1 · March 2001

We're finally getting some spring weather here in northern Illinois (sorry Ken, you can keep the snow and rain in the NE). Took the car out on the back roads, sunroof open and Supertramp on max. Went through an S curve that was posted for 35mph at 65 without so much as a peep out of the tires. The SHO I had was certainly straight line faster but didnn't handle nearly as well as this car. Now, if I could just get my new sway bars from Saner.
The headroom issue doesn't affect me but we have good friends and he is 6'3". When we drive with them, we wind up taking our van because he doesn't have near enough headroom. He has a new Beetle and has more than enough headroom in it.

smfran · March 2001

I purposely did not get a sunroof in my 2000 SSEi to save on headroom. I've had them before and do not get enough benefit from them to offset the loss of headroom (I'm 6 feet). Iceman, I did order my car and had to wait, but I had the time.

The rear leg room in this car is minimal for one this size. When I have adults in the back, I have to move my seat forward to allow them enough room. I was in the rear seat of my friend's BMW 740 a couple of weeks ago and could not believe the amount of leg room.

mlm4 is right about the Fog Lamps. If you turn them on with the head lamp switch set on parking lights, the head lamps will turn off. The tail lights will still be on however.

ezrapon · March 2001

I'm 6'3", but wear a 32 inch length pants, so I'm tall from the waist up. I guess I just like the reclined position and have never had the head room issues. Maybe the new Bonneville emblem on the bumper is an advertisement to boost sales. Many-many people have approached me to ask what kind of car I was driving, the SSEi just does not say "hey this is a Bonneville." My headlights come on only when I put it in gear, no other lights come on during the day. The service manager took my bonnie home to find the night only squeak, he said they sent it out to a glass company to get it fixed, but won't return the car until tomorrow... I hope he didn't notice the mods.

Pontiac Bonneville

Comments

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles