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Pontiac Grand Prix 2004 Redesign Questions & Comments
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Comments
http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4290953645
http://www.mpt.org/motorweek/carkeys/
montanafan - THANKS; it looks to me that Pontiac is pricing the new GP/GTP very competitively, even if they are "defeatured" some from the current 2003 base models. I'll be at the PDX auto show this Friday and will see what the dealers have to say.
I expect that with Pontiac releasing base prices today, the equipment lists should be released within the week so a comparison between the 2003 and 2004 can be made. Part of what is exciting to me is that the Comp G package being priced at $1395 which is very reasonable for StabiliTrak, performance wheels, tapshift, HUD....
I read that the Mazda6i(w/V6) is quite a nice and reasonably priced package.... choices!
My 98 GTP did not have either HUD or leather...and they were not delete options either...
http://eogld.ecomm.gm.com/NASApp/domestic/vehiclesel.jsp?regionID- =1&divisionID=7#
click on the Print Book button, choose 2004 Grand Prix from the drop down menu, then click on the Print Model option on the screen that comes up and then hit the Print Button in the upper right corner. It will launch an Adobe Acrobat program that has lists of all the equipment and options.
Looking through it, for the GTP the only options are:Info Tech pkg(trip computer + HUD); Leather; Side curtain airbags; Upgraded stereos; Sunroof; engine block heater and the WS6 COmp G package[Info tech is included with the Comp G package].
Using 2003 MSRP pricing from Edmunds; I priced a loaded up a GTP. Using the info on the 2004 pricing just released - adding similar options to the 2004 GTP with Comp G package I got a MSRP coming in several hundred dollars less than the 2003.(I added leather, sunroof, upgraded 6 CD player) So it looks like at MSRP one gets more in a 2004 than a 2003 for less. Not knowing if GM will offer any incentives on the 2004......
Pontiac identifies the Intrepid, Stratus, Maxima, Altima and Accord as the target competition. I tried to look and sit in all of them plus the Campy, Acura RSX, Mazda6 and Jetta I think the new GP beats some and is closing the gap on some of the others. At the end of the day I could only be excited about the GTP and the Mazda6.
My impressions: Very nice looking car, looks great in black. The 10 spoke wheels look better in real life, but Interior is much better than current. Fit and Finish was very good. It still has quite a bit of hard plastic, but isn’t any worse than most and has less than the Nissans. Seats are quite a bit more comfortable than current and leather is definitely upgraded. The show car had the Parchment leather and dark Pewter interior(only two color choices). The interior is better designed. The steering wheel hit me a little funny looking, but the dash is nice. Power window & door lock toggles look sort of cheap and the pull bar on the door looks sort of out of place. I like the current steering wheel, PW/PDL toggles better. The interior is more “busy” looking than some of the competition, but is nicer than current. The fold down seats with pass through to the trunk is real nice. Exterior colors oddly have no blue and they could loose the Sedona Beige and not sure too many people are going to like the Fusion Orange. The Sport Red could look interesting, but from the color patch in the brochure it’s hard to say.
After spending a half a day or so sitting in and playing with all the cars, I feel that this Pontiac is closing the gap with the Toyotas, Hondas GP Fit and finish was better than Dodges or Nissans and almost as good as the Accord and Camry. Interior designs appeal to everyone differently, but I liked the Accord and Mazda6 interiors the best. Exterior styling is almost as personal, but the new Accord looks like it went “cheap” , maybe trying to appeal to a younger crowd?
The only other car that really got me excited in this league (I left the Infiniti, BMW in another category) was the Mazda6. Except for it's tall spoiler and being smaller than the GP, I like the styling and interior.
So, I plan to test drive the 2004 GTP and Mazda6.
there is a pic of the base GT in there... it shows what the 16inch rims look like. there are also a few other pics i havent seen ebfore too.
enjoy
BTW, they'll be raffling off the new 2004 GP at the Auto Show Preview, so hopefully I'll be holding the lucky ticket!
http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4290713653
http://www.cheersandgears.com/boards/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=3778
www.oqcgp.com/gallery/ view_album.php?set_albumName=scott_d
Try using google.com and search the WEB tab for "2004 GTP". It's the first (top) entry listed.
(before view_album)
try this:
www.oqcgp.com/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=scott_d
And that's not the 2004 Grand Prix GTP. That's the show car called G-FORCE.
http://www.oqcgp.com/gallery
I don't care how streamlined you make the dashboard look - if it's covered in dimestore plastic - it's still cheap looking. Push on the plastics in any Pontiac, new or used, and the miserable things sweek and moan and rub. It's pitiful. It's as if the manufacturer got a bunch of high school students to outsource the production along with their homecoming floats.
Get behind the wheel of a Honda, Toyota, Ford, Chrysler, or just about any other auto brand, and the plastics are supple and, increasingly, rich looking. Slip behind the wheel of a Pontiac and it's liking getting in your kid's dimestore car - only cheaper feeling - and with a very high price for such shoddy production and execution.
I'll not buy a Pontiac until they can make the car worth my while. I've been waiting since the late 1970's, so I guess they're in no hurry either...........
Pitifully Out-of-step Non Technologically Innovative American Cars
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After spending most of a day at the auto show I narrowed my choices for my next down to 3 models and one of those is the 2004 GTP. I'll know much better after test drives.
snaab; I agree about the Mazda(got to have the 6 cyl) spoiler, which I was told at the auto show could be deleted. But I really liked the interior and electric blue paint. The RSX is appealing, but I'm afraid as you state, the 4 cyl with a auto will drive more like my sister's Sunfire. But I'm willing to give them all a test drive. I probably wouldn't look as hard at the Mazda or Acura, but I'm still not sure how the interior(albeit much improved) of the new GTP will grow on me. If I still can't decide after driving all three, I will just have to wait, save more $$ and try the new GTO when it hits the lots.
- Exterior shape was pleasing, especially the rear view, which I had initially disliked when I saw some of the pictures previously posted.
- The interior was slightly better than what I had initially imagined. The brushed aluminum looked better than I imagined, BUT the cheap, cheap hard Pontiac plastic still remains. Still nowhere near the quality of a Accord or Passat interior no matter what Motorweek says.
- The interior panels on the doors also looked very cheap and felt very flimsy.
- The seat design and leather texture was a slight improvement over the old GP.
In summary, I was hoping to walk out of the Auto Show with a strong desire to head down to my dealer to place an order. Instead, I'm still debating whether to get a 2004 GP, Bonneville, ES300, Accord, or CTS.
I know I have...
So, when I go to test drive the 2004 GTP I'll try a 2003 too. Then if the Mazda6 or RSX don't really turn me on... heck $5000 plus could buy some pretty nice interior upgrade materials and a few suspension parts.
MSRP was $26435 w/ dest chrg and after value group saving. Here's what he offered us
sales price = $24297 + $83 title & license =
$24380
- $3000 GM rebate
- $500 Bonus cash(if purchase by 2/28)
= $20880 to me
- $2150 redeemed GM card $$$
= $18730
gave an additional down payment and got 4.5% financing for the balance.
signed the papers at 7pm on 2/28
We're very happy - the Dark Bronzemist with Taupe leather is very attractive looking, plus we figured if the 2004 GP turns out to really excite us, a year from now we can sell the 2003 GT without loosing a bundle off what we actually paid
and although the 2003 GT isn't quite as fun to drive as the Mazda6s it's roomier, about as quick and gets similar gas mileage... and with what we paid over $6k less than we could deal on the Mazda.
http://www.mpt.org/Motorweek/upcomingshows.shtml
I believe in being polite, so I am not saying where it is. I bet Edmunds has it here within a few days at most.
Utility Player
By John DiPietro
Date posted: 03-13-2003
After years of taking it on the chin spoiler for having an excess of body cladding and general busy-ness in its cars' styling, Pontiac has slowly been smoothing things out. Having to walk the tightrope between having a recognizable design theme and being boring isn't easy, but it seems that the company has a handle on it. Witness the 2004 Grand Prix, which will be available in base GT 1, midlevel GT 2 and supercharged GTP models.
With a semifastback roofline, the four-door Grand Prix resembles more a sporty coupe (almost like a supersized Acura RSX in profile) than a four-door sedan. With the Grand Prix coupe being discontinued, this sporty countenance is probably no mere coincidence. A smooth nose with the trademark Pontiac dual-port grille and a clean profile with just enough sculpting to lend a sporty character highlight the elegant envelope. Only the rear end has a bit of awkwardness with a fussy rear spoiler that fills a depression in the deck lid. Overall, however, we have to say this is one handsome car.
Moving to the interior, there is a definite cockpit theme, as the center stack curves to meet the driver. The assorted plastic trim seems upgraded compared to past GPs — a good thing as Pontiac has taken more than a few hits for its interior material. And we're glad to see the dowdy old steering wheel (that looked like a vinyl-covered throw pillow) gone and replaced by a much sportier three-spoke job with metallic accents and (on some models) controls for the stereo.
Gauges and displays are done in red, and all controls, even the trip computer, are intuitive. The cruise control is worked via a small stalk located at 4 o'clock on the wheel (like a Toyota), as the old 1980s-style turn signal stalk-mounted control finally retires. Those with a copy of Top Gun in their DVD collection will be pleased to know that the fighter jet-inspired heads-up display now has a "stealth" function that kills the instrument cluster lights so the GP's pilot isn't distracted. Also helping during aggressive maneuvers are the firmly bolstered seats on the GTP that held us in place while running through the countryside.
One of Pontiac's goals was to maximize this sedan's versatility in terms of being able to carry large, awkward objects. To that end, the new Grand Prix boasts a wide and low-cut trunk opening, a 60/40-split rear seat that allows a large pass-through, a fold-flat front passenger seat and rear doors that swing open nearly 90 degrees. To demonstrate the GP's almost wagonlike hauling capacity, a Pontiac rep tossed (OK, maybe not tossed) a nine-foot-long roll of carpeting into the car. Kudos to the interior team for designing a very functional yet sporty cabin; we would only suggest adding (or making optional) metallic trim (matching that on the steering wheel) to accent the dash on the left and right side of the instrument cluster and to cover the out-of-place dimpled portion of the door pull handles.
As before, a pair of 3.8-liter V6s (newly refined and dubbed Series III) serves duty in the Grand Prix. In the GT models, the standard 3800 Series III makes 200 horsepower and 225 pound-feet of torque. In addition to furnishing brisk performance, this engine is great on gas, scoring mileage estimates of 20 mpg city and a highway figure of 30 mpg highway — numbers associated more with four-cylinder econoboxes than a roomy V6 sedan. The GTP once again has a supercharged version of the 3800, tweaked this year to make 20 more horsepower (for a total of 260 ponies) and the same 280 pound-feet of twist as last year. Both engines now feature electronic throttle control (often called "drive by wire") whose action is speed-sensitive, meaning that, when parking, the response is slower to allow smoother, jerk-free maneuvering, while at higher speeds it reacts more quickly, so as to allow swift passing and merging.
This year, the supercharged engine can run on regular fuel, though premium is recommended for the best performance. We sampled both engines, which are teamed with a four-speed automatic. Of course we enjoyed the rush of the force-fed V6, whose transmission can be shifted manually via steering wheel-mounted buttons if the Competition Group Package is ordered. Pontiac calls this manual-shift feature "TAPshift," and we like that it has full manual operation during upshifts, meaning it won't baby-sit the driver like some other systems and thus will allow him to run into the rev limiter if he's not paying attention. We're all for anything that encourages more involvement and concentration from the driver. TAPshift is also pleasingly quick on the draw, shifting up or down virtually as quickly as the button is thumbed — a nice change from many other automanuals we've driven that have an annoying lag in this mode. Left to shift for itself, the tranny ran through the gears seamlessly, even under full throttle.
Pontiac had a 2004 Grand Prix GTP tested against its competition (all 2003 models) under the supervision of the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) at Firebird Raceway in Arizona and got a 15.0-second quarter-mile out of it, besting such cars as the Nissan Maxima and Dodge Intrepid SXT. Pontiac claims the GTP will cover the 0-to-60 race in 6.5 seconds. Even without the supercharger, the 3800 V6 furnishes plenty of thrust and continues to be a favorite engine of this writer for its great combination of performance and economy, as well as its solid reliability history.
Hauling it all down are larger antilock (on all except the GT 1, where it's optional) four-wheel disc brakes that feature Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD). These binders were easily modulated and felt strong while we subjected our GP to many elevation changes (and hence heavy brake usage), certainly an improvement over the previous brakes which didn't feel as hefty or have as much pedal feel.
An independent suspension is found under the sleek bodywork, and in keeping with its performance-minded image, even the base cars feature antiroll bars fore and aft, 16-inch tires (225/60 Goodyear Eagles) and a quick (only 2.4 turns lock to lock) steering ratio. Step up to the GTP and the rubber is upgraded to Michelin Energy 225/55R17s. The Competition Group goes all the way with firmer suspension tuning, BF Goodrich Comp T/As (same size as the Michelins), 10-spoke alloys, enthusiast-oriented stability control (dubbed StabiliTrak Sport), a higher final drive ratio (3.29-to-1 versus the GTP's 2.93-to-1) for quicker acceleration and red brake calipers (just like a Porsche Turbo!).
We drove a base car and then jumped into a GTP Comp G and immediately noticed that, while the standard GP handles fine and has more than enough potential to be enjoyable, the GTP Comp G is definitely the car for the enthusiast. Cornering is flat and composed; even through rapid transitions, the car never wavere
http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/amaximeya/lst?.dir=/we+got+a+2004+Gran- - d+Prix+for+3+months&.src=ph&.order=&.view=t&.done- - =http%3a//photos.yahoo.com
if ya got any qestions or want more detailed pics let me know. I gotta try and sell this car so GM gives my dad a bigger bonus this year