It’s been 15 years since Pontiac ceased to be a going concern at General Motors, and over 20 since this Grand Am saw the light of day for the first time. In those heady days of the nascent 21st century, the idea that Pontiac would cease to exist within the next decade was unlikely at best for those who were inured to the sight of Grands Am and Grands Prix in every parking lot and driveway in the Midwest. Why is it that you always appreciate something that much more when it’s slipping away?
I recently finished the short novel Memento Mori by the late Muriel Spark. It’s an irreverent dark comedy that involves an elderly clique of Londoners receiving phone calls simply saying “remember, you must die.” That is the English translation of “Memento Mori,” a phrase that also found some traction in 16th-century Northern European art. The famous painting above is titled The Ambassadors and hangs in the National Gallery in London. Painted by Henry VIII’s court painter Hans Holbein, its “hidden” skull at the feet of the ambassadors was a gentle reminder to well-off patrons of the arts that they were no more than temporarily corporeal. In other words, get your head straight (and perhaps lighten up a little) because it’s later than you think.
These gentle fireside musings were on my mind as I rambled through the used car lot near my house last week. This bright red Grand Am in juxtaposition with the rest of the mostly drab modern fleet on a drab January day was exactly the cure for my self-inflicted philosophical funk.
The Grand Am as a nameplate has for my whole life existed as if it were a local newscaster. One day, you realize they’ve moved on to a larger market and you had already forgotten they existed. The only exception I can think of is the original Grand Am from 1973 to 1975, which is a cool colonnade if you ask me (nobody did). Unfortunately, I hadn’t checked in yet when the original Grand Am felt a spring in its step, so it’s not the one that crowded every intersection of my memory.
My ambivalence to the Grand Am of my youth changed a bit when I saw how much fun this Grand Am brought to its temporary home. Maybe it’s time to reappraise the once-ubiquitous small coupe.
It’s impossible to forget or perhaps to forgive the lower bodyside cladding that almost all Pontiacs wore for the last 20 years of the brand. Needless to say, there are cleaner ways to finish off the rear valance, but few would evoke that 20-year-old nostalgia.
Ah, there’s your reminder of your eventual fate, my dear Pontiac. The cleanliness of this particular example is spoiled only by this canker of blooming rust below the gas filler. Who knows how much awaits beneath the plastic add-ons.
I was surprised to see that the Grand Am had over 160,000 miles on the clock. That many years and that many miles are almost always terminal for a Michigan-based car of any brand, but this one clearly avoided the death spiral of compact car ownership, each subsequent owner less and less inclined to give even the thinnest of lip services to maintenance. Even the interior looks new, and it lacks the stench of Marlboro Reds and regret so common among Midwestern used cars.
MONSOON! This radio identifies this Grand Am as a top-of-the-line GT1, fully loaded. It even has a moonroof. Additionally, the ignition switch is on the dashboard as God intended, which is something I always liked about my wife’s 2004 Impala. It was the only thing about that car that reminded me of my ’50s and ’60s fleet.
The much-maligned 3400 benefits from some Jim Wangers-style salesmanship: RAM AIR! Pontiac was for some reason compelled to capitalize their wares in 2002. Even if its wheezy V6 didn’t need that smooch of extra cold air shoved down its gullet, “Ram Air” repurposed a Pontiac staple and added something like five extra horsepower, for a total of 175. Although I’ve rarely heard anything good about the 3100/3400 60-degree V6, my wife has driven plenty of miles in two cars with that engine architecture. They didn’t eat their intake gaskets or head gaskets, and we sold them both with nearly 150,000 miles each. I did flush their cooling systems as soon as we bought them used because I’d read not-so-good things about aging Dex-Cool.
I made a mental note to check the Grand Am’s price on the dealer’s website when I got home from my walk. For a very fast second, I thought this might be a fun daily driver, but there is no rational excuse for trading down a decade and nearly 50,000 miles from my Focus. Tempting fate is not really my style.
I was exactly right on the price, by the way: $4995.
That seemed high to me, but given its condition and (sadly) its rarity, perhaps it’s not. (Additionally, it’s no longer on the lot.)
I know some readers will scoff at this car and the dealer’s asking price, and that’s probably fair. But for someone 20 years ago, this was a fairly expensive purchase (over $20,000 in 2002 dollars). With its chrome wheels, red paint, and spoiler, the Grand Am cut a dashing figure in someone’s driveway. It made them feel a little happier, a little more alive. Memento mori, indeed.
‘Stench of Marlboro Reds and regret’. Perfect.
Agreed, that made me laugh out loud. It’s funny because it’s true.
yes I agree those cars were a joke after the montycarlo grand pries grand ams of the past
Ha ha, thanks!
I never drove one of these much less rode in one but I always thought they were kinda nice looking. There is a red one of these (looks just like the one in the article) down the street from me at the end of the block sitting on a driveway. Dirty, four flat tires and the passenger window is halfway down letting rain, leaves in, it’s been sitting there for years in that condition, unloved and unwanted, just waiting for a trip to the local salvage yard and then on to it’s final trip to the crusher…kinda sad.
I see we’ve reached the point where a 2002 Grand Am evokes wistful(-ish) memories, not something foreseen back in the heady days of 2011 at this site’s founding. Hmm.
The rust under the fuel filler is a little shocking to see, especially on what looks like the used car section of a GM dealership (?) How does that manifest itself there, does one knock the paint with the fuel nozzle and thus provide a starting point for the worm?
I’ll go out on a complimentary note and point out that the GM mouse-fur upholstery of this period does seem to hold up quite well when maintained even just a little bit. Close to 200k or more without any rips in the bolster (of the cars, not higher trucks) is not uncommon.
Rust beneath the fuel filler is common on 2000 vintage Pontiac Bonnevilles and Buick LeSabres. My 2000 LeSabre was rusted out like this GrandAm, but my 2001 LeSabre is not.
Regarding the rust under the fuel filler, my guess is gas drips may degrade the paint allowing exposure to moisture.
Yeah that used to be so pervasive. People , possibly, a it more careful these days..
Recall a “quite new at he time, Dart” in my home town. Very elderly man drove it.
Always that awful fuel stain down the car.
Otherwise, the car stayed quite good, appearing.
(triple, dark green//probably a “75ish” model)
My ’65 Dart has that stain under the filler neck. I have to be sooooo careful filling it up or it will spill. It doesn’t matter much though – the rest of the car isn’t much better. 🙂
My 2005 Bonneville rusted all around the fuel filler door. My understanding is GM used some kind of a foam with adhesive to bond the fuel filler “pocket” to the body. The foam portion collected and held moisture against the body – so they rusted from the inside-out. Once you could see the damage it was in a pretty advanced state of rot. PITA to try to fix.
The foam seems to be common. My dad used to have a 2004 Escape that rusted around the rear wheel arch. I had some rust repair done for him, and that area was filled with foam.
Ha ha Jim, is it possible that we’re getting older?
I too had the wind knocked from my sails a little bit when I realized this was a 22-year-old car.
Nice find and nice write up! The art tie in is impressively obscure and apt. Indeed, few suspected how close to the end Pontiac was in 2002, much as many people living crowded lives will soon find themselves suddenly dealing with eternity. As to the car, it was on my personal list of cars that are ripe for a CC treatment that I would stop and photograph if I saw a good one (preferably a 2 door GT). It’s been years and I haven’t found one yet.
I had a friend who was mid 20s at the time who bought a red GT coupe almost exactly like this around 1999 when this generation first came out. Really sharp car at the time, and I thought (and still think) this generation was the best of the FWD Grand AMs, which were the always the best looking of the N-bodies. I was jealous of Ross, because his brother was a GM engineer, so he got a good discount on the price and I was still well in my very used car phase of life. I don’t regret not buying one now, as it would probably be dead like almost all of these are these days. Except for this survivor you found, which must have been well-loved to still be in this condition and lacking ” the stench of Marlboro Reds and regret ” as you stated so well.
Thanks Jon! As you’ve probably figured out, anything past about 1975 doesn’t really catch my attention that often, but this one was so comparatively solid and such a bright color compared to everything else on the lot that I couldn’t help myself.
There was one on Jalopnik over the weekend. No rust showing and less miles for $22K as best as I can remember. I think it was a four door.
$22K??? Wow. Now that’s a lot!
Here it is – https://jalopnik.com/this-low-mileage-2000-pontiac-grand-prix-gtp-can-be-you-1851180735. Seems pretty pricey doesn’t it?
Fun to read about this find while on a walk. Now that’s my kind of day.
This looks to have been a very nice example of a car that normally wouldn’t have been kept up that well for so long. You kind of hit the nail on the head with your description. As for price, I can tell you that the dealership I worked at in the mid-west from 1988 to 1995 and again from 2007 to 2011 had what we called the back lot cars. Being a dealership in Iowa, you didn’t have to do an inspection or smog, so nearly any car that ran and didn’t look like swiss cheese would make that row of low priced cars. Even back then, the $2,000 car was like a unicorn. If it ran, looked good and didn’t need much, it would easily bring more. Now consider we are 13 years past (the 2011 mark) and 35 years from when I first started there, a descent car today will always bring 4 grand or more. It’s just the way the market is now. And I think this red Grand Am looks well worth the asking price.
I’ll say you’re right, Dan. The car’s no longer on the lot or on the website, so somebody snapped it up. It was pristine for a 22-year-old Michigan car.
“the stench of Marlboro Reds and regret” – Regret for having bought a 3400 powered car, or for having smoked the Marlboros?
All kidding aside, my stepson had one of these (it was his father’s last car before he passed) while he was in college. It ran just fine until someone who signaled to turn left decided to go straight and hit the car nearly head on. After the crash, it sat in the driveway until my ex-wife’s friend took it to her shop to fix it up an flip it. For all I know, it may still be out there running around, hopefully avoiding the Marlboros and regrets.
His car was a four door, but a GT like this nonetheless. I drove it, but did not like it nearly as much as my own Pontiac that I posted a picture of here just the other day… But that kinda makes sense as my ’97 Grand Prix GTP was a level up the ladder from this car, so it should have been more impressive to drive.
Personally, I miss Pontiac.
I remember being shocked when GM eliminated Pontiac over Buick, but it was understandable when given their rationale. As much as I like old Buicks, I’m almost as big a fan of Pontiacs. It’s too bad, but GM probably doesn’t need anything more than Chevy, Cadillac, and GMC.
These Grand Ams were ubiquitous in rental fleets when new, and it was a period when I rented cars occasionally, so I drove quite a few of these.
I liked them. They drove reasonably well, had comfortable seats, and however tacky it may seem now, the plastic cladding and overstyled interior added a bit more – well, “excitement” – to a rental experience than would otherwise be the case. My most memorable Grand Am rental was for our wedding. My wife and I held our wedding in my wife’s home town, which necessitated flying there, and our rental was a white (appropriately enough) Grand Am. Resultingly, I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for these cars.
And as always, thanks for the literary references here, too. I always enjoy learning something new.
I recall a blue rental and a white one; about two/ two and a half years apart. One was a nice ride. One felt like it been dropped about “thirty feet” to the ground.
Oh lord it was awful. I recall bringing it up at “return” and getting “some $$ off”.
Also recall that credit took a long time to show up..
I was going to say that my interaction with these was nearly always as a rental car…and I recall renting quite a few of them. One was in New Orleans, where some apparently angry former renter had done the old “rub raw hamburger under the seat” trick. That car smelled like death in the heat and humidity of New Orleans. It necessitated one of the few times where I had to take a rental car back for replacement.
Somehow, at this remove of years, the bulbous plastic cladding doesn’t look quite as bad to me as it did at the time.
You’re welcome, Eric!
Strangely enough, I’ve never rented a car. I’m afraid of flying, so I’m rarely in a situation where I didn’t bring my own car along.
There was a channel at YouTube called ‘Cereal Marshmallow’. A gentleman who sold cars that appeared like polished turds. He seemed quite adept at well detailing cars that looked rather beat up.
Not that this Grand Am was in bad shape, but the rust by the gas filler is a sign of neglect. Its body and interior were probably quite salvageable, and some extra detailing, brought it back to life.
Enjoyed this, and great find. How is one of the last examples of such a common car in the Midwest (especially Michigan) already as old as this?
I love the first Colonnade G/A. I remember it being lost on me in the fall of ’84 that the new Grand Am was a completely different kind of car. Any kind of low-production GM car excited me, and I was just glad there was a new Grand Am.
(I was waiting for the Depeche Mode reference in your title, also shared with their most recent studio album.)
Thanks Joe…When was the last time you saw an ’85-era Grand Am around? I think I know only a handful of Depeche Mode songs, so I’d be useless in Depeche Mode music trivia. 🙂
An ’85-ish Grand Am? Wow. I’d really have to think about that. It has been at least a decade! Maybe two…
It’s surprising to see that rust on what looks like a well cared for car. The overall condition of the car seemed to indicate that it belonged to a person that would dote on their vehicle. That type of person would probably have noticed it and tried to stop or fix it. On the other hand, the car might have belonged to someone that kept their car garaged, regularly serviced, and ran it through the big car wash once a month. As the rust made itself known, they might have just shrugged and said, “trade in time is coming soon.”
Of course, manufacturers have a way of using assembly methods and materials that allow a pernicious bug to take root, undetected, and ultimately become fatal.
This is a great example of how the California mindset and the midwest mindset are very different. Those of us in snow and salt country know that rust is inevitable, and that once it starts: a) there is not much to be done about it and b) it is like an iceberg, in that for any that becomes visible, there is surely about 10x that amount that is lurking unseen. We can try to delude ourselves before the rust starts to show, but once it does, reality quickly takes hold. And even the cleanest and best kept of cars will eventually fall victim to that inside-out kind of rust that takes hold in hidden inner panels.
“Who knows how much awaits beneath the plastic add-ons.” – Ooh, ooh! Pick me! Pick me!
There is still a decent number of GM cars of this vintage running around my area, and those with uncovered rocker panels show that said panels have mostly vanished, leaving little brown, crinkly edges.
In a sort of slo-mo CC effect, there was one evening in the last couple of weeks where I saw two Pontiacs of this era on two unrelated streets – a G8 GT and one of the Aussie-sourced GTOs. Each was the first one I had seen in ages, and the G8 looked really well cared for. One of those might tempt me. This one, not so much.
I remember when we traded in my wife’s 2004 Impala in 2014. The passenger rocker was starting to look rough underneath the car, but you’d never know there was any rust anywhere from the outside. All of a sudden in a lot of cases, there’s nothing holding the plastic on and you’re in for a surprise.
This was my childhood best friend’s first car, only in silver. It wasn’t really bad but it’s extroverted sporty looks weren’t backed up by much, my other friends 10 year older Skylark with a Quad 4 was about as inspiring to drive. More than anything I remember the red glow of the gauges and stereo getting picked up on a dark morning more than anything, they just felt intense, and given the era my friend personalized it with aftermarket gauges that also glowed bright red, and red underglow which was of course red. He used to do neutral drops accelerating from stoplights with it and remarkably the trans handled that abuse for a lot longer than I expected, it didn’t vindicate my warnings to him until about a year or so.
I used to like the looks of them though, I thought these were a big improvement from the predecessor and more in line with the Grand Prix styling which I still think looks good today. Since then the proportions look more and more off and the compact classification seems really dubious, these aren’t particularly small cars on the outside and they don’t drive like small cars either. Still it is amazing to think Pontiac was gone within 10 years of these, in the Midwest they were everywhere (and actually still are in impoverished pockets). I still think these are more compelling than anything Buick made back then, but I know, China. The real tragedy of Pontiac’s demise is its outrageous styling elements fit right in with todays styling themes, the Grand Am had a nickname “the Walmart BMW”, but this Grand Am looks downright subdued compared to BMWs of the last 10 years
Your comment “the Walmart BMW” made me scroll back up and look, Matt. Sure enough, this Grand Am has the “Hofmeister kink”. Now I can’t unsee this.
It even made me go back and look at the picture of my old GTP that I shared the other day, and no, the Grand Prix was more of a elliptical up kick there on the C-pillar, not too dissimilar from the Taurus of that era…
That generation of Grand Prix is starting to disappear from our roads, which is amazing considering how long they’ve been around. They look nice as both two doors and four doors, but they’ve been abused for so long at this point that it’s hard to remember how sharp they were when they were new.
This car tries too hard. I admire the attempt, and don’t doubt its sincerity, but Pontiac during these last years looked so desperate. Can’t say Pontiac didn’t try – they threw every styling cliche they had. The dashboard looks like it had silicone injections and a boob job. Who styled it – Trojan? These cars had, not just a rear spoiler, but a rear spoiler topped with fins.
One of our computer programmers had a Pontiac like this and loved it. He is a brilliant programmer who landed the nicest wife who did us all a favor by demanding he took a daily shower. He is one of my most favorite nerds. His problem with it was how the front wheels kind of welded themselves into a single piece that required major work on a regular basis. I don’t know if he drove too fast or braked too hard, but those wheels and those engine gaskets were killers.
When I think back on what Pontiac offered in 1966 and what it offered near the end, I just see styling desperation. Sad. Pontiac often walked a fine line between kitch and art, but these years – all kitch, all desperate.
But, thanks to Pontiac, and thanks to Nissan – we now know what too much is too much.
But, thanks to Pontiac, and thanks to Nissan – we now know what too much is too much.
Do we?
I’m not a product of art school, but I don’t think that’s a nice-looking front end. 🙂
We know, but there are times when what we know is not heeded.
Interesting you mention the rear spoiler, I was going to bring up a detail unrelated but forgot, it looks like it was inspired by the 94 -95 SVT Cobras
Yeah, JP, I am a product of my environment, I can’t imagine a place where cars rust to bits. The Bay Area climate is kind to cars. Most of California away from the coastline is. I currently have my ’97 Riviera sitting in my garage. I bought it from a seller in Fresno, no snow there! He had it in his garage, and told me that the previous owner had also kept it in his garage. Kenney Chesney described that folks settled where “the car broke down.” Not exactly my family’s case, but my good luck.
That engine bay is mighty clean considering the miles so the previous owner clearly enjoyed this ride. This Grand Am reflects my favorite high milage condition here at CC. When you can see just how far a car can go provided one wallet can support it. Pull off that intake manifold and a quick light sandblast would make it look almost new. The jellybean effect is clearly evident and I have wormed up to it over the years and now find them interesting.
Ram Air. Those two words sum up this car perfectly.
My folks had a Pontiac minivan with the 3.4 & 4A. Aside from the recurring intake gasket coolant leaks & the oil leak from the vestigial distributor port that dirtied the garage floor… I liked the powertrain. Maybe not sporty but more than powerful enough, fairly fuel efficient, unobtrusive. Mom had it crushed in favor of a new CR-V and was done with GMs by that point (Dad was gone, and with it a lifelong insistence on GMs).
These were once ubiquitous even in California. I had one as a rental once. It wasn’t the WORST rental car I remember; I’m old enough to have had some Pinto experience and in its day the GrandAm was better than the a Cavalier. And since my GrandAm rental was in Vancouver BC the surrounding sights and scenery certainly eclipsed the car.
For me this gen was the last attractive Grand Am. My friend had just taken delivery of this factory-ordered 1978 and we were on a road trip to Santa Barbara. Stylish, comfortable, right-sized car – and a pretty good one after the dealer sorted out all the initial problems generated by GM’s poor quality control of that era.
Those are pretty nice looking cars. A 301, I assume?
301 not available in California due to emissions standards – had the Chevrolet 305. I believe it was the two-barrel version.
I also have a soft spot for this generation of Grand Am. In early 2001, we bought our first Pontiac Aztek. It developed an issue with the body control module (BCM) while still under warranty, so we took it back to the dealer. At that time there was a backlog for replacement BCMs, so the dealer gave us a rental car… A very well equipped 2001 Grand Am GT (GA GT) coupe with Ram Air.
The Grand Am was quite a bit lighter than the Aztek, so the same 175 HP 3.4L V6 felt very sprightly in that car. I was surprised at how quickly it could get to extra-legal speeds, and it had the handling and brakes (mostly because of the fat tires) to compliment the speed. It wasn’t quite as punchy as a muscle car, but it was a reasonable facsimile for a FWD car.
Every so often I see one of these in decent condition here in Rust Country™ and I think about getting one as a hobby car. Maybe someday.