Posts Tagged ‘pontiac’

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1980s Sport Coupes – 1988 Pontiac Sunbird GT Turbo vs. 1987 Renault GTA

March 4, 2014

Quick! Think of an affordable 1980s sports coupe! Scirocco…. Impulse…. Celica…. 200SX…. Corolla GT-S…. Camaro…. Sunbird…. wait, what? Back in the 1980s, when everything was getting a turbo – heck, Buick put a turbo in their Regal, for god’s sakes – Pontiac turbocharged their Sunbird. Blowing out GM Brazil’s 1.8-liter four to two liters and hanging a turbo off the side brought a total of 165hp and probably a good time with torque steer. To put that in context, at the same time, Audi’s 2.2-liter I5 turbo was putting out 162hp, and Saab’s 2-liter I4 turbo was making 160hp, both to motivate ostensibly heavier cars. You can find this 1988 Pontiac Sunbird GT Turbo for sale for C$1600 in east Vancouver, BC.

1988 Pontiac Sunbird GT Turbo right front

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RustyButTrusty on the Street – Pontiac and BMW 3-fer

February 24, 2014

As San Francisco is an interesting place for spotting unusual (or at least old) cars, so are Oakland and Berkeley. And for people who live where interesting cars are a not-too-uncommon sight among the hoardes of Priuses, Accords and F150s, you owe it to yourself to not forget to appreciate where you are. Our first car is a 1973 Pontiac Catalina coupe. Wait, you say, Pontiac? Sure, they’re an orphan brand now, but there are loads of those still on the streets! Well, with attrition, some of the less-popular versions of the General’s platforms have become as rare as cars that had much-lower sales numbers when new. Who knows what engine this car has in it – anything from the 350 to the 455, with a less-than-impressive horsepower range of 150 (boohoohoo) to 250 (meh).

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Who Doesn’t Like Hardtops? – 1968 Pontiac Bonneville

January 22, 2014

Continuing the fascination with older American sedans, here’s where GM really excelled in design – with its hardtop sedans. Who needs a silly b-pillar holding your roof up when style is in question? These cars really let you have it all – the style of a coupe, the practicality of a sedan, the power of a sports car, and the handling of Grandma’s chesterfield. They’ve become fairly unusual today, although many manufacturers strive to emulate the look of a pillarless sedan by blacking out the b-pillar. Today’s example of this body style is a 1968 Pontiac Bonneville, for sale in Turlock, CA (east of San Francisco) for $2800.

1968 Pontiac Bonneville hardtop left front

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