The Pontiac Bonneville was synonymous with V-8 power for years – through the tailfin era of the late 1950s and later with the big floating boats of the ‘60s and ‘70s.
Huge engines in big sedans and coupes marked those glory days of American iron at General Motors. And the Pontiac division was not short changed in the horsepower department.
Pontiac calls it a “crossover sports van” and backs up the name with a new look that gives the 2005 Montana SV6 a more SUV-like persona than the previous Montana, or any typical minivan.
Most prominent is a longer, more angular nose. The new vehicle is taller, negating somewhat the long minivan look. A big kidney-shaped Pontiac grille and wrap-around headlights are designed to convey the image of a car-based sport utility.
Sometimes a car just feels right, even after just a mile or two behind the wheel. It may not be the best car in its segment, but it strikes a certain fancy. It provides a feeling of well-being.
Then, sometimes after the first short test drive, a car doesn’t quite measure up to preconceived notions. Never mind that it’s a seemingly good car from all angles.
Pontiac struggled this summer even as the rest of the General Motors’ lineup enjoyed big gains thanks to the “employee discount for everyone” sale.
A big deal was made about the “excitement” division actually losing sales in June, the month the discount program started and the month one GM division showed 200 percent gains over June 2004. While seven brands enjoyed increases ranging from 36.4-percent for Buick to a whopping 210.5-percent for Hummer, Pontiac sales were off 14 percent.
Excitement has been the Pontiac calling card since engineer John De Lorean put a monster big-block V-8 in a nondescript Tempest in the mid 1960s and called it the GTO.
More excitement followed through the decades with tire-smoking GTOs, Firebirds and Trans-Ams. The Trans-Am was immortalized in the Burt Reynolds’ “Smoky and the Bandit” flicks. GTOs were immortalized on drag strips across the nation.
Pontiac is struggling. Total sales in 2006 fell to just over 400,000 dropping from 444,000 in 2005. The free-fall continued in 2007 with 12-month sales struggling to hit 350,000.
The all-new Camaro, expected to start reaching showrooms this fall as a 2009 model is based on General Motors’ global Zeta platform. It will have the same underpinnings as found in the all-new Australian-based Holden division produced Pontiac G8 sedan that entered the market this spring as a 2008 model.
It was an historic, but sad day when the driver handed us the keys to a 2009 Pontiac G6.
Although the G6 sedan outfitted with a 4-cylinder engine mated to a six-speed automatic is a solid mid-sized car there’s nothing historic about it. It just happened to be the last new Pontiac we will ever test drive — unless the brand is reincarnated at some far-off date.
