The grumblings coming out of the Windy City this auto show season have been clear. The GMC Acadia is aged and is barely getting a facelift after 6 model years on the market. But look closer folks. That large crossover you see with the gleaming red GMC badge is hardly an Acadia. No, that my friend, is a facelifted Saturn Outlook. Read more…
The 2008 Pontiac G8 GT was a breath of fresh air for GM’s Driving Excitement brand. Sadly, however, it was too little too late. The G8 is one that will be fondly remembered by those of us on the AT ranch.
The Pontiac Solstice is sitting pretty at the 2005 NAIAS.
The Pontiac G6 sedan is rolled out at the 2004 NAIAS.
Pontiac Imports Some Thunder From Down Under
Before the GT hit these shores earlier this year sedan shoppers looking for a bit of excitement at the Pontiac dealer had to settle for the Grand Prix GXP. Although it does have a V8, the Grand Prix’s front wheel drive chassis and archaic transmission will not cause BMW owners to get nervous at stoplights. That might start to change as the latest (and probably greatest) Pontiac starts to populate the byways of America. See, the new G8 not only packs a seriously gutsy V8, it also offers up a great transmission to send power to the rear end of a completely modern chassis. And all that adds up to a car that can get off the line like few other large sedans, but also carve corners like a much smaller one. We’re not giving anything away by saying we like GM’s latest import (designed and assembled in Australia) but it’s not without its faults. Read on. Read more…
When the Solstice concept was first unveiled, a sister hardtop styling mock-up was also presented. The production Solstice roadster was such a looker that many forgot all about the coupe. GM designers hadn’t forgotten and the production version added an unexpected targa feature. Read more…
GM’s Sexy Twins Get Some Spunk
The Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky are gorgeous vehicles, and if you don’t agree you must work for Mazda. So, considering their perfect proportions and confident handling, producing a follow-up to the uber-successful roadsters can mean only one thing: more power. And GM was happy to provide lots of it. Read more…
A Strawberry Shake at a Vanilla Price
This is the ultimate compromise vehicle. It’s to be expected then that auto giant General Motors finds a way for you to have your cake and eat it too. It is the car for when you want something, she wants another. You want the wind in your hair, she just did her hair. You say ta-mato, I say to-moto. Read more…
Maybe We Could Have Picked A Warmer Weekend?
The plan drawn up at AT headquarters was deceptively simply: Gather the hot new Mazda MX-5 and the sexy Pontiac Solstice, drop their respective tops, and chase the horizon for a day of fantastic fall fun. It’s the stuff dreams are made of—or at least our tire smoking, fuel-injected dreams. This plan, however, would require two things. First, that we could get our anxious little paws on the keys to the two hottest cars for 2006 during the same week. And second, that the weather in Michigan in late fall wouldn’t resemble something from The Day After Tomorrow. Read more…
The G6 Makes Pontiac Competitive In Small Cars Again
With the G6, Pontiac is setting a new direction for its vehicles. No longer will they be superfluous designs with yesterday’s dynamics but clean, contemporary vehicles with varying degrees of the driving excitement Pontiac is supposed to offer. Thanks mostly to heavy incentives, the Grand Am sold in healthy numbers, but it wasn’t a vehicle that could take on today’s ever-more-impressive small car competition. Thankfully, when it came time to replace the Grand Am, GM started with its excellent Epsilon architecture and built from there. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that when you build with better components, you end up with a better vehicle. That’s exactly what Pontiac has done. Read more…
