The final gen of Pontiac Bonneville, especially the GXP would’ve been so much better had it been rwd & had an LS instead of a Nortstar. The car looked great, was good value, super comfortable & sounded good.
by lifegoeson2702
Cars
The final gen of Pontiac Bonneville, especially the GXP would’ve been so much better had it been rwd & had an LS instead of a Nortstar. The car looked great, was good value, super comfortable & sounded good.
by lifegoeson2702
16 Comments
I would say probably the third generation Ford Taurus SHO, a car that has a very interesting engine (Yamaha V8) but it was held back by its transmission and a defect in the design of that engine
The reputation of the entire Nissan brand was basically destroyed by the cvt transmission.
> car looked great, was good value, super comfortable & sounded good.
but like if it was on a rwd chassis (say sigma) and LS it would look different, cost more, and sound different (still “good” but different).
My answer to this is always crz with a real powertrain
Pontiac Fiero, and in owning one I can tell the engineers had so much hope for that car only to have it neutered by GM with terrible engine options. A V8 powered Fiero GT would have been an absolute monster on the track, hell even a first gen 3800 slapped in there really wakes up the car.
The MK1 Opel Tigra was ruined by Opel’s laziness to give it a good engine and give the steering some weight. Around this time they also had the Opel Calibra which had the C20XE and C20LET, aka some of the most legendary engine in the European tuning scene. If the C20XE was in the car and it had a second “Turbo” version with the C20LET it would’ve probably been a better competitor to the Ford Puma that came later.
So you essentially want a Holden Senator out of a Bonneville?
My answer goes to the Pontiac Grand Prix GXP. Nice looking car with a LS derivative… paired to a 4T65E. Who thought that was a good idea? If not a 6-speed manual, at least the 4T80E that the Northstar Cadillacs had.
Pontiac Grand Prix GXP/9th Gen Impala SS/Lacrosse Super
They were great sleepers but their transmissions just weren’t built to handle the LS engine’s power.
Always makes me smile when I see one of them still on the road today
It’s been said a zillion times, but the Plymouth Prowler was begging for either a V8 or forced induction.
The Lexus Sc430 is one of the finest touring cruisers I can recall however its expectations after following the sc400 were set up for failure. The 400 was a quick as a whip sports car whereas the 430 was much more concerned with ride quality and smoothness in touring. It might have performed better if it had decided to be either more nimble or less jellybean shaped. I still love this car tho
The Hummer H2 could have been a great offroader if it wasn’t so wide and didn’t weigh a staggering 6,800 pounds.
It’s got the right shape, great approach and departure angles, factory winch mounts on the front and back, locking diffs. All the usual good stuff you’d want.
You’d look at it and think it would be great off-road but that curb weight was outrageous. It was so heavy that it would snap its own suspension components, like tie rods, if it was at an extreme angle.
It had a higher curb weight than the 2500HD with a Duramax desiel engine, crew cab, and extended bed from the same year.
Except an H2 is about the same length as a Honda Accord, not half a mile long like the truck is.
How and why is it so dense???
The Kia Borrego.
I firmly believe had it been released even 1-2 years earlier it could’ve sold quite well against the Explorer here in the U.S.
Body on Frame, 3rd row seating and an available V8? It had it all but the timing wasn’t in its favor
How would a FWD Pontiac have potential?
Rover SD1, fantastic design with great potential, let down by awful build quality and endemic industrial action.
The Bonnie is an example of why high power cars aren’t FWD
I’m going with a car I had: Nissan Juke. Say what you will about the appearance. I didn’t love it, but I didn’t hate it. I didn’t care when I was behind the wheel. It was a few minor details short of being one of the best hot hatches of all time:
– No manual transmission with AWD
– AWD sacrificed a few gallons of fuel tank. In the winter, I was filling it up every 2-3 days.
– Funky design meant there was no practical space inside. 4 passengers fit comfortably, but it was the least useful hatchback I ever owned, when it came to hauling stuff.
The last of the Fiestas, could have become excellent hatchies, rally cars, general funmobiles but ford said “wow what if we hyper-complicated the transmissions, made them eat clutches, and cost too damn much to initially buy?