It’s tough being the little brother of the family. The comparisons are endless, the lack of attention is obvious, and, inevitably, the shadow of Big Brother follows wherever you go.
Such is the life of the Pontiac Grand Am GT, a midsize, sportish car just aching to shed its image of a Grand Prix without all the gusto. It looks good, feels good and drives well. But a few spins might tempt you into labeling it a mini-Prix: scaled back, a little more economical and not quite the ride we’ve enjoyed from its sibling.
Remember, there’s no shame in this: Pontiac’s hottest selling car is, in fact, the little brother of the family. The Grand Am, not the Grand Prix, sells about 200,000 units annually, just good enough to place it among the Top 10 – not to mention give it a little bragging rights around the dinner table.
More important for the GM folks, it sells well with 40-something drivers and women.
The car that once sat among the midsize rear-wheel segment has undergone a massive conversion the last 15 years and, if more dollars mean good decisions, it’s worked.
Pontiac says it is known for “reliability and durability without sacrificing sporty, exciting styling.”
We’d prefer a simpler theory: It’s not a Grand Prix. Huh? Where the Grand Prix is a throaty, muscle-pumping punch to the stomach, the Grand Am is a milder approach to a Sunday drive. Where the Grand Prix seems to grin through its wide grille, like some Cheshire Cat, the Grand Am winks and nods. It’s a sibling thing, and that’s where the distinctions become important.
Sure, nearly 30 percent of Grand Am buyers eventually get into a Grand Prix, but they go for the former before the latter because of what Grand Am is: economical, fuel efficient and nearly a Grand Prix.
Redesigned a few years back – shortened, but given a longer wheelbase – the new Grand Am followed in the footsteps of the rest of the family. Its track was widened for more sure-footed driving, yet the overall width didn’t change much.
For this year, the 2001 lineup includes the base SE and upgraded SE1 as well as the sportier GT and GT1, the top of the line in the Grand Am lineup. It’s still a menage of options for a company looking to decrease alternatives offered. GM says it looked into which Grand Am’s were most popular and adjusted its production schedule to fit “market-based configurations.”
That’s fancy talk for “downsizing,” and that’s what GM’s done this year with the Grand Am.
Gone is the SE2. But not forgotten is why Pontiac has done so well.
What makes the Grand Am so appealing is its duality. You can still scrimp and save at the pump by getting 21 mpg in the city and 32 mpg on the highway – good ratings for a nearly high-performance car. And you can still hammer it at the stoplight.
It won’t keep up with a Grand Prix, but it won’t stay flat-footed next to a Focus.
Available with a standard 150 horsepower, four cylinder and a five-speed manual transmission, the base SE1 has the guts to get you going, and the stuff to keep you there. Step up to the GT and it only gets better. The 3.4-liter, 175 horsepower V6 in our tester isn’t a terror, but it’s a tease.
Thanks to some exhaust tuning, it’s also a growler. The performance effects are meant to make it sound faster than it is, and it doesn’t miss the mark. The V6 is sprightly when you need it to be, but it is also a little sluggish when you might expect more, emphasizing the Grand Am reality that moving forward in life might not be as important as moving away from the gas pump.
It’s also a little too harsh. Pontiac designers tuned the suspension on the GT to give it that sporty feel. It’s sporty all right – handling is sharp and driveability is increased – but it’s also jarring at times. A cruise through Detroit’s lunar-like surface streets on the Grand Am’s sport suspension required a quick trip to the dentist to make sure all fillings were in place. A passenger asked whether the tire ad been swapped for stone.
In fact, they are 16-inch, wide-profile performance radials this year, meant to increase that handling quotient, but, a warning: Bring extra cushions.
Extra seems to be what this ride’s about. Make no mistake, it is loaded with value. Standard equipment includes four-wheel disc brakes with ABS, traction control, air conditioning, stereo with CD and cassette, power door locks, keyless entry and tilt steering, to name a few. The GT1, top of the line model, starts for a very reasonable $21,805 – good value for the buck.
Other things need just as much attention. Exterior styling on the Grand Am seems stuck in the past. GM says the ribbed body panels will eventually go, but it won’t be soon enough. While most midsize domestics and imports are opting for a cleaner, more angular look, the Grand Am still looks like someone dragged a rake down its doors.
The interior also has that very GM plastic feel to it. Knobs and vents are large, but the large scooping dash over the speedometer forces the gauges back and buried.
Also, back-seat entry and exit is limited because the rear doors don’t open as much as they could. Rear-seat room is tight.
The most impressive attributes remain in its regular list of strong points: It is still an excellent road handler and has surprisingly good power. It might not be as exciting as some of the cars in GM’s fleet, but for the money, it might make the most sense.
With a sticker starting at just over $16,000 in the base SE1 models, the Grand Am serves up a large portion of Pontiac excitement for a good price.
Big Brother would have been proud.
2001 PONTIAC GRAND AM GT
Rating: 2.5
HIGH GEAR: With sporty lines and a garage full of standard features, the Grand Am delivers crisp handling with economical incentives. It probably won’t blow you away, but it definitely won’t blow the budget.
LOW GEAR: Odd interior styling and cramped rear-seat room make for unwelcome negatives. With so many sales, uniqueness also goes out the window.
Vehicle type: Front-engine, front-wheel drive, four-door, five-passenger sedan
Standard equipment: Four-speed automatic transmission; traction control; dual front airbags; antilock brakes; air conditioning; power, tilt steering; AM/FM/CD audio system; power door locks, windows, mirrors; theft-deterrent system; fog lights; remote keyless entry; cruise control.
Competition: Mazda 626, Nissan Altima, Mitsubishi Galant
Engine: 175 horsepower, 3.4 liter V6
Torque: 205 ft.-lbs. at 4,000 rpm
Wheelbase: 107 inches
Length: 186.3 inches
MPG Rating: 21 mpg city/32 highway
Manufactured: Lansing, Mich.
Warranty: The basic warranty is three years/36,000 miles; the drivetrain is three years/36,000 miles; body corrosion is six years/100,000 miles; and roadside assistance is three years/36,000 miles.
Base Price (base SE sedan): $16,440
Price as te sted (including options and delivery charge): $20,535