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Pontiac Division of General Motors Corp. has been known to make some pretty speedy automobiles.

Now it can be known as speedy in bringing them to market.

Only months after it displayed the Sunfire Speedster concept car earlier this year, Pontiac is introducing its 1995 Sunfire coupe and sedan.

In the automobile business, that’s moving at the speed of light, since concept cars usually debut years before the production models.

The sporty Sunfire is debuting in the SE series. A GT coupe and an SE convertible with by a dual cam, 2.3-liter 16-valve engine and four-speed automatic transmission will follow in the spring.

The new cars replace Pontiac’s Sunbird.

“I’m expecting to get our first ones around the end of the month,” said Dave Wilkerson, sales manager for Don Sisk Pontiac.

“I’d say the supply will be a little short for a while. It will be around December when (Pontiac gets) the line speed up before we’ll have them in any numbers.”

When they do arrive at Indianapolis dealers, the coupe and the sedan will have different Environmental Protection Agency classifications even though their sizes are almost identical.

The coupe, which is actually 2/10ths of an inch longer than the sedan, is classed as a subcompact. The four-door sedan, with greater interior room, is classified as a compact.

At 181.7 inches long, the four-door has ample room for five passengers to ride comfortably.

There’s the usual greater legroom in front, since driver and passenger can put their feet underneath the instrument panel. But there’s also reasonable room in the rear as well, thanks to a dished-out floor and fairly upright seating.

There’s 105 cubic feet of usable space, including the trunk, and the rear seats fold down to provide cargo area for extra-long objects.

To accommodate accessories, the Sunfire’s cigarette lighter also functions as an electrical outlet.

A center console divides a pair of bucket seats with well-contoured backs for high lateral support. A tachometer on the left and a speedometer on the right are centered directly in front of the driver and flanked by a temperature gauge and a fuel gauge.

In manual transmission form, I would have liked an oil-pressure gauge. I guess I’m just the nervous type, wondering what’s going on with the oil supply to the bearings when running the engine through the gears.

Speaking of engines, the available motor at the moment is a 2.2-liter (133-cubic inch), single overhead cam four-cylinder that’s good for 120 horsepower. With the Sunfire’s relatively light weight — 2,679 pounds for the coupe and 2,736 for the sedan — 120 horses can be expected to provide fairly sporty performance.

The dual overhead cam 4 due next year is being rated at 150 horsepower. That’s going to add more speed, but it’s also going to be more expensive.

The standard transmission is a five-speed manual, with a three-speed automatic optional. For an automatic, that’s about one gear short, but that also will be upgraded in the spring when GM’s technically advanced 4T40-E electronically controlled four-speed automatic will be available with the 16-valve engine.

“With the Sunbird, the automatic was the best seller,” Wilkerson said. “But with this new car competing with the imports, I think we may see a rise in five-speed manual sales.”

The Sunfire is styled with a low frontal area and curved, flowing lines contributing to its aerodynamics. Both the coupe and the sedan are being built in GM’s Lordstown, Ohio, plant on the same line as Chevrolet’s new Cavalier.

The Sunfire is expected to account for about 15 percent of dealership sales.

“With the Sunbird, we never really got enough of them,” Wilkerson said. “So if we can get them, we may do better than that.”

1995 Pontiac Sunfire Base price: $11,224.Type: Front-engine, front-drive, four-passenger compact sedan.Engine: 2.2 liters, OHV 4, 8 valves, fuel-injected, 120 horsepower, 130 foot-pounds of torque .Transmission: Five-speed manual.Mileage: 24 mpg city/35 mpg highway.Wheelbase: 104.1 inches.Length: 181.7 inches.Width: 67.3 inches.Height: 54.8 inches.Curb weight: 2,723 pounds.Options: Air conditioning, Delco ETR AM/FM stereo with cassette and premium speakers, automatic transmission, traction control, P195/65R15 tires, controlled cycle wipers, convenience package, cruise control, rear defogger, door locks, power windows, 15-inch custom wheel covers.