As dumb as the gas-crunch disco era “performance” cars were with their lurid graphics and spoilers in service of emissions-choked engines posting numbers more minuscule than they were muscular, it’s understandable why American automakers offered them: they were about the best they could muster with the technology of 1975. Thankfully, technology improved in the decades that followed, ensuring factory hot rods would be able to do a charitable job of backing up the performance promised by their decals. Except when they didn’t.
For some reason, Pontiac decided an all-showm no-go “performance package” would fly under the radar well into the 21st century, and the result was the 2008 Pontiac G6 “Street Edition.” This was something even 50 Cent couldn’t save even if he tried. Which he did. I’m not kidding.
The Summit Of The G6
It’s hard to say if anything would have saved Pontiac from the financiapocolips in 2009, but the brand certainly did a lot near the end to seemingly hasten its demise. In the 2000s, Pontiac replaced its front-drive sedans with rather costly rear-drive Australian imports that nobody bought, and filled much of the lineup with barely facelifted, less-than-competitive Chevy products (Montana van, anyone?). Seriously, Pontiac’s best car was the Vibe, a subcompact that was essentially a rebadged Toyota. One not-bad entry that Pontiac did have was the replacement for the long-in-the-tooth Grand Am, a car that just oozed 1990s with a lot of ’80s thrown in for good measure (and two sets of backup lights, as Jason will tell you).
The new-for-2005 G6 ditched the Grand Am’s wing, huge sunken-in fog lights, and overly scalloped lower body cladding in favor of a surprisingly clean-looking car with styling that could arguably be called the best of all the products on the GM Epsilon platform, better than the Saab and Europe-only variants.
Probably the most famous appearance of this end-times Pontiac was when 276 brand-new G6s were given away to audience members of the Oprah Winfrey show who were chosen to be in the audience because of their dilapidated dailies. “YOU get a car! YOU get a car!”
The only fly in the ointment of the $8 million giveaway was that those receiving the cars had to pay the income taxes that many couldn’t afford (around $7,000 on average). I remember seeing that one person’s sad-story car was a beat-up Corolla. I felt like screaming at the TV, “Don’t get rid of the Toyota!”
Like those Oprah audience members, G6 buyers experienced some great joy followed by some pain. The ride was decent and the handling relatively sure-footed, though there was a bit too much bounce to the ounce and body roll in corners. Also, the standard electric power steering featured much of the numbness that early examples of the platform’s system were prone to. The interior looked good from afar, but the quality was far from good. And the fact that you never see them on the road anymore is likely due to the poor reliability that harkened back to its X-Body forebearers.
No, the G6 wasn’t perfect, but it was a huge improvement over the embarrassment that the ten-year-old Grand Am was at the time versus rivals like the Altimas and Mitsubishi Galants of the day, and Pontiac quickly made improvements to the G6 that culminated in a decent-enough performance version that could outrun some of those Japanese rivals.
For the launch of the G6, a 200-horsepower V6 was the only motor available regardless of trim, but Pontiac shook things up for the follow year. In 2006, the top of the heap model was the GTP; this was the Trans Am of the G6, now featuring a bored-out 3.9-liter V6 that, oddly enough, was a pushrod motor with variable valve timing. The 240 horsepower it produced was decent enough, but the 241 pound-feet of torque was decidedly strong; for comparison, a V6 in the Accord of the time was down 30 ft-lb on that figure. To really show that Pontiac was serious, the GTP could be had with a six-speed-manual transmission, which was good for a 6.2 second zero to sixty time. Oh, and the power steering in the GTP was the good old better-feeling kind that would drip fluid onto your garage floor.
For 2007, the GTP received GM’s new 3.6 High Feature DOHC V6, now with 252 horsepower but only available with the six-speed automatic and not necessarily faster than the outgoing car. All the while, though, this G6 flagship remained remarkably clean-looking and free from all of the boy-racer AutoZone customization aisle junk you would have expected from Pontiac circa 1995. But like those VH1 Behind the Music episodes where a clean and sober rock star falls off the wagon, Pontiac would soon revert to its old ways.
What Street? Sesame Street Perhaps?
What do you do when your brand is struggling a bit? Bring in some halo cars, and if you’re a company that hangs its hat on “excitement,” then they’d better be some Michigan M-Cars. Pontiac’s choice was the GXP series, and some of the models in this GM brand’s stable got some serious performance and appearance upgrades. Most of these aesthetic changes were still surprisingly low-key, particularly for Pontiac. Note how I said “most of them,”
Yes, unlike the previous year’s tasteful GTP, the G6 GXP started out with a new nose featuring Pontiac nostrils that stretched halfway to the ground and were filled with a Home Depot-style mesh pattern, and the big round driving lights from the old Miami Vice days made a return appearance. Wonderful. Most examples I’ve seen also have chrome wheels that look a more like electroplated wheel covers.
That wasn’t all. Pontiac decided to up the ante for the GXP by offering the “Street Edition” of the G6 for you to hit Woodward Avenue and look for willing drag race victims. Did Pontiac increase the horsepower with a supercharger? Did they bore it out for even more output? Well, considering that this was 2008, you’d think that would be the plan. Alas, GM’s recipe for the Street Edition was right out of the heart of the malaise era: visual excitement.
You could get the Street Edition package on the lower-level G6 GT as well, and why not? You see, just like the Astre Lil Wide Track, that Street Edition package added absolutely nothing to the chassis or power output of the top mid-sized Pontiac. The same 252-horsepower V6 of the previous year’s clean and simple GTP was under that double-snouted hood; if anything, all that extra plastic junk probably slowed the thing down. The GXP wasn’t a slug by any means at the time, yet the over-the-top silly body mods promised far more than the unadorned version; the Street Edition was poised for disappointment and failure.
The above ad mentions the “dual-walled chromed exhaust tips” and a “hammerhead style spoiler” because “if you swim with sharks, you definitely need an edge.” Sure.
Look at that spoiler! It’s big enough to hold extra cargo. The extra weight will certainly add downforce to those non-driven rear wheels.
How did Pontiac combat some of the expected ridicule for this seventies-like “performance”? In a bit of the same way it dealt with the only-200-horsepower 400 cu. in. Trans Am in 1976: they collaborated with a pop culture star to boost its image. Back then it was Burt Reynolds; for the 2008 model year, Pontiac chose 50 Cent.
Yeah, that didn’t work. I don’t have production figures for Street Editions; I half expected AI to question why I was even looking for anything at all concerning this disco-era throwback in my search. By mid-2009, GM had declared bankruptcy, and all of the “performance” G6s were essentially gone. The model soldiered one for another year to fill up Enterprise and Avis lots. The 2010s didn’t even have red gauge illumination; nothing else better illustrates how over it was for Pontiac.
Exactly What You Expected From Pontiac, If It Was 1975
All of this is quite a shame, as with some better materials and suspension refinement from its European Epsilon cousins, the G6 could easily have been taken more seriously as an alternative to Big Altima Energy. As it was, the Street Edition was a Pontiac that had reverted to the brand’s old ways.
You know what? Maybe it’s all for the best. Pontiac was likely headed for a meeting with the Grim Reaper regardless, so at least their top-performance mid-sizer died as a car that would have looked right at home in one of those Ride Pontiac Ride commercials. Aesthetic “excitement” is still excitement, and this Pontiac stayed true to its old credo right to the end.
Pontiac Points: 44/ 100
Verdict: A decent, competitive Pontiac made into a rather absurd joke by people who should have known better.
Top graphic image: GM
“looks better than the Saab…” them’s fightin’ words.
A 1988 Saab 9000 Turbo hatchback is the best-looking car I’ve ever owned.
I remember playing around with this car’s configurator page a lot. They played music while you built up the car and it was how I discovered Digitalism before Need for Speed lol.
I think Acura also played music if you visited the RSX page
Just say you dont like Pontiac. This article couldve saved a lot of time.
I remember back when these were new, I had a friend who’s little sister was graduating high school or getting her license or some other “big” milestone like that and their parents were giving her a car (must have been nice). The choices were a G6 or a G5. She chose the G5. It was all I could do to not scream at her and tell her to change her mind but that didn’t work.
Don’t really know why those were the only options but we all had a good laugh at her
We were 2nd owners of a 2008 G6 GXP 4 door (non street edition) and that was a fun little car. It was far better than the Grand Ams it replaced though still too much plastic everywhere inside. The torque steer with that spunky motor was kind of crazy. You really had to hang on to the wheel!
Pontiac was finally geting interesting again with the G8 and G6 and then they killed the brand. Now we get nothing.
The vibe is a cool car, but I wouldn’t say it was the best one from that era. I’d argue the G8 V8 variants and Solstice GXP were excellent. Still coveted by enthusiasts. The G8 GT is $3-4k build away from a reliable 12 sec bruiser
Well IMHO I don’t understand why in the era that auto manufacturers were not allowed to offer real performance on the sales floor, why didn’t they offer a wimp vehicle with many aftermarket performance parts? If I remember correctly it was limited on the sales but nothing eliminated aftermarket performance parts.
But I saw a thumbnail for a YouTube video that said they’re bringing Pontiac back starting with the GTO and Firebird that look just like the originals, but with LED lights and bigger wheels and of course that must be true. I should have clicked to read all the sad, disconnected boomer comments lamenting Pontiac’s death as if it were a loss when cynical mediocrity like these (and worse) made up the majority of their last few decades and, if they were never shuttered, they’d just be selling rebadged Traxes and Equinoxes, anyway.
Nope, they would have been Holden USA, which probably could have saved that brand too. They had G8 STs ready to ship to dealers and a new Monaro/GTO on the drawing boards. The plan was for all RWD vehicles with no sourcing from Chevrolet. But the feds weren’t buying it. If anyone was cynical, it was them.
Buick should have been made into a China export so we could keep Pontiac around. But we live in the worst timeline, so we’re left wondering what could have been while that brand is now crossovers for Karen.
That sounds good to an enthusiast, except that Holden is dead in its home in Australia because they didn’t sell enough and relocating to the US wouldn’t have made sense as they’d never make the volumes on niche products. I’ve been saying for years that big corporations with too many brands should stop with the full-range nonsense and use the brands to their strengths. Take JLR as they’re the most cut-and-dry. Land Rover is the big seller, but say they want to make an executive sedan or sports car. Well, that’s what the Jaguar name is for, but making another SUV? That’s already LR’s territory and they do it better. The Jaguar brand would essentially become a sub-brand, only selling models that make sense and discontinued or followed up as it makes sense in terms of sales instead of a continuous brand operation and a full-line OEM. Of course, these massive organizations would have to be restructured quite considerably and, back to GM, another problem (at least in the US as I don’t know how it works outside), is that there are dealer franchise agreements to be met, so reducing Pontiac from a maker with volumes of several hundred thousand per year to a less predictable several ten thousand (cars selling on appeal tend to have greater variance in sales year-to-year) would have been a bigger headache than the 1-time hit to terminate even if the government didn’t dictate it (that cost was probably written off under the bankruptcy, too). Under the Holden plan, Pontiac dealers would have been screaming for rebadged Chevrolets again and filing suits and that’s ignoring the post ’08 economic reality of people with less money clamoring for small, fuel efficient cars that would have killed the Holden plan, anyway.
Moooooorrrre Wiiiiiiiiingggggg!!!!!!!
Every time I see a G6, I can’t help but think of this annoying song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uk3cPzk5Qwk
I saw one of these when it was just a concept at a car show. I was so surprised and declared (louder than intended), “It looks like a beaver!”.
The Pontiac rep blushed and was less than pleased.
Rappers and such with “grilles” were a thing around the same time, so it looked like someone had used a beaver as an inspiration for a car (, including the spoiler!), watched some “Pimp My Ride” for added inspiration for the glitz, and slapped some chrome on the buck teeth-like intakes of the car.
I have no remorse.
Pontiac dying was due to moronic decisions like this.
And yet, BMW thrives.
Yeah, that’s a real head-scratcher.
Maybe Pontiac died so that BMW could thrive? The sacrifice of one twin-nostrilled brand for another?
I test-drove one in 2010, a coupe with the 3.9 and the six-speed. It was very fast and quite fun, but the back seat was useless and the interior was low-rent, even for a GM.
Bought a 5-banger Rabbit instead. Not as fast but a way better interior.
Thanks for triggering my rental car PTSD.
They may not be good cars but I coveted them in my high school years.
My life can be defined by pre and post 2009 GM Bailout.
#RIPPontiac
The only thing these cars are good for is it you need an F40 6 speed manual transaxle for a project, like swapping an LS4 into something.
Good call. I think that’s the box to use when LS4 swapping into a Fiero.
All I know about G6’s is that a friend of mine’s dad traded in his gorgeous 90’s E-class daily driver on a new G6 though Cash for Clunkers. A tragedy.
Talk about a downgrade. Yikes.
“The only fly in the ointment of the $8 million giveaway was that those receiving the cars had to pay the income taxes that many couldn’t afford (around $7,000 on average).”
And don’t forget the other fly in the ointment… the BEES that came after!!!
https://media.tenor.com/Vugl0PCIjioAAAAM/bees-oprah.gif
I get times were/are tough but 7k for a brand new car? C’mon! It’s a steal no matter how you slice it.
Depends on the car.
I’d have rather had the equivalent cast value, even after taxes.
Hey now, I wont stand for all of this hate. I had the GT Street Edition without the stupid hammer head spoiler. What can I say, I loved that car. It looked cool and it was comfortable while being interesting enough to drive. I also will not allow the Grand Am hate. Those cars were awesome and I had a 2001 model.
They were only awesome if you were unaware of… well, anything else outside of the gm sphere of conformity.
Sometimes the total experience of owning a ride (time, place, stage of life etc) can elevate an otherwise average car. Subjective yes but I will agree that Pontiacs at least looked way cooler than a lot of stuff out there at the time.
I’ll give you that, they definitely had a bit more of a sporty flair about them. The more triangular headlights, air scoops (real and fake), and use of animalistic curves helped. I’m not sure the swaths of cladding was a help or hindrance, but the Aztek looked much better/cleaner without it, for instance.
The F-body firebirds/trans ams looked better than their camaro corporate twins, for example, though kudos to chevy for giving the camaro amber rear turn signals on some years.
I had an ’08 4 door GXP and I agree. Great little car.
only in ohio…
This reminds me of a Car and Driver article about the Grand Am. S GM guy at the press debut was.going on about the all-new styling, when an Edmunds reporter stood up and asked “Why is it so ugly, then?”
The G6 was a definite step up, but then the Street Edition put a banana peel on that step, causing the G6 to fall down the stairs.
I remember seeing the G6 Concept in the flesh at the Detroit autoshow in 2003… it looked fantastic… low, wide, stanced… the usual great looking concept car that never translated into production (as was common back then).
https://www.netcarshow.com/pontiac/2003-g6_concept/
Side-by-side these cars perfectly depict the real me (production) vs. what I see in the mirror (concept).
There are many reasons for General Motors’ bankruptcy. These cars are a few of them.
Ahh yes, the Pontiac G6 Long Tooth Whale Tail Edition. An affront to the eyes! People paid extra to look this terrible.
Gimme the 90’s Grand Am GT with all the body cladding over this…. thing.
word, having had a 93′ GT with the HO Quad 5 and a 5speed, this thing is an affront! I liked all the Grand Am iterations!
The 90’s and early 2000’s Grand Am/Grand Prix were fantastic. I just saw an early aughts Grand Am GT this week. It looked great! I also really liked the Bonneville GXPs that came around a few years later.
agreed, are you my long lost bro? hehe
Nope, just likely a fellow 90’s kid lol
I wish I still had my old Grand Prix, it was only a GT2 but that thing was fun and the look holds up. I really wanted a G8 GXP but they have always been out of my price range.
btw, as a fellow Stinger owner, that orange is the only color better than my blue.
You have great taste! I also had a Grand Prix for many years starting in college. Mine was a 2001 GT Coupe. So no supercharger, but I loved that car. Great cruiser, great looks, good pickup, good mpg, no problems.
And the Federation Orange is amazing. Only problem with mine is there is a noticeable mismatch in paint between the rear quarter panels and the hatch/bumper/little pieces above the tails. I’m told it is because metal vs plastic, but I’ll have to get it to a body shop in the spring to evaluate. I’ve heard this paint is a pain to match so I’m guessing they’ll say a complete respray or live with it… in which case I’ll live with it. I’ll keep this thing forever. Hope you love yours as much!
My suspicion was that the design team was fascinated with beavers for some reason. Buck teeth, squinty eyes, and a big flat tail: beaver.
Nice beaver!
(safe for work)
Lol, great reference.
I didn’t know that the term was used as slang until I probably about a decade ago or so, probably about when Buc-ees started getting more widespread awareness, and/or when I went through western Pennsylvania and one ofy road-trip mates commented about all the things named after beavers where we were driving.
I forgot that the silly spoiler wasn’t standard on the GXP cars – which I think makes it even worse.
I always thought the coupe G6 looked like it was trying too hard to be “sleek” while the sedan was perfectly fine (if a bit boring). The spoiler on the back of the coupe was so incredibly out of proportion.
The convertibles weren’t very good looking either, while we’re on the subject.
I forgot the convertibles existed until now.
…and now I’ve forgotten again. What were we talking about?
I did kind of want one of these with the Hard Top Convertible Roof, but thankfully they were out of my price range at the time, and honestly I never bought new anyway. By the time they were for sale where I wanted them the scarcity of the options I wanted along with the reliability issue related to the 3.9 VVt system scared me off in the end. Also I hear now the Vert Hard tops were especially poorly executed. I ended up getting a 95 Cutlass Supreme Convertible at some point which quickly put me off on all convertibles save a jeep with a soft top. I will just ride a motorcycle when I want the wind blown experience.
When I was a senior in HS a classmate got a convertible G6. Something about wanting a convertible but not a jeep and his parents wanted to buy American. I, someone who wasn’t getting a new car as a graduation gift, wasn’t terribly jealous of that one.
I dunno where you’re hearing about unreliability, but I’ve had a 2008 G6 GT convertible for about 5 years now. Its got about 130k miles on it, and it’s been dead nuts reliable. Top works and everything. The only real problems I’ve had with it was the crappy aftermarket touchscreen radio/nav system the previous owner installed.
Misfires were the main things people that had them said at the time. The VVT was pretty new at the time, so I figured it was like cam phasers for the Triton. at any rate, more people complained about it than I am usually comfortable with. I also heard some issues with cooling on them. though I am not sure if it was lack of maintenance or a design flaw like the intake gasket issue on the 3.4 V6’s of the time.
I remember spending HOURS on the Pontiac configurator building these, this was also the time near enough to Need For Speed: Most Wanted that the body kit made sense to my nature. I was also in high school, so yeah, incredibly well marketed towards the yutes.
People love to customize. Moreover, that was “the thing” 20-ish years ago.
You also had the VIDYA GAMES reinforcing that.
Though even today, look at the “Accessories” on offer from every manufacturer — even Toyota, for things like a RAV4 — in a configurator. It’s enormous now. Moreover, it’s where manufacturers get to pad margin.
If anything, this was just yet another precursor to the current day,
You could hear the background music from those “you wouldn’t steal a car” anti-DVD-piracy ads playing every time a custom G6 rolled up.