Pontiac was really coming on strong in 2004, even with their models that were based on aging platforms. Such a shame they would be gone in just a few years.
Very wise. I have worked on several gm cars and have owned many, and the 3.8 series 2 is ENORMOUSLY more reliable than the Northstar. Northstar makes a bit more power up high but the 3.8 with the supercharger makes very similar torque. Small sacrifice (if any) for a lot of reliability and fuel economy
I searched for one of these for a long time and couldn't find a decent one. By 2004 GM had fixed the head bolt problems with the second redo on the Northstar. I ran across a one owner 2005 Bonneville SLE which for one year only had the same styling, suspension and exhaust system as the GXP but with the V6 and 17 inch wheels instead of the 18's. I put a good set of tires on it and it was the sweetest driving car I've ever owned and I've owned a lot. The ergonomics on the inside were perfect and it was super comfortable. Handled really nice for a full size car! My third Bonneville in a row. Only had it a little over a year and got carjacked!
I had an 04 gxp. Loaded. Black with tan interior. Loved that car til it blew a head gasket at 54k miles. They unfortunately did not fix the head bolt problem by 04. I was told they did, but evidence shows they did not. Traded it in on a new 07 sierra, which had its own gremlins with the dumb afm system, but that's for another time. Moral of the story, don't by GM. Moved on and have been so much happier
Trying to find one of these in good condition is very hard. Makes me think what could have happened if Pontiac lived long enough to get their own variants of the ATS and CTS, that could have given Dodge a run for its money.
I drove a 99 Park Ave Ultra with a supercharged 3800 for 367,00 miles before retiring it still ran great used no oil. No North Star makes it till 200,000.
My 96 cadillac made it to 240k before it started having issues. Saying "no northstar make it to 200k" is false and there are more example than you realize that have gotten past 200k. But to add to you comment about reliability my Intense Racing tuned/pullied 98 riviera did make it to 340k before the trans started slipping. We are definitely in agreement there
I had a 04 Bonneville GXP in the darker gray. Its faster than 7.8. 0 to 60mph. More like 6.5 to 60 mph. Thaf Northstar was a power house and i never had any issues but gas mileage was nothing to write home about. I got 14-15mpg on average but man that exhaust burble when you started the car was intoxicating forsure. I loved that car. The monsoon sound system was nice too.
I had a silver Bonneville GXP just like this one. The Northsrar V8 gets a bad rap, but mine was ok; the oil pan leaked quite a bit. The seats got dirty easily with the light gray suede inserts. It was a good looking and unique car.
except the transmissions were fragile in the v6 cars. yes, even the 4t65hd with the supercharged v6. the 5.3/4t65hd combo (grand prix/impala ss) is even less reliable than usual since gm specs the 4t65hd to handle 300tq max and the 5.3 makes 330tq. storytime: i used to have an 04 Bonne GXP (stock) and a friend had an 02 grand prix gtp with headers, no cat, flowmasters (lol), cold air intake, pulley, injectors, and tune (most of it from zzp lol). we raced many many times, and he would consistently lose. from a dig, a 30 roll, or a 60 roll. every time he would get about a half car ahead up to 40mph then by 60mph i would be passing him. from a 60 roll he never pulled at all. We even did top speed runs lol. He was done after 125mph, the Bonneville would pull over 140mph no problem (i actually hit 152mph in the bonneville on a road trip)
As someone who had one of the bad era Northstars, I wouldn’t mind picking up one of these or a Lucerne Super to experience what that engine was like when it wasn’t actively exploding and robbing me blind.
Bonneville did not downsize in 1987. It downsized in 1977 and again in 1982, but the 1987 change to front wheel drive was officially an upsize, going from a mid-size car 1982-86 back to full size for 1987.
3:55 i have 2002 Aurora w gray seats and the seats look identical except the suede. These cars shared many parts.... honestly the older Bonneville seats are probably nicer, I think they were like 12 or 14-way w/ tighter side bolsters.
Actually for Pontiac: Thanks to the addition of the Northstar engine for 04 it’s now a Pontiac Bonneville GXP is actually a Pontiac rebadged Cadillac DeVille Touring Sedan (DTS)!
I didn’t focus much on this last gen car bc I liked the previous gen a lot. By the time the V8 came out I thought it was cool. Never got the chance to own a big sedan. GM’s late 2000’s quality turned me off to the brand.
This car was running on 4 cylinders to achieve those pathetic performance numbers. My ‘02 GTP SC 3800 did 0-60 in upper 6 secs and 1/4 mile in 15 flat. That was when it had only 900 miles on it. Not even broken in yet. Something is definitely amiss here.
Old Motorweek numbers are always slow. I usually subtract a full second from just about every review and you get something closer to what Car and Driver would get.
@@sdmurphy20nothing. The issue was the owners who didn't read the owner's manual on a 36 thousand dollar purchase! The Northstar requires a strict adherence to the type and schedule on coolant changes. Trust me. That's the fact and the rest is ignorant opinion. I own an 04 w/ 204K and an 05 w/ 57K. They are both running great thanks to my ability to read and follow simple instructions lol
An after thought for a vehicle on its way out the door. Shameful. These looked great but GM should have let Pontiac get serious about the power in 99 for the 2000 MY. By this time it was too little too late.
In Canada this Bonneville GXP cost around 50000 dollars base prize new. The SSEI cost around 42000 dollars new. The GXP was way overprized for what it was. The SSEI was better prized and had better fuel economy and it was more reliable too with similar performance.
The Chrysler 300C ate this things lunch - Not only did this cost more but it made WAY less power. And the 300C turned heads EVERYWHERE when it hit dealer lots in early 2004 making these GXP Bonneville's instantly obsolete as soon as they hit showrooms.
@@Trendyflute Neither had nice interiors with quality materials - The Bonneville's looked outdated and ostentatious by 2004 while the Chrysler 300 looked spartan and boring, but BOTH used equally cheap/flimsy plastics... The 300C largely made up for that by offering superior content, power, exterior styling, and VALUE. No comparison.
@@RaceDefendImportTunerTeam I think they both looked good in their top trim levels but the buying public chose the 300 by a large margin. And you mean 2011 which was the year of the redesign.
The V8 sounded better and was more reliable it also looked better without all that cladding, the 5.3 or 6.0 would have been better for reliability and sound though
It's a shame Pontiac put that engine in those cars, it turned out to be a real turd. The SSEi was easy to tune on with a slightly smaller pulley on the supercharger and a better flowing airbox they improved performance and would run circles around that POS 4.6.
The Northstar head bolt defects were largely cured by 2004 but the way more powerful Hemi V8's instantly dominated this segment when the less expensive Chrysler 300C hit the streets around the same time in 2004 which made these Bonneville GXP's dead on arrival.
The Northstar had aluminum block and heads and was actually lighter than the smaller 3800 V6. By 2005 they had longer and thicker head bolts so the problems were much better than the earlier models. I did a lot of research since I considered buying one but couldn't find a nice one.
@@RaceDefendImportTunerTeam The 2nd generation was even slower so no real loss - The first gen. Auroras with the V8 standard are timeless future classics
