1997 Pontiac Bonneville Se Sedan 4-door 3.8l 40th Anniversary Edition on 2040-cars

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This junkyard '91 Grand Am is as hooptie as it gets

I spend a lot of time in junkyards. A lot of time. With all this experience, I have learned to recognize a perfect hooptie when I see one, a car whose final owner got every last bit of use out of it when its value was hovering right about at scrap value. This 1991 Pontiac Grand Am that I spotted in a San Francisco Bay Area self-service wrecking yard a few days ago, from the final model year for the third-generation Grand Am, checks all the hooptie boxes just right. First of all, it's a low-option coupe with the wretched and unloved GM Iron Duke engine, a rattly, gnashy, thrashy 2.5-liter four-cylinder kludged together using off-the-shelf parts from the Pontiac 301-cubic-inch V8 during the darkest years of the Malaise Era and used in cars whose buyers just didn't care. Most of the paint has been burned off by 25 years of harsh California sun, but the car spent sufficient time in a damp, shady spot for lichens to build up here and there. There are skeletons-with-sombreros stencils sprayed here and there, plus a big moonshine-guzzling skeleton mural painted on the hood. Goodbye, property values! Still, someone felt some affection for this car, giving it the name "Good Ol' Snakey" and painting that name on the decklid. We can assume that the Iron Duke was a bit loose by this time, probably leaving a serpentine trail of blue smoke behind the car at all times. So, the combination of cheapness, ugliness, menace, and who-gives-a-damn functionality make this Grand Am an excellent example of a pure hooptie. Within a couple of months, it will be crushed, shredded, shipped out of the Port of Oakland, and reborn in China as refrigerators and Geely Emgrands. Somewhere in Northern California, though, a few of Ol' Smokey's friends will remember this car fondly.

This GTO-El Camino mashup is the muscle truck of our dreams

There were a hell of a lot of great muscle cars in the mid-1960s, from the baroque Dodges and Plymouths of the earlier part of the decade to the wild big boys like the Boss 429 and Olds 442 W30. Right in the middle of the decade, two of the most iconic of the bunch emerged — the Pontiac GTO and second-generation Chevy El Camino. And this one is a 1964 Chevy El Camino with the heart and face of its GTO cousin, and dubbed the El Chieftain GTO. It's currently for sale at RM Sotheby's Auburn auction, with no reserve status or estimate listed. This looks like a product that Pontiac could have sold at the time — its builder, Ron Lindeman, did an excellent job making it look like a factory product, right down to the taillight strakes inspired by the GTO. It's powered by a 389 — a Pontiac motor that was actually found in period GTOs, but sporting a single four-barrel instead of the sexy Tri-Power setup. It is, however, equipped with a Hurst four-speed manual and the grille badge to prove it to bystanders. Even the interior is made up to look like a GTO. We wish there was more of a description of the build in the listing, but if you love it, do us one better and buy the thing and invite us to poke around it. We are very much in love with this muscle-truck mashup. Related Video: Featured Gallery 1964 Chevrolet El Camino "El Chieftain GTO" News Source: RM Sotheby's Pontiac Auctions Car Buying Truck Performance Classics

A pair of Mitsubishis, the Mazda CX-30 and electric incentives | Autoblog Podcast #673

This week's Autoblog Podcast features Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore and Consumer Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski as they debate the merits of the redesigned Subaru BRZ and Toyota 86 coupes and whether or not they are distinctive and powerful enough to attract buyers. The duo spends some time discussing ongoing EV and infrastructure legislation before turning their attention to a trio of crossovers. Greg muses about the 2021 Mazda CX-30 before Jeremy talks about the refreshed 2022 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross and completely redesigned Outlander. We get nostalgic as we remember the dearly departed Pontiac GTO before wrapping the podcast up by making one more suggestion to a longtime listener who is shopping for a vehicle to replace her aging Honda Pilot. Autoblog Podcast #673 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Cars We're Driving 2021 Mazda CX-30 2022 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross 2022 Mitsubishi Outlander News 2022 Subaru BRZ revealed with 228 horsepower New Toyota GR 86 breaks cover as the Subaru BRZ's friendly rival Toyota 86, Subaru BRZ stay the course ... thatÂ’s OK. Biden aims to juice EV sales with tax credits, rebates: Will it work? 2004-2006 Pontiac GTO | Used vehicle spotlight Spend My Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Autoblog is now live on your smart speakers and voice assistants with the audio Autoblog Daily Digest. Say “Hey Google, play the news from Autoblog” or "Alexa, open Autoblog" to get your favorite car website in audio form every day. A narrator will take you through the biggest stories or break down one of our comprehensive test drives. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.