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Junkyard Gem: 2003 Pontiac Grand Am GT 30th Anniversary Edition

With the era of the 1960s-style muscle car ended by the ever-more-stringent emissions regulations, insurance costs and higher gasoline prices of the early 1970s, GM's Pontiac Division was ready with a lineup of flash-enhanced machines packed with (alleged) European-style performance and styling. Three of them were based on the midsize A Platform for 1973: the LeMans, the Grand Prix and the brand-new Grand Am. The 1973 Grand Am was cheaper than the luxed-up Grand Prix, but still had a BMW-ish interior and wild exterior styling; sales weren't great, but the 30th anniversary of this car seemed sufficiently momentous for Pontiac to create a special-edition package for its soon-to-be-axed successor. Here's one of these rare machines, spotted recently in a Denver car graveyard. The original rear-wheel-drive Grand Am was built for the 1973-1975 and 1978-1980 model years, but its similarity to the much cheaper LeMans kept sales numbers unimpressive. When the Grand Am name was revived for a Pontiac-badged compact on the front-drive N Platform in the 1985 model year, however, it became a big seller right away and stayed that way into our current century. The N-Body Grand Am was built through 2005, with platform updates for the 1992 and 1999 model years. Along the way, it was sibling to such cars as the Oldsmobile Calais, Buick Somerset, Chevrolet Beretta and Oldsmobile Alero. By 2003, though, the ground was shifting under Pontiac's feet. The iconic Firebird had been discontinued the previous year, and even the Grand Prix's days were officially numbered. Oldsmobile would be gone after 2004, and the entire Pontiac vehicle lineup would be shaken up soon after. The last year for the Grand Am (and the Sunfire) would be 2005, with the G6 taking its place. With all that going on, why not offer a 30th Anniversary package? After all, the Grand Prix got a 40th Anniversary Edition for 2002. Our reviewer described this car as "leaner, trimmer and more contemporary" at the time, but made no mention of the 30th Anniversary Edition. The VIN says this car is a top-grade GT1 sedan, with an MSRP of $22,325 (that's about $39,920 in 2023 dollars). Two engines were available in the 2003 Grand Am: a 2.2-liter Ecotec four-cylinder with 140 horsepower and a 3.4-liter pushrod V6 with either 170 or 175 horsepower. This car has the 175-horse V6, complete with "Ram Air" cold-air induction. That name goes way back in Pontiac history.

Junkyard Gem: 1987 Pontiac Firebird

From 1967 through 2002, the Pontiac Division offered the Firebird, close sibling to the Chevrolet Camaro. By the third generation, which debuted for the 1982 model year, it became more difficult to tell the two F-body cars apart at a glance and the Pontiac-exclusive engines of the earlier years disappeared, but the Firebird still retained its own personality and its own position in the GM marketing hierarchy. I still find the occasional 1982-1992 Camaro as I search car graveyards for interesting stuff, but the corresponding Firebirds have become scarce in recent years. Here's a base-engine-equipped '87, its Bright Red paint (yes, that was the official name for the color) faded by the Colorado sun as it awaits the crusher. Firebird shoppers had their choice of three engines in 1987: A 5.7-liter Chevy V8 (210 hp), a 5.0-liter Chevy V8 (205 hp) and the same 2.8-liter 60° V6 that went into the Fiero and countless front-drive GM sedans (135 hp). This car has the base engine. The third-gen F-body didn't weigh much (3,105 pounds for the '87 with six-banger, about what a 2020 Corolla weighs), so 135 horses was tolerable. Plenty of these cars got T-5 5-speed manual transmissions, but this one got the two-pedal setup. Camaro wheels, of course. Our Friend the Carburetor didn't disappear from new cars until the early 1990s in the United States, though electronic fuel injection had become very commonplace by 1987. Still, GM considered this car's EFI worth a door-handle brag. It's not worth fixing up a mashed six-cylinder third-gen Firebird, so we can see the route this car took to its final parking space. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. When you're about to be beaten to a pulp by catcalling, Olds-driving thugs, run to the Firebird! This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. So much big hair in these late-1980s Pontiac ads! Featured Gallery Junked 1987 Pontiac Firebird View 24 Photos Auto News Pontiac Automotive History Coupe Firebird pontiac firebird Junkyard Gems

Junkyard Gem: 1997 Pontiac Sunfire SE Convertible

For the entire 24-year production run of the GM J platform (best known for the Chevrolet Cavalier), the Pontiac Division offered new J-Body cars for sale in the United States. First there was the J2000, followed in quick succession by the 2000, 2000 Sunbird and Sunbird. The Sunbird stuck around until the Cavalier got a major redesign for the 1995 model year, at which point Pontiac changed the car's name to Sunfire. Today's Junkyard Gem is one of those early Sunfires, a top-of-the-line SE convertible with the optional big engine and manual transmission. The Sunfire was an extremely close sibling to the same-year Cavalier (by the late 1980s, all the other US-market GM divisions had dropped their J-cars, which meant no more Skyhawks, Cimarrons or Firenzas), quite difficult to distinguish from its near-twin at a glance. The base engine for the 1997 Sunfire convertible was the pushrod 2.2-liter straight-four that powered so many J-bodies of the 1990s. That engine produced just 120 gnashing, valve-floating horsepower, not much by late-1990s standards. For a mere 450 additional dollars, however, the 2.4-liter Twin Cam engine and its high-revving 150 horses could be had by '97 Sunfire buyers. That's what's in this car. This is one of the members of the Oldsmobile Quad 4 family, though some fanatics will yell at you if you apply that name to the versions that don't have big QUAD 4 lettering cast into the valve cover. This is the most powerful engine ever used in production Sunfires. For 1997, Pontiac offered a four-speed automatic transmission for no extra cost in the Sunfire convertible. Buyers of all other Sunfire models that year had to shell out either $550 or $810 ($1,026 or $1,511 in 2023 dollars) for a two-pedal rig. That means that the buyer of this car really wanted the five-speed manual transmission (or just hungered for the $810 credit offered in the fine print for takers of the manual). Plenty of free-breathing engine power, five-on-the-floor driving enjoyment and the open skies above. What a fun car! This one made it to nearly 180,000 miles. For this car with the Quad 4 under the hood and a clutch pedal on the floor, the MSRP was $18,539 (about $34,584 today). Its Cavalier LS convertible twin with the same engine/transmission setup cost $17,365 ($32,394 now). This car has a bunch of options, including the 15" Rally aluminum wheels, so the out-the-door price would have been higher. The last year for the Sunfire was 2005, same as the Cavalier.