2006 Pontiac G6 Coupe Preview

Repeating myself again, rear seat passengers should find room enough to get comfortable, with about 889 mm (35 inches) of rear

Pontiac says that headroom is comparable to the G6 sedan, impressive considering the racy roofline. (Photo: General Motors of Canada)

legroom - about an inch and a half shorter than the extremely accommodating G6 sedan. Pontiac says that headroom is also comparable to the G6 sedan, impressive considering the racy roofline.

That raked roofline differs whether inside a coupe or convertible, especially noticeable in the rear quarter window and C-pillar. The coupe features a kink, similar to that of a BMW, while the convertible quarter glass and C-pillar meet at a point. Both designs are attractive, and completely unique to the shape offered by the sedan, which only shares the same body panels ahead of the A-pillars by the way.

Other distinct coupe and convertible features are angular, wraparound taillamps, and LED Center High Mounted Stop Lamps (CHMSLs). The coupe's CHMSL is positioned at the base of the rear window.

What about safety? The coupe gets optional side and head curtain

Maybe what we're seeing here is the new face of General Motors... one that could potentially return to profitability sometime in the near future. (Photo: General Motors of Canada)

airbags, while dual-stage frontal airbags come standard.

So, with all of these features, top-drawer styling and a price that will without doubt undercut the Japanese, how can Pontiac go wrong? As it seems, they'd have to mess up horribly in some other aspect of customer relations not to turn Grand Am Coupe buyers into owners of the G6 Coupe.

And who knows? Maybe what we're seeing here is the new face of General Motors... one that could potentially return to profitability sometime in the near future. That would make a lot of GM executives happy, to say the least.