Pontiac adds fuel-wise V-8 to Grand Prix line
For the folks in my line of work and possibly lots of civilians as well, no car fell as short of its hype in 2003 as the Pontiac Grand Prix.
Many of my colleagues actually felt betrayed by the Grand Prix, since they heard about its supposed charms from one of their idols -- GM's vice-chairman of product development, Bob Lutz. In point of fact, the auto writers; general opinion of the Grand Prix was so below what Lutz had promised that many of them began to reconsider his divine status and wonder about GM's chances of building ever-better cars under his aegis.
That's probably an over-reaction to a competent sport-sedan with a reasonable price tag, especially now that the latest version of the Grand Prix is revealed. On paper, this model sounds good enough to have earned those enthusiastic comments by Lutz, who had a key role in developing it.
Lutz and Pontiac have followed a great American automotive tradition with the GXP by stuffing a hairy-chested V-8 into it. Any V-8 in a front-drive platform would have been impressive enough, but this powerplant is actually new to the GM lineup, and it comes equipped with clever fuel-saving technology as well as generous amounts of torque and horsepower.
The exact torque and horsepower numbers for the 5.3-litre OHV V-8 aren't known yet, but the promise from Pontiac is a 0 to 100 kmh time of approximately six seconds, which ought to go a long toward making my disappointed colleagues reconsider Grand Prix as well as Bob Lutz.
True, the GXP's upgraded suspension scheme still needs to be driven hard before the final judgment can be rendered on the car's sporting abilities, but in North America handling skill is pretty much a matter of reputation while launch is more important to day-to-day driving fun.
Jim Bunnell, the general marketing manager of the Pontiac-GMC division, does promise that the GXP performance series (there's already a Bonneville GXP model, which is proving quite popular) ''is more than extra horsepower. We've taken a systematic approach to elevating all aspects of the Grand Prix's dynamics, ratcheting up everything from handling to styling and refinement, to give performance-oriented customers the exhilarating driving experience they desire.''
Just as important to the quotidian satisfaction with the Grand Prix GXP will be a tonier (suede inserts and the like) interior and that improved fuel economy.
The new V-8 has GM's Displacement On Demand (DOD) technology, which delivers improved fuel economy by cutting off four of the engine's cylinders when they aren't needed to answer the driver's performance demands. Since the GXP is so performance-oriented, it should be noted right away that there is no (as in NO) delay in getting the power back from those de-activated cylinders when the situation or the driver demands it.
Individual fuel economy results will vary, of course, but everyone should see some kind of gas use reduction with DOD, and it could be quite good (maybe 15 percent) at steady-speed (say a constant 115 kmh) highway driving. And unlike a hybrid, this fuel-saving technology adds little cost to the engine and no complexity, both of which are good things.
But the primary attraction of the Grand Prix GXP is of course performance, so it's important to note that the current, estimated power ratings for the 5.3-litre V-8 are 290 hp at 5,200 rpm and 325 lb-ft of torque at 4,000. If they both don't improve by the car's on sale date early in 2005, we should all be surprised.
The only transmission attached to this V-8 is a four-speed automatic, though it has the TapShift feature that lets the driver control the gear choice.
For the folks in my line of work and possibly lots of civilians as well, no car fell as short of its hype in 2003 as the Pontiac Grand Prix.
Many of my colleagues actually felt betrayed by the Grand Prix, since they heard about its supposed charms from one of their idols -- GM's vice-chairman of product development, Bob Lutz. In point of fact, the auto writers; general opinion of the Grand Prix was so below what Lutz had promised that many of them began to reconsider his divine status and wonder about GM's chances of building ever-better cars under his aegis.
That's probably an over-reaction to a competent sport-sedan with a reasonable price tag, especially now that the latest version of the Grand Prix is revealed. On paper, this model sounds good enough to have earned those enthusiastic comments by Lutz, who had a key role in developing it.
Lutz and Pontiac have followed a great American automotive tradition with the GXP by stuffing a hairy-chested V-8 into it. Any V-8 in a front-drive platform would have been impressive enough, but this powerplant is actually new to the GM lineup, and it comes equipped with clever fuel-saving technology as well as generous amounts of torque and horsepower.
The exact torque and horsepower numbers for the 5.3-litre OHV V-8 aren't known yet, but the promise from Pontiac is a 0 to 100 kmh time of approximately six seconds, which ought to go a long toward making my disappointed colleagues reconsider Grand Prix as well as Bob Lutz.
True, the GXP's upgraded suspension scheme still needs to be driven hard before the final judgment can be rendered on the car's sporting abilities, but in North America handling skill is pretty much a matter of reputation while launch is more important to day-to-day driving fun.
Jim Bunnell, the general marketing manager of the Pontiac-GMC division, does promise that the GXP performance series (there's already a Bonneville GXP model, which is proving quite popular) ''is more than extra horsepower. We've taken a systematic approach to elevating all aspects of the Grand Prix's dynamics, ratcheting up everything from handling to styling and refinement, to give performance-oriented customers the exhilarating driving experience they desire.''
Just as important to the quotidian satisfaction with the Grand Prix GXP will be a tonier (suede inserts and the like) interior and that improved fuel economy.
The new V-8 has GM's Displacement On Demand (DOD) technology, which delivers improved fuel economy by cutting off four of the engine's cylinders when they aren't needed to answer the driver's performance demands. Since the GXP is so performance-oriented, it should be noted right away that there is no (as in NO) delay in getting the power back from those de-activated cylinders when the situation or the driver demands it.
Individual fuel economy results will vary, of course, but everyone should see some kind of gas use reduction with DOD, and it could be quite good (maybe 15 percent) at steady-speed (say a constant 115 kmh) highway driving. And unlike a hybrid, this fuel-saving technology adds little cost to the engine and no complexity, both of which are good things.
But the primary attraction of the Grand Prix GXP is of course performance, so it's important to note that the current, estimated power ratings for the 5.3-litre V-8 are 290 hp at 5,200 rpm and 325 lb-ft of torque at 4,000. If they both don't improve by the car's on sale date early in 2005, we should all be surprised.
The only transmission attached to this V-8 is a four-speed automatic, though it has the TapShift feature that lets the driver control the gear choice.