RIP Pontiac

[Dis]

Geeze.

And THAT friends is what the Z is ALL about...

If you ever get one of those, can I be your friend?

 

[code1211]

I loved my '78 Firebird, baby blue metalflake with black trim. Except the engine went TU at only 99,000 miles.

I've never known anyone to get 100,000 miles out of a Pontiac.

My Bonnie has 100K+ right now and the one it replaced also had 100K plus.

 

[k2skier]

Classic Muscle car

No sir.

THAT is a muscle car.

Nice car, for a pony, THIS is a MUSCLE car!!!!!!!!!!

Shelby Super Snake Prudhomme Edition 750-horsepower GT500

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/02/06/shelby-unleashes-750-horsepower-gt500-super-snake-prudhomme-edit/

750HP of street legal, emissin passing, Chevy crushing MUSCLE!

 

[k2skier]

did the unions kill off pontiac?

Yes... state mandated Collective Bargaining resulted in massive excesses in the cost liabilities to GM... where each succeding generation of workers demanded greater and greater compensation, while it sustained larger and larger populations of Retirees, who had collecitvely bargained for extremely generous retirment packages.

It's a function of the left as a general rule, wanting to 'have their cake and Eat it TOO...' which is a formula for distaster and can only come with what the left will never fail to describe as 'unintended consequences', despite the consequences being nothing short of absolutely CERTAIN.

The Irony is that GM is presently building some of the best cars in the world; with the ZR1 Corvette presently being the fastest production car ever built; winning contests in every conceivable level and facet of performance; routinely besting supercars that come at 10 times its price tag. Same with the Cadillac, the Caddy CTSV is winning design awards and crushing its competition in performance; being amongst the fastest, fine appionted luxury cars in the world...

But Pontiac has long since suffered from a shrinking market... and its demise is a surprise to no one.

That's not what Consumer Reports and Road and Track say, except for the CTSV and Silverado and just a couple of other models. Ford has had higher rated and better built cars for close to 10 years now compared to GMC, MOPAR just needs to go away, 2nd bankrupcty....

 

[DavidS]

ROFL... Dave, the 2010 Camaro KILLS the new 'Wustang...' in every conceivable area... the LSX V8 takes the 4.6 GT by two tenths in the quarter, which to the uninitiated is a lifetime... and when the new Z28 rolls out, it is OVER for the Rousch boys... they just need to get used to 2nd place and I can tell you that THEY HATE that spot... My 96 Z routinely deliver the bad news to you Must-gals every Friday night.

First of all, I have no idea what kind of speed the sixth generation Mustang will have. Second of all, Roush and Saleen are aftermarkets and are not approved by Ford. But I'm sure if I researched either of them, I could find a base model that could wipe the floor with your little gay Z.

If you want to take your Z28 and compare it the Shelby Cobra, the Shelby Cobra has 540 hp and 510 lb·ft of torque @ 4500 rpm. That's a pretty low rpm for that kind of power. Your Camara has to go 2000 rpms higher than that to reach its full speed.

The Shelby Mustang can go 0-60 in 4 seconds flat, whereas the Camaro takes 4.6 seconds to reach 60.

PubliusInfinitum - you're better off with a Crown Victoria instead of buying that big plastic piece of shit Camaro. At least with the Crown Vic, you'll get what you're paying for.

Here you go, man. Just for you:

 

[DavidS]

geeze.

And that friends is what the z is all about...

i agree!

 

[DavidS]

Classic Muscle car

No sir.


THAT is a muscle car.

Nice car, for a pony, THIS is a MUSCLE car!!!!!!!!!!

Shelby Super Snake Prudhomme Edition 750-horsepower GT500

Shelby unleashes 750-horsepower GT500 Super Snake Prudhomme Edition

750HP of street legal, emissin passing, Chevy crushing MUSCLE!

How the hell is that street legal???

 

[k2skier]

Anything that GM builds killer.

A friend that's a , cough, cough, GM lover said that GM had a 700+ Camaro in the works, then I showed him the Shelby Snake Prudhomme...

 

[k2skier]

Here's the attatchment, DOH.

 

[Jon]

Ford Fusion. Not Ford Focus.

Still yet, it's not even the same class of car as a G8. G8 = sports sedan. Ford Fusion = passenger car.

 

[k2skier]

No sir.


THAT is a muscle car.

Nice car, for a pony, THIS is a MUSCLE car!!!!!!!!!!

Shelby Super Snake Prudhomme Edition 750-horsepower GT500

Shelby unleashes 750-horsepower GT500 Super Snake Prudhomme Edition

750HP of street legal, emissin passing, Chevy crushing MUSCLE!

How the hell is that street legal???

I haven't read too much in detail on the Prudhomme model, but if 500HP can pass emissions, then it shouldn't be too hard to squeek out 250 more. Don't think you'd want to drive it in the rain with slicks and all though. One article I read said they had to lower tire pressure to 15 lbs to get it off the line, and to get half way decent 1/4 mile times, just wanted to light them up, all the way down the track.

 

[PubliusInfinitum]

Geeze.

And THAT friends is what the Z is ALL about...

If you ever get one of those, can I be your friend?

Oh we're already friends and you bet... but the Infinite Z CRUSHES the newby...

 

[PubliusInfinitum]

geeze.

And that friends is what the z is all about...

i agree!

Well, I hear ya sport, but if you ever find yourself staging up on me... you'll find you'll have little choice BUT agree, as the Clock can be a CRUEL bitch and she rarely falls to the favor of the Mustang... it CAN happen and it HAS on rare occasion happened; but I seriously doubt that it'll happen for you.

But hey... I say GET TO THE LANES and lets find out... Best of luck to ya.

 

[PubliusInfinitum]

Classic Muscle car

No sir.

THAT is a muscle car.

Nice car, for a pony, THIS is a MUSCLE car!!!!!!!!!!

Shelby Super Snake Prudhomme Edition 750-horsepower GT500

Shelby unleashes 750-horsepower GT500 Super Snake Prudhomme Edition

750HP of street legal, emissin passing, Chevy crushing MUSCLE!

Well, it's always been my understanding that the oldtimers defined Muscle in terms of the Big Block... Pony cars being their small-block counter-parts... and the Shelby SS... is nothing but a blown small-block... and not a particularly well designed one at that.

Now the NA Z06 Vette takes the Super Snake down as a matter of routine and the ZR1 is worlds a part, numerous levels beyond the Ford. The suspension of the Shelby is CRAP, thus the Mustang can't transfer that abundance of induced power to the ground. It's not uncommon at all to see The Super Snake turn low 13s or high 12s... simply because the design of the rear drivetrain cavetates... causing the tires to loose traction and there she sits, doing a crowd pleasing burnout, just seconds before she executes a crown displeasing loss... Although, to be fair, some performance shops have replaced the stock drivetrain with actual working systems and along with Nitrous complimenting induction to the SC and turned out high 7 second passes... just expect to drop an additional 15 large to get that done; which frankly isn't asking too much to make this car do what it was supposed to do off the showroom floor.

Looks GREAT tho'...

Let's also note that the Shelby is an aftermarket development of the stock Mustang platform. But let's be honest: Blown Mustangs are a dime a dozen... and when it's all said and done, that is because the LSx platform of the Chevy is a VASTLY superior system to the Ford, and without the forced indution, it's over... sadly (for the Mustang gals) where the LSx operator bolts on just about ANY Form of Forced Induction, the contest is, in finality... OVER...

As I noted above the Cadillac CTS V is a 560 Hp 550 lb/ft of torque LUXURY SEDAN... it turned Nurburgring in less than 8 minutes... and runs over 60 mph from a dig in 3.8 seconds... STOCK...

No after-market modding, just pick it up and head down the road to kick the crap out of 98% of everything Ford has ever produced... while enjoying a finely appointed interior, world class audio and frosty conditioned air through out the leather bound cabin... in a car that weighs in at 4300 lbs; and if you're inclined to run your 09 CTS V down to the drags, you can expect to run sub-12 second ETs... Which for the uninitiated is hauling some serious @$$... and is certifiably FAST.

 

[Bfgrn]

did the unions kill off pontiac?

Yes... state mandated Collective Bargaining resulted in massive excesses in the cost liabilities to GM... where each succeding generation of workers demanded greater and greater compensation, while it sustained larger and larger populations of Retirees, who had collecitvely bargained for extremely generous retirment packages.

It's a function of the left as a general rule, wanting to 'have their cake and Eat it TOO...' which is a formula for distaster and can only come with what the left will never fail to describe as 'unintended consequences', despite the consequences being nothing short of absolutely CERTAIN.

The Irony is that GM is presently building some of the best cars in the world; with the ZR1 Corvette presently being the fastest production car ever built; winning contests in every conceivable level and facet of performance; routinely besting supercars that come at 10 times its price tag. Same with the Cadillac, the Caddy CTSV is winning design awards and crushing its competition in performance; being amongst the fastest, fine appionted luxury cars in the world...

But Pontiac has long since suffered from a shrinking market... and its demise is a surprise to no one.

Did management have guns to their heads when THEY SIGNED the contracts, or did the mean old "union" just outsmart them?

Workers hold the key "If there are no concessions made this time, we won't correct the problem. Our costs are too high. If you say, 'Blame it on the union,' well, the unions served a great purpose. They helped build the middle class. But we can't afford $50 to $75 an hour to build a car. To build anything, really."

Health care costs are killing us "We save maybe 15, 20 percent by building a car in Canada because the Canadian government's paying that 15 percent for workers' health insurance. The United States has the most expensive health care in the world, and we don't have the best record, whether it's infant mortality or whatever. We're just not there with the rest of the world. How long can we tolerate that?"
Lee Iacocca


Health care: an issue that cries out for leadership.

Health care in this country is in shambles. At a cost of almost $12,000 a year for the average family, the system is bankrupting families and it's bankrupting companies - specifically my old industry. Take General Motors. They're currently paying out $1,525 per vehicle for health care. Compare that to the $201 Toyota is paying and it sounds even more absurd. And what about those families and individuals who can't afford insurance at all? Junior breaks his arm and all of a sudden, a fall off a bike is an $8,000 trip to the ER.

Despite all of this, none of our politicians will touch the issue. Oh sure, they'll talk about it during campaign season, but once the votes are cast, it's the forgotten issue again. The last time anyone proposed real reform was in 1993, and that plan went nowhere. Fourteen years later, Hillary Clinton's failed plan is still used as an excuse to continue ignoring the problem. That's disgraceful.

I suggest you listen carefully to the '08 candidates' "plans" for health care. Let's see if any of them have the political courage to really tackle it this time around. I don't want band-aid ideas either. I want concrete solutions - and I want to hold these guys to their promises.
Lee Iacocca

 

[Ame®icano]

Sorry about quality, taken with a phone. Click to enlarge.

 

[PubliusInfinitum]

Sorry about quality, taken with a phone. Click to enlarge.

Yeah man... THATS what I'm talk'in 'bout...

 

[Indiana Oracle]

Man, and I was so close to saving up enough money to get a Pontiac Firebird with an eagle painted on the hood, a t-top, and wear a netted half-shirt like the Marines where I grew up in San Diego.

Shoot!

My dreams are gone.

I had one of those (dark blue, no T-top; leaks). It was loads of fun to drive. You did not really have to trick a thing. Little rattles all over, but hey..