What`s more important to you, 60 additional horses under the hood or $3,000 to $9,000 extra in your pocket?
Pontiac wrestled with that question for 1991 and came up with a choice of solutions for the consumer:
– Let buyers have the sporty look of the `90 turbo Grand Prix but take away the powerful 200 horsepower turbo engine in favor of a 140-horsepower V- 6-and reduce the price about $9,000 in the process.
– Let buyers have the sporty look of the `90 turbo Grand Prix but take away the turbo and give them a new 200-horsepower, 24-valve V-6-and reduce the price about $3,000 in the process.
For 1991 you can have a car that looks like the former turbo-the new Grand Prix SE coupe-or you can have a car that both looks and acts like the former turbo-the Grand Prix GTP-yet save some money either way you go.
We briefly had a chance to drive the GTP in Detroit at Pontiac`s fall new-car preview. Rather than a series of long straightaways to test acceleration and braking, hairpin turns to check out cornering and a dozen or so nylon pylons to determine the character of the suspension, Pontiac turned writers loose on city streets where even missionaries might question the wisdom of their calling and where Cass Avenue Cookies doesn`t refer to a local bakery.
We`ll reserve judgment on the GTP coupe until it`s available to drive in Chicago. And that could be a while. Seems the new 3.4 liter V-6 hasn`t passed all quality tests, and so formal introduction is being delayed until shortly after the first of the year. The same engine will power the new Chevy Lumina Z34, and that car also is being held up.
But we have tested the Grand Prix SE, a midsize two-door coupe with the same sporty flavor as the full-size four-door Bonneville SSE sedan.
By now the story is familiar. Ford came out with a four-door Taurus sedan and GM countered with a series of W-body, or GM-10, coupes: the two-door Grand Prix, Olds Cutlass Supreme and Buick Regal (the Lumina came later).
The world wanted coupes, not sedans, GM argued. Sales figures revealed that the world wanted Taurus sedans and not the lackluster GM coupes, which were short on styling and on performance with their long-of-tooth 2.8 liter V- 6 engines.
With the SE, the Grand Prix comes of age. Plastic body-colored rocker skirts, extra-wide body-colored louvered moldings, body-colored wheel lip extensions, a low-slung air dam with fog lights under the split grille, mini quad headlamps, dual chrome-exhaust extensions and decorative wheels all combine to provide just the right sporty appearance.
The model we drove was finished in an especially eye-catching light-blue metallic that would be difficult to misplace in a mall parking lot. Teens and young adults were noticeably captivated by the color.
The 3.1 liter V-6 may be 60 horses shy of the turbo, but it provided ample power from the light or when pulling into and out of the passing lane. Teamed with four-speed automatic, the 3.1 delivers 19 miles per gallon city/30 m.p.g. highway.
The 3.1 V-6 is a no-cost option in the SE but requires that you purchase automatic transmission for $200. It`s a good engine/transmission combination. Good pep and just enough exhaust rumble to serve as a reminder this isn`t a Plain Jane coupe.
The SE coupe has excellent looks and above-average performance as measured by its road-hugging ability in the straightaways, corners and turns, even if it does behave with milder manners from 0 to 60 m.p.h. than the turbo version of the year past.
Sure you give up 60 horses versus the old turbo, but you also give up the necessity to give that turbo tender, loving and expensive care.
The SE coupe is aimed at those who want the look of performance but not the sacrifices that often have to be made for a low 0-to-60-m.p.h. reading, such as teeth-jarring suspension, mediocre mileage and astronomical insurance rates.
What`s also impressive, after having recently driven both the Dodge Stealth coupe and Infiniti G20 sedan, a pair of equally classy but smaller performance models, is that the Grand Prix SE offers fun yet function with more room and comfort to spare.
If there`s a gripe with the SE, it`s the price. Okay, we said you can save money versus the former turbo, and you can. The SE starts at $14,894, and the model we tested totaled $18,000, with a host of goodies added.
The turbo, by comparison, ran about $26,000. The GTP coming after the first of the year starts at about $19,000 and runs about $23,000 with the goodies, a $3,000 savings versus the $26,000 Grand Prix.
But keep in mind it was Pontiac that established the turbo Grand Prix at $26,000. With all the SE has to offer at $18,000, you have to wonder what other than profit motivated Pontiac to bring in the turbo at a sky-high $26,000.
Standard equipment includes four-wheel independent suspension, dual body- colored sport mirrors, side-window defoggers, day/night rear-view mirror, AM/FM stereo with clock, four-wheel power disc brakes, stainless steel exhaust, power steering, air conditioning, trip odometer, visor vanity mirrors and a thick steering wheel that`s easy to hold onto while maneuvering.
The test car added a $1,228 power option package including power seats/
door-locks/windows/mirrors, plus intermittent wipers, cruise control and tilt steering; a value package consisting of gauges, radio and temperature controls in the steering column, plus a speaker upgrade, for $953; and an aero package that runs $2,595 for the look of the old turbo with the plastic exterior trim and a tire upgrade to 16 inches from 15.
The option packages totaled $5,326 but were discounted by $2,650.
Individual options included automatic transmission for $200, electric rear-window defroster for $160, custom cloth bucket seats for $140 and a rally suspension complete with stabilizer bars for $50.
The sticker was $17,570, plus $485 for freight.
The car wasn`t equipped with ABS brakes, which would have added $925 but which are highly recommended for the safety they provide. With radio controls in the steering column, the SE doesn`t offer an air bag.
With the Grand Prix SE coupe here now and the GTP coming soon, a restyled Bonneville SSE due this spring (traction control and supercharging will be options) and a newly styled Grand Am (with V-6 engine returning) also on the way, Pontiac`s performance image is hardly in jeopardy.
Ford Taurus SHO
The high-powered Ford model with its 3-liter, 24-valve, 220-h.p. V-6 has won lots of praise, but sales really never lived up to expectations for two reasons: The SHO only comes with a 5-speed manual, and the manual was nearly as stiff to maneuver as the clutch was to depress.
The lever gave you tennis elbow, while the backlash release of the clutch could propel your sneaker or wing tip into the trunk with you still in it.
For 1991 the SHO still comes only with a five-speed manual, a shame in that it keeps the bulk of drivers who never mastered a stick from enjoying the car. But the finicky five-speed and torturous clutch are things of the past.
The five-speed shifts relatively smoothly, and the clutch takes much lighter effort than before. It`s almost as if Ford brought out a totally new car. The old SHO was mostly for SHOW, while the new version is for show and go.
Over the last year we`ve had numerous readers call to say, ”I love my SHO, but it`s tiring me out.” The `91 doesn`t require a workout at the gym to move from first to fifth.
The more cooperative gear lever and clutch seem to compliment ride and handling and make the SHO feel nimbler than in the past. Maybe it`s just that not being so worn out from fiddling with lever and pedal, you can finally enjoy the ride and handling.
The SHO starts at $22,071 and is much pricier than the Grand Prix SE coupe, but ABS brakes and a driver`s side air bag are standard in the SHO, along with body-colored front and rear bumpers, body-colored dual power mirrors, digital clock, coin/cupholders, fog lamps, AM/FM stereo with cassette, tilt steering, air conditioning, rear-window defroster, power door- locks, dual exhausts, tinted glass, cruise control, power brakes and steering, power windows and intermittent wipers, to name just some of the goodies.
The test car added a preferred equipment package with such items as audio upgrade with power antenna, electronically controlled air conditioning and keyless entry for $1,224; leather seats for $489 (too cold in the winter and too slippery in cornering for a high-performance car); power moon-roof for $776; disc player for $491; and a few other minor options to bring the sticker to $25,716 before adding $480 for freight but subtracting $500 for option discounts.
