1977 Pontiac Phoenix 5.0l V8 on 2040-cars

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GM reintroduces Tripower name in the worst way possible

The story of General Motors' use of the Tripower moniker begins way back in 1957, when Semon E. "Bunkie" Knudsen, then General Manager of GM's Pontiac division, directed his engineers to inject more performance into his brand's line of V8-powered automobiles. Fuel injection was an option, but hot rodders flocked instead to Tri-Power (marketed way back when with a hyphen), which grafted a trio of two-barrel Rochester carburetors onto a single intake manifold. A legend was born. And that legend was born of performance. At idle and when full power wasn't required, Pontiac's Tri-Power system used just the middle carburetor, which helped make the setup easier to tune. Depending on the year and model, either a vacuum system or a mechanical linkage opened up the two outer carbs, thereby switching from two barrels to six, and allowing the engine to take in more fuel and air. And it was an easy marketing win – six barrels is better than four barrels, right? Because performance! So, when news filtered in that GM has resurrected the Tripower name, those of us who grew up attending classic car shows and wrenching on old Pontiacs did a double-take. And then we all collectively sighed. Turns out that today's Tripower refers to a trio of fuel-saving measures that include cylinder deactivation, active thermal management, and intake valve lift control, according to Automotive News. And, at least for now, it applies to GM's line of fullsize trucks powered by a 2.7-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine. We're all for saving fuel whenever possible. And we have zero say in how any automaker chooses to market its products and technologies. But, we'll offer our two cents anyway: Relaunching a storied name from the past is fine. Relaunching a storied name from the past while completely overlooking the reasons the name got famous in the first place is only going to irritate the people who remember the name in the first place. Couldn't they just call this new technology package something else? Related Video: News Source: Automotive NewsImage Credit: Getty Green Marketing/Advertising Chevrolet GM Pontiac Automotive History Truck chevrolet silverado

Lutz says GM was working on 5th-gen Pontiac GTO

Bob Lutz was one of the forces behind bringing the Holden Monaro to the United States, as the ill-fated Pontiac GTO in 2004. And while that car received critical acclaim, it was a sales disappointment. Now, Road & Track is reporting that our suspicions were correct - Pontiac was working on a two-door, G8-based coupe before it was shuttered.
In that R&T article, which is no longer available online, Lutz explained that the new GTO would solve many of the issues found in the original. Car Advice speculates that the new model would have look like a rebadged version of the Holden Coupe 60 Concept from 2008, a conclusion we also came to.
That car would have been a big departure from the 2004 to 2006 GTO. It has an extremely long hood and short rear deck, with an almost fastback roofline and a wide greenhouse with a tall beltline. The wheel arches were very pronounced, and the chin and rocker panel splitters gave it a race-ready look. Would it have been enough to make the GTO work in the US? We think it might of, but it looks like we'll never know.

Junkyard Gem: 2010 Pontiac G6

What makes a discarded car a gem? Sometimes it's a car we all agree is very cool, and other times it's a car that tells us something about automotive history. Today's Junkyard Gem is the latter type: one of the very last Pontiacs sold, before The General shut out the lights forever on the storied marque after 84 years. The G6 was Pontiac's Epsilon-platform-based car, sibling to the Chevy Malibu, Saturn Aura, and Saab 9-3 (plus a bunch of Europe-only machinery). The very last Pontiac ever built was a white 2010 G6 sedan like this one (all '10 G6s were sedans, the coupe and convertible having been nixed in 2009), though that car was built in January of 2010 and this one came off the line in July of 2009. They build Bolts at the Orion Assembly plant these days. The higher-zoot G6s came with V6s or even V8s, but this car has "fleet machine" written all over it and has the base 2.4-liter Ecotec four-banger making 164 horsepower. Pontiac shoppers in the United States could buy the Vibe as a 2010 model as well, while Mexican Pontiac dealerships also sold new G2s (known as the Spark here) that year. The G6 was The Final Pontiac, though, bookending a run that began with the 1926 Pontiac Six. This one will go to its grave with the original owner's manual still inside. Even the cheapest 2010 G6s came with an AUX jack for the radio, a feature that was still maddeningly hard to find in rental cars a decade ago. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Before the bankruptcy and the gloom, optimism surrounded the G6. Related Video: Featured Gallery Junked 2010 Pontiac G6 View 19 Photos Auto News Pontiac Automotive History Sedan pontiac g6 Junkyard Gems