1979 Pontiac Bonneville, Sharp, Looks Good, Runs Good, Ready To Go... on 2040-cars

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Pontiac should come back as a performance division for GM

For decades the Pontiac brand was known as GM's performance brand. From the 1964 Pontiac GTO, to the 1967 Firebird, to the 1984 Fiero, to the 2006 Solstice Turbo, and 2009 G8 GXP, Pontiac had a reputation for building exciting cars, with bold styling and performance to back it up. When the Camaro was killed off in 2002, the Pontiac Firebird died off with it, and the last Pontiacs were built in early 2010. But with names like G3, G4, and G6, Pontiac's performance image had long faded from it's earlier glory days. My idea for Pontiac's revival would be to bring it back as a dedicated performance marque similar to Chevy's Super Sport (SS) line up of years past. First, and most obvious would be to bring back the Pontiac Firebird. Offering the entry-level model with the Camaro's 275HP turbo 4 cylinder engine, then having the Camaro SS's 455HP V8, but also offering a halo model Trans Am that is a revamped Camaro ZL-1 along with it's tire-shredding 650HP, supercharged V8 and race tuned suspension. Secondly, I would bring back the GTO. Which I would base on the current Chevy SS, but I would use the full 455-horsepower LS4 V8 (rather than the 415-hp setup that it has now). Furthermore, I would add the impressive 650-hp supercharged V8 to provide real competition to the Charger Hellcat. Importantly, I would make sure that the new GTO had bold, distinctive styling that really set it apart. I understand that purists would want any Pontiac GTO to be a two-door coupe, but I think that they could forgive that if the new GTO was an outstanding American performance car. Next, I would take the Buick Cascada convertible, add much bolder styling, swap in the Camaro's 275-hp turbo engine, and tune up the suspension to provide more performance than luxury (without being harsh). And finally I would round out the line up by using the new 2018 Traverse , but use the new, bold Pontiac design language to spice up the model's looks, tweak the engines for more power, and again provide a performance suspension that matches the model's new sporty looks. Obviously, having a high performance Pontiac model line up would steal away some sales from Chevy, Buick, and Cadillac models. But I think that it would more than make up for this by also stealing away sales from competing brands. Related Video: Image Credit: Copyright 2012 Drew Phillips / AOL Pontiac Classics brands open road

GM recalls 61k more vehicles in three campaigns

Following a stop-delivery order for its new midsize trucks and a rash of recent recalls, General Motors is issuing three more campaigns covering 60,575 vehicles in North America with 57,182 of them in the US. As of October 1, the automaker has issued a total of 74 recalls (see the ridiculously long chart to the right) this year covering 26,495,070 units in the US.
The largest campaign covers 46,873 examples in the US of the 2008-2009 Pontiac G8 and 2011-2013 Chevrolet Caprice Police Patrol Vehicle imported from Australia. It's possible for the driver's knee to hit the key and make it move from the "Run" to "ACC" position while driving. GM says its Holden division is developing a fixed-blade key that's supposed to fix the problem by only allowing it to rotate toward the "On" position. There has been one crash caused by this fault but no injuries or fatalities.
The second recall is for 10,005 units of the 2004-2007 Cadillac CTS-V and 2006-2007 Cadillac STS-V because "the fuel pump module electrical terminal may overheat." This can cause a flange to melt and allow the pump to leak fuel. GM specifies that the remedy for the CTS-V is replacing the fuel module and fuel tank jumper harness, but it doesn't specify how the STS-V is being repaired.

Michigan floods from breached dams consume Pontiac Fiero collection

“WeÂ’ve never had an event like this,” Michigan's city manager Brad Kaye said in a Detroit News story. "What we're looking at is an event that is the equivalent of a 500-year flood." Kaye is referencing the catastrophic flood that occurred in central Michigan this week after heavy rainfall was compounded by two breached dams on the Tittabawassee River. Reports say the flooding forced evacuation of up to 10,000 residents, swallowed entire towns, and destroyed thousands of properties. No casualties have been reported, according to the Detroit Free Press, but car enthusiasts will be sad to learn a Pontiac Fiero shop and collection called Forever Fieros was decimated by the natural disaster. The Tittabawassee River is located about two hours, or roughly 140 miles, north of Detroit. It starts 20-30 miles further north and flows southeast as a tributary to the Saginaw Bay Watershed. Along the way, the Tittabawassee is held up by several dams, including the Edenville dam that failed and the Sanford dam that was breached during torrential downpours. According to NPR, the federal government took away the Edenville dam's license in 2018 and suggested it could not last through a major flood. Unfortunately, that prediction was proven accurate.  Forever Fieros is located in Sanford, Michigan, which is just below Sanford Lake, which is created by the Sanford dam. So when the Edenville dam north of Sanford broke, water from Wixom Lake flooded Sanford Lake, and a berm next to the Sanford dam was overwhelmed, according to MLive. Technically the dam did not fail, but the end result was the same: an entire town underwater. The Tittabawassee reportedly crested at 35 feet, or 10 feet above flood level and 1.1 feet higher than the previous record set in 1986. According to The Drive, the man in charge of Forever Fieros, Tim Evans, had time to attempt to save his vehicles from floodwater. He reportedly moved about 12 cars to a street that doesn't typically flood, but the water level was simply too high for that to matter. A floating pole barn also reportedly struck and damaged the  Forever Fieros building.  Worsening the situation is the fact that Evans was planning to hold an auction to sell many of the Fieros. As seen on Industrial Bid, he planned to sell 12 Fieros, Fiero GTs and a Fiero Formula, ranging from 1984 through 1988. The lots included a 1984 pace car, a Lamborghini Countach kit car, and a Fiero Cosworth Pontiac Super Duty 16-valve DOHC engine.