True to my promise, I won't post at College Club. But for those GAGT owners so inclined, comments (factual and well thought out) are welcome here:
maygan31 Posted: 12:43 AM July 07, 2002
Athlon7...Excuse me, but my PONTIAC Grand Am could beat the **** outa your Ford Contour. ...I'll see you at the stoplight dear, and let you eat my dust!
Year? Model? Engine? Transmission? Do tell, my dear, because this is an awfully ignorant statement.
DsPrincess1015 Posted: 1:25 AM July 07, 2002
....Any one of Us Grand Am owners could easily leave you in the dust! See Ya at the Stop Light!
Year? Model? Engine? Transmission? Do tell, my dear, because this is an awfully ignorant statement.
Coolunderfire Posted: 9:58 PM July 07, 2002
SVT countor?? That countor was a POS!!! A grand AM GT1 would take a dump on the contour in performance.
Elaborate, please? Stock for stock?
In the interim, perhaps I'll proceed with a dose of
The Discerning Auto Enthusiast's Reality Check.
Car and Driver tested a '99 SVT Contour and a '99 Grand Am GT two months apart back in late 1998. How convenient...a source of information and test numbers gathered by the same folks during a short period of time. Let's listen to the music:
[data_dump]
1999 Ford SVT Contour, C&D 11/98
What's That? You say you'd prefer something lighter by $10,000?, following up to comparison between BMW 328i and Audi A4 2.8Q:
0-60mph: 6.9 sec (clutch dump)
5-60mph: 7.5 sec (street start)
0-100mph: 19.2 sec
0-120mph: 33.7 sec
0-130mph: 33.1 (C&D test 4/99 "Little Big Fun")
1/4 mile: 15.4 sec @ 91 mph
Braking 70-0: 175'
Top Speed: 143mph (drag limited)
300' skidpad: .83g
1999 Pontiac Grand Am GT, C&D 9/98,
Road Test:
0-60mph: 7.7 sec (brake torque)
5-60mph: 8.0 sec (street start)
0-100mph: 23.7 sec
0-120mph: 43.7 sec
0-130mph: Hmmmm?
1/4 mile: 16.0 sec @ 86mph
Braking 70-0: 179'
300' skidpad: .82g
[/data_dump]
Okyday. Now all it takes is the application of, what, 2nd grade mathematics to determine 'greater than' or 'less than', and which car will have the pleasure of viewing twin 2.5" polished stainless exhaust tips emitting the antithesis of GM's boy-racer exhaust blat.
So...which, stock for stock, Grand Am GT1 would take a dump on the SVT Contour in performance, pray tell?
Let's show a little fairness here, and include some of the road test editors' comments on each of the aforementioned vehicles:
C&D, on '99 Grand Am GT:
...Viewed from any angle, the styling of this latest Pontiac appears-to our eyes, at least-overwrought and exaggerated...
...The gauges reside in what looks like the inside of Jayne Mansfield's brassiere...
...The front bucket seats seem hard in the wrong places and induce back discomfort and a sleepy keester after a short trip...
...But what really disappoints us about this hyper styled sedan is its tendency to over promise and under deliver...
...The Grand Am GT's performance is impressive in this class, although the sound and feel of its pushrod engine lag behind DOHC-equipped competitors like the Contour SE and Camry CE...
...Our GT's J.C. Whitney-style rear spoiler and bulky side cladding look tacked on, and I could not get comfortable in the dreadful front seats...
...The tachometer promises a 6200-rpm redline, but the fuel shuts off at about 5900 revs, and the standard automatic transmission upshifts well before that. Badging on the GT's high-output 3.4-liter V-6 engine proclaims "Ram Air" induction, but a large hole in the airbox vents any possible ram effect pressurization that might occur..High praise, indeed.
Now, C&D, on the '99 SVT Contour:
...We brought the SVT Contour along to the Waterford Hills Road Race Course to be a chase car for our comparison of the BMW and the Audi, and the little Ford ended up taking as many laps as the two Germans. Test drivers typically returned to the pits grinning. Although the Ford felt nowhere near as rigid and buttoned down as the Audi and the BMW, it still went like stink, lap after lap, and is plenty docile and accommodating as daily transportation...
...Balance is excellent. Light braking, or easing the power a little, plants the front tires for a sure turn-in. Then pick up the power. The SVT will understeer predictably. Adjust the line with steering and throttle...
...The SVT Contour brings three bags full of hurry-up at the lowest as-tested price of the group. You have to love its verve. But could you live with it? The steering tugs side to side under power, the instruments turn invisible at dusk, the appointments are budget-class Detroit, and like a bad dog, the growling never stops... (Tested against A4, 323i, 9-3, Jetta GLX, G20t,
Four Door Party Animals C&D 3/97)
To be fair, I included a few of the SVT Contour's faults in the above quotes.
Poignant observation: Where was the Grand Am GT during C&D's test of the best-handling cars under $30k a few years back? Why wasn't C&D's article from 11/98 re-titled:
What's That? You say you'd prefer something lighter by $12,000? to use the the Grand Am GT instead of the SVT Contour as a chase car? How many times has the Grand Am GT been mentioned in the same sentence as, or tested directly against, the Audi A4, Acura Integra, or BMW 3-series sedans?
Where is the 3rd pedal on the floorboard of the current Grand Am GT?
Shall anyone bother to resurrect C&D's road test of the '95 Contour SE with its 7.4sec 0-60 time?
Coolunderfire Posted: 9:58 PM July 07, 2002
I've never owned a grand am
Ding ding ding!!! We have a winner! The
Rose Nylund Medal of Intellectual Ineptitude Through Internet Comparisons Based on Lack of Facts, Experience, and/or Ownership goes to...
Coolunderfire Posted: 9:58 PM July 07, 2002
but I do own a grand prix, and I can tell you as far as the blue oval is concerned, nothing short of a mustang GT, or V8 thunderbird has a remote prayer against it off the line or the twisties, and mine is 9 years old!!
Hmm. Since there wasn't much excitement oozing from Pontiac in the early 90's (still true today?), I didn't pay terribly close attention to their offerings, except to remember that the old STE carried the 200hp 3.1 Litre Turbo (McLaren?) with a Getrag 5-speed gearbox, and the GTP later showed up with a 3.4 Litre Twin-Dual-Cam V6 (IIRC, a manual gearbox was available on either it or its stablemate, the Lumina Z34). Pardon my lack of memory in this area, as I do not have my stash of literature from that era here at work. I do recall that the Lumina Z34 with the 5-speed gearbox posted 0-60mph somewhere around 7.xx seconds...could you fill us in with your particular ('93 or '94?) model and its factory stock performance credentials?
Coolunderfire Posted: 10:01 PM July 07, 2002
one more thing, to the person who said they had a grand am with a 3300 V6. Um, as far as I know, GM never made a 3300 V6. They have the 3100, 3400, and 3800. They used to make a 2.5 V6 a while ago but they don't anymore.. But I have never heard of the 3300 V6.
Wow. I have just wasted what little effort I have put forth. How can you expect us to put any credence to your claims if you don't even know the history of your own make?
Care to tell us (without searching the internet high and low?) the V-angle of the 2.8? 3.1L/3100? 3.4L/3400? 3.4 Twin Dual Cam? 3.3L/3300? 3.8L/3800? "Fireball" V6...and where it came from?
Should I share with you a listing of the vehicles that carried the General's 3300 V6?
Or is this all just too much for you to handle until you study up on GM V6 history and grow a little 'culture' into your aspirations to be an auto enthusiast?