Minneapolis Street Sighting: Pontiac Grand Prix

As a child of the 1990s, GM's midsize cars, to me, were best represented by the GM10, or W-Body in enthusiast speak. Running from 1988-2008, this front-wheel-drive sedan served a rather impressive twenty year run before finally being killed off; the sole remaining W-Body car for 2015 is the previous-generation Chevrolet Impala, which is now the "Impala Limited". Smart. Gotta shill em out, somehow, I guess.

 In 1988, when this generation of Grand Prix debuted, it was heralded as being "futuristic" and "this look might, just might look good in ten years". Those predictions were wrong, because even after twenty five years, the original W Grand Prix sedan still looks good. Like the styling, the powertrain, too, stood the test of time. Was the 3.1 V6 and three-speed auto particularly advanced? No. But it worked. Even though these cars had severe rust problems, I still see multiple examples daily. Unfortunately, finding a clean one is hard.

I  know year-by-year differences, right down to the paint color and hubcaps, so I'm going to use my knowledge here; these hubcaps were discontinued in 1995, and the paint color was too. However, this particular car has the earlier split headlight fascia, rather than the lightbar that mimics the Mercury Sable, so I would go out on a limb, and say this car is a 1991 or 1992. Since there are no trim designations, I am calling this one a base car. The teal exterior, color coded interior and base hubcaps seem to imply that this Grand Prix was a bottom-feeder, and it might be owned by the original owner.

As I stated above, I do see example of these daily, but I never see spotless examples; this car was truly a sight to behold; I originally spotted this a couple years ago, and I assumed that it was probably dead by now. Nope! I ran into it recently and it still looks immaculate.

Not a spec of rust, no dings, and not even a faint mark of what might've been a deep gouge in the paint, this Grand Prix is as is close to new as I can expect to find; even he hubcaps show no signs of something as everyday as minute curb rash; I can't recall the last time I saw a complete set of these caps, much less in mint condition. (See what I did there?). My only gripe with this Grand Prix (and that can be said of all Minnesota cars) is the front license plate marring what otherwise is a very nice example of a once everyday family sedan.  almost amazing, really, but then again, since Pontiac is gone, maybe folks are clamoring onto these in hopes of a Barrett Jackson special in thirty years. Who knows?

I had fun shooting this Grand Prix, although the parking quarters limited the amount and quality of pictures, but I do hope to find another one again soon. Maybe I should try for a base coupe next time?