hmm nice interior

[zoomtm]

this interior looks pretty cool for a pontiac..

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1991-Grand-...1QQcmdZViewItem

[91z4me]

No this is a VERY cool interior

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1990-Olds-T...1QQcmdZViewItem

Yes a color display screen in a 1990 vehicle!

[Cremazie]

this interior looks pretty cool for a pontiac..

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1991-Grand-...1QQcmdZViewItem

[post="29497"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

Good lord, if pontiac stayed on that track they would have a full keyboard in the steering wheel and HUD would be a computer screen...

[mjdecker]

Did anyone else notice that the Grand Prix has a MANUAL transmission? How rare are those?

[The O.C.]

Did anyone else notice that the Grand Prix has a MANUAL transmission?
How rare are those?

[post="29554"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

DAMN rare.....and it would be a pretty fun car to have because of the novelty of it.

It helped really loosen up that old 2.8 MPI V6......it was a REAL dog with the automatic.....

Although I didn't look......maybe this car was a 3.4L?

[Sixty8panther]

Wow, the 3.4 DOHC wiht a manual... this is a future collector car. Love the color too... typical 1990-1994 era GM paint. This is a really neat Pontiac, hope it gets pampered and saved and not bought by soe punk who wraps it around a tree.

[HarleyEarl]

There are no words to describe how I feel about this and other GM interiors of the period. It showcases all that what was wrong with GM interiors. The Fisher-Price school of design. Edited October 16, 2005 by HarleyEarl

[caddycruiser]

Definately a high-tech appearing, but also excessively cheap looking, piece. Regardless, these few gizmo-filled GM interiors of the late 80's, early 90's were quite intriguing, in a "KIT" sort of way.

Regardless, I think the drivetrain is a PERFECT example of how the Grand Prix would be thought of more highly today, if those pieces still existed--a strong DOHC V6 and a 5-spd stick. http://www.cheersandgears.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/AH-HA_wink.gif That's just an awesome combination, and still would be today, particularly in a car with the size and style of the GP, even if it were a rare option, of sorts.

[Bimmer325]

That's among the worst interiors I've layed eyes on.

[Croc]

What a POS interior! For a comparison, this is what the Passat;s looked like back in 1991:

Edited October 16, 2005 by Croc

[Flybrian]

What a POS interior!  For a comparison, this is what the Passat;s looked like back in 1991:

[post="29632"][/post]

Sorry, but late-80s/early-90s European designs were just as bad or totally worse than anything else.

[Paolino]

Not enough buttons IMO

[Bimmer325]

The steering wheel is hilarious! :lol:

Is that a MUTE button? :o :blink: :lol:

[Flybrian]

Is that a MUTE button?  :o  :blink:  :lol:

[post="29676"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

Its for the radio and is actually useful.

[Cory Wolfe]

Oh.. come on... It's not that bad. Okay.. so it is. Just... um... comment on that manual transmission. :lol: :P

Did anyone else notice that the Grand Prix has a MANUAL transmission?
How rare are those?

DAMN rare.....and it would be a pretty fun car to have because of the novelty of it.

It helped really loosen up that old 2.8 MPI V6......it was a REAL dog with the automatic.....

Although I didn't look......maybe this car was a 3.4L?

Wow, the 3.4 DOHC wiht a manual... this is a future collector car. Love the color too... typical 1990-1994 era GM paint. This is a really neat Pontiac, hope it gets pampered and saved and not bought by soe punk who wraps it around a tree.

Yeah... very rare on both engines. The 2.8L and 3.4L were both available with manuals. Surprising, huh? Most Pontiacs around the late 80s and early 90s could be had with a manual. Which is why I still say Pontiac were the best at FWD performance. Still are in some ways (GP GXP, Bonneville GXP, etc...). Ah... I love the 80s and 90s... :D

[Croc]

Sorry, Fly, gotta disagree here...that Passat interior is far better integrated than the Pontiac from a design standpoint, the panel gaps are far smaller, and it just looks nicer. All the plastic is the same color, too.

[zoomtm]

yes the 89 buick reatta makes this pontiac look like :puke:


1989 buick:




1991 pontiac:

[Bimmer325]

Wow, the Reatta's interior is beautiful! Reminds me of the Zephyr.

[Cory Wolfe]

Hold up... What's so special about the Reatta's interior? Besides the fact that you guys are comparing it to a much less expensive Grand Prix interior. :huh:

[zoomtm]

true..but still even for a cheap car it could have been better buddy.

[Cory Wolfe]

Oh, I know... I'm just not liking the apples to oranges comparison.

[Sixty8panther]

Regardless, I think the drivetrain is a PERFECT example of how the Grand Prix would be thought of more highly today, if those pieces still existed--a strong DOHC V6 and a 5-spd stick. http://www.cheersandgears.com/public/style_emoticons//AH-HA_wink.gif That's just an awesome combination, and still would be today, particularly in a car with the size and style of the GP, even if it were a rare option, of sorts.

[post="29624"][/post]

So very very true.... this is the kind of FWD car that don't complain about... I mean this thing kicks ass!

Croc: That Passat interior is much uglier than the Pontiac's I actually like early 90s Pontiac interiors. My first car was a '94 Sunbird and I'm sure that has a lot to do wiht it. BTW let's compare the 1990 Passat & GP EXTERIOR designs...


One of the coolest looking POntiacs of the 90s...











And one of the most butt-ugly European cars EVER!

** Here's a hot tip VW:
your cars are not air cooled anymore, might want to salp a grill on that bad boy. ** :rolleyes: :lol:











Though I will say one thing... I absolutely HATE cheap looking and feeling rubber shifters... anything post post 1972 but pre-1997 for a rubebr shifter is just grotesque 99% of the time.

Every time I buy a Manual trans car form the 80s... I immediately put on a skull head, 8-ball, white-cue-ball style or simply a chrome ball style shifter. I hate the T-style auto shift knobs on the automatic cars form that era as well. HAte them. U-G-L-Y. The very first thing I did when I got the Datsun, Firebird, Escort enduo car adn a few others was IMMEDIATELY change to rubber shifter. The only vehicle fomr that era that had a livabl;e shifter was my '91 Blazer (5-speed).

I hate those bent-oval ameba shaped shifters. They don;t feel right and they look like ass. :puke:

[Flybrian]

** Here's a hot tip VW:
your cars are not air cooled anymore, might want to salp a grill on that bad boy. **  :rolleyes:  :lol:

[post="29851"][/post]

Um...VW wasn't the only one to go grilleless...

[Cory Wolfe]

Though I will say one thing... I absolutely HATE cheap looking and feeling rubber shifters... anything post post 1972 but pre-1997 for a rubebr shifter is just grotesque 99% of the time.

Oh, how I agree with you here... The rubber shift knob in my GA sucks. I hate it. I want to change it sometime... Just don't know to what.

[Sixty8panther]

EDIT: mixed up a few of the images the first time around. :P




Ugly & (non-ergonomic imo)shift knobs....




http://www.westcohost.com/rwimg/i.php?pid=r65-ra70


















Cool, nice looking and grabbable shifters...















Not ergonomic but SUPER COOL!!!

Edited October 17, 2005 by Sixty8panther

[regfootball]

The steering wheel is hilarious!  :lol:

Is that a MUTE button?  :o  :blink:  :lol:

[post="29676"][/post]

i believe in the owner's manual it also says how you can use it for scientific graphing functions

[Sixty8panther]

Um...VW wasn't the only one to go grilleless...

[post="29854"][/post]

Ummm... I see a grill on the Gand Prix... it may not be huge and locatd in the bumper but it's there... the car does not try to look like a air cooled or rera engined vehicle or an EV1.

As far as the other two... I don;t have an excuse, they're Fords, ford made some bad decisions in the late 80s early 90s. Even the Five-Oh Mustang went almost grille less for a while.

[Cory Wolfe]

What about this, Sixty8? http://www.cheersandgears.com/public/style_emoticons//AH-HA_wink.gif

[regfootball]

i believe in the owner's manual it also says how you can use it for scientific graphing functions

[post="29868"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

that steering wheel looks like a collection of mighty tasty beef jerky sticks too........

[regfootball]

i believe in the owner's manual it also says how you can use it for scientific graphing functions

[post="29868"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

actually, that steering wheel has a built in PDA.........before they were big sellers!

[Flybrian]

Reg, dude, you're replying to yourself...twice.

[pow]

EDIT: mixed up a few of the images the first time around. :P
Ugly & (non-ergonomic imo)shift knobs....
Not ergonomic but SUPER COOL!!!

[post="29864"][/post]

More... :P

[rearden82]

There are no words to describe how I feel about this and other GM interiors of the period.  It showcases all that what was wrong with GM interiors.  The Fisher-Price school of design.

I'll gladly take a cheesy, cheap interior loaded with cool technology over a cheesy, cheap interior completely devoid of anything new or innovative whatsoever, which is where GM is currently. They've gone downhill since the late 80s/early 90s in my opinion.

And Croc, that interior of that '91 Passat is photogenic from that angle, but in person they really suck. The materials are of decent quality and definitely durable, but in the same way as a Rubbermaid trash can. The instrument cluster is downright ridiculous--none of the idiot indicators are backlit. Instead you have the little picture, and next to it there's an exposed LED sticking out. I've never seen anything quite like that before.

[Sixty8panther]

B.V. you've got me... I agree I'm cornered in this argument since IM LOVE the 4th gen. Firebird. I guess my excuse for the '93-up FireChicken would be aerodynamice and the special lower air baffle that was designed to direct airflow to the engine and cooling system.... if those heat extractors on the hood were made functional it would actually work better.

[Teh Ricer Civic!]

hey 68, since when was R not under 5? 1 3 5 |--|--| 2 4 R thats the 5spd pattern i know, is it different now? Edited October 17, 2005 by Teh Ricer Civic!

[Sixty8panther]

In europe and on several musce cars Reverse is to the left of 1st. Makes more sense actaully. The first time you try to make a 3-point turn in a hurry you'd agree. Plus: les chace of screwgin up a 3rd-to-4th powershift. Sean's 69 Camaro had a super-T10 4-speed in it and reverse was in this location. I loved that about the car. Also many classic Corvettes (if not most) have this shift pattern. I once rode in a '67 Stingray that had R bext to 1st. :wub: Edited October 17, 2005 by Sixty8panther

[Sixty8panther]

'67 Vette

[Teh Ricer Civic!]

95 octane? where do you get that? anyways i do see how having R beside 1st would be good. im always ever so slightly unnerved by the 3-4 shift when im in a hurry. Edited October 18, 2005 by Teh Ricer Civic!

[Drew Dowdell]

Sorry, Fly, gotta disagree here...that Passat interior is far better integrated than the Pontiac from a design standpoint, the panel gaps are far smaller, and it just looks nicer.  All the plastic is the same color, too.

[post="29688"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

How can you seriously talk panel gaps on a pic that small?

[Drew Dowdell]

Eh, a '92 Toronado Trofeo' interior would pwn both the Passat and the Grand Prix.... but it's also about 50% more money.

[Robert Hall]

I hate most of GM's '80s and '90s interiors, but at least they usually had more colors than gray and tan. Pontiac interiors, esp. seemed overdone with hundreds of tiny buttons.. :) My favorite '90s GM interiors were the Cadillacs, esp. the Eldorado and Seville...also the Aurora and the last Riviera... I like the C6 interior, but the '80s C4 blocky dash with digital crap was hideous, IMHO...

[Croc]

How can you seriously talk panel gaps on a pic that small?

[post="30413"][/post]

I seriously can when you see how HUGE they are on the Pontiac, especially from this picture (which I'm assuming you didn't see):



Look at those controls flanking the instrument cluster. They look like they are about to fall off! Edited October 18, 2005 by Croc

[ponchoman49]

This was also the time when one could order other colors besides dull boring gray, blah black or tan in there interiors. These older cars always had a surprise here and there like that steering wheel or a standard tranny or a DOHC Quad 4 etc. It's a shame that the exterior stlying of the Grand Prix coupe never took my fancy though from 88-96. They were too radical a change IMO.

[Flybrian]

I seriously can when you see how HUGE they are on the Pontiac, especially from this picture (which I'm assuming you didn't see):



Look at those controls flanking the instrument cluster.  They look like they are about to fall off!

[post="30492"][/post]

Um, those aren't panels; they're buttons and they're spaced apart for a reason, though I agree that design is probably the most unappealing of them all.

Also, I'd rather look at the sweet HUD setup, something you couldn't get on that junky Passat.

[jry]

stop the madness! the pontiac interior is really holding up! and i almost bought one of those then. the passat is just sharp. couldn't get that german e bay page to work.

[nyscene911]

The steering wheel is hilarious!  :lol:

Is that a MUTE button?  :o  :blink:  :lol:

[post="29676"][/post]

That steering wheel HAS to be a safety hazard. When you go to honk at the idiot who just cut you off, the volume on the stereo goes all the way up, the CD skips 7 songs, and with all those buttons, you may very well lock and unlock the doors, and fire the ejector seat!

[Bimmer325]

Thank God there's no airbag. An accident would leave you with AM/FM Radio controls in your forehead.

[AmericanMuscle]

HAHAHA My cousin had this car and I always used to be in awe of how "futuristic" it seemed inside for such an old car considering all the buttons and different things it could do inside. It has a little screen under the radio that shows which direction your car is going on a compass that kind of looks like a primitive navigation system. In the middle console there are a bunch of buttons that control the power seats which can move in it seems like endlessly different ways. The seats can actually squeeze you from around your back which seems like it's actually hugging you. Unfortunately, she just completely destroyed the car in an accident just recently and now she drives a Camry that she HATES

[miekp]

Its been awhile, but I believe the Reatta's radio and climate control system on on that center dash screen and was "touchscreen" Something, that only your very high-end stuff has today.

Hold up... What's so special about the Reatta's interior? Besides the fact that you guys are comparing it to a much less expensive Grand Prix interior. :huh:

[post="29709"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

[miekp]

Very useful, in my opinion. I wish it was never dropped. I have a 99 Grand Prix and I use mine alot. Whenever the cell phone rings, mute the radio and answer the phone. Great for those of us that can't afford a new Caddy with Gen 6 Onstar with bluetooth.

Its for the radio and is actually useful.

[post="29677"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]