The Pontiac Grand Am is a car model that the Pontiac division of General Motors produced in various years between 1973 and 2005. The first and second generations were RWD mid-size cars built on the LeMans GM A platform. The Grand Am name was reused for a FWD compact car from 1985 until the nameplate was discontinued in 2005.
The platform began development intended to be the next generation GTO, but the muscle car era was drawing to a close. Pontiac decided to make this model America's answer to European luxury sports sedans. The Grand Am name was derived from two other Pontiacs; "Grand" signifying Grand Prix luxury, and "Am" for Trans Am performance.
The first generation Grand Am featured innovations that included a deformable urethane nose (an evolution of the "Endura" bumper pioneered on the 1968 GTO) and was one of only three GM cars (Olds Cutlass Salon, Chevy Monte Carlo S) to debut radial-ply tires (RTS - Radial Tuned Suspension) as standard equipment. The intermediate sized Grand Am was canceled in 1980 when it was replaced by the Pontiac 6000.
A compact-sized Grand Am, based on the GM N-platform, was released in 1985, replacing the Pontiac Phoenix. It became Pontiac's best selling car and was later replaced by the Pontiac G6, so named as it was intended to be the 6th generation of the Grand Am.
All 1973 through 1975 Grand Ams were built in Pontiac, Michigan at Pontiac's main assembly plant. The 1978-1980 Grand Ams were built in Pontiac, Michigan at Pontiac's main assembly plant and in Atlanta, Georgia at GMAD Lakewood. All Grand Ams between 1985 and 2005 were built in Lansing, Michigan at the Lansing Car Assembly.
First generation (1973–1975)
The history of Grand Am begins with Pontiac executives noting incursion into the US market by Mercedes, BMW, Toyota and Nissan. Notably, the American sports car was usually without luxury features, and the luxury car without sport features. Foreign makes mixed these features, that introducing to the market luxury performance coupes and sedans that had balanced handling along with powerful engines. Pontiac hybridized the Grand Prix with the Trans Am to create the Grand Am, a naming tactic shared with the luxury Pontiac Grand Ville. Built on the A-body platform shared with the Pontiac LeMans, the intended GTO body was re-badged and fitted with the top-level Grand Prix interior, and using the larger engine from the Grand Prix, Bonneville and Grand Ville.
The original Grand Am was introduced in the fall of 1972 as a 1973 model. It was based on the GM A platform (A-body) along with other cars such as the Chevrolet Chevelle Laguna, Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, and the Buick Century Gran Sport. The GM A-body platform had major design revisions in 1973, including the elimination of pillarless hardtops due to proposed Federal rollover standards, but with frameless windows similar to that of a hardtop. No convertibles were produced due to the proposed standards, which were not enacted. In addition to Federal emissions regulations, new safety standards required a impact-resistant front bumper and a impact-resistant rear bumper, which increased to for 1974.
The 1973 oil crisis caused a dichotomy for buyers: total luxury or total economy. Since Grand Am was an "in-between", its sales declined and the model was discontinued in 1975.
1973 The Grand Am, a name coined by Pontiac by combining the names of two other cars in its lineup – "Grand" from the luxurious "Grand Prix" and "Am" from the sporting "Trans Am" – was positioned as America's answer to European luxury/sport sedans and available as a four-door Colonnade sedan or a two-door Colonnade coupe. A total of 43,136 Grand Ams were built during the first year of production.
The Grand Am could be had with a standard 2-bbl V8 engine with single exhaust producing , an optional 4-bbl version of this engine with single exhaust producing that was only available with a 4-speed manual transmission, an optional 4-bbl version of this engine with dual exhaust producing , or an optional 4-bbl with dual exhaust . The engine displacement, expressed in liters, was displayed on the bootlid in an effort to accentuate the car's supposedly European character.
All engines were available with a Turbo-hydramatic 400 automatic transmission as standard equipment. A 4-speed manual transmission was available with the 400/4-bbl engine in 1973 and 1974, but this was not popular.
The 1973 Pontiac Grand Am style had a unique flexible urethane front fascia center nose (known as the 'Endura' nose) that was squeezable and could return to its original shape following a minor collision along with the new energy-absorbing bumpers, a total of six grille openings with vertical bars, round front turn signals with a cross-hair design, horizontal rear taillights, and chrome rear bumper. Additionally, Grand Ams featured a Radial Tuned Suspension (RTS) as standard equipment that included radial-ply tires, Pliacell shock absorbers, and front and rear sway bars. The springs were advertised as being computer selected. The Grand Am was one of only three GM cars to have standard radial tires and appropriate suspension tuning in 1973, with the others being the Oldsmobile Cutlass Salon and Chevrolet Monte Carlo S.
The Grand Am included Strato bucket seats upholstered in Naugahyde vinyl or corduroy cloth featuring manual recliners and adjustable lumbar supports - both features common on European-style sports/luxury sedans, but unusual for American cars of that time. Also included were an instrument panel from the Pontiac Grand Prix featuring a Rally gauge cluster with fuel, oil, water and volt gauges (a tachometer or fuel economy gauge was optional, and on cars so equipped, the clock was moved to a space on the lower instrument panel under the radio), three-spoke padded steering wheel with brushed-stainless spokes, and Genuine Crossfire African Mahogany trim on the dash facing, radio and clock surrounds, as well as the center console between the front seats. Grand Ams also were among the first U.S.-built cars with a turn-signal mounted headlight dimmer switch that had been common on imported cars for decades. Other standard equipment included concealed windshield wipers, a front stabilizer bar, and an in-the-windshield radio antenna. Upscale options included air conditioning, tinted glass, power windows-locks-seat, rear defogger, various sound systems, and tilt-steering-wheel. AM/FM stereo with a tape player was optional. The listed retail price for the 2-door coupe was US$4,264 ($ in dollars ), listing it above the Firebird Trans Am.
Pontiac also produced a single 1973 Grand Am station wagon as a feasibility study. This was a LeMans wagon converted to a Grand Am. A functional ram-air induction system was developed for the Pontiac A-bodies utilizing twin NACA openings in the hood, but the option was dropped due to the inability to pass federally mandated drive-by noise standards. A few functional Ram Air systems were sold over the counter. The twin-scoop NACA hood was an option for any Pontiac A-body for all three years, but was non-functional.
In a Popular Mechanics Owners survey, 67% rated the build quality as good to excellent and 79% liked the handling. However, 22.1% disliked the fuel economy.
1974 Described as "The mid-sized Pontiac with Foreign Intrigue ... American Ingenuity" on the front cover of the four-page 1974 Grand Am brochure that featured a green four-door sedan, only minor styling changes highlighted this year's model including a redesigned nose and grille with 12 openings with horizontal bars. The 1974 Grand Am's rear-end styling was redesigned for the new 5 mph crash standards and had vertical rear taillights with relocated license plate and fuel filler above the bumper. Engine and transmission offerings were the same as 1973, but four-speed manual transmissions were no longer offered in California, where only the Turbo Hydra-matic automatic was available. Inside, the genuine African crossfire mahogany trim on the instrument panel was replaced by a simulated material due to delamination problems on the 1973 models but the real wood was continued on the center console, optional console clock, and radio bezel.
Engine choices were a 2-barrel with single exhaust producing , a dual exhaust version of the same making , a 4-barrel 400-ci V8 with dual exhaust rated at , and a 455 cubic inch 4-barrel with dual exhaust producing . All four options were available with automatic transmission, while only the 400 4-barrel was also available with manual transmission.
Sales were down more than 50 percent due to the 1973 oil crisis, and while the recession continued, prices increased for all 1974 model cars. Only 17,083 Grand Ams were built in 1974.
1975 The 1975 Grand Am looked the same as the 1974 model, but had vertical front grille bars, a body-colored rear bumper, and a catalytic converter single-exhaust, which mandated the use of unleaded fuel, along with GM's High Energy Ignition and other items promoted as part of Pontiac's maximum mileage system. In addition to the standard roofline with louvered rear side windows, Grand Am coupes with the optional vinyl roof could be ordered with a full triangular rear side window or a vertical opera window similar to that found on the Grand Prix.
Inside, the Strato bucket seats received revised vertical trim patterns, the adjustable lumbar support controls were dropped, and only the passenger seat had a recliner, a "safety practice" which would continue at GM for a decade. New this year as a no-cost option was a 60/40 bench seat with a center armrest.
Engines were also detuned to meet the 1975 emission regulations with the compression ratio dropping to a new low of 7.6 to 1 on some engines. Standard was the V8 with two-barrel carburetor, optional were a 400, or a - both with four-barrel carburetors. Turbo Hydra-matic was standard equipment and the only transmission offered this year. Performance from 0-60 was 7.7 seconds.
A total of 10,679 Grand Ams were built in 1975 and the series was dropped after this year due to declining sales and rising gas prices as a result of the 1973 oil crisis. Another factor leading to the Grand Am's cancellation were plans for all 1976 Pontiac A-body cars receiving the newly approved rectangular headlights, which would necessitate a complete redesign of the Grand Am's Endura nose and Pontiac officials decided that the expense of such a redesign could not be justified based on low production numbers. The basic GM A-body design remained until 1977.
Production +1973-1975 Pontiac Grand Am Production FiguresFound: 1973-74 Grand Am 4spd Production Totals Engine: L65 400 2-bbl L78 400 4-bbl L78 400 4-bbl L75 455 4-bbl LS2 SD-455 Year Transmission*: M40 M20 M40 M40 M40 Total 1973 2-door Coupe 19,538 971 10,455 3,481 1 34,446 4-door Sedan 5,727 87 2,151 726 0 8,691 Total 25,265 1,058 12,606 4,207 1 43,137 1974 2-door Coupe 8,031 310 4,187 1,433 0 13,961 4-door Sedan 1,992 32 813 285 0 3,122 Total 10,023 342 5,000 1,718 0 17,083 1975 2-door Coupe 5,276 0 2,613 897 0 8,786 4-door Sedan 1,259 0 490 144 0 1,893 Total 6,535 0 3,103 1,041 0 10,679
Transmissions M40 = TH400 3spd automatic M20 4-speed manual not available in California Model year 1973–1974.5, M20 = Muncie 4spd 2nd half of 1974, M20 = BW Super T10 4spd
Engines 1973–1975 L65 V8 with 2-barrel carburetor (standard engine, others were optional) 1973–1975 L78 V8 with 4-barrel carburetor 1973–1975 L75 V8 with 4-barrel carburetor
Notes: A SD-455 equipped engineering prototype Grand Am was built and tested, but was later dismantled and destroyed. 1973 engines may have point or unitized ignition. 1974 engines may have point or unitized ignition or starting around May 1, 1974, HEI ignition. 1975 engines have HEI ignition. 1975 was the first year for the catalytic converter.
Second generation (1978–1980)
1978