1987 Pontiac Bonneville SE | Retro Review
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- Опубліковано 21 лип 2024
- Maybe not the most memorable Bonneville, but plain is the new big thing.
Show 619 | Original Airdate 03-24-1987
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When Car & Driver eulogized Pontiac in 2009, they noted that the 1987 Bonneville SE was the last Pontiac they included on their 10Best list. Also, they said this Bonneville was "arguably Pontiac's last desirable and competitive sedan (until the G8)." I felt that the SE had the right blend of style and sportiness for what GM was going for, and it wasn't over-the-top like the SSE or SSEi.
This is alright but the SSE and SSEi were the cars meow when it came to Pontiacs, that’s why it reigned for more than 15 yrs. The SE was alright but the SSEi showed what Pontiac could really do!
@@fredaydaybae8450 Those cars were a bit over the top in the styling department, but I get that's one of the attributes that set Pontiac apart. I think some of that performance soul briefly lived on in the Buick Regal before GM axed those models in favor of al all crossover lineup.
Apparently the grand prix supercharged gtp...or even just the gt for that matter was a joke to them...
@@Jag-leaper Cheap interiors and overwrought styling didn’t impress reviewers back then.
I agree. The SE was the better sweet spot for this car.
Base price: $13,400 in 1987 = $34,952 in 2022 dollars.
SE starting price: $15,800 in 1987 = $41,212 in 2022 dollars.
Highly optioned test car: $18,800 in 1987 = $49,037 in 2022 dollars.
I remember seeing these cars all over back in the day. They seemed to be quite popular.
Almost $50K for a Pontiac - WOWZERS
Yeah, this Pontiac Bonneville is great value in prices from 2022
@@jakeballard7999 Yet no one bats an eye at almost 50k for a Blazer
Thank you!!! I didn't feel like looking it up
I can hear that warbly exhaust note from a mile away.
It's the car (but maybe not the exhaust sound) at the end of every Motorwek episode.
My Dad had this car in blue. It was so smooth. That 3800 V6 was amazing.
The 3.8 is so good
The supercharged model is crazy
I had the 99 Grand Prix GTP supercharged 3.8! Miss that car!
@@rich1223 I'm jealous!
3800 was the good engine. 3.8 was rough but a decent start.
I had an '89 Bonneville just like it. Incredible ride. Great in the snow. Just solid in and out. One of the best cars I've owned.
Same here!!
Still a good looking car! I really liked the SSE version from this era. It’s amazing how far we’ve come in terms of performance. 10+ seconds to 60 on a car today and John would bemoaning how slow it is, especially if it was supposed to sporty like this Bonneville SE. The 3800 was a great motor!
Yes, for sure on all of those counts. I recently saw a Bonneville like the one in this video at a local tire shop getting servicing. Nice to see someone appreciating these cars and keeping it on the road.
Friendly tip: The 3800 V6 is very different from the 90 degree 3.8L engine it replaced (and is seen in the video.)
When they squeezed out more power, they offset the cylinder banks and made many, many other changes that resulted in the legendary 3800. It's a very different engine, the one seen in this video. Strong, but nowhere near as powerful as the 3800.
Have a great day.
3.8 not as smooth as 3800 either. A balance shaft was added for the 3800 in ‘88.
What's even more amazing is the fact that a lot of these lasted 300K miles with minimum maintenance, the biggest issue we faced here was the bodies rusted out
The big Buicks the rear suspension would sag when they got older.
My grandfather had a 1985 Bonneville. The 1987 Bonneville was as different as one could get from the 1985 model.
I love Pontiac Bonneville 1985, 1986, 1987 and 1988 is my favorite car. Great and solid car
I had a 89 Bonneville when I was in high school. Car was reliable, never let me down and comfortable for a car as old as I am. I miss Pontiac.
I remember thinking these were the coolest cars when I was a kid. My grandmas friend had one and it looked futuristic to my 7 year old self.
These were great cars back in the day and felt faster then the 10 second 0-60 would suggest, love the looks of these Bonnevilles from the late 80s into the mid-90s, actually saw a late 80s Bonneville LE on the road here in NE Ohio a few weeks ago, it was shocking!!
Made like crap. So few are still around.
I miss em!
The 3800 had a ton of low end torque
How can it be faster than what it was tested at?
@@Andyface79he said it "FELT faster". And there can always be variations in test runs, especially back then.
My first car. 1987 bonneville se. white on gray cloth, dark tinted glass, fog lamps and same alloys! Looked sharp and I will say the most reliable car I have ever owned. Never missed a beat!
I love Pontiac Bonneville 87
I have a 1990 LE. It's got 351K miles on the original drivetrain. Been a really good car over the years despite some of the "old car problems" it did have every now and then. It's pretty rusty now but i'm going to remedy some of that and keep it going. The engine runs flawlessly still and the trans isn't too bad either and it gets decent gas mileage. It has outlasted all of my friends' used 2000s cars that they purchased so I feel like I'm winning with my choice here.
It’s a shame Pontiac is no more 😟
Think of it this way. If Pontiac was still here the vehicles would look like everything else.
@@WinterInTheForest I agree 100%
@@WinterInTheForest true cookie cutter crap 😕
welcome to capitalism
I think if we started importing Holden performance models sooner , Pontiac might have lasted longer
I love the Pontiac retro reviews!
Our neighbor had one identical to this one. I love that you can hear the cicadas at the end. It’s not summer where I’m from without them singing.
Driving Bonneville! We build excitement.... Pontiac! I did appreciate this video this morning. Thank you for sharing and uploading this video. I remember when this car came out and the commercials. I recall before it came out they said it was replacing G Body Bonneville and B Body Parisienne. It did. I recall during GM's downsing era 1985-1990 this was the largest sedan in length which was so odd. It was 198.7 inches long. The G Body Bonneville before it was 200 inches long. The Parisienne was 212 inches long. Among the downsized era GM cars Bonneville was 198.7 inches long, next was Buick Park Avenue at 197, Cadillac Deville and Fleetwood at 196.5 inches( they were the shortest at 195 in 1985-1986), The Oldsmobile 98 at 196.4, then Oldsmobile 88 and Buick LeSabre at 196, and then smaller at 187-188 inches Oldsmobile Toronado, Buick Riviera, and Cadillac Eldorado and Seville. I was so glad when GM started upsizing in 1988 and the early 90's redesigns they all got larger again. The other funny thing the cars that are that large in 2022 are the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger. In all honesty, these GM cars were really midsized during that era. I say this because the W Bodys of the late 1990s and 2000's were larger than these cars. The last Bonneville in 2005 was 202.6 inches long. It had a bigger trunk than the 1987 car in the video too. Bonneville was upsized for 1992 in the redesign. Thank you for sharing.
awesome, my step mom had one of these before she passed away a few years ago. my grandpa paid for her to get it painted a custom really blue, blue. hopefully i can find it again someday, it should be the only one in that blue
I bought a used 1990 SE and I absolutely loved that car! If I remember right the '90 version had 200 hp and was one of the most comfortable and great driving cars I have ever owned. I finally got rid of it with 240,000 miles on it after some severe hail damage. Still drove great and very dependable!
I have a 1990 SSE with 38k miles- Medium red metallic, sunroof, keyless, leather, beechwood interior. I can see many improvements made in the SSE trim level that the base and SE trim level were sorely missing.
You cherish that low mileage unicorn.
those old delco radios rocked!
…when they worked, which they didn’t outside of warranty.
@@mollari2261what do you mean? The only olds cars I was around were many years past the warranty periods and I never saw one that didn't work. And they definitely rocked for 3.5" speakers in the dash and 6x9s in the rear deck!
They’re more stylish than the garbage automakers build today. They all look the same nowadays.
The envy of cool grandmas everywhere
I was daily driving one of these (looked exactly like the test vehicle) from 2009-2013. I thought it was pretty solid for something over two decades old.
All the people that wanted a big car started buying Buicks about that time most with 3800s.
I owned a 99’ sse, a sharp car that drew looks, & had a bullet proof engine/ trans, handled well for its size.
I remember when these came out. One of my neighbors bought one brand new in 1987. The styling was an acquired taste, but the car, for its time, was a decent new FWD car from GM.
I've always liked the GM H Bodies. They were good sedans. I like the sportiness of the Pontiac Bonneville and the premium feel of the Buick LeSabre and Olds Delta 88.
Yes ,they were
The problem with the H-bodies was the same as other GM cars of the period... lackluster fit and finish and too much cost-cutting, especially with the interior materials. By the early 2000s most 80s H-cars as well as 80s Ford Taurus' were in junkyards while most Camrys of the same period were still on the road.
windows int he rear half way down pissed me off aback int he day
The chevorlet caprice impala buick roadmaster cadillac Fleetwood should've moved to gm h platform rather than being disconnected all together in the usa.
@@randomrazr At least the rear window rolled down. My parents had a 1981 Chevy Malibu wagon and the rear windows never rolled down at all. I found out later that all the 1978-88 GM G Body sedans and wagons(Chevy Malibu, Olds Cutlass, etc) had fixed rear window due to cost cutting. Stupid idea.
I had a 89 Bonnie just like the test car, same color combination. The steering wheel buttons on my 89 seemed a little bit different than the 87 but it's been awhile, they were the coolest part all red back lit. The 3.8 gave good power and very good gas mileage while being bullitproof.
Lol! I still remember way back trying to race an SSE in a Renault Alliance GTA.
I got a rude awakening 😂
Those door handles always looked like the car was sneering at me
This brings back some good memories!
Ahh the 80's. This was prior to Pontiac's "All plastic body" style.
The woodgrain breaks up the acres of cheap, gray plastic. I think it looks good
The plastiwood in the test example also looks darker and richer than the Day-Glo Orange stuff in most Bonnies of this generation.
It's one of the first things to fall off when the warranty expires.
I've never really understood the dislike some people have for plastiwood.
I’ve been waiting on this one forever. I had one and it absolutely was the best car period.
Few things say "80's Pontiac" like an interior full of buttons.
My ULTIMATE bucket list car!!!!!!! I LOVE the GM70 (H-body), anyway, but I consider the Bonneville to be the best of the bunch, just as I consider the 6000 to be the best of the A-bodies. The perfect mix of American style, comfort, & luxury & European flair & driving excitement, especially when it came to the Bonneville SE/SSE/SSEi & the 6000 STE.
That was a great review. I would love to find one in white on the SE model, a burgundy, and black with a moonroof in a SSE model. Pontiac were the go to American Sport car to buy.
I have one! :)
I miss Pontiac. I would love to see it come back in the future if that's possible. It was a good brand. It would be great as an ev brand.
My sister had one in this color. The V6 cruised great at 90mph down to Baja, ah great memories. This was a solid product.
In July 1987 I replaced a 1979 Chrysler LeBaron coupe with a new 87 Bonneville LE... a very different car.. dark green with light green lower area... sunroof, radio on the steering wheel, all other options. Liked it very well... it was quite fast... large trunk... GM was of the belief that they had to emulate the Germans.. and kinda did. It was replaced by a new 94 Chrysler LHS which was quite car.. larger than the Bonneville and it got 27 mpg at 70 mph.... and extremely soft seats.
Trabaje como vendedor de autos usados en el año 98-01...y me toco vender este tipo de bonneville pero el sse se iba como pan caliente ...y el gran prix ....el Taurus 93... El tempo el spirit ... El Sentra 91_94 cómo pasa el tiempo ....
My mom and step dad had one back in the day, they upgraded to the newer model as years past, I drove both they were good driving cars for what they were.
The car I grew up in! We had an 89 LE, maroon with maroon interior until I was 8 in 1995. It was replaced by a forest green 95 Bonneville but that car never matched the feel of the 89. My grandparents bought the 89 from us and drove it well into the early 2000s, it had over 250,000 and was still going after being sold to a body shop as a loaner. It finally met its end in a rollover at the hands of a young driver who had his car in to be fixed
PHEEEW!
My Grandpa had a fully loaded '95 with the 3.8. Sucka had some serious low end punch! Topped out at 125 which was plenty fast for Grandpa.
I had one identical to this one. I loved it.
1:22 John: ONLY THE BODY’S UPRIGHT ROOFLINE REMINDS YOU OF ITS CORPORATE ORIGINS! LOL
What a great engine. I still miss my 95 olds 88. made it to over 400k before a friend totaled it.
Not the same engine at all. Even though it's the same displacement. You had the 3800 which is far superior
@@kevinbarry71 it’s still the same architect 🙄. I hated the 3.8 and the 3800 because they were so low revving and decidedly low tech and used on every damned model they had but they were indeed reliable.
@@fredaydaybae8450 it is not the same architecture. Even look at it and tell. With the old one the cylinder banks are even. Which is a stupid design. A lot of things were changed. Even if the bore spacing is the same practically everything else is new. It's still not a very good design as it is a 90° engine which is not good for six cylinders. Not physically powerful and it doesn't rev well.
How did you get the transmission to last that long???
@@kevinbarry71 agree about the 3800 “C” motor. The GM’s 3800 engine was one of the best engines GM has ever made. I worked at a GM dealership for 15 years and those things never had any problems. Lasted forever!
I had one, great car
My mom bought a used park avenue in the 90s, I think it was an 86. It's basically this car. The interior was great and had power seats that I would play with until my dad told me to quit. Only problem was the transmission slipped and whined with a moan.
Whew look at that 10.2 second 0-60 storm off the line!!
I definitely think the wood grain makes the interior seems upscale and refined. Maybe on the Se this could have been like fake aluminum like later Pontiacs, it's just a touch of elegance.
Great cars.
Had the SE growing up as the family truckster.
That RED back-lighting on the dash really tripped us out the first time with drove it at night!
👍👍
My grandfather had a Bonneville of this style. Can’t remember the trim model. But it was nicely appointed from memory.
Yesterday was looking at old video of Pontiac automobiles love this Bonneville from the late 80s, saw one of these think 2 years ago same color still looked good so I know there are some out there still running in the 2020s. This car was stylish back in the day also liked the 90s Bonneville and 2000s which was sporty thought it was better than the Germans and imports except they would last longer still was a sporty beautiful car. In the late 2000s when Pontiac was about meet the graveyard the lineup was started getting depressing wasn't fun like the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and early 2000s it seem Pontiac was ahead of their game making their vehicles luxury and sporty for buyers looking for car worth all the amenities.
I had the exact same car in blue. For its days, it was smooth and pretty quick. Kept it for 15 years and 225k miles.
My 2005 SE Bonneville has those back windows that only go down halfway, the doors unlock when you put it in park, we just work around it...... 😊
Could have been used sold to fleet users police package and taxi 🚕 cabs
Could you please post the Retro Reviews of the Ninth Generation (1992-1999) Pontiac Bonneville? Many of us would love that!
Can you PLEASE post your the review of the 1990 Buick Park Avenue 'Ultra'? Another fantastic H-Body, with cool interior features!
That’s pretty cool. I just picked up an original owners manual with the window sticker at the junkyard for that car. We also had a 84 Pontiac 6000 station wagon. That was a good car the 2.8 engine was a very good. Only problems was the admissions equipment.
Only Pontiac I had was a '95 Grand Prix. 🙂
These b body front wheel drive cars from GM were probably the most durable of any fwd car from GM excellent build quality good mileage and incredible durability especially from the 3800 V6 and most of these cars were some of the earlier 1985 and 1986 cars had 3.0 litre V6 which was borrowed from the smaller century/cutlass ciera never heard much about them
My first car! What a beast
Supercharged 3800 did not come out until the redesign of 1991 Oldsmobile 98 Regency Touring sedan came with the Supercharged 3800 and was about 32k new and the 1992 Park Avenue Ultra had the supercharged engine and these were about 35k back then and the Oldsmobile 88 LSS came out in 1994 and also had the supercharged 3800 as standard and the Bonneville SSI also had the Supercharged 3800 came on 1993 as standard. The 1 generation supercharged 3800 had about 200 hp and 234 ft of torque and didn't get an upgrade until 1995 Series II had 240 Hp and 280 ft of torque . Then in 2005 came the Series III had 280 hp and 280 ft of torque and had the upgraded transmission in 1997 to the Ht65-HD transmsiion
4:15 John Davis rubbed one off looking at that oil pressure gauge and voltmeter!
Loved these cars
Remember the SSEI and all those buttons on the radio
I don't remember which year it was, but a friend had one. The dash seemed to be designed by someone who was inspired by 1960's/70's sci-fi. Buttons and lights were everywhere.
Loved all those buttons and seat controls. Amazing tech for the time and still ahead of the pack today.
150 hp was all that a 3.8 V6 could produce. Let's say that times have changed :P
150 hp is C1 Corvette numbers if you ask me.
Had a 2005 Chevrolet Impala with that motor and they upped it to 205 hp. You have remember back in 1987, the government had strict CAFE standards and technology wasn’t what it is today. Not sure why people don’t understand that when comparing models that are 35 years old to 2022 models...
Well, to be fair, they weren't _trying_ for high power. The 200ft-lbs of torque at a low 2200RPM gave the car the feeling the designers, marketing folks and customers wanted along with great fuel economy and reliability.
@@andrewcolsen Very true, many cars in the 80s were under powerd..
My favorite generation Bonneville, and I actually prefer this SE over the SSE/SSEi and their boy-racer cladding and such. Side note, I remember my first car with 15" wheels, and thought they looked awesome. My current car has 20"ers, and they bug me because I think they look tiny.
I love the irony of the Bonneville name.
My best friend's mom had this car back in the day after she traded in her 1983 Pontiac Phoenix.
I never had a Pontiac, but it's crazy that any modern 2.0 Turbo makes these things look embarrassed
These were good cars, Iiked their little yellow fog lamps. You can never go wrong with a GM 3800.
The ‘87 Boneville looks great crushed.
"The results are a testiment to the skill of the Pontiac design studio."
It's not that it's wrong it's just so hilarious all these years later when the design is sorely aged.
It was crappy back then, too, especially compared with the futuristic Taurus.
While it was extremely popular, not everyone was in love with the Taurus styling back then. Disclaimer: I always wanted an original Taurus SHO, but never could afford one. I eventually picked up a Taurus wagon, but it was such an unreliable piece of trash I got rid of it after less than 2 years.
This was my first family car and it was a great car that we put over 250,000 trouble free miles on before it sacrificed itself in a t-bone accident with a full sized pickup truck my wife and 2 kids walked away shook up but in good condition 👍
An immensely well built car
3:54 Eurobeat? It's going to be interesting to see this thing try to drift down a mountain.
The '80s and '90s Pontiacs were the best of all time! That's why they broke sales records!!
Look at a 68 2door Bonneville, best year !
@@ethancropp600 To each their own. I am not a huge fan of most '60s cars. I live for the '80s.
A time when they had a choice of seating in front. Wish It never had to change.
"Rally tuned suspension."
I had one the same color minus the gray bottom
oldie good old days
In 1987 a "muscular" engine was 150 horsepower.....in a full size car. Lol
This car was incredibly sexy when it came out! 150 horsepower. LOL
Yes John gripe about the rear side windows that stay halfway up but this is typical of Ford and GM sedans from 77 to 92.
LOL, throwing shade on Pontiac's story about the rear windows.
I loved these cars.
Waiting for the crucial oil pressure gauge test. It better have a voltmeter, too!
"A muscular 3.8 liter fuel injected v6 with 150 hp..."
Ha!
Whatever GM/Chevy could make, Pontiac could always make it better.
18k... I just did the math... 47k in today's dollars. wowza!
My 87 Pontiac Bonneville got 36 miles on a gallon of gas on a long trip
Get the ones with superchargers on 3800 engines!
I really like the trouble diagrams ease of use. Also did they really use glass for the instrument cluster?
I had one which was navy blue
I dated a girl that had one of these. The bumper was held on by twist ties.
Oil pressure gauge, oh baby!