I don't give a ding dang about those rolls, and all that high dollar stuff. I always gravitate right to the odd, unique stuff like this 6000 just like Adam did. It's easy for a mfg to build a fancy car when they sell for huge dollars. Much tougher when they have to be priced for everyday consumption
That era Pontiac gray cord upholstery was excellent. My dad had a 1988 Bonneville SSE with that same interior and those seats with that gray cord cloth were the best seats I've ever sat in. Perfectly firm, bolstered and adjustable. The material was great in that it gripped you well and was very cool in hot weather. Way better than leather. It was also very robust and wore better than any other cloth seat I've experienced and was easy to clean. All in all, one of my favorite interiors ever.
I like them as well. With everyone going to screens on everything now people are starting to miss buttons. Safety wise they’re better as you can find everything by feel
Having uniquely-shaped controls (knobs, levers, rocker switches, etc.) is best for finding things by feel. But with buttons, even if it’s a row of a bunch of them, at least you can park your finger on the one you think it is, and then when you get a chance, look at it to verify it’s the right one before actually pressing it.
Here in rural Texas you still see lots of Centuries and Cieras. Running like champs! The 6000 STE was def my favorite! Especially in AWD like this one.
I was a Pontiac/Buick/GMC Technician when these were new, I always thought they were advanced for their time and we were quite amazed at how they were able to incorporate the all-wheel-drive unit. I was also lucky enough to be there to do predelivery inspections on the first Syclones we received.
I really appreciate seeing this car featured. Mom had an 89 from 90-96 but in burgundy. That air compressor was so helpful to top off bike tires growing up. A feature you'd think would have really caught on across all cars in general but never did. The 6000 STE's AWD system prevented the spare tire from going in the normal location under the trunk mat, so they had to stick it in the trunk right in the way of most everything, making it impractical for trips. And then there's the MPG penalty from no overdrive gear and the heavier AWD system not found in other cars on this platform. I'm glad you showed both of these quirks at the end. Pontiac was really touting how the car had the same ride height as normal 6000's, a comment probably aimed at AMC. Love seeing the especially obscure stuff you come across -- this reminds us that it was such an experimental time. Chevy was messing around with an AWD system they put into a few prototype Berettas, which turned out to be the same system later used in the 6000 STE and then the 90 S/E. This was at a time when both Ford and GM were seriously considering replacing the Mustang, Camaro and Firebirds with some FWD platform, like the Probe, Beretta and possibly the Grand Prix, with its super high tech twin dual cam v6 for 91. Chrysler was fully committed to boosted 4cyls on FWD platforms (the Charger we all kinda wanna forget about). I digress, but this whole era from around 80 to 90 we saw body-on-frame carbureted RWD setups phased out by unibody FWD with fuel injection -- a lot of change in a rather short amount of time. Fascinating to see this car, and one in immaculate shape at that. Love the channel, thanks for listening.
We don't have to totally forget about those Chargers, the Shelby Daytona ones are what gave us SRT-4s and your friends mom having a turbo on her ugly PT Cruiser
I had a ‘96 Bonneville SSE as a company car that had so many buttons it resembled an airliner cockpit. Pontiac interior lighting at the time was orange and the sea of buttons were illuminated. It was like having Halloween decorations up year round. 🤣
Not just the number of buttons, but the style of Pontiac instrument panels in terms of graphics very closely mimicked what was found in airline cockpits. The way various gauges were marked and certain parts of gauges were highlighted in a graphical manner. Very cool.
I always thought it was cool to have a lot of buttons. It was a major reason I loved my mom's 1985 Nissan Maxima. I remember the stereo having a bunch of extra knobs and dials to boost the sound. I also loved my grandma's 1982 Cadillac Sedan DeVille because of all those buttons.
I owned an identical car to this in 1989, it was very expensive at that time. I still have the STE kit in my closet . Loved that car, it was enjoyed for over 300,000 km
I miss GM velour and cloth seats from the 70s and 80s. So comfortable. I will never understand why people think leather seats are so great. They can last longer, but that's it.
I wish they had put that AWD system along with a Turbo 3800 in the Fiero. That, if tuned properly, could’ve competed with what Europe had, at the time.
And that is exactly the point. GM is so obsessed with the Corvette being their flagship car that they won't allow any other vehicles in their inventory to upstage it.
I purchased a 2003 Olds Bravada that had an accessible air compressor. It came with a kit with a hose and adapters to inflate tires, a needle adapter to inflate balls and a pressure gage. It was so handy to top off the tires! It had a power button under a detachable trim panel in the rearmost part of the cargo area near the rear hatch. It was one of my favorite vehicles. I never owned a GM A body of the era. I knew people who did and they absolutely loved them. Your assessment is correct.... they were bread and butter transportation that not many people preserved.
My Accord Hybrid came with a compressor, but it just plugged into the lighter and was not constantly accessible like the one in the STE. My only reservation about the slick setup in the STE is that, from my experience, 12V air compressors, including the one that came with my Honda, don't tend to last a long time, so it might be an expensive hassle swapping the pump that's built into the trim of the trunk. The controls might also be vulnerable to anything heavy in the trunk, but that might be less of an issue for many that it would be for me.
My first car was a 1989 Pontiac 6000 STE AWD that I bought from my next door neighbor. It rode very nice with the air suspension and the interior was easily among the most comfortable of any car I've ever owned. The power lumbar adjustments and power headrests for the front seats were over the top for that time. However, many of the electronic wizardry items that made this car special started going bad by the time the car was 5 years old. Since a lot of those features were unique to this car or a few other limited production GM vehicles of the era, replacement parts were hard to find and very expensive, especially for a 5 year old car. These had the gen 1 GM ABS module that was prone to failure and was expensive to fix. After having all the ABS sensors replaced by the dealer and not solving the problem, I just drove it without ABS. Then it would stall out after hitting a bump at operating temperature and refused to start until it cooled off again. When the ECM fried itself while just normally driving along, I had the local shop get it running and driving again so I could trade it in. I liked the car, but couldn't afford to own it for that first full year because of all the problems and super expensive parts. It was a good lesson in life for me at a young age.
Great Highlight Video Adam! I absolutely loved the Pontiac 6000. I have no doubt that I’d still have mine if a stupid deer didn’t run out in front of it when my wife was driving to her night nursing job way back in 1994. Ours was pristine! It was a 1987 6000 LE Safari. It had the 2.8L V-6 and 3-speed automatic. It was two-toned dark copper and gold. I sure miss it 30 years later.
We had a FWD STE - think it was an ‘86 or ‘87- drove great and never any mechanical issues. The suede seats came with a wire brush and a care kit. You really needed to brush weekly. After I left for school my Dad didn’t do it and they quickly became matted and shiny.
My 1988 Pontiac 6000LE swore me off GM products forever. From the car's paint peeling off shortly after I bought it new to the countless engine computer issues and the squeaks and rattles the car developed over time just proved that quality was not a priority for GM then.
My 3rd grade teacher had a 1989 6000 STE AWD ( hers was the same blue as the feature car. And 1989 STE AWDs were only available in two colors, this blue & a Medium Red ). Even though I grew up in upstate NY, it was still serving as her daily driver in the early 2000s ( she died in 2005 ).
My dad was a big Ford guy and was president of a company back in the day. He had a 6000 rental and raved about how good of a car it was. He said he was quiet and rode very smooth. When it was time to order company cars for the company he was working for he wanted to get some 6000s but ended up getting Mercury Sables instead I think the deal Ford had on fleet cars was better than GMs at the time. He still talks about how much he liked the 6000 though.
My first car in ‘95 was an ‘84 6000 STE, silver over charcoal/rust at the time, got it with 186k on the odo, but was the most reliable GM I’ve owned! Really liked the triple sealed beam look of the early ones.
Wow this Pontiac 6000 brings back memories my cousin purchased one in 1990 it only 30 miles on the odometer when he first showed it to me I got to drive his a few times it was burgundy mixed with like cherry paint job this was awesome I love all the buttons that Pontiac crammed in the 6000 it looked so futuristic at night great video
I loved my 1984 manual transmission CL Celebrity wich I drove from 2005 until 2016, and in general facts all A 1982/1990 models , but that Buick Century T Type trim is for me the Number one in features, interior and seemed to be superior fit and finish among others, and I can`t forget the Station Wagon samples, the right interior space with the right size to drive in city traffic enviroment. Nice and very educational this video, bringin` back the good old 80`s days, thank you.
Wow! This video brings back so many memories. Our fist car was a 1987 Pontiac 6000LE with the V6 and holy Moses did it have its fair share of problems, but my dad never gave up on it. It was also the first car I drove when I turned 18 and got my license. I remember taking it to High School and impressing everyone with the booming 6 x 9 rear speakers lol. My dad's friend had an 89 STE and I recall them asking each other's questions about the cars every time they got together, as in, her does your Pontiac do this??? LOL. 😂. I also remember one time driving with my dad and the steering column collapsed and we both looked at each other with that Wtf just happened look lol.. He ended up trading it in 1995 for a brand new Ford Windstar and despite all the cars he's had, we still talk about the 6000 today and share many laughs. Thank you so much for the video, it brought a smile to my face. It's the old saying, they don't make them with character like they used to.
This is identical to my first car in 1992! I LOVED it! Always a fan of the STE since I saw my friend’s mom’s new black 1986 model. I miss Pontiac of the 80s…
I owned an STE but it wasn't the AWD version. I loved that car. Had lots of great features including the "fill your beachballs" air compressor in the trunk. It was comfortable and great on the highway. I really liked the mute button on the steering wheel to kill the radio when my friends messed with the radio. Wish I had kept that car forever.
my ex girlfriend back in high school had one of them and it was her dad's car. he asked me if i wanted to take it out for a drive and of course i said yes. so many buttons as you mentioned and yeah, he was in the backseat while my girlfriend was in the passenger seat. let's just say the car was treated "nice" while the ex..well..that's a different story for a different back seat! LOL! so many memories seeing this car. great job!
Back in 89 my neighbor had one. His wife had a white 6000 STE AWD and he had a dark red Bonneville SSE. I remember there wasn't much of a price difference between these two cars.
I’m going off memory of articles in C/D at the time, but I’m almost certain an 89 STE started at $22,599 and the Bonnie SSE was $23,599 (granted, options were limited to maybe only two add-ons since they literally came with almost everything). The SSE was a size class up and the platform a few years newer than the 6000. That just goes to show how much $$ GM had in the STE’s tech and where they saw it fitting in the high-end sedan hierarchy. I loved my blue 89 STE.
@@craigjackson2120 6000 STE certainly previewed the Bonneville SSEi, which added even better driving experience, with more horsepower and better road presence over the prior generation.
Looks like Eyes on Design. A bucket list car show. I love switches and buttons, so the higher end 6000s were my favorite growing up. The seats topped off the ensemble. An overall great car
I had a Buick Century. My friends all called it an old people car, but I loved it. Rode and drove great, easy on gas. Don’t believe it ever broke down.
Adam, I hope you gave your number to the owner in case he sells the car. An STE seems right up your alley. Anyway, thanks for using a picture of a proper 1983 STE with the SE wheels. Apparently, early models did not get the four way disc brakes as advertised in the brochure and just used the SE brakes. We owned an early 83 and throughly enjoyed the car. We even got notes under the windshield wiper from other STE owners saying how much they loved their car.
Once again, you drop an un-known into my universe. "AWD" Pontiac you say?? Too bad they didn't use this in Buick LeSabre and Ultras later. Buick would probably still mean 'sport luxury' vehicles.Thank you for sharing this Unicorn. Congratulations to the owner/s.
The 6000 STE has to be my favorite of the A bodies. Back in my car wash days we loved the tight knit carpet on the higher trim Pontiacs that was so easy to vacuum.
Thank you Adam. The 6000 STE and Bonneville SSE used the same seats as you stated. The 6000 STE and Bonneville SSE were really close in terms of features and options. The 6000 STE was ot a bad car at all in terms of features, styling ad what it offered. It just did not have the needed powertrain. The STE trim lived on to see another day on the Grand Prix, This car is in great shape. Had this developed with time, this would have compete against the Audi. Great job Adam. Excellent footage and information. The Oldsmobile had: Ciera ES, Ciera GT and Ciera International Series.
91' LE pushed bumper deep snow for me over 100 miles (mostly flat). One of those times were you look at the telephone poles alongside and guess. Like when you're the only car. One really cool thing was overheating on a hot summer night in mountains, I get out and hear drums, there's lights weaving through the forest. It was a full moon hot springs gathering. Turns out I broke down b4 the parking lot and when the cops came at 2 am and yelled on the bullhorn all the cars were getting towed, they didn't go far enough to find mine.
My good friend had a 89 Celebrity station wagon 2.8 v6 auto. He said it was a great car. As a park ranger, on his time off he would travel to national parks and just fold the seat down and sleep well.
That era 6000 had an instrument cluster ( the needle type not digital ) made by Nippondenso ( now Denso ) If you look at the very top of the cluster and behind the trim, you can see the ND logo.
my father had bought a new 1987 Olds cutlass Ciera Brougham. Not the top of the line, but very nice family sedan, comfy ride, cold ac. When i turned 17-18, i often took it out for a spin. loved the 2.8V6's torque, the 4 speed auto overdrive. Very basic sedan, wind up windows, am/fm/cassette , rear defroster. We had it in the family , shuffling between older brother for about 15 + years. fairly reliable and cheap to fix, decent mpg. Too bad the ac had issues and nobody wanted to invest money into it. A few times while in traffic, some younger dude would pull up along side at a red light and say '' Roll down your window! His sir, very nice car..you wanna sell it??''...car was at least 11 years old. Shake head no politely, smile, go thru the green light. One year , thru my job, i briefly drove the 89/90 ciera with the 3.3 L v6 and nicer bucket leather (vinyl?) seats, console floor shifter, etc...and how much nicer that was! Maybe 160hp versus my dad's 120 hp, but torquey and more refined ride. My brother and cousin bought used Olds Cutlass Ciera , the 2 door/4 doors with center console auto shifter(i think 1991-93)fwd with 3.3L v6 or 3.8. Nice solid tanks. The two door coupe was the nicest one, such a nice ride, loaded interior, better tires/rims, they seemed kinda quick for that era.
I guess it’s a visual trick or maybe just me, but these cars always looked bigger to me than the Century or Ciera looked. Major respect to GM for pulling an amazing level of innovation in the 80s leading the way to downsizing and more modern cars.
Nice example of a beautiful well cared for car! I had a 87 Chevrolet celebrity Eurosport with a sunroof that was reliable and I absolutely loved that car so much respect to the A-bodies
I knew a coworker who drove an 85 Pontiac 6000 with the V6. The car leaked so much oil you had to refill the crankcase at every gas fill up. The car eventually caught fire while being driven on the highway.
I always really liked the 6000. I always thought it was one of, if not the best, looking A cars. I had no idea so much work and modification went in to the AWD 6000 but it makes sense. This car woulf have been SOOOO much better if they were equipped with the Buick 3.8 and by '89, the LN3 3800 (maybe the most reliable of the 3800s) was in production. A couple years later the 3.3 "Baby 3800" would have been in production and that would have been a really good and solid engine for this car if the 6000 was still being made in the early 90s. The 3300 had a surprisingly short life cycle and i never underatood why. I would have been fine if the 3.1 was axed in favor of the 3.3. The 3.1 was a good engine but couldnt hold a candle to the Buick engines. The 3.1 was also very unrefined and held this car back in my opinion. This car could have used some more spunk under the hood with the power-sapping AWD system. An entertaining and informative video as always, Adam. Keep up the great content!
My Mom got a new 3300 Century in 90 to replace her 2.5L 86 6000LE (with full gauges!)........that V6 was like a nitro dragster compared to the Iron Duke, man.....
So I bought a beat to hell STE AWD on ebay a few years back. I had her repainted, tuned-up, etc and put winter tires on her to use as my winter beater while my G8 was stored away. The STE was GREAT in the snow. The engine started giving me a myriad of issues. So now I plan on converting her to electric. It wont be easy, but it'll be fun when she's done. Thanks!
Adam. I forgot to mention that several years ago we had a 1989 Celebrity 3 seat wagon with the V6 in it. I really liked it. It was very peppy. And according to the Encyclopedia of American cars, between the 4cyl and V6 wagons, they made just under 22,000,. No break down between the 2 models. Also, I think that it’s funny that the 6000 you featured is parked between 2 exotic cars. I’d have skipped over them both and went straight to the 6000. It’s probably rarer than the cars it’s parked between.
I still have my medium red metallic one in storage. Loved that car until i blew it up in y2k. Hopefully, I live long enough to retore it. Thanks for keeping the history alive.
Growing up as a GM family as a kid in the 80’s we had a new 84 STE. In metro Detroit and it moved through deep snow amazingly good even with Good Year Eagle GT tires. The drawback of the AWD was to accommodate the system the entire rear of the vehicle had to be reengineered. Fuel tank capacity was greatly reduced thus less range as well as the spare tire was relocated to the trunk as seen in the video thus customers lost cargo capacity. It was an interesting GM AWD engineering exercise though. Ours had the suede seat option and yes it came with a suede care kit and the compressor was first available in 1983. 6000’s across the board went to composite headlights in 1986 along with Bendix ABS on the STE. Last year was 1989 and by 1990 the top trim was the SE but a digital cluster was dropped. I want to say a manual transmission was even available. Ultimately the STE was applied to the Grand Prix sedan but I never thought it had the same “wow” factor as it did on the GP as it did when introduced in 83 on the 6000. The other divisions tried but couldn’t really hit the handing mark of the STE. Celebrity Eurosport, Century T Type, and Ciera I Series. Pontiac really accomplished a home run in 83 with the STE in an era where GM was pumping out poor quality malaise.
I had a 1986 6000 STE. It was a fun car. Picked it up at the end of high school and it got me through college. Mine was an early 1986 built in late 1985. It had the first generation of the fuel injected "HO" 2.8 V6. Quirky thing about mine was it was originally built for the Canadian market. The overlay on the temp and oil pressure electronic gages were metric. Of course the speedometer could be switched between English and metric with the push of a button, like most cars with digital dashes of the era. Even with just FWD it was quite good in the Appalachian winter snows.
I loved the look and feel of pontiac interiors in this vintage with the digital dash and all the buttons. Really like the high tech look and feel. From fiero to 6000, to Trans am
Great video Adam! I was a teenager during this era. I remember my folks test driving a Buick Century T-Type and my Dad test drove a Skyhawk Turbo with a manual transaxle! I liked the Ciera International Series in a 2 door. I had a friend who dated a girl who's Mom had a Ponntiac 6000SE. The friend lived across the street and he and the girl would talk and make out in the Pontiac. They left the engine idling sometimes and I loved the burble of the 2.8 and 3.1 sportier exhaust note! I remember the same burble from the Fiero GT. Thanks again for all of your excellent videos!
My Dad owned a 1989 Cutlass Ciera SL which was built on the A body platform like the 6000 STE. Those were some of the best riding, semi luxury cars ever.
Dad had an '86 & I put as many miles on it as he did. Used to love driving that thing at night - interior was pretty unique. It was fun while it lasted, but like you mention, it didn't last. Replaced it with a Bonneville SE - which really was an amazing car considering the abuse it endured from me. It's pretty decent off road too :)
When I was a kid and into my teens A bodies were everywhere. Everyone I know has had at least one. I even used a 6000 wagon for a "compact" figure 8 car.
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I was a teenage auto mechanic, in downtown Vancouver,when these came out. I have no memories of working on, or even being aware of any of them being All-Wheel-Drive. Pretty cool! Thank you for sharing, Adam.
By the time i was recognizing wbich cars were which, the majority of these were gone, with their Buick counterparts being much more common. That being said, theyre neat cars, and a good example, even today, probably would be a fun car to drive around in, enjoying all your favorite 80s and 90s music.
How about a video on the Oldsmobile Bravada? There are two of the final version (2002-2004) in the town I live in. They're in pristine condition, look like they just rolled off the dealer lot. What would be especially nice is if you could get a look at one of the Final 500. The last 500 Bravadas had custom seat embroidery and exterior badging, unique chrome wheels, dark cherry metallic paint and sequentially numbered 1 to 500 emblems.
Well, I commented before on my 1985 STE here. Purchased brand new, and nice black, and silver combo. It came with an obnoxious exhaust sound from the weak V6 engine. As I drove it home, the A/C vents came apart in my hands as I adjusted them, the windshield washer did not work. But, the seats were very comfortable. It was for my wife, and the fuel pump gave up @ 8,000 miles going up the Conejo Grade going to Thousand Oaks, Ca. to her bank job. She had to hike along the side of the road to a call box ( before cell phone days ) in her high heels . We got rid of it after a year, or so. She still gives me crap about that early morning ''hike ''.
@@hotrodrich7444 I had 2 Fox GTs and yeah they sound great but so do those V6 Beretta GTs, Fiero GTs, yeah even the STEs. All sound way better than 2.8 liters has any right to-
We currently own a 1985 STE with suede upholstery. Only has 107 000 kms on it! The digital display is so retro. Fully loaded but not an all wheel drive.
My particular example didn't have it, but the manual for my first car, a 1986 Ford Thunderbird 3.8L, referenced an optional collapsible spare tire with compressor as well as the same keyless entry with five-button keypad on the door that they still use today!
Keep 'em coming Adam, please! I've been watching, but too busy to comment, and behind on other channels as well...👍 Nice weather out there for refinishing old vehicles, lately!!!😉
Nice car! The exhaust is incorrect on this example. I once serviced a 6000 with a manual transmission at the dealership I worked at. It belonged to a janitor at my high school and he kept it pretty nice. It is the only one that I have seen.
I am surprised that Pontiac didn't try putting the turbo 3.1 liter V6(205hp) in the 6000STE AWD. Now that would have been a serious sporty family sedan. I certainly would want one like that.
Yes it would have made sense. I had a 90 McLaren Turbo 3.1L (4 leather bucket seats) GP and there were Pontiac dealer mechanics who had no clue what it was - super cool car.
I owned one identical to this one, mine was a 1990 model STE AWD. Pontiac tried to compete with the European offerings such as the Audi 5000/100 & 200 models and the BMW 528e, it fell short but was an excellent car. It got me through 2 winter seasons in Connecticut, never had an issue except when it caught on fire on the I-95 bridge in New Haven, Connecticut. That was the end of that car, sadly. There was a replacement for the Pontiac 6000 line up, but did not offer the AWD version, it was the 1988 -1996 Grand Prix (W platform) in which the STE version was produced in 1990-1993. Interestingly enough for the 1990 model year only, you could order the ASC McLaren modified/built V6 3.1 Turbo in the automatic (200hp) or 210hp with manual transmission, and yes that manual must have been very rare.
I remember the 6000 STE. When i was a kid in the 80s my step Dad had one. Not sure of the year. It was 2wd, black with grey below the beltline. It had the suede seats and the air compressor in the trunk. He used it to inflate my bike tires on occation. I remember the exhaust had a cool rasper to it too. Nice car overall 6000 STE is my favorite.
We were a Mopar family growing up, but I loved how futuristic these looked with all the buttons! In first and second grade, I thought I wanted to be a car designer when I grew up, and I used to draw my own radios and steering wheel controls with as many buttons as I could think of. I didn't end up in the automotive industry, but I must not have been the only kid so inspired, given the removal of knobs and the push for capacitive controls we've seen over the last decade.
Pontiac definitely turned a sow's ear into a silk purse with that one. I remember reading the car magazines raving about it and wondered if GM paid them off. You can tell how special it is by it being surrounded by some of the most high end cars on the planet.
Very cool, I didn't have a clue this animal existed. These 6000's were everywhere back in the day. All gone now😢. I drive a 2006 Grand Prix it doesn't have ABS lol. Cool car.
Really enjoyed this particular vid as it took me back to my high school days. As a Gen X kid many of my friends parents had this era of GM sedans and wagons. My parents were Ford/Lincoln loyalists 😊but I did really like the GM products. I’d love to see a video on your channel about the 8th Gen Bonneville SSE which was a particular favourite of mine. I thought the styling was very on point and they sounded terrific (very throaty and growly) even if they weren’t actually all that powerful 😂 Great channel 🤙🏻
Our first brand new family car was a loaded 1984 Pontiac 6000 LE three seat wagon with front split bench cloth. It included the electronic level control and the rear vent windows (standard with the 3rd seat.) It was nimble and quick, utilitarian and very comfortable. We enjoyed it for nearly 10 years. Had I an extra two grand I would have bought the Volvo wagon of my dreams but…We really enjoyed our 6000!
My dad had one. I enjoyed driving it so much. I wish i could get one. I couldnt find one. I settled for a mint condition 2004 Buick century. 1 owner. No one ever sat in the back seat. 70 000km. Really happy with my purchase. But i still prefer 90's car.
I seen one before. You hardly ever saw any 6000. We had a 90 6000 S/E wagon that I learned to drive and later drove for a while. It was a good car and practical too.
GM has a long record of bringing out cars that are lemons, working out the flaws for 5 or more years , and then dropping the line just when it’s getting good 🤷♂️.
What made me smile is if i was at that car show , I would have passed over the high end cars to check this out.
If that Rolls owner was watching, he was probably annoyed with Adam giving all the attention to a lowly Pontiac. 😆
@@MarinCipollina not to mention the day-glo orange Gallardo on the other side.
I don't give a ding dang about those rolls, and all that high dollar stuff. I always gravitate right to the odd, unique stuff like this 6000 just like Adam did. It's easy for a mfg to build a fancy car when they sell for huge dollars. Much tougher when they have to be priced for everyday consumption
@@howebrad4601 With you 100% there. I'm exactly the same. Modern exotics and chequebook hotrods do nothing for me. These cars do.
Pontiac...We Build Excitement!!!
That era Pontiac gray cord upholstery was excellent. My dad had a 1988 Bonneville SSE with that same interior and those seats with that gray cord cloth were the best seats I've ever sat in. Perfectly firm, bolstered and adjustable. The material was great in that it gripped you well and was very cool in hot weather. Way better than leather. It was also very robust and wore better than any other cloth seat I've experienced and was easy to clean. All in all, one of my favorite interiors ever.
I didn't think the grey upholstery looked fantastic. But it was surprisingly comfortable, durable, and looked decent.
I had a 90 SSE BONNE the leather seats were better to me…
Solid dash. 80s Pontiac always looked like toy buttons controls.
@@GS-zc4sk They went overboard with the buttons. Ugly industrial design work.
You say ‘all those buttons’ as it’s a bad thing? It’s a fabulous thing! Can’t get more 80s awesome than that!!
I like them as well. With everyone going to screens on everything now people are starting to miss buttons. Safety wise they’re better as you can find everything by feel
Having uniquely-shaped controls (knobs, levers, rocker switches, etc.) is best for finding things by feel. But with buttons, even if it’s a row of a bunch of them, at least you can park your finger on the one you think it is, and then when you get a chance, look at it to verify it’s the right one before actually pressing it.
Analog rules ✊
Here in rural Texas you still see lots of Centuries and Cieras. Running like champs! The 6000 STE was def my favorite! Especially in AWD like this one.
It helps that they kept building those well into the 90s though.
Supercars all around the Pontiac and you are giving it the attention it deserves,
I was a Pontiac/Buick/GMC Technician when these were new, I always thought they were advanced for their time and we were quite amazed at how they were able to incorporate the all-wheel-drive unit. I was also lucky enough to be there to do predelivery inspections on the first Syclones we received.
I remember seeing cyclones when my dad was car shopping what a awesome truck I was in the 4th grade
I really appreciate seeing this car featured. Mom had an 89 from 90-96 but in burgundy. That air compressor was so helpful to top off bike tires growing up. A feature you'd think would have really caught on across all cars in general but never did. The 6000 STE's AWD system prevented the spare tire from going in the normal location under the trunk mat, so they had to stick it in the trunk right in the way of most everything, making it impractical for trips. And then there's the MPG penalty from no overdrive gear and the heavier AWD system not found in other cars on this platform. I'm glad you showed both of these quirks at the end. Pontiac was really touting how the car had the same ride height as normal 6000's, a comment probably aimed at AMC.
Love seeing the especially obscure stuff you come across -- this reminds us that it was such an experimental time. Chevy was messing around with an AWD system they put into a few prototype Berettas, which turned out to be the same system later used in the 6000 STE and then the 90 S/E. This was at a time when both Ford and GM were seriously considering replacing the Mustang, Camaro and Firebirds with some FWD platform, like the Probe, Beretta and possibly the Grand Prix, with its super high tech twin dual cam v6 for 91. Chrysler was fully committed to boosted 4cyls on FWD platforms (the Charger we all kinda wanna forget about). I digress, but this whole era from around 80 to 90 we saw body-on-frame carbureted RWD setups phased out by unibody FWD with fuel injection -- a lot of change in a rather short amount of time. Fascinating to see this car, and one in immaculate shape at that. Love the channel, thanks for listening.
We don't have to totally forget about those Chargers, the Shelby Daytona ones are what gave us SRT-4s and your friends mom having a turbo on her ugly PT Cruiser
GM also experimented with a RWD Reatta. IIRC they built two and one was crashed by an automotive magazine writer.
I had a ‘96 Bonneville SSE as a company car that had so many buttons it resembled an airliner cockpit. Pontiac interior lighting at the time was orange and the sea of buttons were illuminated. It was like having Halloween decorations up year round. 🤣
Not just the number of buttons, but the style of Pontiac instrument panels in terms of graphics very closely mimicked what was found in airline cockpits. The way various gauges were marked and certain parts of gauges were highlighted in a graphical manner.
Very cool.
I always thought it was cool to have a lot of buttons. It was a major reason I loved my mom's 1985 Nissan Maxima. I remember the stereo having a bunch of extra knobs and dials to boost the sound.
I also loved my grandma's 1982 Cadillac Sedan DeVille because of all those buttons.
I had the '92 SSEi the buttons were orange, but the driver info center was in blue & lime green.
I owned an identical car to this in 1989, it was very expensive at that time. I still have the STE kit in my closet . Loved that car, it was enjoyed for over 300,000 km
I have an 88 STE AWD! Would you sell that kit?
"Kit"
?
Who decided to park the junky Rolls Royce beside that cream puff 6000?
😂😂😂
😂😂😂
Must've came with Lambo guy
Suicide doors and a windshield setup that looks like it was inspired by the “DustBuster” GM minivans. No thanks.
@@blintzkreig1638 Most be a Pimp...
This car with the 3.8 and an overdrive transmission would have been awesome!
I miss GM velour and cloth seats from the 70s and 80s. So comfortable. I will never understand why people think leather seats are so great. They can last longer, but that's it.
These were comfy werent they? Even new Cadillacs the "leather" and seats are like hard as a rock for some reason. My back aches in 20 min.
Cloth and velour don't burn you in the summer and freeze you in the winter, too.
I prefer the Corinthian leather in Chrysler products. Not necessarily the cars themselves.
Leather will typically split long before cloth tears. And cloth is way more comfortabe.
@@kc9scott I have seen cloth seats rip after 4-5 years. Leather can last at least 10 years with proper care.
Interesting... Adam drops a video on a 1989 6000 STE at almost the exact same time that My Old Car releases his own video on the entire 6000 lineup!
I wish they had put that AWD system along with a Turbo 3800 in the Fiero. That, if tuned properly, could’ve competed with what Europe had, at the time.
🙄 I wonder how hard it would be
There’re Fiero blogs people doing that. Fiero is still not overly expensive to build. Used running ones are under $2 K.
I swear GM enshrined the corvette so much they screwed over other models that could have really gone to the moon (fiero, Grand National, etc).
*a turbo Quad 4 😉, buy GM couldn't let anything get near their prized Corvette.
And that is exactly the point. GM is so obsessed with the Corvette being their flagship car that they won't allow any other vehicles in their inventory to upstage it.
I purchased a 2003 Olds Bravada that had an accessible air compressor. It came with a kit with a hose and adapters to inflate tires, a needle adapter to inflate balls and a pressure gage. It was so handy to top off the tires! It had a power button under a detachable trim panel in the rearmost part of the cargo area near the rear hatch. It was one of my favorite vehicles. I never owned a GM A body of the era. I knew people who did and they absolutely loved them. Your assessment is correct.... they were bread and butter transportation that not many people preserved.
My Accord Hybrid came with a compressor, but it just plugged into the lighter and was not constantly accessible like the one in the STE. My only reservation about the slick setup in the STE is that, from my experience, 12V air compressors, including the one that came with my Honda, don't tend to last a long time, so it might be an expensive hassle swapping the pump that's built into the trim of the trunk. The controls might also be vulnerable to anything heavy in the trunk, but that might be less of an issue for many that it would be for me.
My ‘86 6000 STE had the inflator in the trunk
My first car was a 1989 Pontiac 6000 STE AWD that I bought from my next door neighbor. It rode very nice with the air suspension and the interior was easily among the most comfortable of any car I've ever owned. The power lumbar adjustments and power headrests for the front seats were over the top for that time. However, many of the electronic wizardry items that made this car special started going bad by the time the car was 5 years old. Since a lot of those features were unique to this car or a few other limited production GM vehicles of the era, replacement parts were hard to find and very expensive, especially for a 5 year old car. These had the gen 1 GM ABS module that was prone to failure and was expensive to fix. After having all the ABS sensors replaced by the dealer and not solving the problem, I just drove it without ABS. Then it would stall out after hitting a bump at operating temperature and refused to start until it cooled off again. When the ECM fried itself while just normally driving along, I had the local shop get it running and driving again so I could trade it in. I liked the car, but couldn't afford to own it for that first full year because of all the problems and super expensive parts. It was a good lesson in life for me at a young age.
Great Highlight Video Adam! I absolutely loved the Pontiac 6000. I have no doubt that I’d still have mine if a stupid deer didn’t run out in front of it when my wife was driving to her night nursing job way back in 1994. Ours was pristine! It was a 1987 6000 LE Safari. It had the 2.8L V-6 and 3-speed automatic. It was two-toned dark copper and gold. I sure miss it 30 years later.
One of the few channels that ignore the Ferrari, Lambagini, Rolls Royce and Porsche to look at an 80's GM surviver!
We had a FWD STE - think it was an ‘86 or ‘87- drove great and never any mechanical issues. The suede seats came with a wire brush and a care kit. You really needed to brush weekly. After I left for school my Dad didn’t do it and they quickly became matted and shiny.
I loved having buttons within my fingers reach. Reaching up to pick my nose was far more inconvenient.
Yes Adam, 'Pontiac' and 'AWD' does sound like an unusual combination. 🤔
@@rightlanehog3151 they should’ve had Opel engineers tune it and create a rally sport version and go send it over to Europe. That would’ve been cool
My 1988 Pontiac 6000LE swore me off GM products forever. From the car's paint peeling off shortly after I bought it new to the countless engine computer issues and the squeaks and rattles the car developed over time just proved that quality was not a priority for GM then.
Totally. My grandmother had a 6000LE that wouldn't stop beep boop ding donging. Lots of dealer service visits and we washed it with Windex.
My 92 Firebird swore me off of GM as well. I had the paint peeling issue and numerous transmission issues.
Sounds just like a Turd-ota I had.
The GM cars of the Era were no better or worse than the Japjunk of the same time period! I am an American and only buy American cars!
Yes. They were cookie cutter profit cars. Kinda like today's cars. Everything's the same. Same. Motors and whatever.
My 3rd grade teacher had a 1989 6000 STE AWD ( hers was the same blue as the feature car. And 1989 STE AWDs were only available in two colors, this blue & a Medium Red ). Even though I grew up in upstate NY, it was still serving as her daily driver in the early 2000s ( she died in 2005 ).
The My Old Car channel also has something up about the Pontiac 6000 and even showed a clip of the 4WD instructions on one 6000.
It’s a pretty wild coincidence
I came to this video from that one.
My dad was a big Ford guy and was president of a company back in the day. He had a 6000 rental and raved about how good of a car it was. He said he was quiet and rode very smooth. When it was time to order company cars for the company he was working for he wanted to get some 6000s but ended up getting Mercury Sables instead I think the deal Ford had on fleet cars was better than GMs at the time. He still talks about how much he liked the 6000 though.
The Taurus and Sable were better cars....
@@marklittle8805 I agree
My first car in ‘95 was an ‘84 6000 STE, silver over charcoal/rust at the time, got it with 186k on the odo, but was the most reliable GM I’ve owned! Really liked the triple sealed beam look of the early ones.
Wow this Pontiac 6000 brings back memories my cousin purchased one in 1990 it only 30 miles on the odometer when he first showed it to me I got to drive his a few times it was burgundy mixed with like cherry paint job this was awesome I love all the buttons that Pontiac crammed in the 6000 it looked so futuristic at night great video
I loved my 1984 manual transmission CL Celebrity wich I drove from 2005 until 2016, and in general facts all A 1982/1990 models , but that Buick Century T Type trim is for me the Number one in features, interior and seemed to be superior fit and finish among others, and I can`t forget the Station Wagon samples, the right interior space with the right size to drive in city traffic enviroment. Nice and very educational this video, bringin` back the good old 80`s days, thank you.
Wow! This video brings back so many memories. Our fist car was a 1987 Pontiac 6000LE with the V6 and holy Moses did it have its fair share of problems, but my dad never gave up on it. It was also the first car I drove when I turned 18 and got my license. I remember taking it to High School and impressing everyone with the booming 6 x 9 rear speakers lol. My dad's friend had an 89 STE and I recall them asking each other's questions about the cars every time they got together, as in, her does your Pontiac do this??? LOL. 😂. I also remember one time driving with my dad and the steering column collapsed and we both looked at each other with that Wtf just happened look lol.. He ended up trading it in 1995 for a brand new Ford Windstar and despite all the cars he's had, we still talk about the 6000 today and share many laughs. Thank you so much for the video, it brought a smile to my face. It's the old saying, they don't make them with character like they used to.
This is identical to my first car in 1992! I LOVED it! Always a fan of the STE since I saw my friend’s mom’s new black 1986 model. I miss Pontiac of the 80s…
I owned an STE but it wasn't the AWD version. I loved that car. Had lots of great features including the "fill your beachballs" air compressor in the trunk. It was comfortable and great on the highway. I really liked the mute button on the steering wheel to kill the radio when my friends messed with the radio. Wish I had kept that car forever.
Even surrounded by Ferarris and Lamborghinis I'd make an absolute beeline for that 6000. Very cool.
my ex girlfriend back in high school had one of them and it was her dad's car. he asked me if i wanted to take it out for a drive and of course i said yes. so many buttons as you mentioned and yeah, he was in the backseat while my girlfriend was in the passenger seat. let's just say the car was treated "nice" while the ex..well..that's a different story for a different back seat! LOL! so many memories seeing this car. great job!
Back in 89 my neighbor had one. His wife had a white 6000 STE AWD and he had a dark red Bonneville SSE. I remember there wasn't much of a price difference between these two cars.
The 6000 STE was substantially pricier than the rest of the A bodies.
I’m going off memory of articles in C/D at the time, but I’m almost certain an 89 STE started at $22,599 and the Bonnie SSE was $23,599 (granted, options were limited to maybe only two add-ons since they literally came with almost everything). The SSE was a size class up and the platform a few years newer than the 6000. That just goes to show how much $$ GM had in the STE’s tech and where they saw it fitting in the high-end sedan hierarchy. I loved my blue 89 STE.
@@craigjackson2120 6000 STE certainly previewed the Bonneville SSEi, which added even better driving experience, with more horsepower and better road presence over the prior generation.
Looks like Eyes on Design. A bucket list car show. I love switches and buttons, so the higher end 6000s were my favorite growing up. The seats topped off the ensemble. An overall great car
I had a Buick Century. My friends all called it an old people car, but I loved it. Rode and drove great, easy on gas. Don’t believe it ever broke down.
Adam, I hope you gave your number to the owner in case he sells the car. An STE seems right up your alley. Anyway, thanks for using a picture of a proper 1983 STE with the SE wheels. Apparently, early models did not get the four way disc brakes as advertised in the brochure and just used the SE brakes. We owned an early 83 and throughly enjoyed the car. We even got notes under the windshield wiper from other STE owners saying how much they loved their car.
The 1986 Chevy Celebrity Eurosport looked good to me.
"Where should I park my Pontiac 6000?"
"Um, how bout between the Rolls and the Lambo"
Man, this car used to be everywhere when I was growing up, now super rare 😢
Old man 😊
Once again, you drop an un-known into my universe. "AWD" Pontiac you say?? Too bad they didn't use this in Buick LeSabre and Ultras later. Buick would probably still mean 'sport luxury' vehicles.Thank you for sharing this Unicorn. Congratulations to the owner/s.
The 6000 STE has to be my favorite of the A bodies. Back in my car wash days we loved the tight knit carpet on the higher trim Pontiacs that was so easy to vacuum.
That's what I loved about my '84 STE. Very plush. I've owned over 65 different cars in my life, and this was one of my favorites.
Adam, your glowing romanticism of these mid 80s GMs😮 almost makes me forget what junk they were.
That's why Toyota and Honda destroyed GM, Ford and Chrysler.
Honda and Toyota have fallen a LOT lately in regards to reliability. I feel like everyone made pretty good cars in the 90’s and early 2000’s
@@RobertSmith-le8wp The drive trains were pretty bulletproof from GM from this era. The body might rust away, but the drive train kept truckin’.
Much better than Iaccocamobiles.
@@stephendavidbailey2743 the K-cars were junk too.
Thank you Adam. The 6000 STE and Bonneville SSE used the same seats as you stated. The 6000 STE and Bonneville SSE were really close in terms of features and options. The 6000 STE was ot a bad car at all in terms of features, styling ad what it offered. It just did not have the needed powertrain. The STE trim lived on to see another day on the Grand Prix, This car is in great shape. Had this developed with time, this would have compete against the Audi. Great job Adam. Excellent footage and information. The Oldsmobile had: Ciera ES, Ciera GT and Ciera International Series.
91' LE pushed bumper deep snow for me over 100 miles (mostly flat). One of those times were you look at the telephone poles alongside and guess. Like when you're the only car.
One really cool thing was overheating on a hot summer night in mountains, I get out and hear drums, there's lights weaving through the forest. It was a full moon hot springs gathering. Turns out I broke down b4 the parking lot and when the cops came at 2 am and yelled on the bullhorn all the cars were getting towed, they didn't go far enough to find mine.
My good friend had a 89 Celebrity station wagon 2.8 v6 auto. He said it was a great car. As a park ranger, on his time off he would travel to national parks and just fold the seat down and sleep well.
That era 6000 had an instrument cluster ( the needle type not digital ) made by Nippondenso ( now Denso ) If you look at the very top of the cluster and behind the trim, you can see the ND logo.
my father had bought a new 1987 Olds cutlass Ciera Brougham.
Not the top of the line, but very nice family sedan, comfy ride, cold ac. When i turned 17-18, i often took it out for a spin. loved the 2.8V6's torque, the 4 speed auto overdrive.
Very basic sedan, wind up windows, am/fm/cassette , rear defroster. We had it in the family , shuffling between older brother for about 15 + years. fairly reliable and cheap to fix, decent mpg. Too bad the ac had issues and nobody wanted to invest money into it. A few times while in traffic, some younger dude would pull up along side at a red light and say '' Roll down your window! His sir, very nice car..you wanna sell it??''...car was at least 11 years old. Shake head no politely, smile, go thru the green light. One year , thru my job, i briefly drove the 89/90 ciera with the 3.3 L v6 and nicer bucket leather (vinyl?) seats, console floor shifter, etc...and how much nicer that was! Maybe 160hp versus my dad's 120 hp, but torquey and more refined ride.
My brother and cousin bought used Olds Cutlass Ciera , the 2 door/4 doors with center console auto shifter(i think 1991-93)fwd with 3.3L v6 or 3.8.
Nice solid tanks. The two door coupe was the nicest one, such a nice ride, loaded interior, better tires/rims, they seemed kinda quick for that era.
I don't know if you watch My Old Car, but he happened to feature the Pontiac 6000 in his episode today, too, including the super rare STE AWD.
I guess it’s a visual trick or maybe just me, but these cars always looked bigger to me than the Century or Ciera looked. Major respect to GM for pulling an amazing level of innovation in the 80s leading the way to downsizing and more modern cars.
Nice example of a beautiful well cared for car! I had a 87 Chevrolet celebrity Eurosport with a sunroof that was reliable and I absolutely loved that car so much respect to the A-bodies
I knew a coworker who drove an 85 Pontiac 6000 with the V6. The car leaked so much oil you had to refill the crankcase at every gas fill up. The car eventually caught fire while being driven on the highway.
Why didn't he fix whatever gasket was leaking?
@@howebrad4601 That is an excellent question, seems to me quite an easy thing to do.
@@howebrad4601 It was a company car. He didn't have to care about the issue and the company just wrote it off rather than look after it.
I don,t see what cool about this car.To each their own Looks boxy and plain to me.3 light grill is ugly.
I always really liked the 6000. I always thought it was one of, if not the best, looking A cars. I had no idea so much work and modification went in to the AWD 6000 but it makes sense. This car woulf have been SOOOO much better if they were equipped with the Buick 3.8 and by '89, the LN3 3800 (maybe the most reliable of the 3800s) was in production. A couple years later the 3.3 "Baby 3800" would have been in production and that would have been a really good and solid engine for this car if the 6000 was still being made in the early 90s. The 3300 had a surprisingly short life cycle and i never underatood why. I would have been fine if the 3.1 was axed in favor of the 3.3. The 3.1 was a good engine but couldnt hold a candle to the Buick engines. The 3.1 was also very unrefined and held this car back in my opinion. This car could have used some more spunk under the hood with the power-sapping AWD system.
An entertaining and informative video as always, Adam. Keep up the great content!
My Mom got a new 3300 Century in 90 to replace her 2.5L 86 6000LE (with full gauges!)........that V6 was like a nitro dragster compared to the Iron Duke, man.....
So I bought a beat to hell STE AWD on ebay a few years back. I had her repainted, tuned-up, etc and put winter tires on her to use as my winter beater while my G8 was stored away. The STE was GREAT in the snow. The engine started giving me a myriad of issues. So now I plan on converting her to electric. It wont be easy, but it'll be fun when she's done. Thanks!
Adam. I forgot to mention that several years ago we had a 1989 Celebrity 3 seat wagon with the V6 in it. I really liked it. It was very peppy. And according to the Encyclopedia of American cars, between the 4cyl and V6 wagons, they made just under 22,000,. No break down between the 2 models. Also, I think that it’s funny that the 6000 you featured is parked between 2 exotic cars. I’d have skipped over them both and went straight to the 6000. It’s probably rarer than the cars it’s parked between.
Keep up these great videos, Adam. You are best in class when it comes to auto videos.
I still have my medium red metallic one in storage. Loved that car until i blew it up in y2k. Hopefully, I live long enough to retore it. Thanks for keeping the history alive.
The 6000 STE was a very cool car for its time and the only A body that I ever wanted.
My high school buddy had a two door Ciera International. It was awesome!
A friend of mine had one of these cars. It had a built-in air compressor in the trunk. That was really cool!
Growing up as a GM family as a kid in the 80’s we had a new 84 STE. In metro Detroit and it moved through deep snow amazingly good even with Good Year Eagle GT tires. The drawback of the AWD was to accommodate the system the entire rear of the vehicle had to be reengineered. Fuel tank capacity was greatly reduced thus less range as well as the spare tire was relocated to the trunk as seen in the video thus customers lost cargo capacity. It was an interesting GM AWD engineering exercise though. Ours had the suede seat option and yes it came with a suede care kit and the compressor was first available in 1983. 6000’s across the board went to composite headlights in 1986 along with Bendix ABS on the STE. Last year was 1989 and by 1990 the top trim was the SE but a digital cluster was dropped. I want to say a manual transmission was even available. Ultimately the STE was applied to the Grand Prix sedan but I never thought it had the same “wow” factor as it did on the GP as it did when introduced in 83 on the 6000. The other divisions tried but couldn’t really hit the handing mark of the STE. Celebrity Eurosport, Century T Type, and Ciera I Series. Pontiac really accomplished a home run in 83 with the STE in an era where GM was pumping out poor quality malaise.
awd didn't start till 88
@@moejr1974 correct. With the 83-88 body style. 89 was last year for 6000 STE.
I had a 1986 6000 STE. It was a fun car. Picked it up at the end of high school and it got me through college. Mine was an early 1986 built in late 1985. It had the first generation of the fuel injected "HO" 2.8 V6. Quirky thing about mine was it was originally built for the Canadian market. The overlay on the temp and oil pressure electronic gages were metric. Of course the speedometer could be switched between English and metric with the push of a button, like most cars with digital dashes of the era. Even with just FWD it was quite good in the Appalachian winter snows.
lol was everyone there looking at you like "why is this guy interested in a GM product??!!!"
I'm an 80s kid. My dad had a beige Chevy Celebrity and a blue 6000. Definitely preferred the 6000.
I loved the look and feel of pontiac interiors in this vintage with the digital dash and all the buttons. Really like the high tech look and feel. From fiero to 6000, to Trans am
Thanks, enjoyed the review (as always) ! !
Great video Adam! I was a teenager during this era. I remember my folks test driving a Buick Century T-Type and my Dad test drove a Skyhawk Turbo with a manual transaxle! I liked the Ciera International Series in a 2 door. I had a friend who dated a girl who's Mom had a Ponntiac 6000SE. The friend lived across the street and he and the girl would talk and make out in the Pontiac. They left the engine idling sometimes and I loved the burble of the 2.8 and 3.1 sportier exhaust note! I remember the same burble from the Fiero GT. Thanks again for all of your excellent videos!
My favorite is the 86 Buick Century Grand Sport. Very rare.
I remember those. Very elegant for what they were.
My Dad owned a 1989 Cutlass Ciera SL which was built on the A body platform like the 6000 STE. Those were some of the best riding, semi luxury cars ever.
Favorite A body 🥁🥁🥁... Celebrity Eurosport VR. Love that sporty boxy look.
Dad had an '86 & I put as many miles on it as he did. Used to love driving that thing at night - interior was pretty unique. It was fun while it lasted, but like you mention, it didn't last. Replaced it with a Bonneville SE - which really was an amazing car considering the abuse it endured from me. It's pretty decent off road too :)
had one in 1985...loved it. wife ripped the turn signal switch off the steering column....that was a fun time.
When I was a kid and into my teens A bodies were everywhere. Everyone I know has had at least one. I even used a 6000 wagon for a "compact" figure 8 car.
I was a teenage auto mechanic, in downtown Vancouver,when these came out. I have no memories of working on, or even being aware of any of them being All-Wheel-Drive. Pretty cool! Thank you for sharing, Adam.
By the time i was recognizing wbich cars were which, the majority of these were gone, with their Buick counterparts being much more common. That being said, theyre neat cars, and a good example, even today, probably would be a fun car to drive around in, enjoying all your favorite 80s and 90s music.
How about a video on the Oldsmobile Bravada? There are two of the final version (2002-2004) in the town I live in. They're in pristine condition, look like they just rolled off the dealer lot. What would be especially nice is if you could get a look at one of the Final 500. The last 500 Bravadas had custom seat embroidery and exterior badging, unique chrome wheels, dark cherry metallic paint and sequentially numbered 1 to 500 emblems.
Well, I commented before on my 1985 STE here. Purchased brand new, and nice black, and silver combo. It came with an obnoxious exhaust sound from the weak V6 engine. As I drove it home, the A/C vents came apart in my hands as I adjusted them, the windshield washer did not work. But, the seats were very comfortable. It was for my wife, and the fuel pump gave up @ 8,000 miles going up the Conejo Grade going to Thousand Oaks, Ca. to her bank job. She had to hike along the side of the road to a call box ( before cell phone days ) in her high heels . We got rid of it after a year, or so. She still gives me crap about that early morning ''hike ''.
Obnoxious??!? Only the best sounding exhaust in all the 80s......
@@emmexfyv HA HA ...NO AND NO ...MUSTANG GT..LOL
@@hotrodrich7444 I had 2 Fox GTs and yeah they sound great but so do those V6 Beretta GTs, Fiero GTs, yeah even the STEs. All sound way better than 2.8 liters has any right to-
Adam didn't even notice the Rolls Royce and Lamborghini when that sweet 6000 came into view!
We currently own a 1985 STE with suede upholstery. Only has 107 000 kms on it! The digital display is so retro. Fully loaded but not an all wheel drive.
Hey, Adam, so cool that Motoman gave you a sweet cameo on his channel! ❤
My dad had an Olds Cutlass Ciera with the Buick 3.8l and he lived it. Had a good ride and comfort, reliable motor, got 31 mpg on the interstate.
My particular example didn't have it, but the manual for my first car, a 1986 Ford Thunderbird 3.8L, referenced an optional collapsible spare tire with compressor as well as the same keyless entry with five-button keypad on the door that they still use today!
Keep 'em coming Adam, please! I've been watching, but too busy to comment, and behind on other channels as well...👍
Nice weather out there for refinishing old vehicles, lately!!!😉
Nice car! The exhaust is incorrect on this example. I once serviced a 6000 with a manual transmission at the dealership I worked at. It belonged to a janitor at my high school and he kept it pretty nice. It is the only one that I have seen.
I am surprised that Pontiac didn't try putting the turbo 3.1 liter V6(205hp) in the 6000STE AWD. Now that would have been a serious sporty family sedan. I certainly would want one like that.
Yes it would have made sense. I had a 90 McLaren Turbo 3.1L (4 leather bucket seats) GP and there were Pontiac dealer mechanics who had no clue what it was - super cool car.
My sister had an 86 Century T type with the 3.1 V6. I drove it often. Great car! Quick, nimble and comfortable.
3.1 not til 90- it was either 2.8 or 3.8, that size car with the 3.8 really could bake em off
Pontiac was crazy about their buttons. I have 1993 Grand Prix. Buttons were still common then
Wow! I didn’t know they made an AWD version of the A body cars
Absolutely amazing to me how much shorter (the front end especially) the 6000 is next to the Rolls.
I owned one identical to this one, mine was a 1990 model STE AWD. Pontiac tried to compete with the European offerings such as the Audi 5000/100 & 200 models and the BMW 528e, it fell short but was an excellent car. It got me through 2 winter seasons in Connecticut, never had an issue except when it caught on fire on the I-95 bridge in New Haven, Connecticut. That was the end of that car, sadly. There was a replacement for the Pontiac 6000 line up, but did not offer the AWD version, it was the 1988 -1996 Grand Prix (W platform) in which the STE version was produced in 1990-1993. Interestingly enough for the 1990 model year only, you could order the ASC McLaren modified/built V6 3.1 Turbo in the automatic (200hp) or 210hp with manual transmission, and yes that manual must have been very rare.
I remember the 6000 STE. When i was a kid in the 80s my step Dad had one. Not sure of the year. It was 2wd, black with grey below the beltline. It had the suede seats and the air compressor in the trunk. He used it to inflate my bike tires on occation. I remember the exhaust had a cool rasper to it too. Nice car overall 6000 STE is my favorite.
My parents bought one new in 1983. Those were the days❤
We were a Mopar family growing up, but I loved how futuristic these looked with all the buttons! In first and second grade, I thought I wanted to be a car designer when I grew up, and I used to draw my own radios and steering wheel controls with as many buttons as I could think of. I didn't end up in the automotive industry, but I must not have been the only kid so inspired, given the removal of knobs and the push for capacitive controls we've seen over the last decade.
Pontiac definitely turned a sow's ear into a silk purse with that one. I remember reading the car magazines raving about it and wondered if GM paid them off. You can tell how special it is by it being surrounded by some of the most high end cars on the planet.
Very cool, I didn't have a clue this animal existed. These 6000's were everywhere back in the day. All gone now😢. I drive a 2006 Grand Prix it doesn't have ABS lol. Cool car.
Really enjoyed this particular vid as it took me back to my high school days. As a Gen X kid many of my friends parents had this era of GM sedans and wagons. My parents were Ford/Lincoln loyalists 😊but I did really like the GM products.
I’d love to see a video on your channel about the 8th Gen Bonneville SSE which was a particular favourite of mine. I thought the styling was very on point and they sounded terrific (very throaty and growly) even if they weren’t actually all that powerful 😂
Great channel 🤙🏻
Our first brand new family car was a loaded 1984 Pontiac 6000 LE three seat wagon with front split bench cloth. It included the electronic level control and the rear vent windows (standard with the 3rd seat.) It was nimble and quick, utilitarian and very comfortable. We enjoyed it for nearly 10 years. Had I an extra two grand I would have bought the Volvo wagon of my dreams but…We really enjoyed our 6000!
My dad had one. I enjoyed driving it so much. I wish i could get one.
I couldnt find one. I settled for a mint condition 2004 Buick century. 1 owner. No one ever sat in the back seat. 70 000km. Really happy with my purchase.
But i still prefer 90's car.
Thanks for taking the time to craft these videos for us, it’s such a hoot
I seen one before. You hardly ever saw any 6000. We had a 90 6000 S/E wagon that I learned to drive and later drove for a while. It was a good car and practical too.
Yeah ground effects on a wagon was rad. I still have the brochure with the SE wagon all gold even the alloys.
GM has a long record of bringing out cars that are lemons, working out the flaws for 5 or more years , and then dropping the line just when it’s getting good 🤷♂️.