Oh, W-Body, how I love thee...why?

[Addicted2bass]

I like how my car is pretty unique. I have the only TGP i know of in my area and its getting rare to see any first gen gps around that are in good shape. Especially the 88-93 ones.

 

W-bodies are good all around car, chances are you can find one to fit your need. Everything from grocery getter to turboed and supercharged cars. Theres a even a convertible. Despite being built from the same body the models are extremly unique and differant from one another. Unlike say the N-bodys. Aleros, Malibus and Grand Ams look different but are all very similar to one another.

[Lumineer]

My mom bought the base model '92 Lumina with only around 60-80k on the odometer (it's been years now). She drove it for a few years before I slowly took over the car and made it my own. I started to fall in love with it and adored the 3.1's low-end torque and exhaust rumble. I tried to "pimp" up my car with a Chevrolet steering wheel cover and cheap Walmart hubcaps . It actually looked pretty decent. It was plain, yet clean and not overdone, and not adorned with granny add-ons. Plus, mine wasn't slunk to the ground so low in the rear like so many W-body's I see that are becoming total shitpiles. Mine looked perked up and ready to sprint around. Unfortunately, my overly-cocky Lumina persona was smashed when my car got its face punched in by the ass-end of a utility van (I rear-ended him). It was "totaled". But hey, the money I got off of it (about $1600) was used as a downpayment for the Caddy, which is now becoming my car

[Euro]

somebody here has said it before:

 

its the correct combination of power/style/luxury/fuel economy/reliability/safety

 

So by correct combination you mean none of those???

 

That's exactly what I said.

 

I've always loved the 2nd Gen GP styling, and when I started to join the forums I found out more about the 1st gens from here and loved (most) them (almost) as much as the 97-03. When I finally got the GP, the only thing I still like is the styling. Biggest freakin money pit on earth.

[Dirtbikindud]

Personally i fell in love with the w-bodies when i was around 15 when i was told the old 1997 grand prix se sitting out front was mine now, i loved that car, still do because of all the good memories and the fact that untill recently it had gone 300,000kms without causing any pain or agony. The 3800 to me has always seemed like one of the strongest engines gm has ever made i mean i dont think i have seen that many around that even puff a little bit. I also have always loved how much room and the comfortable ride also have been surprised by the fuel economy i can get as long as i manage to keep my foot out of it a little bit lol. My love for the grand prix sprouted of course and i always had the desire to add some power...which led me to my new car,the gtp, which will remain mine untill she rots into the ground now.

[swift13]

i got my 89 when i was 14, my brother rear ended a durango with it and i replaced the bumper and hood. he went on to buy a regal gs and i kept the prix, i thought it was the coolest thing. he traded in his regal for a cuty vert and i bought a white 91 gt prix. i fell in love with the rear buckets and aq9s, the paint was shit but oh well, i have always been a fan of the gen 2 prixs and said if i ever bought one it would only be the gtp. and that is the last and final car i have bought. i will eventually get rid of the gtp, i will never get rid of my vert.

[supreme_style21]

I like how you can run up 200,000 + with minimal maintenance. A buddy of mine has 200k on his honda, but he's spent enough money to get it there.. could have bought 2 or 3 of these cars for the cost of maintenance on that thing. And if anything does go wrong, it's pretty easy and cheap to fix. Plus I like all the gadgets.. heads up display, trip computers.. I love that stuff.

[MonteCarloChick]

It was my first car. I had no interest in them in general.. just Montes. Now they've grown on me like a disease.

[AWeb80]

Some of these cars really stand out from the rest. Plus it feels good to drive a modded one that hardly anybody else has done anything to.

 

Yep. nobody has a car that looks like mine. there cars stand out....i can point them out a long ways away. they are definately under rated. i've never had any major problems save them normal 3100 head gasket failure and a trans i had to rebuild. but i drive the car hard to i take responsibility for the failed trans

[rich_e777]

The Grand Am and Cutlass Supreme 2-door models with the vertical pillar door handles are just sexy. I cant believe they made them Fwd because they just look the way a muscle car should look in the late 80s and early 90s with the long hood that should be hiding a V8 and that low wide wheel base that looks as if it has to hold on to the road even when standing still, and the look on the faces of mustang and import owners when they get smoked by a car they`ve never given a second though. Maybe if Pontiac looked to the W-Body line up for inspiration their GTO wouldnt look so bloated.

 

Anyone else get turned on when a Grand Am or Cutlass Supreme goes by?

If you dont love you car that much maybe you need a Cutlass.

[RobertISaar]

i'm hoping you meant grand prix?

[AWeb80]

Saying Grand Am when you mean Grand Prix = EPIC PHAIL

[RobertISaar]

Saying Grand Am when you mean Grand Prix = EPIC PHAIL

or as i pointed out to digg.com: EPIC BONER

[rich_e777]

The Grand Am and Cutlass Supreme 2-door models with the vertical pillar door handles are just sexy. I cant believe they made them Fwd because they just look the way a muscle car should look in the late 80s and early 90s with the long hood that should be hiding a V8 and that low wide wheel base that looks as if it has to hold on to the road even when standing still, and the look on the faces of mustang and import owners when they get smoked by a car they`ve never given a second though. Maybe if Pontiac looked to the W-Body line up for inspiration their GTO wouldnt look so bloated.

 

Anyone else get turned on when a Grand Am or Cutlass Supreme goes by?

If you dont love you car that much maybe you need a Cutlass.

 

The only pontiac Wbody 2 door ive seen up close is one in a junkyard and it must of been a grand prix that had grand am badges(why?) sorry. Ive got the only W-body ive seen in this town and get those pontiacs mixed up sometimes.

[gimp19]

My cutlass was my first decent car (first was a pos 82 bonneville) I loved it to death ran great, had decent room, looked nice and was in really good shape for an '88. Eventually the underbody rust caught up with it and unless I sank a couple grand and alot of hours into it replacing rusted out suspension parts and stuff it would'a killed me. Never had the same feeling for a car since, nobody could understand why I was so attached to it, if I had a garage I woulda kept it.

 

My next W was an 01 Intrigue, that car was an Improvment over the Cutlass in every way, the 3.5 is the best motor I've ever driven. To this day I regret trading it on my truck although at the time I was thinking when the time is right I can replace it with another one since they are so common, so I'm keeping my eye's open for another 2nd gen.

[logikf1ve]

Back when I had mine I liked them for the reliability, fuel mileage and they were cheap.

 

I'd love to get a 94-96 B4U GP or a 99ish GTP for winter, though. Driving my trucks around all winter long gets expensive.

[theghoul]

I always wanted one of these verts since they came out. They were way out of my price range, 27 grand in 95. I absolutely love it and get plenty of "They made convertible versions of those?!" when I'm cutlass'ing around town.

[Breakdown]

Back when I had mine I liked them for the reliability, fuel mileage and they were cheap.

 

I'd love to get a 94-96 B4U GP or a 99ish GTP for winter, though. Driving my trucks around all winter long gets expensive.

 

I'm kinda living your dream.

 

 

It's really not that exciting.

 

But if you want to come here, bring money and you can be a part of a fantasy camp.

 

There will even be a 5' tall Kraft Dinner box.

[kevinz]

I hafta say the 3.4 DOHC started my love for these cars. Back when I was younger, me and my dad would always go to these car shows at Star Drive-In off I *think* Route 40 in MA, inbetween New Bedford and Taunton. There was a guy there, he had either a red Beretta he put a 3.4 in or a red Z34. I dunno why, but I always liked the way that engine looked. And his car was nice, too.

 

Fast forward to present times. Me and my buddy always frequent the junkyards in KC, MO, and I always used to say "goddamn throwaway GM cars, when the fuck they gonna get some Camaros and Firebirds for a change?!?!" I actually had a small hatred of these cars then. But every time I saw a 3.4 DOHC, I always stopped and looked; it just looked cool!

 

Then last fall, I was a dummy and lost control of my wife's 04 Impala (3.8 FTMFW!) and totalled it in a rain storm. In the search for a cheap car, we looked at small SUV's and such, but decided that we needed something very cheap and economical.

 

I am in the USAF (get out in 2 months FTW! ) and on base, in the resale lot, there was a maui blue 1993 Lumina Z34. Now, the Z34 being one of the few W Bodies I didn't hate at the time (because you never see them in yards, unlike the rest of em), I got curious one day and stopped to look. I didn't know much about these cars, and saw it had about 14X,000 miles, but had maintenance records going back to when it was new! It also had completely rebuilt heads (to include new springs, seats, seals) and all new top end gaskets, and a new timing belt with all pullies FTEMFW!!! I liked the color, liked the clean grey interior, and also was liking the fact that it still had the Delco/Bose system in it (yes, I like it...wanna fight about it?)

 

So I called the guy, he was a Chief working on-base. We met, I looked over the car, popped the hood and saw what looked like a brand-new, out of the crate 3.4 DOHC. Yes, it was THAT well maintained and clean. Fired her up, sounded great, the Bose-ness worked great (even the tape deck! ) Took it for a drive, fell in love. Took some pics, showed the wife, she was interested it as well. We went back and looked at it together, drove it around base a little, drove great! So we made a deal with the guy; $2800 for the car and both volumes of the factory service manual :willynilly:which turned out to be in as nice a condition as the car!

 

This car has not let me down yet. I took it to Sheppard AFB, TX for school for two weeks, it got me there and back AND to Dallas AND around Dallas AND back to Sheppard flawlessly.

 

I need to clean her up some, she needs a bath and the interior needs a good vaccuming, but in short...I love these cars because they are a great package of economy, fun, and value, all in one package.

 

(And for the record, I no longer hate the W Bodies at the yard; I always look in them to see what crap I can find!)

[mfewtrail]

I like driving something that's unique = TGP. The only ones in my immediate area are the two that I own. I haven't seen another TGP/TSTE in person in 2-3 years now.

[GOT2B GM]

I like driving something that's unique

 

I love these cars because they are a great package of economy, fun, and value, all in one package.

 

 

 

That pretty much sums it up for me.

[CSI_MuNkY]

The reason I was drawn into buying the GTP was because I thought it looked hot, even if the picture in the auto trader looked pink I had to check it out. Then I took it for a test drive and was sold (at the time I was driving a full size van every day... a Gremlin would of been an over all improvement!)

 

After that it became a love hate thing... I still loved the car but at the same time I hated how little aftermarket there was for them.

 

Now, what keeps bringing me back to look at w-body's is the challenge. Anyone can make some sporty car with a huge aftermarket go fast or handle good. I wanna do it to something that has little to no aftermarket.

 

Jamie

[GOT2B GM]

 

 

 

Now, what keeps bringing me back to look at w-body's is the challenge. How many kilometers can I drive my GTP before it blows three 40 amp fuses one right after another.

 

Jamie

[CSI_MuNkY]

that too... its partly the excitement of not knowing where I will be stranded next!

 

Jamie

[GOT2B GM]

hahaha not nearly as exciting now that you carry 2 dozen spare 40 amp fuses

[ManicMechanic]

I sold all my w bodies because my $400 Blazer is infinitely more reliable and more fun than any of the Ws I owned. Even after someone ran the dog piss out of the Blazer for 2 months after I was gracious to loan it to him when his piece of shit W shit the transmission because he ran the dog piss out of it.