Pontiac 6000

The Pontiac 6000 is a Mid-size automobile manufactured and marketed by Pontiac for model years 1982-1991 in 2-door coupe, 4-door sedan and 5-door wagon body styles — as one of four rebadged variants, including the Buick Century, Chevrolet Celebrity, and Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera.

Pontiac 6000
1987-1988 Pontiac 6000 LE
Overview
ManufacturerPontiac (General Motors)
Production1981–1991
Model years1982–1991
AssemblyOklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States
Lakewood Heights, Georgia, United States
Tarrytown, New York, United States
Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
Body and chassis
ClassMid-size
Body style2-door coupe
4-door sedan
4-door station wagon
LayoutTransverse front-engine, front-wheel drive / all-wheel drive
PlatformA-body
RelatedBuick Century (fifth generation)
Chevrolet Celebrity
Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera
Powertrain
Engine
Transmission3-speed 3T40 automatic
4-speed 4T60 automatic
5-speed Getrag manual
Dimensions
Wheelbase104.5 in (2,654 mm) (1982–1988)
104.9 in (2,664 mm) (1989–1991)
Length188.9 in (4,798 mm)
193.2 in (4,907 mm) (wagon)
Width72 in (1,829 mm)
Height53.7 in (1,364 mm)
54.1 in (1,374 mm) (wagon)
Chronology
PredecessorPontiac LeMans
SuccessorPontiac Grand Prix

The 6000 was manufactured at Oshawa Car Assembly in Ontario, Canada from 1981 to 1988,[1] at Oklahoma City Assembly until production ended, and briefly at North Tarrytown Assembly.

For model year 1984, the 6000 led Pontiac's sales, with a production over 122,000 and was the last Pontiac to carry a numeric designation. The 6000 was offered in a sporty variant, marketed as the 6000 STE, which was named to the Car and Driver Ten Best three times, from 1983 to 1985.

Year to Year Changes
1982-1984 Pontiac 6000 Coupé
  • 1982: Two trim levels were offered: 6000 and 6000 LE. Both came standard with the new-for-1982 2.5 L (151 cu in) Tech IV four-cylinder with throttle body injection. It made 90 hp (67 kW). Optional engines were GM's 2.8 L (173 cu in) V6 with a 2-barrel carburetor which made 112 hp (84 kW), or a 4.3 L (263 cu in) Oldsmobile diesel V6 which made 85 hp (63 kW).
  • 1984: A station wagon known as the 6000 Safari was introduced to replace the rear-wheel drive Bonneville Safari wagon.
  • 1985: A facelift meant a new fascia with a body-colored center section housing the Pontiac logo. The 2.8 in the STE model was updated with multi-port fuel injection, raising output to 135 hp (101 kW). The Tech IV was given various updates over the years but was mostly unchanged. The 4.3-liter diesel V6 was unpopular in light of General Motors diesel engine problems and was discontinued after 1985.
  • 1986: The fuel-injected 2.8 made its way into the Base and LE models for the 1986 model year, however in these trims it only made 125 hp (93 kW). An S/E model arrived with the STE powertrain but fewer features; it was also available as a station wagon.[2]
  • 1987: The quad-rectangular headlamps were replaced with the composite headlamps.[3]
  • 1988: The coupe model was dropped; the rest of the line received equipment changes such as new "contour seats" for the LE.[4]
  • 1988: In Canada, an Olympic edition was offered on S/E models as a tie-in to the Calgary Winter Olympics. Offered only in monochrome white, with all blackout trim exterior painted white to match the body. The only interior colour trim was saddle, with an Olympic logo mounted on the B pillar.
  • 1989: The 6000 received a more-rounded roofline, along with the Buick Century and Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera, and was facelifted for the final time with slightly wider headlamps and a new grille.
  • 1990: Passive front seatbelts were introduced and the 3.1 L (191 cu in) V6 originally only seen in the STE replaced the 2.8 across the board. After the STE model was dropped from the 6000 line for 1990, the S/E model gained its all wheel drive option. This was later dropped for the 1991 model year.
  • 1991: The 6000 is dropped, being replaced by the Grand Prix sedan. In addition, the Pontiac 6000 wagon was the final GM designed station wagon offering from Pontiac, as it was replaced by the Pontiac Trans Sport in 1990. The last Pontiac 6000 was assembled on July 22, 1991.

STE version
1985 Pontiac 6000 STE

By 1984, Pontiac was in the midst of a resurgence as the division began to reassert its 1960s role as GM's performance brand. The 6000STE (Special Touring Edition) was introduced for the 1983 model year. 5-passenger seating with front captain seats and power windows were standard on this trim level (optional on some other trim levels). It featured a High-Output version of the 6000's optional 2.8 L V6. Like that engine, it sported a 2-barrel carburetor, though it delivered 135 hp (101 kW), rather than the usual 112 horsepower. Although intended to compete with similar entries from BMW and Audi, the 6000 used older technologies by comparison. The fuel system was carbureted (competitors had fuel injection) and gauge cluster lacked a tachometer. The 1984 6000STE featured a digital gauge cluster featuring a bar-graph tachometer. The STE featured a driver information center with a system which monitored functions such as lights, doors, tune-ups and tire rotations. For 1984, Road & Track called the 6000 STE one of the top twelve enthusiast cars.

Special steering rack, and suspension tuning with a self-leveling rear air suspension yielded handling performance comparable to European vehicles. Four wheel disc brakes improved stopping as did standard Goodyear Eagle GT tires, size 195/70R14 (large for the time).

In 1985, the carbureted engine was replaced by a multi-port fuel injected version of the 2.8 L V6, still delivering 135 hp (101 kW). Although the 3-speed automatic remained standard (a Getrag 5-speed manual was a no charge option), the new engine accelerated faster than the previous engine.

For 1986, a revised front fascia with composite headlamps, anti-lock brakes, a revised tachometer, steering wheel mounted audio controls (the first of their kind) and a new 4-speed automatic transmission became available. Following this was a two-position memory seat for the 8-way power drivers seat for 1987. New for 1988 was an optional All Wheel Drive system. It was mated to a new 3.1 L LH0 V6 (the first use of GM's then-new 3.1 L in a production car) but only a 3-speed automatic transmission, which did not help acceleration or fuel economy. The all-wheel-drive system became standard for 1989, but was moved to the SE model for 1990, since the STE model name was discontinued from the 6000 line and moved to the new four-door Grand Prix lineup that year. The STE trim level was later discontinued from the Grand Prix after 1993.

1986 Pontiac 6000 sedan
1987 Pontiac 6000 coupé, the last year for this bodystyle
1989–1991 Pontiac 6000 LE sedan
1989–1991 Pontiac 6000 Safari
1987-1988 Pontiac 6000 LE (rear view)

Engines
YearsEnginePowerNotes
1982–19912.5 L (151 cu in) LR8 TBI "Tech IV" I490 hp (67 kW)
1982–19862.8 L (173 cu in) LE2 2-barrel V6112 hp (84 kW)
1982–19854.3 L (263 cu in) LT7 diesel V685 hp (63 kW)
1983–19842.8 L (173 cu in) LH7 2-barrel V6135 hp (101 kW)STE
1985–19862.8 L (173 cu in) L44 MFI V6140 hp (104 kW)STE
1987–19892.8 L (173 cu in) LB6 MFI V6130 hp (97 kW)
1988–19893.1 L (191 cu in) LH0 MFI V6135 hp (101 kW)STE AWD
1990–19913.1 L (191 cu in) LH0 MFI V6135 hp (101 kW)

Transmissions
  • 1984–1986 Muncie 4-speed manual w/overdrive (only available on 2.5 L 4-cyl & 4.3 L diesel)
  • 1984–1988 Muncie/Getrag 5T40/HM282 5-speed manual w/overdrive (only on 2.8 L V6)
  • 1982–1991 Turbo Hydramatic 125C/3T40 3-speed automatic (Standard on all engines)
  • 1985–1991 Turbo Hydramatic 440-T4/4T60 4-speed automatic with overdrive (optional only on V6 engines)

References
  1. "End of the line. The last Pontiac 6000 made by General Motors of..." Getty Images.
  2. Gunnell, John; Kowalke, Ron (2012). Standard Catalog of Pontiac, 1926-2002 (2nd ed.). Iola, WI: Krause Publications. p. 189. ISBN 978-1-4402-3234-3.
  3. Gunnell and Kowalke, p. 192
  4. Gunnell and Kowalke, p. 200
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