2004 Pontiac Grand Prix Walkaround

Back in 2005 I briefly considered buying a Pontiac Grand Prix, but thought it was too similar to the Oldsmobile Intrigue I was driving.  So I bought a Chrysler 300 instead.

Still, the 2004-generation Grand Prix was attractive, as I noted in my post "The Rise and Long Decline of Pontiac's Grand Prix."

In particular, I liked its front end sculpting.   I wrote "Subtle Sculpting on the 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix," and followed up that post with "More on 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix Hood Sculpting" here.

That latter post featured a car with an orange-gold matte finish that I assumed was a post-production custom paint job.  I was wrong.  It seems that it was Sunburst Orange Metallic paint provided by the factory.   The featured car below has that paint scheme.

The photo at the top of this post is of a car listed for sale.  Images below are via BaT Auctions.

Gallery

Note how the hood sculpting blends into the two-segment grille.  Headlight assemblies' upper curves (plus some sculpting on their indentations) echo the theme.  But the fog (?)  lights at the lower corners are totally different.  That works aesthetically because they are remote from the sculpting just noted.   Very nice designing.

Front quarter view: also very nice.

Side character sculpting is aligned with the bumper zone cut line: professional.  Also good is that those folds are distant from the front end, so not interference.

Front fender ends at the A-pillar, while the rear fender emerges slightly forward of the B-pillar: subtle.

Rear bumper cut line does not align with anything on the car's side -- a minor defect, but structurally probably necessary.

Sculpted metal extensions of the tail light sculpting is interesting, but add a touch of clutter.

This is probably the least-attractive view of the design.

Lower body is wedge-like.  This is counteracted by the long downward curve of the roofline towards the rear.

The round fog light and its nesting seen from another perspective.

All told, one of General Motors' best designs of the 2000-2010 period.

Dashboard/instrument panel is fussy.