Although almost totally forgettable as a car, this 1996 Pontiac Grand Prix is likely one of the best ones left if you’ve got a crush on this generation of GM’s mass market sedan. The listing says it’s for sale by its original elderly owner and there’s just 34,000 miles on the clock. Although we like the higher spec McLaren or GTP coupes, there can’t be too many sedans this clean left. Find it here on craigslist for $3,750 and go here if the ad disappears.
Thanks to Barn Finds reader Pat L. for the find. One of my favorite design features of this era of the Grand Prix was the smoked taillight lenses with the grid pattern underneath. The rest of the car was fairly uninspiring, despite the fact that numerous special edition models with higher performance credentials were offered. This looks like a base model to me with the cloth interior and those hubcaps, which likely means the 3100 V6 is under the hood, pushing 160 bhp to the front wheels.
The fact that mileage is so low absolutely supports the claim that this was an elderly-owned vehicle. So many of them went on to lead brutal second lives as teenager’s cars or fleet vehicles that were abused beyond basic standards of human decency. And as a somewhat disposable vehicle, the only way it survives like this is in the hands of an owner who didn’t wish to drive hard or aggressively. My grandfather drove a base model Camry for years that remained in pristine condition, driven gently and over-maintained while in his care.
Nothing fancy here. I can’t tell if this model year has dual airbags, but it definitely has the driver’s side. Floor mats and carpets remain in excellent condition and the dash panel shows no signs of cracking. Really, it’s hard to load too many superlatives in here aside from the impressive low mileage (oh, the mirrors are painted to match the body color, so there’s that), but that alone should give it a look from any GM fans who want to daily drive a staple of the mid-90s midsize sedan class.
I was a huge fan of Pontiacs of this era growing up. When they refreshed the Grand Prix in 1994 they received driver and passenger airbags.
Unbelievably low mileage!
These serve the purpose to show how far automobiles have come.
At least it doesn’t have the Mission Control Steering Wheel any longer, and it has almost a full tank of gas. Seriously though, I always liked these Poncho’s. I owned a 03 GP that was fun to drive. It is sad the Pontiac line came to an unfortunate end.
This would make a good cheap, reliable, second or third car for a family.
Pretty much a rebadged Chevy Lumina. Technically an improvement over some previous designs. Personally, I prefer the next generation.
These were good highway cars.
Agreed. My dad and I would borrow my grandfather’s Buick Regal (same generation as this car) with the 3800 V6 to drive between Columbus and Cleveland. That car would cruise effortlessly at 80mph and still return really good mpg, IIRC high 20s/low 30s. Not a great car by any stretch but it could sure gobble up the miles.
My dad bought a brand new ’97 which was the then-new redesigned version in late 1996. I remember a few of this style languishing on the clearance lot. Side by side, despite being 1 model years apart, they looked like they were from a different eras.
I think that though this car appears to be pristine, it’s just another uninspired GM car from an uninspired design era. It would be a very nice second car and come a Minnesota winter, I would still drive it. I don’t see any interest as a collectible car that should be preserved for future generations. The only interest it would generate is if you had a grandparent that owned one.
Meh, I guess these were ok cars, (a GM Taurus) a mere shred of what a Grand Prix was (see ’76 GP coming up). No wonder Pontiac went under with cars like this.
Had a 1992 GP coupe. Great car. Drove from the Left Coast to the midwest and back many, many times. The 3.1 Chevy V6 never let me down in the 7 years I drove it.
Nice car for the price; doesn’t appear to have the remote key fob though, I would have thought most GM’s of mid-size up had it by 1996. I had a 1991 Park Avenue that did, but my 1994 GMC Sonoma (in this color BTW) didn’t have remote key fob or air bag (air bag came in the Sonoma in 1995 instead of with the restyled 1994, which I thought was odd).
How sad when I think of what the GP used to be like.
Hey, my 21 year old son is still driving his 99 Bonneville with over 180,000 miles on it and everything still works. Yes, it was a grandpa’s car, but nice car to drive. And he loves it!
Don’t forget the very rare and very cool 1996 GT sedan. Basically a four door version of the GTP with the added coolness of the front and rear light bars.