1978 Pontiac LeMans Grand 2-door review from North America
"A sweet and powerful ride"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
Nothing went wrong on this car, except I replaced the thermostat for driving at higher elevations.
General comments?
This was my second car, bought it from a guy I worked for in high school after my 1972 Chevy Impala needed a new transmission.
Without exaggeration, this was the best car I ever had. Outside of routine service (oil changes, tune-ups, alignments), this car had no major problems, and we put about 150,000 miles on it. I'm confident it could have gone easily over 200,000 miles, but my sister got in an accident with the car, and junked it.
Biggest plus for this car: cheap, reliable runner. Most expensive replacement for it were new tires. It also got about 25 MPG, so it was reasonably fuel efficient for a V8.
This car had the smoothest ride in the world, handled well in all conditions, and great acceleration. Out on the highway, you'd just barely be on the accelerator and the car would be doing 85. The engine was definitely a strong runner.
The interior was plush and had full instrumentation. Stereo (AM-FM 8 track) really cranked and the seats were incredibly comfortable.
The Grand LeMans looks a bit funny and dated today (people don't like the two-tone factory paint scheme), but it was a great car in its day. I've never driven a car that was as reliable.
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| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | Yes |
| First year of ownership | 1980 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 1988 |
| Engine and transmission | 302 V-8 Automatic |
| Performance marks | 10/10 |
| Reliability marks | 10/10 |
| Comfort marks | 10/10 |
| Dealer Service marks | |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 9/10 |
| Distance when acquired | 36500 miles |
| Most recent distance | 183000 miles |
| Previous car | Chevrolet Impala |
| Date of Entry | 15th January, 2002 |

