1997 Pontiac Grand Am GT review from North America

The oxygen sensor malfunctioned about two weeks after I bought the car. This malfunction triggered the "Check Engine" idiot light. Repair was covered under the new car warranty and was completed within one hour.

Front disc brakes warped twice. Please keep in mind that this happened for the first time about one year after the car sustained almost $6,000 of front end damage. Brakes that warped were not original GM equipment.

Considering that this is a front wheel drive automobile, it handles especially well.

The car is a capable performer despite having only 150 horsepower and 150 pound feet of torque.

Pontiac needs to refine the Grand Ams that come with manual transmissions. I can spin the front wheels through the first three gears without trying to do so. All I need is a barely wet pavement. I believe that this issue has more to do with the nature of front wheel drive automobiles than with anything Pontiac did wrong. However, wheel spin is not as much of an issue in my friend's Saab 9-3.

Despite the abundant use of plastic, I think that the interior's design looks fine. The same can not be said for the red lighting.

The red-colored instrument panel lights have to go, along with the boy racer instrument panel design. The 1999 Pontiac Grand Am automobiles have a redesigned instrument panel, but the redesign is equally unimpressive.

This car is a good bargain. It cost me half of what I paid for my previous car, a Nissan 300ZX, and the Grand Am GT has cost me one a total of $350 in repair costs (front rotors) in almost five years of ownership. By the time my 300ZX had 80,000 miles on it, it had multiple major repairs done (throwout bearing, alternator twice, fifth gear, rear shocks three times, both lower control arms, multitude of electrical problems, etc.)