1996 Pontiac Grand Am GT review from North America

Engine light periodically comes on, then goes off, at which point I sense a very bad misfire, as though I were running on about three cylinders. No one has been able to diagnose the problem.

Mysterious antifreeze leaks appear, and then disappear. I had the whole front end of the car torn apart trying to figure out where it was coming from. When I put it back together, it stopped leaking.

Joints in the front suspension on both sides have gone bad, resulting in an awful clunking and squeaking noise.

The arms that raise and lower the windows on both sides have gone bad, resulting in the windows going up crooked (I hear this is common).

Window stopped rolling up and down for no reason, and miraculously began working again.

My 1996 Grand am is the biggest piece of junk I have ever owned. I bought it in hopes of having a nice, reliable car for daily driving, through college. Boy, was I wrong. So much crap has gone wrong with this car, I'm tempted to run it into a tree and collect the insurance. Everything about this car reeks of being poorly made, from the cloth inserts on the door panel that are falling off, to the mirror adjustment lever that fell down inside the door for no reason, to the windows that I must guide with my hands to get to go up straight. Several friends of mine who also own them concur with me on these feelings. Thank God I own a Trans am for sunny days, because if I had to drive this piece of junk every day, I'd probably go nuts. I used to preach to people about buying American cars. Well, after owning this, a Cavalier, and a Buick Century, all of which had low mileage, and all of which resulted in some astronomically expensive engine problem, I would give my left arm to have a nice four cylinder, five speed Accord.