Maybe the problem is a simple lack of imagination, but sometimes automakers hurt themselves by using old names for new products.
Consider the 1992 Pontiac Bonneville.The Bonneville has been redesigned and is drastically improved, offering consumers a large car with a user-friendly interior and impressive handling.
It is available in three models: the SE, fancier SSE and supercharged SSEi. Pontiac lent us the least expensive model, the SE, for a weeklong test. It had a base price of $18,599, which includes enough standard equipment to constitute a nicely equipped car without any options.
Options on the test car, however, included a special sport appearance package, the sport suspension and anti-lock brakes, a more sophisticated stereo and a special luxury package that brought the total to $22,506.
The front-wheel-drive Bonneville has an overall length of 201 inches, which makes it only about 4 inches shorter than a Lincoln Continental. The interior sports various devices and designs to make life easier for its users, and it may be one of the most livable passenger cars around. It begins with enough room for four large adults in comfortable seats.
Air bags are standard for the driver on the SE model. The instrumentation is complete and easily seen. Pontiac did a particularly nice job with the heating and air conditioning controls: The large, rotary dials are wonderfully simple and easy to use.
There are also lots of places for storing the small items of everyday motoring, including a fold-down ceiling compartment for sunglasses and a larger bin for small objects.
All was not perfect, however. A moderate amount of wind noise could be heard from near the top of the doors. The glovebox latch was so balky that at first I thought it might be locked, and there were occasional rattles from the head liner. Few cars have such assembly problems today, and they were surprising to find in the new Bonneville.
Despite the size, large-car fans will be pleasantly surprised by the maneuverability and handling of the Bonneville with the optional F41 sport suspension. It may be big, but it is not clumsy.
The ride is on the firm side, although it never ventures into the uncomfortable range, even on a rough surface. It does, however, tend to thunk noisily and with little forgiveness over larger tar strips. Sometimes on an uneven surface, the tail will give a tiny waggle that indicates the F41 is not a state-of-the-art piece of engineering.
But that is nitpicking, and the Bonneville generally feels wonderfully stable and predictable. The rack-and-pinion steering felt somewhat lifeless on center, when the car is pointed straight ahead. But the steering is not sloppy, and the Bonneville can be placed with precision.
With a big 3.8-liter V-6 stuffed in its nose, the Bonneville has 63 percent of its weight in the front. Consequently, it hardly feels light on its feet, and there is a moderate hesitation before that mass can be turned.
Nevertheless, while the Bonneville's forte is high-speed interstate cruising, it will handle a twisty country road with a minimum of body lean and an overall competence that will surprise and please almost any driver.
When it comes to halting the Bonneville, there are bigger brakes for 1992, and anti-lock brakes are available.
The engine is GM's "3800" V-6 rated at 170 horsepower at 4,800 revolutions per minute (rpm) and 220 foot-pounds of torque at 3,200 rpm - slight improvements over last year. In addition, GM engineers said they reworked the V-6 to reduce noise and vibration. One of the 3.8-liter's strengths is its quick, smooth response at low engine speeds combined with a series of remarkably smooth upshifts due to the computer-controlled four-speed automatic.
It is too soon for any reliability information on the new Bonneville. Pontiac was rated below the auto industry average for customer satisfaction on a recent J.D. Power and Associates survey for 1990 models. The industry average was 127, while Pontiac scored 111 points.
A Pontiac spokesman said progress has been made since those 1990 models were sold.