G6

This weekend I drove a Pontiac G6. Probably the best thing about the car is its super sweet name. "G6" - that just sounds cool.

The G6 is supposed to be a sports sedan or something like that. I guess it is made for people who have to get bigger cars for practical reasons, but wish they didn't. To me, creating something in between a sedan and a sports car means that you have a sports car that is too big and clunky (although it did have nice pick-up, esp. for a rental car) and you have a sedan with a terribly stiff ride.

In the tradition of Pontiac, there was nothing special about the interior. It did feel relatively open & the lay-out of the controls was fairly convenient and easy to reach etc. I've always wondered why so many cars have the button for rear defrost in completely nonsensical places, and apparently the engineers behind the G6 wondered the same thing - the button for the rear defrost is right by the other buttons & knobs for the rest of the climate control. Of course, this is probably not a good reason to buy the car.

The drivers seat was fairly comfortable, a conclusion based on about 10 hours of driving in 2 days - but the passenger seat was not. The drivers seat had adjustable height; the passenger seat did not. The drivers seat had adjustable lumbar support; the passenger seat had none.

I like driving, and I like driving all sorts of cars - from my 81 Volvo 242 (which is on its retirement tour) to minivans, Chrysler 300s, and trucks - whatever. I did not particularly enjoy driving the G6, and it did not seem to be especially practical.

>> After drafting the preceding text, I went on Washington Post. com to see if Warren Brown has ever reviewed this car. He has. This is what he said (back in 2004 about the 2005 model - the car I drove had 4k miles, so it is probably an 06):

"Pontiac should drop the base G6-6 Cylinder. It is the kind of automobile car-rental companies buy because it's the cheapest model in the lineup. The rental companies then advertise that they have the "all-new Pontiac G6!" Excited customers take that bait only to find out that they're renting a base, marginally enjoyable car."

Go figure. The rest of the review is available here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2004/10/10/AR2005032405082.html


on the iPod:
nothing - Radio Paradise today:
8:56 am - Chuck Berry - Nadine
8:53 am - A Band of Bees - A Minha Menina
8:50 am - Tom Waits - Clap Hands
8:45 am - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Supernaturally
8:38 am - Guster - Ruby Falls

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8:33 am - Neko Case - Star Witness
8:28 am - Paul Simon - Slip Slidin' Away
8:24 am - Chris Smither - Link of Chain
8:21 am - Ellen McIlwaine - Up From the Skies
8:17 am - Jimi Hendrix - Rainy Day, Dream Away