History

The following section is an excerpt from Wikipedia's Pontiac 6000 page on 12 September 2017, with one sentence added. Text available via the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

The Pontiac 6000 is a mid-size car that was introduced by Pontiac in 1981 for the 1982 model year, positioned between the smaller Phoenix and larger Bonneville (previously the Le Mans). It shared its platform with the Buick Century, Chevrolet Celebrity, and Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera.

In 1978, GM had introduced downsized RWD midsize cars on the A-body platform (Chevrolet Malibu, Pontiac Le Mans, Oldsmobile Cutlass, and Buick Regal). Then in 1982, a new line of separate FWD midsize cars were introduced, also referred to as A-bodies, but actually based on the compact X-body platform. Since GM had not monetized the tooling costs of the RWD A-body platform, they were forced to continue producing them alongside the newer FWD models. Today's GM R&D engineers plan their products and technologies years in advance. It is likely that GM takes advantage of the U.S. R&D tax credit which can help them save millions of dollars in taxable revenue.

The 6000 was built at the Oshawa Car Assembly plant in Ontario, Canada from 1981 to 1988 and in the Oklahoma City Assembly plant in Oklahoma until production ceased in 1991. They were also made in Tarrytown, New York for a few years. By 1984 the 6000 was Pontiac's best seller, with over 122,000 units sold. Since the demise of the 1000 after the 1987 model year, the 6000 was the last remaining Pontiac to bear the "000" in its name (the 2000 Sunbird was the first Pontiac to drop it in 1985).

In 1982, two trim levels were offered: 6000 and 6000 LE. Both came standard with the new-for-1982 2.5 L (151 cu in) Tech IV four-cylinder with throttle body injection. It made 90 horsepower (67 kW). Optional engines were GM's 2.8 L (173 cu in) V6 with a 2-barrel carburetor which made 112 horsepower (84 kW), or a 4.3 L (263 cu in) Oldsmobile diesel V6 which made 85 horsepower (63 kW). The diesel engine was problematic and unpopular and was discontinued in 1985. The 2.8 was updated for 1985 with multi-port fuel injection, raising output to 135 horsepower (101 kW) exclusively for the STE. The fuel-injected 2.8 made its way into the Base and LE models for 1986, however in these trims it only made 125 hp. The Tech IV was given various updates over the years but was mostly unchanged. For 1984, a station wagon known as the 6000 Safari was introduced to replace the rear-wheel drive Bonneville Safari wagon. In 1987, an S/E model arrived with the STE powertrain but fewer features, and the quad-rectangular headlamps were replaced with the composite headlamps. In 1989, the coupe model was dropped, and the 6000 received a more-rounded roofline with the Buick Century and Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera, and was facelifted for the final time with slightly wider headlamps and a new grille. In 1990, passive front seatbelts were introduced and a 3.1 L (191 cu in) V6 replaced the 2.8. After the STE model was dropped from the 6000 line for 1990, the S/E model gained its all wheel drive option. This was later dropped for the 1991 model year. The 6000 was dropped after 1991, replaced by the Grand Prix sedan. In addition, the Pontiac 6000 wagon was the final GM designed station wagon offering from Pontiac, as it was replaced by the Pontiac Trans Sport in 1990.

The last Pontiac 6000 rolled off the assembly line on July 22, 1991.

Bibliography

	Subject:  1982-1984 Pontiac 6000 LE Coupe Photographer/Source:  "Bull-Doser" on Wikipedia Location:  Montreal, Quebec License:  Public Domain View photo of Pontiac 6000 LE Coupe - 71KB
	Subject:  1982-1984 Pontiac 6000 LE Sedan Photographer/Source:  "Bull-Doser" on Wikipedia Location:  Montreal, Quebec License:  Public Domain View photo of Pontiac 6000 LE Sedan - 71KB
	Subject:  1982-1986 Pontiac 6000 LE Coupe Photographer/Source:  "Bull-Doser" on Wikipedia Location:  Montreal, Quebec License:  Public Domain Date:  26 September 2007 View photo of Pontiac 6000 LE Coupe - 265KB
	Subject:  1982-1988 Pontiac 6000 Photographer/Source:  IFCAR on Wikipedia Location:  United States License:  Public Domain View photo of Pontiac 6000 - 97KB
	Subject:  1982-1988 Pontiac 6000 Photographer/Source:  IFCAR on Wikipedia Location:  United States License:  Public Domain View photo of Pontiac 6000 - 119KB
	Subject:  1985 Pontiac 6000 Source:  1985 Pontiac Catalog View 1985 Pontiac Catalog - Pontiac 6000 - 7.9MB
	Subject:  1985 Pontiac 6000 Source:  1985 Pontiac Catalog View 1985 Pontiac Catalog - Pontiac 6000 - 7.5MB
	Subject:  1985 Pontiac 6000 Source:  1985 Pontiac Catalog View 1985 Pontiac Catalog - Pontiac 6000 - 8.8MB
	Subject:  1985 Pontiac 6000 Source:  1985 Pontiac Catalog View 1985 Pontiac Catalog - Pontiac 6000 - 8.4MB
	Subject:  1985 Pontiac 6000 Source:  1985 Pontiac Catalog View 1985 Pontiac Catalog - 1985 Facts & Figures - 3.7MB
	Subject:  1985 Pontiac 6000 Source:  1985 Pontiac Catalog View 1985 Pontiac Catalog - 1985 Facts & Figures - 5.1MB
	Subject:  1985 Pontiac 6000 STE Photographer:  "IDriveA6K" License:  Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 View photo of Pontiac 6000 STE - 284KB
	Subject:  1985-1988 Pontiac 6000 LE Photographer/Source:  "Bull-Doser" on Wikipedia Location:  Montreal, Quebec License:  Public Domain View photo of Pontiac 6000 LE - 172KB
	Subject:  1986 Pontiac 6000 LE Photographer:  "Taxiguy57" Location:   Lansing, Michigan Date:  16 November 2009 License:  Unsplash View photo of 1986 Pontiac 6000 LE - 521KB
	Subject:  1986-1988 Pontiac 6000 Photographer/Source:  "Bull-Doser" on Wikipedia Location:  Montreal, Quebec License:  Public Domain Date:  10 September 2007 View photo of Pontiac 6000 - 313KB
	Subject:  1987-1988 Pontiac 6000 Photographer/Source:  IFCAR on Wikipedia Location:  Beltsville, Maryland License:  Public Domain Date:  1 May 2009 View photo of Pontiac 6000 - 313KB
	Subject:  1988 Pontiac 6000 Station Wagon Photographer/Source:  "Bull-Doser" on Wikipedia Location:  Montreal, Quebec License:  Public Domain View photo of 1988 Pontiac 6000 Station Wagon - 72KB
	Subject:  1989-1991 Pontiac 6000 LE Photographer/Source:  IFCAR on Wikipedia Location:  United States License:  Public Domain Date:  5 May 2007 View photo of Pontiac 6000 - 133KB
	Subject:  1989-1991 Pontiac 6000 Safari Photographer/Source:  "Bull-Doser" on Wikipedia Event:  Byward Market Auto Classic 2009 License:  Public Domain Date:  29 May 2009 View photo of Pontiac 6000 Safari - 281KB
	Subject:  1989-1991 Pontiac 6000 Safari Photographer/Source:  "Bull-Doser" on Wikipedia Event:  Byward Market Auto Classic 2009 License:  Public Domain Date:  29 May 2009 View photo of Pontiac 6000 Safari - 217KB
	Subject:  Pontiac 6000 S/E Photographer/Source:  IFCAR on Wikipedia Location:  Washington, D.C. License:  Public Domain Date:  12 March 2009 View photo of Pontiac 6000 S/E - 301KB
	Subject:  Pontiac 6000 STE Photographer/Source:  "Bull-Doser" on Wikipedia Event:  Montreal, Quebec License:  Public Domain Date:  9 April 2008 View photo of Pontiac 6000 STE - 371KB
	Subject:  1991 Pontiac 6000 LE Photographer:  "Chuck the Writer" License:  Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported 11KB

1982 Specifications

*=Test conducted by Road & Track, October 1982 issue