Junkyard Find: 2007 Pontiac G5 GT Coupe
While General Motors may have developed an alarming rod knock during the middle 2000s, culminating in Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2009, The General’s Pontiac Division was shooting rods through the hood by 2007 or so. Oh, sure, the Solstice gave us all hope for the marque that gave us so many great machines over the decades, but few felt optimistic about Pontiac by the time the G5 hit showrooms for the 2007 model year. Here’s one of those first-year G5s, a Performance Red GT Coupe found in a Denver-area yard over the weekend.
The G5 was a badge-engineered version of the Chevrolet Cobalt ( yes, that Cobalt), available only for the 2007 through 2009 model years and only as a coupe.
This one is the GT version, the higher-priced of the two trim levels available for the G5.
With the GT package, you got the 2.4-liter Ecotec engine, rated at 173 horsepower, rather than the 148-horse 2.2 in the base G5. The GT also got a better audio system, nicer wheels, ABS, one year of OnStar, and some other goodies. The GT’s MSRP started at $18,375 (about $24,240 today), while the base G5 cost $14,725 (about $19,425 in 2021 bones, or clams).
A five-speed manual came as standard equipment, but nearly all Cobalt/G5 buyers decided to spend extra for the four-speed automatic. How much more did it cost to convert this fun-to-drive car into a boring commuter? 850 bones, which comes to about 1,120 clams today. At least air conditioning came at no extra cost on all G5s.
As is typical for most used-up cars found in Denver-area car graveyards, this G5 boasts plenty of stickers from cannabis dispensaries.
Depreciation hit late Pontiacs hard, so this car appears to have spent its final years in Hooptie Mode.
In the end, the very last US-market Pontiacs were 2010 G6s and Vibes, and I’ve managed to document those cars in junkyards; I’ve shot discarded examples of the Solstice and G3 as well. To complete the Final Days of Pontiac set, I’ll need to add examples of the 2009 G8, Torrent, and Montana as well.
Yo! Yo! Turn it up! Take yo seat!
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Murilee Martin is the pen name of Phil Greden, a writer who has lived in Minnesota, California, Georgia and (now) Colorado. He has toiled at copywriting, technical writing, junkmail writing, fiction writing and now automotive writing. He has owned many terrible vehicles and some good ones. He spends a great deal of time in self-service junkyards. These days, he writes for publications including Autoweek, Hagerty and The Truth About Cars.
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I know this is a little off topic but everything Pontiac during that era looked the same. I remember considering G6 convertible. The hardtop design was interesting. I Did not like the fact the top of the windshield landed behind my head. You really did not feel like you were in a convertible unless you sat in the back seat. Bought a 2008 Mustang GT instead.
Unfortunately it was a Junkyard find when it was still in the showroom in 2007.