The Pontiac Phoenix was a

compact car Compact car is a vehicle size class—predominantly used in North America—that sits between subcompact cars and mid-size cars. "Small family car" is a British term and a part of the C-segment in the European car classification. However, before ...

that was sold from 1977 to 1984 by Pontiac. There were two generations of the Phoenix, both based on popular

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...

models, and both using the GM X platform designation. It was named for the mythological Phoenix, which would die in a self-inflicted fire and be reborn from the ashes. The Phoenix was replaced by the Grand Am in 1985. __TOC__

First generation (1977–1979)

The

rear-wheel drive Rear-wheel drive (RWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, in which the engine drives the rear wheels only. Until the late 20th century, rear-wheel drive was the most common configuration for cars. Most rear-whee ...

Phoenix was introduced for 1977Encyclopedia of American Cars (2006) as an upscale version of the Pontiac Ventura, and replaced the Ventura entirely for 1978. The Phoenix differed from the Ventura in only minor details such as the grille and its square headlights and yellow rear turn signals. The Phoenix was available as a 2-door

coupe A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and typically with two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the Fr ...

or a 4-door sedan, with a 3-door

hatchback A hatchback is a car body style, car body configuration with a rear door that swings upward to provide access to the main interior of the car as a cargo area rather than just to a separated trunk. Hatchbacks may feature fold-down second-row sea ...

available beginning in 1978. There were two trim levels available, the base and LJ, with a performance-oriented SJ package as an option. Available engines included Pontiac's then-new '' Iron Duke'' I4, a

Buick Buick () is a division (business), division of the Automotive industry in the United States, American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American automobil ...

V6, a Chevrolet ''LG3'' V8, and a Chevrolet V8. Transmission choices included a 3-speed manual (available with either column or floor shift), 4-speed manual, or a 3-speed

Turbo-Hydramatic Turbo-Hydramatic or Turbo Hydra-Matic is the registered tradename for a family of automatic transmissions developed and produced by General Motors. These transmissions mate a three-element turbine torque converter to a Simpson planetary geartr ...

automatic.

Second generation (1980–1984)

For 1980, the Phoenix was downsized and moved to the

front-wheel drive Front-wheel drive (FWD) is a form of internal combustion engine, engine and transmission (mechanics), transmission layout used in motor vehicles, in which the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel-drive vehicles feature ...

X platform, and was available as a 2-door

or a 5-door

. It was the first front-wheel drive production model from Pontiac. The base and LJ models were still available for this generation, as was the SJ trim package; the SJ package was made as a full trim level for 1982. There was a minor exterior refresh and a new PJ model for 1983, followed by a name change for the LJ and SJ to LE and SE, respectively, for the 1984 model year. Available engines were a 2.5 L '' Iron Duke''

4-cylinder The engine configuration describes the fundamental operating principles by which internal combustion engines are categorized. Piston engines are often categorized by their cylinder layout, valves and camshafts. Wankel engine, Wankel engines are o ...

, carried over from the previous Phoenix, and a new 2.8 L '' LE2'' V6, both of which were mated to a standard 4-speed manual transmission or optional 3-speed automatic. The high-output 2.8 L '' LH7'' V6 was standard on the Phoenix SJ/SE for 1982 and was available as an option for all other Phoenix models. As with its sister cars (the Chevrolet Citation,

Buick Skylark The Buick Skylark is a passenger car formerly produced by Buick. The model was made in six production runs, during 46 years, over which the car's design varied dramatically due to changing technology, tastes, and new standards implemented over t ...

and Oldsmobile Omega), the Phoenix's image suffered because of poor workmanship, two recalls for 1981,1981 Pontiac Phoenix Recalls, http://www.carcomplaints.com/Pontiac/Phoenix/1981/recalls/ (retrieved 22 July 2015) and a dangerous tendency for the car to lock the rear wheels upon emergency braking (1980 models only). The Phoenix was replaced for 1985 by a revived Grand Am on the front-wheel drive GM N-body platform, while the Phoenix's basic architecture lived on under the A-body

Pontiac 6000 The Pontiac 6000 is a mid-size automobile manufactured and marketed by Pontiac from the 1982 to 1991 model years. As Pontiac transitioned to a numeric model nomenclature in the early 1980s, the 6000 replaced the LeMans as the mid-size Pontiac, s ...

, which was introduced in 1982.

References

External links

{{Authority control Coupés Front-wheel-drive vehicles Hatchbacks Phoenix Rear-wheel-drive vehicles Sedans 1980s cars Cars introduced in 1976 Motor vehicles manufactured in the United States Cars discontinued in 1984