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I believe the word comes from German; Bonne (good) ville (town). Pontiac surely picked this name in 1957 to be associated with the Bonneville salt flats, and the high performance the name inferred. Other classis Pontiac names such as GTO, Trans Am, Formula, Grand Prix, Lemans, ect all are race inspired.

Opinion:

I Wish they would bring the classic names back. Pontiac tried this stupid numerical naming routine in the early 1980 with cars like the 6000, j2000, t1000, and it failed miserably. But I guess the new top brass at GM doesn't remember or care about heritage, only wanting to look "euro" to young buyers, so we get things like the G6, G5, G8. Good cars but no "personality"-something that has plauged GM offerings since the Rodger Smith era. Don't get me started about the 2004-2006 GTO, it was a fine car but certainly lacked the style needed to carry the nameplate most reviered by Pontiac diehards.

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13y ago

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