Lankford Buick Pontiac GMC Blog

Pontiac is one of the brands in the General Motors Family. Pontiac holds many of GM’s performance vehicles, including SUVs and sporty cars.

The Pontiac brand began in Pontiac, Michigan, in 1907. It started out as the “Oakland Car Company of Pontiac, Michigan.” It was founded by a man named Edward Murphy. In 1909, General Motors acquired Oakland. By 1926, Oakland produced its first Pontiac vehicle. The car was known as the “Chief of the Sixes,” named so for its six cylinder engine, and it debuted at the 1926 auto show. The car was so successful in terms of sales that the “Oakland” was dropped from the name, and from then on it was just Pontiac.

During the 1930s and 40s, you could find a variety of Pontiac cars, from wagons to coupes to sedans, in the low to mid price range. One of the more interesting things about the period was the “Silver Streak.” This was a set of chrome lines that ran from the length of the hood up to the base of the windshield.

In the 1950s, the Pontiac Bonneville appeared. This car was a hit, to be sure. In 1964, however, Pontiac made a huge impact with the release of the GTO option for its “Tempest” line. This included V8 engine, and was truly the first “muscle car.” Also during the 1960s, Pontiac released the Firebird as well as the Trans Am.

In the 1970s, Pontiac began to make smaller cars. Pontiac released the Fiero, a two-seater sports car, as well as the compact Ventura and the Phoenix. In the 1990s, Pontiac released new vehicles like the Montana minivan, as well as the Sunfire.

Pontiac continues this trend in the 21st Century with the introduction of the Pontiac Solstice and the Pontiac G8.

The Pontiac brand fits right in with the Buick brand in the dealership environment. On the one hand, you have Pontiac, which provides a sporty choice. The Buick brand provides the nearly luxury experience, and the two complement one another nicely.

Today, we still have plenty of GMC and Pontiac vehicles, as well as Buicks, right here at your Lankford Media area Pontiac dealer. Why not come on down and see what Pontiac has to offer you today?

GMC Trucks are well known for their quality, reliability, customizability, and style. In particular, the 2008 GMC Sierra is one of the most versatile trucks you can get.

The 2008 GMC Sierra comes in a variety of bed lengths, several cab styles, two different styles for the dashboard, and even eight different engine options. Here are some of the most common configurations for the 2008 GMC Sierra:

The Basic Work Truck

One thing that stands out about the 2008 Sierra is the level of comfort you’ll find even in the basic model. This trim level includes air conditioning, daytime running lights, chrome bumpers, vinyl seats, and a tire pressur monitoring system. It’s available in standard or extended cab, and the bed can be 6 foot, 6 inches, or it can be 8 foot.

The Sierra SLE

A step up from the basic work truck is the SLE. This trim level adds a number of features to the basic truck. It offers fog lamps, cruise control, rear-window defrost, fog lamps, power locks, windows and mirrors, a CD player and cloth seats. The SLE2 trim level adds dual zone air conditioning, audio controls for your steering wheel, premium cloth seats, power seats, and even machined aluminum wheels.

The All-Terrain model

If want to have towing capacity and payload power, along with off-road capabilities, you might look at the All-Terrain model of the GMC Sierra. This trim level has the Z71 off road package, 18-inch wheels, the heavy duty trailer package and rancho stocks.

The Denali

At the top of the line, you’ll find the GMC Sierra Denali. This classy truck has the same sort of refinements and features as the Yukon Denali SUV. You’ll dual zone climate control, leather interior, and find heated seats,. You can add a heated steering wheel, rear-seat entertainment and a sunroof to the Denali as options, as well.

No matter what you’re looking for from a pickup, you can find it at your local PA GMC Truck dealer in the form of the 2008 GMC Sierra.

Buick’s Compact Utility Vehicle, the 2008 Buick Enclave, has a much bigger presence on the road than you might think. The Enclave has a massive chrome grill that can even be a little bit intimidating to other drivers. The Enclave commands attention, from the distinctive sheetmetal to the chrome trim.

Few vehicles of this size have the kind of positive feedback that the 2008 Buick Enclave CXL has. The cabin is roomy, and the driver’s seat has so much space it might take some getting used to. The seats themselves are both supportive and comfortable. The low ride height of the Buick Enclave makes it one of the easiest CUVs to get into.

The gauges on the dashboard are easily readable, and has a modern blue hue to it. The layout of the heating, air conditioning, and stereo controls are all easy to use and easy to read.

The Enclave’s two passenger rows are one of the most interesting components of the vehicle. The middle seats are captain’s chairs, and the back bench can seat three. Overall, the Enclave can seat 7 adults, although 6 is probably a more ideal number.

Driving down the road, the Enclave doesn’t feel too big at all. The steering has a nice feel to it, and acceleration is steady. It may not have quite as much pep as some other CUVs, but it more than makes up for it in the amazing fuel economy. In road tests of mixed driving, the 2008 Buick Enclave got more than 21.5 miles per gallon.

The 2008 Enclave features a 275 horsepower, 3.6 liter V6 engine. It also has a 6-speed automatic transmission, which helps with the smooth ride.

There are plenty of options for the Buick Enclave, as well. For example, you can add the tow package to this vehicle, and it is rated at 4,500 lbs for towing.

If you’re in the market for a compact sport utility vehicle, look no further than the 2008 Buick Enclave. Your local Springfield area Buick dealer can show you just how great a vehicle this actually is.

The 2008 Buick Enclave is a nice looking vehicle. It has a beautifully styled exterior, and plenty of interior room. By all appearances, the 2008 Enclave is an excellent vehicle. The question, then, is this: does the driving experience match the look?

The answer is an unequivocal “yes.” Handling of the 2008 Buick Enclave is confident and intuitive, even at high speeds. When driving the vehicle casually, it feels like it should: as a natural extension of the driver’s own body. It makes fluid transitions, and motions of the body are controlled well. Its amazing, actually, that a vehicle that comes in at more than two tons handles as well as the 2008 Buick Enclave.

One thing, though, that I noticed about the Enclave over other cars in its class was this: it is quieter. The engine, the road, and the wind all don’t seem to make as much noise in the 2008 Enclave as in some other vehicles. Even when you’re going 70 miles per hour on the highway, the interior is quiet.

If you’re in the market for a smooth, quiet ride, look to the 2008 Buick Enclave.

Even though this year’s Buick Open is behind us and the next is nearly a year away, the golfers are still remembering the highs and lows of this year’s tournament — more than one golfer is driving around in a new Buick car. This tournament is something all Buick owners have on their radar, but it wasn’t always that way. Here’s a quick history of everybody’s favorite golf tournament.

- When the tournament started in 1958, Buick was the first corporate sponsor for the PGA tour. The first Buick Open was won by Billy Casper, and he took home $9,000, the highest purse on the tour at that time.

- By 1965, the tournament purse had reached $100,000 — still not an insignificant amount of money — and that was the same year Tony Lema won his second Buick Open in a row. This is the only time in the tournament’s history that someone has won back to back years.

- In 1979, the Buick Open was won by its first PGA rookie, John Fought. Five years later, new Buick cars become the official cars of the PGA tour.

- In 1989, the purse for the Buick Open breaks $1 million. Ten years after that, Tiger Woods wins the tournament for the first time and signs a sponsorship deal with Buick. Tiger gets himself a new Buick car.

- In 2003, the purse for the Buick Open goes up to over $4 million. It’s come a long way from the $9,000 in 1958!

- This year, the total amount given to charities by the Buick Open breaks the $9 million dollar mark. Interestingly, the total amount given to charities by Buick through sponsored events broke $32 million in 2005. That’s a lot of new Buick cars!

To check out your new Buick, stop by your King of Prussia area Buick dealer today.

In the past, automakers used to assign special designations to their models to indicate special performance features, such as “trail rated” to indicate off road performance. With the ever-increasing cost of gasoline, Pontiac has added a new designation: XFE.

Following European trends, where gas prices have been extremely high for quite some time, fuel efficiency is becoming increasing important to North Americans and is becoming synonymous with social responsibility. Hence the newly designed Pontiac G5 XFE, with greater fuel efficiency and lower environmental impact.

Quickly reacting to this new trend, Pontiac engineers went back to the drawing board to find minor tweaks that could improve fuel efficiency. Among the changes made were a recalibration of the G5’s engine, a change to the drive ratio, and switching over to low rolling-resistance tires. The overall effect was to increase the Pontiac G5 XFE’s fuel efficiency to 25 mpg in the city and 37 mpg on the highway. This represents a 9% increase over the non-XFE model.

The tradeoff is that acceleration and handling may not be quite as good as previous models, but Pontiac is certain that their customers will be willing to make that tradeoff. No other automaker other than GM and their Pontiac division have talked about doing this in North America, although it is common practice in Europe. Says Stephanie Brinley, an employee of consultants Auto Pacific: “People were aware of the environment, but they didn’t change their buying behavior until fuel prices went up. Now they can buy a fuel-efficient model and say ‘I’m helping the environment,’ when they’re really motivated by the savings.”

Some observers point out that there may be a short shelf life for sub-brands such as the Pontiac G5 XFE. They claim that as more models are released with higher fuel efficiency numbers these numbers will be taken for granted by consumers. While vehicles with low fuel efficiency may be going the way of the dodo, Pontiac is certainly doing the right thing by drawing attention to their new brand.

To check out the all new Pontiac G5 XFE, stop by your Conshohocken area Pontiac dealer today.

As North American drivers continue to watch the price of fuel increase, more and more of them are choosing cars over trucks. This has led to General Motors cutting production of their truck models, SUV’s, and vans by 170,000.

A large drop in sales in of their light truck models and SUV’s have triggered this move by GM. They are hoping to make up for this lack by boosting production of their fuel-efficient cars and smaller, lighter SUV models such as the GMC Acadia by 47,000 units. The company will be idling 7 different plants in North America and Mexico for up to as many as 12 weeks to accommodate this cut in production.

While this may come as a disappointment to truck enthusiasts, there is a silver lining to this cloud. To try and stop the slump in truck sales GMC has been offering interest free loans to purchase trucks and have offered loan periods as long as 6 years while they try to sell the inventory they have left. What this means to those who either need to drive a truck or prefer to drive a truck is that there has never been a better time to buy a GMC truck.

In some instances, casual drivers have made the decision to sell their own trucks as they make the move towards smaller, more fuel-efficient cars. This has created a buyer’s market, meaning that there has never been a better time to buy a used GMC truck either. Prices on used trucks and SUVs have dropped 15 to 30% over the last year, with models having a blue book value of $17,000 actually selling for around $11,500.

Bet of all, they are the same GMC trucks you have become accustomed to. Even though they may have dropped somewhat in value, they were still made to the same exacting standards of value, safety, and performance that have been a hallmark of GMC. This is the time to purchase the truck you’ve always wanted at new, lower prices.

For great deals on GMC trucks, stop by your PA GMC dealers today.

The 2008 Buick Enclave replaces the Buick Rendezvous, and is a wonderful improvement over that vehicle. Set to compete with the Mercedes R-Class, Audi Q7 and Lexus RX 350, the Enclave’s unique interior and sheetmetal position it as a potential market leader.

The Buick Enclave is built on GM’s Lambda platform and features third row seats, a 3.6 liter 275 horsepower VG engine and a six-speed automatic transmission. Unlike the other GM vehicles build on the Lambda platform, however, the Enclave features a number of luxury options as standard equipment. For example, it comes with a six-way power driver’s seat, power liftgate, a rear backup camera, HID headlamps, MP3, CD and XM stereo system and patterned cloth seats.

One of the first things you’ll notice when you drive the Buick Enclave is its quiet ride. It features front-door side glass, triple door seals, an acoustic laminated windshield, dampening material on the underbody and even engine mounts. You can talk to anyone in the vehicle without having to raise your voice, which is especially useful in a vehicle that seats six or seven people.

The ride in the Enclave is comfortable and isolated, and steering precision is decent, requiring few steering corrections. If you are looking for a roomy SUV with luxury features and refined style, the Enclave is the vehicle for you.

Performance from Pontiac is back, with the introduction of the new Pontiac G8. Available in two models, the Pontiac G8 Sedan starting at $27,595 and the Pontiac G8 GT starting at $29,995, Pontiac enthusiasts will find much to love about these action oriented cars.

The Pontiac G8 comes standard with a 3.6 L V6 engine capable of a whopping 256 hp and 248 lb-feet of torque. The new Pontiac G8 is one powerful car.

Drivers can expect to get about 17 mpg in the city, and 25 mpg once out on the highway. The G8 GT comes with an amazing 6.0 L V8 engine that achieves an unbelievable 361 hp and 385 lb-feet of torque. Both models come with traction control and performance suspension, which is a good thing because with this kind of performance drivers are going to want it.

Fuel efficiency for the G8 GT is about 15/24 mpg. The G8 comes with a 5-speed automatic transmission while the G8 GT has a 6-speed automatic transmission. Both come with Driver Shift Control and Sport mode. A dual outlet stainless steel exhaust completes the sport car look, so just in case everyone wasn’t already staring at your new Pontiac car in awe, they’ve got a good reason..

The interior of both models really demonstrates how Pontiac has taken the performance of a sports car and married it to the practicality of a family sedan. The G8 comfortably seats 5, but the driver’s dashboard has sporty looking readouts for fuel, speed, and RPM. The driver’s information center will display trip odometer, oil life, tire pressure, voltmeter, average speed, distance and time to go, average fuel, fuel used and overspeed and underspeed warnings.

The G8 Sedan comes standard with a Blaupunkt 7–speaker sound system with front center speaker and includes a AM/FM radio as well a CD player with a 5” display, an input for Apple iPod or MP3 player, and speed compensated volume. No matter how you like your music, the Pontiac G8 is ready for it all. The G8 GT has a similar audio package but with a 6.5” display and an incredible Blaupunkt 11-speaker sound system. A sunroof, available for both models, will complete the vehicle’s look.

When you’re ready to take the new Pontiac G8 out for a spin, stop by your Pontiac dealer - PA and check out the new inventory and specials or head on over to Lankford Auto’s website.

If you like a powerful engine on an impressive looking car, you’re going to love the Pontiac G8. With two available models — the Pontiac G8 GT and the Pontiac G8 Sedan — fast car enthusiasts will find a lot to love.

The Pontiac G8 sedan comes standard with a whopping 256 horse power and 248 lb-feet of torque in a 3.6 L V6 engine.  You can count on getting around 17 miles per gallon in the city and 25 miles per gallon when you get onto the highway. The G8 GT has a striking 6.0 liter V8 engine that achieves a commanding 361 horse power and 385 lb-feet of torque. When it comes to fuel efficiency, G8 GT drivers can expect around 15 miles per gallon in the city and 24 miles per gallon on the highway.

Both the Pontiac G8 Sedan and G8 GT come with performance suspension and traction control and with the kind of power in these engines, you’re going to want both. The sedan comes with a 5-speed automatic transmission and the GT has a 6-speed automatic transmission. Both models come with Sport Mode and Driver Shift Control, and a dual outlet exhaust in stainless steel puts sporty icing on an already sporty cake.

The interior of both the G8 sedan and the G8 GT is where Pontiac really shows how well they’ve taken the get up and go of a sports car and combined it with the practical benefits of a family sedan. Five people can sit comfortably in the sedan, but the dashboard readouts for speed, fuel and rpms are sporty enough to make you know you’re driving a serious car. Your driver’s information center displays your oil life, volt meter, a trip odometer, your tire pressure, average speed, fuel used, average fuel, under speed and over speed warnings — the whole nine yards. Is it a car or is it a laptop?

When it comes to your sound experience, you really know you’re driving a sports car in the Pontiac G8. The Sedan comes standard with a 7–speaker sound system from Blaupunkt, the mandatory AM/FM radio, and a CD player with a 5” display. The GT comes with a 6.5” display and a phenomenal 11-speaker sound system, and both have inputs for your iPod or MP3 player with speed compensating volume capacities. To let everyone on the road know just how good your sound system is, both models have an optional sunroof.

The Pontiac G8 GT starts at $29,995 and the Pontiac G8 Sedan starts a little lower at $27,595.

To purchase a new Pontiac G8 GT, stop by your PA Pontiac dealership today.