1990 Pontiac 6000SE AWD - An Answer to a Question No One was Asking

For a couple of years back in the early to the mid 1980's, the Pontiac 6000 STE was one of few bright spots for a General Motors mired in mediocrity, and that's being kind, at the tail-end of what some refer to as the "Malaise Era" of autombile-dom. Sharing it's front-wheel-drive "A-body" with the Chevrolet Celebrity, Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera and the Buick Century, while Chevrolet, Oldsmobile and Buick  offered similar "Euro-tuned" versions, Eurosport, ES and T-Type respectively, it was the 6000 STE that was lauded for its taut suspension tuning, handling prowess and overall maneuverability. The 6000 STE was so good that Car and Driver put it on their vaunted and venerated Top10 list in 1983, 1984 and 1985. 

More so years ago than these days, automobile designe changed so quickly that by the end of the 1980's Pontiac's shining star didn't so much lose luster as it got passed over by newer and more progressive designs. Come 1989, the 6000 taking a backseat to Pontiac's new four-door Grand Prix and like a senior executive suddenly shoved to the back of the boardroom for a younger, debate-ably smarter and hipper junior, the 6000's days were obviously numbered. However, GM had a trick up it's tailpipe to keep the once award-winning little sedan relevant if not literally and figuratively ahead of the curve. 

Answering a question no one was asking, for 1989 the Pontiac 6000 STE unceremoniously became General Motor's first ever all-wheel-drive sedan. For 1990, the "hallowed" STE moniker, which denoted "Special Touring Edition" was moved to the Grand Prix but the all-wheel-drive 6000 option became available on the 6000 SE. Which brings us to our inexplicably well preserved subject here from the only year the SE, ALL WHEEL DRIVE was offered.

Using a modified version of GM's three-speed, Turbo-Hydramatic 125 C they dubbed "TH-125 C AWD", it had a planetary gear transfer case bolted to the end of the transversely mounted gearbox that sent forty-percent of the torque to the rear wheels. GM used a similar design in the Pontiac and Buick Rendezvous but with their four-speed, 4T65E trans-axle. There was a center console switch that could lock the drive-line in "low" thus splitting power evenly between the four-wheels. 

The rear differential was borrowed from the GMT400 pickup truck, that would be the then current Silverado by the way, and the transverse composite single-leaf spring came from the Grand Prix. To make room for all this stuff "back there", the 6000's trunk floor was so high that the "space-saver" spare had to be mounted on it rather than in a pocket to the side. All for a little more traction in a front-wheel-drive sedan that was being phased out anyway. Have to imagine that all the extra weight and additional reciprocating mass did fuel-economy little favors in addition to tapping down zero-to-sixty times. 

There was no AWD option on the 1991 6000, the last year Pontiac made the 6000 nor did the Grand Prix in either coupe or sedan guise ever get it either; makes you wonder why GM bothered in the first place with an AWD sedan. 

GM tapped production out for 1989 STE AWD's at just thirteen-hundred, two-thousand 1990 SE AWD's found homes making out '90 here fairly unicorn like.