2001 Pontiac Grand Prix: A Special Edition, and a Production Figure That Wasn't What It Seemed

This record's own dek states that the GT and GTP gain a Special Edition package for 2001, and that the 98,131 once shown as the year's production turns out to be calendar-year output through September 2001. This record's own overview states that MuscleCarClub, crediting the Standard Catalog of Pontiac, gives 2001 Grand Prix production as 98,131 across SE, GT and GTP without a split by trim or engine, and that the compiled engine tables list a supercharged 3.8-liter V6 at 240 hp and 280 lb-ft and a naturally aspirated 3.8-liter V6 at 200 hp and 225 lb-ft, both SAE net as compiled with no rpm given. This record's own overview also states directly that the Standard Catalog of Pontiac, the source the compiled table credits, describes that same 98,131 as calendar-year production through September 29, 2001, not as model-year production.^1,2

This record's own keyFacts section states that for 2001 Pontiac offered Special Edition versions of the Grand Prix GT and GTP with hood vents, a sculpted rear spoiler, roof fences, chrome exhaust tips and wheels, two-tone leather seating, special door emblems and painted trim plates, and that Consumer Guide notes many of these pieces, and the silver paint, came from the 2000 Daytona 500 pace-car replica. This record's own options section carries that same Special Edition package as its single entry, describing the identical hood vents, spoiler, roof fences, exhaust tips and wheels, leather seating, door emblems and trim plates for the GT and GTP.³

This record's own production section carries two rows for the same 98,131 figure: one presented as the model-year total and marked disputed, and a second explicitly labeled calendar-year production through September 29, 2001, with its own note that this partial calendar-year figure mixes 2001 and 2002 model-year cars and is not the 2001 model-year total, and that no 2001 model-year total was found in a published source. This record's own conflicts section addresses the same question directly, the compiled table presenting 98,131 as model-year production against the Standard Catalog's own wording of it as calendar-year production through September 29, with this record's own treatment note stating the calendar-year framing should be used and that a forum-quoted manufacturer reply of 130,527 is not a substitute for a real model-year total.^1,2

This record's own unpublishedLeads section carries that forum-quoted reply of 130,527 total 2001 Grand Prix production, listed by SE sedan, GT coupe, GT sedan, GTP coupe and GTP sedan without per-model figures in the quoted text, held back as an unverified conflict with the compiled 98,131; a second lead from Wikipedia states that OnStar became standard on the GTP and optional on the GT for 2001, that the SE adopted the GT/GTP front fascia, and that dealer-installed 75th Anniversary emblems were offered to mark Pontiac's 75th year, held back as tertiary text without a traced primary citation.¹

This record's own prices section carries five MSRPs from the Chrome-data buyer's guide republished by TheAutoChannel, with destination and date not stated: $20,455 for the SE sedan, $21,960 for the GT coupe, $22,110 for the GT sedan, $25,450 for the GTP coupe, and $25,630 for the GTP sedan. This record's own engines section carries the supercharged 3.8-liter on the GTP and the naturally aspirated 3.8-liter on the GT per pontiac.com's own model page, plus a third entry for a 3.1-liter V6 the EPA lists with the four-speed automatic for 2001 that the compiled engine table does not carry for the year, with this record's own availability note stating no 2001 rating was reached for it. This record's own transmissions section lists a single entry, the four-speed electronically controlled automatic, the only transmission for the year, with three EPA vehicle records covering the 3.1-, 3.8- and supercharged 3.8-liter engines.^4,5,1

This record's own paint, interiors, specifications, performance and identification sections are all empty for the year, leaving this record's coverage limited to overview, keyFacts, production, prices, engines, transmissions, options, conflicts and unpublishedLeads, with no color list, no dimension, no road test and no series or body-style code recorded anywhere in this record for the model year. Even the Special Edition's own silver paint, borrowed from the 2000 pace car by this record's own keyFacts text, is described only in that equipment sense, without a dedicated paint entry naming it.¹