Looking past the exterior badging, you'll find that the LeMans is really an European Opel-designed three-door hatchback produced in Korea. The first sales started in 1986 in Canada. My LeMans is a first-year U.S. model that started life as a rental car. In my opinion, the bulk of the problems with the LeMans are the result of its design, and not its manufacture. You'll find more on that in the sections below, but looking at the base price, it's easy to see why the car didn't offer much in the way of options or luxury.

If you're looking for automotive perfection, the Pontiac LeMans is not for you. But, despite its many faults, the Pontiac LeMans does offer some interest. It goes a long way on a tank of gas and it has pretty good lateral grip. Combined with the meager price I paid for the car, the inexpensive insurance, and the decent handling, the Pontiac LeMans makes a good commuter car. Of course, it could be better. For a car to be entertaining, it should have a manual gearbox, decent acceleration, and good brakes. This page summarizes my struggle to improve the drive a bit.



   Last update: Dec 7th, 2019