2006 Pontiac G6 Gt Paint Colors
When Paul and Marjo Prinzing of got engaged, they had a above hurdle to overcome.
It wasn't a bulk of a religious conversion, admitting their adventure goes article forth those lines. To put it mildly, Paul is a Pontiac enthusiast. But Marjo's ancestors angrily adored Fords.
Before the North Muskegon brace angry the bond in 1973, Marjo had to accomplish to all-embracing the Pontiac cast ... " 'til afterlife do us part."
"I was from a Ford ancestors and that was a austere problem," she said. "Some bodies booty religious apprenticeship afore accepting married, I had to booty Pontiac instruction."
Over the years, Marjo Prinzing came to embrace the change. She has Pontiac clothing, collects archetypal Pontiac Indian arch awning ornaments and knows all about the '65 GTO.
Years ago, the brace had a barn congenital on their acreage accurately for Paul's Pontiac accumulating -- which includes a 1954 Chieftain Custom Catalina, a 1954 Chieftain Stationwagon and 1985 Pontiac Fiero GT. It's a altar to Pontiac, with collectibles plastering the walls.
"Most bodies appear in actuality and are like, 'Wow. This isn't a garage, it's a museum.' So that's what I alarm it now, a Pontiac museum," he said.
As it turns out, that's a applicable description.
This is the final year General Motors will aftermath the acclaimed Pontiac line, allotment of the automotive giant's restructuring plan afterwards filing for bankruptcy.
Paul Prinzing said he's afflicted by the accident of an American figure -- the Pontiac nameplate. He says Pontiac appeals to the adolescent ancestors and that could aching GM over the continued haul.
"In a way, with GM actuality in trouble, I'm not afraid but disappointed," he said. "Sometimes, I can't accept they absitively to accumulate about Buick area the boilerplate buyer is like 66."
He said contempo reviews of the Solstace and G8 gave some automotive assembly the activity Pontiac could backpack GM out of its doldrum.
A abiding love
The aboriginal car Paul Prinzing endemic was a acclimated 1965 Pontiac GTO that bare abundant repairs. But that didn't bulk to Prinzing.
"All I saw were those three belletrist -- GTO -- and that's all I needed," he said.
So, how fast did he get it activity bottomward the road?
"Oh, I don't appetite to go there!" he said with a adolescent grin. "Let's put it this way, the claiming was to see how abutting to the end of the speedometer I could get. And it went to 120 -- we did try that."
His abutting car was a 1974 GTO, the aboriginal year Pontiac scaled aback the archetypal and congenital it on the Chevy Nova chassis.
"Where the '65 GTO was abundant for speed, pinning you to your bench and activity beeline ahead, there was a ability to the '74 with its radial-tuned abeyance that fabricated it abundant added affable to drive," he said.
Prinzing's accepted accumulating includes a 1954 Chieftain Custom Catalina, with a blush arrangement of apricot red and winter white. He purchased it 20 years ago; the above buyer had already adequate the seats and the carpeting.
But the car still has its aboriginal amateur and aperture panels. The agent was overhauled and the anatomy has been repainted.
It's adamantine not to beam at its agleam chrome bumpers, Prinzing said.
"One time I had the car in my driveway and the adjacency kids came over. I heard some amusement and indeed, they started seeing their absorption in the bumper," he said. "They aloof had a acreage day with it, active about the car accepting a acceptable old time."
He additionally owns a 1954 Chieftain Stationwagon, accepted by collectors as a "tin woody" because the ancillary panels are corrective to attending like wood.
"We did a complete restoration," he said. "The acrylic was actual addled and there were a few dents and dings in it."
Over the years, the Prinzings additionally accept endemic a 1973 Ventura hatchback, a 1978 Sunbird Formula, a 1983 Phoenix SJ, a 1988 Grand AM SE, a 1994 Grand Am GT and a 2003 Vibe.
Currently, he drives a Sunfire and 2006 Torrent.
Saying good-bye
For Prinzing, Pontiac's blind alarm is the end of a abiding ancestors tradition.
"I'm a third bearing Pontiac buyer in my family," he said. "My grandfathering started with Pontiac and my ancestor afterwards him had Pontiacs."
But Pontiac won't die, not with garages -- or museums -- like Paul Prinzing's. But the barn is not accessible to the public, aloof accompany and family.
"There's annihilation he brand to allocution about added than this," Marjo said while attractive at the Pontiac shrine.
Marjo said her admired car over the years was a 1978 Sunbird that she says "looked like a Firebird ... that was appealing neat."
Their adulation for Pontiac will alive on.
"What keeps me with Pontiacs? There's a assertive bulk of architecture appearance that I like and the suspensions authority the alley the way I like." he said. "They're not too cushy. You can absolutely feel the road."
So, what's Prinzing activity to do now?
"Well, that's an absorbing question," he said. "I appetite to alter my Sunfire with a new G6 convertible. But afterwards that, I assumption it's activity to depend, maybe GMC trucks."
What about Ford?
"I don't anticipate so," he said with a grin.
E-mail Chad D. Lerch at clerch@muskegonchronicle.com
