A Pontiac G5 Story

Posted on November 22, 2009

Photo credit 5 Minutes to Midnight

Last week I was “given” the opportunity to drive a 2009 Pontiac G5 for a few days. The car had a few basic plusses, but coming from a BMW 3-Series, it definitely lacked a lot as well. We’ll go over all that in a bit, but first, a little background. A rebadged Chevy Cobalt and successor to the Pontiac Sunfire, this G5 is driven by a 2.2l inline-4 engine mated to a 4-speed automatic transmission. The 2.2l Ecotec engine turns out 155 horsepower at its peak, and 150 lb¥ft of torque. The base price for the little coupe is $14,995.

The little Ecotec engine gets great fuel economy, with an EPA rating of 23 mpg. Since my work commute is mostly highway driving, I got a little bit better than that, averaging 24.5 in the ten days that I had the car. However, the acceleration was rather sluggish. Zero to sixty time is reported to be around 9 seconds, but it certainly didn’t feel like it. Even worse was the automatic transmission, which was somewhat unresponsive. Attempting to overtake on the highway felt like an eternity spent waiting for the transmission to decide it was time to drop down a gear. Handling wise, the G5 was so so. It’s certainly no auto-x car, with loads of body roll, a weak weight distribution of 60/40, and a ton of play in the steering wheel. The car would not be described as a “joy to drive”. At best it could be described as boring.

The car did have some amenities though. I liked the onboard computer, which displayed old standbys such as the external temperature, fuel range, time, and two trip computers, as well as handy information such as estimated tire pressure for each corner, the coolant temperature, and an estimated percentage of life left in the oil. The headlights had an automatic setting that I left on the whole time, turning the lights on when a sensor couldn’t detect enough sunlight, for both night driving and cloudy days, and leaving me not having to worry if I left the lights on. The stereo had a 1/8″ stereo auxilliary input, allowing me to plug my iPod into the sound system, which was nice. However, the sound system wasn’t the best, with bass that was too loud and muddy, and trebly highs, but no midrange, making most music sound imbalanced. The interior was nothing to right home about, a standard plastic and cloth affair to be expected on a cheap car. The bucket seats were noticeably uncomfortable. My other big complaint was how poor rear visibility was. The massive C-pillar made checking your blind spot a guessing game, and the large-ish rear wing was a big distraction in the rear view mirror.

Overall, I was not a fan of the G5. As I stated before, at best it was boring. At its worst it was a testament to the lame badge engineering that made up most of Pontiac’s offerings, providing a good example of why it was a good thing that the brand got shut down, and a detriment to the good name of G5. Would not recommend.

Capital City Grill, Part 2

Posted on November 6, 2009

AKA Never again.

My old roommate, Sarah, and I wanted to go out to lunch today, so I decided to give the previously reviewed Capital City Grill a second chance. It was a mistake. It was much busier than last time, having been featured in the Lincoln Journal Star today. I again got a server who seemed to have never waited tables before. She mumbled through taking our order. My roommate ordered a turkey burger and fries, and I ordered the Chicken Oscar with a side salad. A few minutes later the waitress came back and asked me what side I wanted with my chicken, mash or risotto. I went with the 3-cheese risotto.

A while later (it was busy, so that’s understandable), she came back with our food, but had to auction it off. For those who haven’t worked restaurant industry before, auctioning is the process of asking “who had the chicken? ok here you go. who had the pasta? ok here you go. the steak?” etc. Generally considered a big no no. Especially bad when you have to do it at a table of two.

Sarah said her turkey burger and fries were fine. My chicken though was a different story. I got a five or six ounce chicken breast. Ate it up in four small bites. About a half cup of risotto, which was tasty. Two sprigs of asparagus. No crab at all. It would seem the thing which makes Chicken Oscar Oscar’d, was forgotten. And the dish was bathed in a tarragon sauce which might have been tasty, but it had gelatinized, presumably whilst sitting out waiting for the turkey burger to be cooked. Tarragon jelly is not an appetizing thing. Busy is one thing, but half-assing one’s way through a $13 lunch dish and forgetting a crucial ingredient is terrible.

Notice I made no reference to the salad. That’s because it never came. C’est la vie.

So I won’t be going back. And with the two experiences I’ve had, compared with experiences I’ve heard from a few others, we shall see if Capital City Grill lasts longer than some of the previous tenants that have occupied the location in the past decade.

Next time I’m going to try Toast!, the restaurant that just opened up in the super-yuppie development just across the highway from me.

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