Pontiac Sunfire

The Pontiac Sunfire was introduced in the 1995 model year as the compact car to replace the Sunbird. Not only was the name changed, but dramatic styling changes were included as well. The new styling was shared with the Chevrolet Cavalier, though Chevrolet did not change the Cavalier name. Also during this time, the J platform was updated structurally to meet more stringent safety standards. The Sunfire could be purchased as a coupe or a convertible. However, the convertible models were not sold after the year 2000, when Pontiac introduced a refreshed Sunfire. The Sunfire name was recycled from the Canada-only Asüna Sunfire sold only in 1993.

The Sunfire was available in standard and GT trim. The GT package was 2-door only and included a sporty front bumper, fog lights, twin exhausts, 16-inch alloy wheels and the more powerful LD9 engine. In the US, only the coupe was available from 2003 to 2005, becoming the only two-door car on Pontiac's lineup between the demise of the Pontiac Firebird in 2002 and the relaunch of the Pontiac GTO in 2004. The sedan continued to be sold in Canada until the end of the overall production run.

Sunfires were built in Lordstown, Ohio (until 2004, before retooling to build the Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac G5 models) or Ramos Arizpe, Mexico. Production of the Sunfire ended in June 2005. Over 36,000 Sunfires were sold in the US and 33,724 units were sold in Canada in 2004, each for approximately US$11,500. GM replaced the sunfire with the G5 in Canada in 2005 and in the US in 2007.

Engines

   * 1995 - 2.3 L (138 in³) Quad-4 I4, 145 hp (108 kW) and 150 ft·lbf (203 N·m)
   * 1995–2002 - 2.2 L (134 in³) 2200 I4, 115 hp (86 kW) and 130 ft·lbf (176 N·m)
   * 1996–2002 - 2.4 L (146 in³) LD9 I4, 155 hp (116 kW) and 155 ft·lbf (210 N·m)
   * 2002–2005 - 2.2 L (134 in³) Ecotec I4, 140 hp (104 kW) and 150 ft·lbf (203 N·m)

The base model had the 2.2 L engine from 1995 until 2002. The sporty GT model had a much more powerful 2.3 L engine in 1995, which was replaced by an even more powerful 2.4 L engine in 1996. In 2003, both the 2.2 L and the 2.4 L engines were replaced by the new 2.2 L Ecotec. The Ecotec was also available as an option in late 2002.