Short Drive Review: 2006 Pontiac Grand Prix GXP

OK, lets get this out of the way first.  The Grand Prix has never been a good car.  Pontiac in general is a caricature of crappy American cars.  The company that arguably started the muscle car arms race fell into oblivion later in life, with crappy plastic garbage.  I mean really.  Have you seen the Grand Am of the late '90s?  Those ribbed sides?
That said, I have a soft spot in my heart for these crap cars.  I don't mind the squeaks and rattles.  Hell I don't even mind the terrible styling.  How many mainstream cars from the late '90s had a heads up display?  I can think of exactly one: the Grand Prix.
My personal favorite Pontiacs from this era were the '97-'03 Grand Prix and the '99-'05 Grand Am GT.  The interiors were as extroverted as the exteriors.  The seating was classic GM.  The velour was warm and comfortable, and the leather slick as a buttered fish.  The gauges had bigger hoods than a Jedi robe.  The lighting was an orangy-red color, just so you know you're in a car with warp drive.
When the '04 Grand Prix came out, I was not a fan.  I still don't particularly care for the design.  After driving a GXP, however, I saw the light.
The GXP has drilled brake rotors from the factory.  A front wheel drive car with drilled rotors, a rowdy V8, and a heads up display.  Yeah.  This is truly a one of a kind car. 
On the road it is quiet and smooth.  Yeah smooth.  At light throttle the LS purrs like a cheetah cub.  Put your foot in it and it will damn near rip the steering wheel out of your hands.  Fun.  I don't get why everyone hates torque steer so much.  I think it's hilarious.  If I wanted a front drive car devoid of torque steer, I'd buy a Toyota.  Probably a Corolla. 
The most surprising thing was how this rolling paradox steers.  Steering feel and response rivaled my Accord V6.  Dafuq?  I was blown away at how much fun it was to drive.  It was actually shockingly like my Accord in many ways.  The ride was similar, crashing over big bumps, but floating down the highway with a comfortable, dampened confidence.  Also, after driving it hard, it started to smell like hot GM plastic.  My old Z28 did that.  It brought back such good memories. 
Sadly, my time with this piece of old GM was short.  You're getting a very paraphrased test here.
The biggest thing that I took from the short experience, is that you don't need a perfectly balanced chassis or an interior loaded with soft touch materials to have fun.  All you need is a little imperfect, American charm.  The GXP should never have existed.  But I'm sure glad it did.