Pontiac Grand Am

. Many imitation toys have hit the market after the success of Homies. In 2005, the Grand Am continued on in fleet sales while the G6 replaced it in the Pontiac lineup. Homies have become a highly collectible item among fans of the line. It is interesting to note that the Grand Am was Pontiac's bestselling car before being replaced. According to Gonzales, he has received order from countries in Europe, South America and Africa as well to have characters representing people from those continents. The coupe will most likely be dropped at the end of 2006, with the entire Grand Am line being replaced by the Pontiac G6, which is based on the GM Epsilon platform. The Puerto Ricans, which total twelve of the Homies, are nicknamed "Los Boricuas".

The last Grand Am sedan rolled off the assembly line on December 10, 2004. By 2005, the Homies character line had women, as well as Japanese and Puerto Rican characters. Despite its success, the Grand Am model line finally came to an end. Mainstream stores, such as Walmart, quickly returned the Homies to their stacks, and the toy branched out to include a line of die cast cars, among other things. In the American market, when the Sunfire sedan was dropped for 2003, the Grand Am sedan was the only compact sedan in Pontiac's lineup. Some of them became former jailmates who went on to educate children about how to avoid jail, for example. The Pontiac Grand Am enjoyed success as a compact sedan filling a niche as a comfortable, affordable, reliable, yet sporty car. Gonzales then created a story for each of the Homies' characters, each of which had a positive view of the characters.

Safety features as dual front airbags and anti-lock brakes were now standard throughout the line, as well as traction control (ETS). Many stores stopped selling the toys after the LAPD complained. Each variant added various features such as power windows and locks, dual rear exhausts, a more powerful engine (3.4 L V6) than the Ecotec, or alloy wheels. The figures caused controversy after their initial release, as members of the Los Angeles police department (LAPD), argued that the figures glorified gang life. This generation of the Grand Am was sold in five variants, the SE, SE1, SE2, GT, and GT1. First created in 1998, these plastic figuerines were initially sold via vending machines typically positioned in supermarkets, but quickly became collectibles among young children through teenagers. In 2002, the design was further refined by removing the ribbed body cladding for a "cleaner" appearance. Homies are a series of 2-inch figurines loosely based upon Chicano (Mexican American) characters in the life of artist David Gonzales.

The very first 1999 Grand Am rolled off the assembly line on June 15, 1998. In 1999, the Grand Am was redesigned once again, with its only identical sibling being the Oldsmobile Alero. There were minor cosmetic changes in 1996, and the last year of this Grand Am was 1998. The top engine choice was a 2.3 L 16-valve High Output Quad-4 which produced 175 hp (130 kW) at 6200 RPM and 155 ft·lbf (210 N·m) at 5200 RPM.

This generation was available with either a four or six-cylinder engine. The redesign was radical compared to the 1989 refresh of its midsize cousin, the Pontiac 6000, due to the fact that it no longer bore a resemblence to its X-body ancestors. In 1992, the GM N platform was redesigned, resulting in a newer looking Grand Am. It was based on the N platform, along with its siblings the Buick Somerset and the Oldsmobile Cutlass Calais.

The Pontiac Grand Am was reintroduced as a compact car by GM in 1985 to replace the Phoenix. . From 1985-2006, all Pontiac Grand Ams were built in Lansing, Michigan. It had two 3-year runs; 1973 to 1975 and 1978 to 1980, after which the A-body Grand Am was cancelled.

The Pontiac Grand Am began in 1973 as a midsize car on the GM A body.