As part of their legacy, together the 6000 and the other A-bodies became enormously popular — as well as synonymous with GM's most transparent examples of badge engineering, highlighted almost indistinguishably on the August 22, 1983 cover of Fortune magazine as examples of genericized uniformity, embarrassing the company and ultimately prompting GM to recommit to design leadership.

[1] The 6000 was replaced for 1992 as Pontiac fully phased in the four-door sedan version of the Grand Prix (introduced in 1990) as a successor.

By 1984, Pontiac was in the midst of a resurgence as the division began to reassert its 1960s role as GM's performance brand.

Although intended to compete with similar entries from BMW, Audi, Toyota and Nissan, the 6000 used older technologies by comparison.

The STE featured a driver information center with a system which monitored functions such as lights, doors, tune-ups and tire rotations.

Four wheel disc brakes improved stopping as did standard Goodyear Eagle GT tires, size 195/70R14 (large for the time).