The Pontiac Bonneville is a model line of full-size or mid-size rear-wheel drive (until 1987) or front-wheel drive cars manufactured and marketed by Pontiac from 1957 until 2005.
The Bonneville (marketed as the Parisienne in Canada until 1981), and its platform partner, the Grand Ville, are some of the largest Pontiacs ever built; in station wagon body styles they reached just over long. They were also some of the heaviest cars produced at the time at or more.
The Bonneville nameplate was introduced as a limited production performance convertible during the 1957 model year, its name taken from the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, an early site of U.S. automobile racing and numerous world land speed records.
Origin
The Bonneville name first appeared in 1954 on a pair of bubble-topped GM Motorama concept cars called the Bonneville Special, sharing an appearance with the Chevrolet Corvette. It was also the beginning of a new tradition of Pontiac vehicles using French words for model names.
It entered the production lineup as a high-performance, fuel-injected luxury convertible version of the Star Chief in 1957, and was loaded with every available option as standard equipment to include leather upholstery, power adjustable front seat, power windows, power steering, power brakes and power convertible top with the exception of air conditioning and a fashionable for the time continental kit.
Standard only for the Bonneville was Pontiac's first-ever fuel injection system. A mechanical system built by Rochester, it was similar in principle, but not identical, to the contemporary Chevrolet Bel Air installed with the Rochester Ramjet continuous mechanical fuel injection (closed-loop). Pontiac did not release official power ratings for this engine, which had only been introduced earlier in 1955 replacing the flathead straight eight, saying only that it had more than . Contemporary road tests suggest that it was somewhat inferior to the Tri-Power engines, though it did offer better fuel economy.
This put the Bonneville in a Cadillac-like price range of US$5,782 ($ in dollars ) - more than double the base price of the Chieftain on which it was built, with the result being a fully equipped Bonneville could cost more than the longer, entry-level Cadillac Series 62. Only 630 units were produced that first year, all of them fuel-injected, making it one of the most collectible Pontiacs of all time and was introduced to compete with the Chrysler 300C. The following year it became a separate model, and it would endure until 2005 as the division's top-of-the-line model.
First generation (1958)
The Bonneville became a separate model in 1958, available as a two-door hardtop or a convertible. It paced the Indianapolis 500 in its first year. As a separate model, Bonneville had a significantly lower price tag of $3,586 ($ in dollars ) for the convertible, thanks to the removal of most of the luxury items found on the 1957 Star Chief bodystyle from standard equipment to the option list. Also a V8, marketed as a "370", with four-barrel carburetor and dual exhausts was now standard equipment.
The fuel-injection system continued to be offered with the standard engine on the 1957 Star Chief bodystyle was now listed as an extra cost option but very few 1958 Bonnevilles were so equipped due to a towering option price tag of US$500 ($ in dollars ), which was not considered a very good value considering that for US$93.50, a more reliable Tri-Power option was available with three Rochester two-barrel carburetors and similar power. The Tri-Power produces a claimed , while the fuel injected version was rated at at 4800 rpm and at 3,000 rpm on 10.5:1 compression.
The retail price dropped from the previous year to US$3,481 ($ in dollars ) for the coupe, adding leather interior and a power-operated convertible top. The fuel-injected engine became an option on any Pontiac model. Only about 400 were produced before the fuel injection system was quietly dropped, and fuel injection would not be offered on the Bonneville until 1987 with the Eighth Generation.
For 1958, GM was promoting their fiftieth year of production, and introduced Anniversary models for each brand; Cadillac, Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, and Chevrolet.Image of 50th Anniversary promotional photo The 1958 models shared a common appearance on the top models for each brand; Cadillac Eldorado Seville, Buick Limited Riviera, Oldsmobile Starfire 98, Pontiac Bonneville Catalina, and the all-new Chevrolet Bel-Air Impala. 1958 was also the year the "Silver Streak" styling feature was no longer offered, which was first used in 1933. It was also the last year of Harley Earls tenure as department head of GM's "Art and Colour Section".
Second generation (1959–1960)
In its third year, the 1959 Bonneville became the senior series with the addition of the four-door hardtop sedan and Safari station wagon body styles, while the Pontiac Catalina became the junior series. The Bonneville played an important part that year in the introduction of two of Pontiac's greatest marketing inspirations — the split grille and the "Wide Track" slogan, introducing a front tread width of and rear tread width of as opposed to other GM products with a width for front and rear width. At the bottom of the rear quarters, a "skeg"—a downward fin—jutted outboard to counterbalance the rearward point of the quarter panel.
The Wide Track slogan was not just ad copy, either, as Pontiac pushed its wheels further out toward the fenders than anyone else and created what were considered to be the best-cornering full-size cars in the industry. Both the grille design and the Wide Track phrase remained part of Pontiac's image up to the brand's termination. A "Safe-T-Track" differential, used to minimize wheel spin, was an option beginning in 1959. As the platform expanded to add sedans and the Safari station wagons, they were also used as a basis for various specialty cars such as hearses.
Third generation (1961–1964)
The Bonneville was Pontiac's senior model throughout the 1960s and was instrumental in pushing Pontiac to third place in sales from 1962 to 1970.Flory, J. "Kelly", Jr. American Cars 1960-1972 (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Coy, 2004), pp.191 & 194.
The distinctive protruding grille made its appearance on all Pontiac products during the early 1960s, and was a modern revival of a similar appearance on Pontiac products during the 1930s and early 1940s, as demonstrated on the Pontiac Torpedo.
The Bonneville differed from its lesser Catalina and Star Chief counterparts by featuring more luxurious interior trim with upgraded cloth and "Morrokide" vinyl or expanded "Morrokide" upholstery in sedans and coupes, expanded "Morrokide" in Safari wagons and genuine leather seating in convertibles. Bonnevilles (with the exception of Bonneville Safari station wagons) were also (along with Star Chiefs) built on a longer wheelbase version of GM's B-Body. The 1962 hardtop coupe had a listed retail price of $3,349 ($ in dollars ).
In 1962, the Bonneville coupe was offered along with the all new Pontiac Grand Prix which has the same luxurious interior of the Bonneville on the shorter Catalina wheelbase, and the Grand Prix was slightly more expensive and exclusive.
For a luxurious appearance, the Bonneville came with instrument panels and door panels with walnut veneer trim, carpeted lower door panels, grab bar on the passenger side of the dash and courtesy lights and a rear arm rest. Beginning in 1964, a Bonneville Brougham option package was available that included an even more luxurious interior trim level with front and rear seats featuring center armrests, upgraded door panels and a standard Cordova (vinyl) roof with "Brougham" nameplates. The two-door hardtop was marketed as the "Sports Coupe", the four door pillarless models were called "Vistas".
Bonneville models were standard equipped with Hydra-Matic (through 1964) or Turbo Hydra-Matic (1965-on) automatic transmissions. Options included power steering and power brakes as well as air conditioning. Other popular options included power windows, power seats, radio, cruise control, and 8-lug aluminum wheels that included integral brake drums for improved stopping power.
The Bonneville also had more powerful standard V8 engines than other full-sized Pontiacs, including the or V8s with four-barrel carburetors (power ratings of depending on year) with many optional V8 offerings, such as the availability of the Tri-Power (three two-barrel carburetor) options on both the and V8s that offered up to through 1966.
For 1963 only, Pontiac offered the Super Duty with two four-barrel carburetors, rated at , as a US$2,250 option ($ in dollars ) whereas the base Bonneville was listed at US$3,349 ($ in dollars ).
Fourth generation (1965–1970)
In 1965, B-Body Pontiacs received a dramatic restyle, featuring fastback rooflines on coupes, rakish fender lines, and even more pronounced "Coke bottle styling". Bonnevilles followed largely the same styling cues as on other 1965 Pontiacs, but was 8 inches longer thanks to its new 124-inch wheelbase chassis. The interior featured new instrumentation and dashboard styling as well as new upholstery. This series Bonneville retained the longer wheelbase over the Grand Prix but the hardtop coupe was priced lower at $3,288 ($ in dollars ) and was not offered the center console included in the Grand Prix. This generation also introduced fender skirts over the rear wheels for an upscale look, shared with Cadillac, Buick and Oldsmobile senior models.
Engine options remained unchanged from the 1964 model year, with a , 333 hp unit being standard, equipped with a Carter AFB 4-barrel carburetor. A engine was an optional upgrade. Both engines had choices of Tri-Power multi-carburetion setups and higher compression ratios.
New for Pontiacs in 1965 was GM's Turbo-Hydramatic 400 transmission, which was released the year prior. This new 3-speed unit had a torque converter, unlike the old fluid-coupling based Super-Hydramatic featured on past Bonneville models. The new transmission also changed the shift pattern from "P-N-D-S-L-R" to a safer and ultimately more modern "P-R-N-D-S-L."
In 1965, Pontiac Motor Division received the Motor Trend "Car of the Year" award. As part of this award, Motor Trend reviewed GTO, Grand Prix, Catalina 2+2 and Bonneville.
In 1966, the Bonneville featured a minor update, with new front and rear sheet metal, trim and bright work. The interior saw some updates, including a more squared-up dashboard and minor changes in instrumentation. Powertrain components were the same as 1965.
The Bonneville for 1967 received a major update over the previous years. Styling was changed dramatically and featured a new grille-in-bumper front design, more creases to accentuate the "Coke bottle" styling and an updated rear fascia. The interior featured a new wraparound-style dash with new switchgear, instrumentation and trim. As per the up-and-coming US Title 49 legislation, 67' Bonnevilles were equipped with seatbelts as standard, as well as other government mandated safety equipment.
1967 also saw a large powertrain and chassis refresh for Pontiac. The 389 cubic inch plant was replaced with one, and the 421 cubic inch plant was replaced with a one. As per GM's internal edict, the multi-carburation setups found on earlier cars were replaced with the new Quadra Jet "spread bore" carburetor. Carter AFB carburetors were still standard, but the Quadra Jet was featured as the new "High performance" upgrade. A myriad of horsepower ratings were optional. A dual-circuit master cylinder was standard as per legislation and disc brakes became an optional extra.