Pontiac Bonneville

Bonneville has been one of Pontiac's most enduring names, appearing as a high-performance, fuel-injected luxury convertible late in the 1957 model year and lasting until 2005. Only 630 units were produced that first year, making it one of the most collectible Pontiacs of all time. The Bonneville has endured through today as the division's top-of-the-line sedan. It was named after the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, site of much early auto racing and most of the world's land speed record runs.

Contents

1 Early Development 2 Later Ups & Downs 3 Return of the V-8 4 The Future 5 External Links

Early Development

The Bonneville expanded to include a coupe in 1958, and it paced the Indianapolis 500 that year. In its third season, the '59 Bonneville gained a four-door body and formed a nearly complete product line in itself. It 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. The latter 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 are still part of Pontiac's image today. Bonneville remained Pontiac's costliest and most luxurious model throughout the 60's and was instrumental in pushing PMD to 3rd place in sales from '62 through '70.

Later Ups & Downs

From '71 to '76, the Bonneville was de-emphasized somewhat as Pontiac used the Grand Ville name for its highest-price model, but Bonneville never went away and re-emerged in the top spot when the lineup was downsized in '77. Oddly, something similar happened a few years later, when in '82 Pontiac abruptly discontinued the full-size Bonneville and used the name instead on the smaller car that had previously been the Pontiac LeMans. Customers did not take to the change, although the old Bonneville remained in the line-up as the Bonneville G, and then as the Parisienne, borrowed from Pontiac's Canadian operation. For several years, then, the Bonny was again playing second fiddle.

However, exactly as before, a downsizing proved its salvation, and in '87 the Parisienne vanished and the new, front-drive, top-of-the-line Pontiac carried the Bonneville name, a situation that remains today. The new-for-'87 Bonneville helped solidify Pontiac's claim to "building excitement". The Bonneville SE was on Car and Driver magazine's Ten Best list that year.

Return of the V-8

Interestingly, the Bonneville regained a V-8 option in its GXP model for 2004, its first since '86, probably as a result of the disappearance of the Oldsmobile Aurora. This opened up a "hole" in the GM lineup between Pontiac and Buick, allowing the senior Pontiac room to expand upmarket a little. The engine is Cadillac's Northstar, and as Pontiac's website says, "With GXP, V8 power gets reintroduced into the Bonneville line in the form of the world-renowned 4.6 L Northstar V8 engine. 275 hp (205 kW), 300 lb-ft (400 Nm) torque and 0-60 mph (~0 to 100 km/h) in 6.5 seconds demonstrates better performance than BMW 330i and 530i, and Lexus ES. Its 3.7:1 final drive ratio is the most aggressive found on any car in its class."

Engines:

• 1991-2002 3.8 L (231 in³) V6
• 2004 Northstar 4.6 L (280 in³) V8

The Future

GM announced on February 8, 2005 that it would drop the big Bonneville from Pontiac's lineup. With more than half of Pontiac dealers also selling Buick, the new Buick Lucerne will remain as GM's only non-luxury large car. The smaller Pontiac G8 (intended as a replacement for the Grand Prix) will absorb the rest of the Bonneville's customer base.

External Links

• '58 Coupe site (http://www.kingoftheroad.net/58pontiac.html)

Note the extravagant side trim--the simulated rocket exhaust and four starbursts. Most Pontiacs had fewer starbursts, and no others had the rocket.

• '04 Sedan (http://www.pontiac.com/bonneville/images/bg_image1.jpg) Ready to roar in 2004!
• Official Pontiac website (http://www.pontiac.com)
• 2004 V-8 review (http://www.fyilondon.com/perl-bin/niveau2.cgi?s=wheels&p=85455.html&a=1)