A big Pontiac taxi in the ’60s? Never saw one. Did any of you? Seems a bit odd , actually, given its standard 389 V8.
Not exactly the most economical thing to drive. But the optional automatic is the Super Hydramatic, not the weak Roto-Hydramatic. And there’s even an optional HD Super H-M. It’s hard to imagine what taxi owner would still specify a three-speed manual in 1964, especially in a Pontiac taxi.
I would expect that even in a scenario where one person owned a taxi service and a Pontiac dealership, they’d more likely fill the fleet with early ’60s trade-ins particularly the rugged but misshapen Mopars.
Neat car I’ve never heard about much less seen .
-Nate
“three-speed manual Pontiac taxi”
The stuff of surreality.
Maybe one of Dali’s lesser-known works?
😉
mrh
There was also a Pontiac Tempest Taxi with an inline-6. I can’t find much evidence of use or survivors, but apparently Pontiac was pretty serious about their taxi business until a GM proclamation in the late ’70s that police cars and taxis should be left to Chevrolet. Motor Trend has a story about mid ’70s Pontiac Ventura taxis in San Diego melting their taillight lenses while waiting for fares.
I remember Greenwich Taxi in Greenwich, CT special ordering 1972 Dodge Polaras with the 225 CID slant six. They were not available for retail customers. There have been some odd things over the years. I can see a manual transmission in a taxi in the TV show “Mayberry.” Perfectplace for it.
and Connecticut Limousine always used stretched Chrysler Newports
I remember those, mostly ‘65-‘68 vintage. My uncle moonlighted as a driver for them.
Greenwich taxi later turned to 240d manual transmission taxi’s and sort of became a parody in that even taxi’s in Greenwich were Mercedes;-)
Tin 1976 te indie taxi company in Walpole, Mass. used ex Con Ed Plymouths, station wagons and for doors, all had slant sixes and 727 trannies.
Tough and durable vehicles .
When I lived in Guatemala in ’75 / ’76 there were quite a few battered old 1950’s American cars with three speeds being used as taxis .
-Nate
Interesting to see all those HD options. A lot of tooling for a few sales. Very few people bought Pontiacs with manuals, let alone a specialized HD clutch and HD manual.
The first taxi I ever rode in was a Pontiac, in 1954 or so. I remember it clearly because the two-way radio mic was mounted on the ‘bullseye’ of the speaker where the clock was supposed to be.
Probably from the GTO parts bin.
Or from a trailer towing package, or convertibles. I didn’t know an HD frame was ever an option on any car, but it makes sense for towing. Probably all of them would have benefitted from that, and shock absorbers that weren’t the cheapest thing GM could find.
The HD frame got my attention too. Did, say, Chev taxis have that, I wonder? Be quite interesting to know what was beefed up, or indeed, if any were ever made. The extra cost to an operator wouldn’t be justified in the lifespan of a taxi, you’d think.
If not the GMC half-ton.
Yeah, possibly.
Was the 389 really the only engine, or could fleets get a 326?
326 was never available in the full size Pontiacs.
That’s an amazing list of HD items! Sure makes you wonder how many were sold.
Interesting, I don’t know Pontiac HP ratings, but those lower two sure look like they’d be from a 326 given the gross ratings and creativity in those days. The higher number is certainly a 389 though. But my god, gross 215 in those days was really more like 150HP out of a 389? Might there have been special engine options on the Taxi line? Or are those number just regular low pro 389 ratings?
As an aside, it’s funny what all you see as Taxis these days. I’ve even seen a BMW 750i as a taxi. Not limo, just plain old taxi. But in ’64 things were much different.
Wide-tracking hacking?
Looking at the ad, it looks like the only thing that would kill the car would be rust!
I wonder if this was an under-the-radar way of getting certain HD parts out the door for NASCAR drivers. I think it was 1963 when GM stopped all racing support, so could this have been a way to offer HD frames, suspensions and other components for racing? There is no 2 door sedan with a SD 421 and 4 speed available as a taxi, but that would have been obvious enough that even GM’s 14th floor would have caught on.
I wonder what option code 661 HD frame consisted of. Buttressed welded and/or bolted frame joints? Or thicker steel? The latter would be mighty expensive to manufacture.
I assume it’s the convertible frame, which was made of heavier gauge steel, at least in certain parts.
Once cars had foot wells in the front and back seats I guess the usual convertible X frame addition couldn’t be used, so heavy duty elsewhere. Somewhere I think I once read about the first GM body on frame intermediates having perimeter frames that were open on one side, and HD versions like for convertibles were boxed.
Pontiac didn’t use the X-Frame after 1960. It’s a perimeter frame like Chevy got in 1965.
I have never seen a Pontiac taxi or police car in my life. Not even in Canada.
We had the grand total of one, a 1977 Catalina equipped with a Rocket V-8. It had no a/c or power toys so it really hauled ass.
It was one of the first LPG conversions we did, too, with an in-trunk 80 litre tank. That translated into no more than 250 km between fill-ups. Like many of said early LPG conversions, the gas gauge didn’t work. I plastered Dymo labels all over the place that said, “Write down mileage after fill-up. No more than 250 km on a tank.”
The guys still ran it out of gas regularly.
A Rocket V8? As in Oldsmobile? That would work.
Probably a 403…many of the Poncho engines wouldn’t met Cali standards.
It was a Canadian spec Oldsmobile 350.
My experience is I couldn’t tell the 350 from the 403.
Actually an Olds Rocket 350 really would be strange. At that time the Cutlass was selling like crazy, and Olds didn’t have enough Rocket 350’s for the Delta 88, so 88’s were getting Chevy 350’s. We all know where that went.
West Vancouver Police Dept used Pontiacs for patrol cars. I remember the 73, 74 LeMans in particular. There was a Pontiac dealer in West Van…started out as Rogers Pontiac Buick then Conroy, then Royal. I assume the municipality thought it best to patronize a local business. They also had a 63 Bonneville ambulance. Interesting because Bonnevilles were never sold in Canada then so I guess the commercial chassis they used was the US wide track only
The Arvada, Colorado police department ran Ponchos in the mid seventies as well. As a high school student in the late seventies, I had several personal interactions with the police, and I remember the Arvada cruisers quite well.
This reminds me of all the LeMans police cars in Smokey and the Bandit, many of which had an ersatz Trans-Am hood scoop glued to the hood.
I heard rumors those cars came from a fleet accidentally ordered without A/C that was cancelled and pretty much unsalable.
Probably a 403…many of the Poncho engines wouldn’t met Cali standards.
Through an Australian’s eyes, seeing a ‘64 Pontiac 4 door sedan being promoted as a taxi appears as ridiculous as seeing a 1964 Cadillac Fleetwood Sixty Special being promoted as the ideal taxi.
I say this because in 1964, Australia’s General Motors – Holden (GMH) assembled from imported Canadian ‘CKD’ kits, a RHD 1964 Pontiac Parisienne 4 door sedan which with its genuine leather interior and 100% wool carpet but simple small ‘dog dish hub caps’ and black wall tires sold together with the ‘64 Chevrolet Belair 4 door sedan as the GMH top of its range luxury cars. From 1949 to 1970 Pontiac and Chevrolet were considered and sold as luxury cars in Australia.
Black examples of these RHD ‘64 Pontiac Parisienne 4 door sedans were used to chauffer Australian heads of state. The typical private owners were wealthy Australians, In every way, 1964 Pontiac 4 door sedans were high end prestige luxury cars in Australia back in 1964.
So, dressed as a Taxi looks crazy to me. Interesting article nevertheless.
As an aside here, I’ve always been amazed at the discrepancy in base engines between Chevy and Pontiac back then. Chevy: 250, 283, 327, 348, and you’re still not up to Pontiac’s 389! Yeah, I know the state of tune is another matter, but still…..
In 1964, Australias General Motors Holden (GMH) sold RHD versions of the ‘64 Chevrolet Belair and ‘64 Pontiac Parisienne 4 door sedan. GMH sold these cars as its top of the range luxury passenger cars. Both of these cars had Rolls Royce quality 100% leather interiors and 100% wool deep pile carpet.
GMH assembled these cars from CKD kits that were shipped from Canada. The artist impression of the ‘64 Pontiac taxi sedan was also used in the Australian ‘64 Pontiac Parisienne GMH sales brochure. GMH artists altered the windscreen wiper, steering wheel locations to turn the illustration into an Australian assembled RHD ‘64 Pontiac Parisienne 4 door sedan
Accordingly seeing a ‘64 Pontiac 4 door sedan dressed as taxi looks as ridiculous to me as seeing 1964 Cadillac Fleetwood Series Sixty Special dressed as a taxi. From 1949 to 1970 Chevrolet and Pontiac sold as high end luxury cars down under in Australia.
So Pontiac was a medium-priced car in the USA, a low-priced car in Canada, and a high-priced luxury car in Australia. I don’t understand GM sometimes…
During the 1950s and 1960s GM worldwide had a policy of offering cars to fit all customer budgets.
For the USA it was Cadillac, Buick, Oldsmobile for the financially well off, Pontiac for the upper middle class and Chevrolet for the working class.
Following this approach Australias General Motors Holden (GMH) during the 1950s and 1960s offered Chevrolet / Pontiac as its premium luxury cars, Vauxhall for the upper middle class and Holden as its entry level economy mass market cars.
The Chevrolets and Pontiacs assembled by GMH from 1949 until 1970 were however put together with great care and attention to detail. High grade genuine leather covered the seats and 100% genuine wool pile carpet covered the cars floors. A hydraulic bumper jack replaced the US supplied mechanical jack and the trunk (boot) was fully lined reflecting the very high selling price.
A new Australian delivered Chevrolet or Pontiac from 1949 to 1970 retailed for three times more than than the price of a new Holden
For local assembly in the south pacific the sloane ladder began lower than Chevrolet, it began at Holden then up to Vauxhall with Chevrolet next and Pontiac at the top in NZ Pontiacs werent even marketed by GM dealers but by another network but they were Cheviacs from Canada with private imports bringing the real thing in from the US lightly used.
Same with Buick in China that is positioned higher in customer recognition than Cadillac. That was due to the strong association with the last emperor of China who had a fleet of Buick cars during the 1930s.
GM had a serious image problem in Europe when trying to sell almost every model from all divisions except GMC during the 1980s. The Europeans didn’t know much difference between Impala/Caprice, LeSabre, 88 as well as Monte Carlo, Cutlass, Regal, Grand Prix. Europeans mostly associated Cadillac with Elvis and the ostentatious Americana, Pontiac with Smokey and the Bandit, Buick and Oldsmobile with the big question. Thus, reducing the models and divisions to fewer in the 1990s before settling on Cadillac and Chevrolet as the exclusive divisions for Europe during the 2000s. Some models from other divisions were rebranded as Chevrolet when selling in Europe like Alero.
Now, GM has mostly given up on Europe, selling Camaro and Corvette from Chevrolet along with Escalade from Cadillac.
American cars were much more expensive outside the US. A Chevrolet in Europe in the 50s and 60s was a fairly high end car.
Did anyone else notice the option 692 HD brakes includes “aluminum finned front drums” – were these a precursor to the Pontiac 8-bolt aluminum drums with the shrunk-in iron liner? Anyone have any information on these?
Not the precursor; the real thing. The were first available in ’59. Hard to imagine on a taxi.
The larger tires required for cars with A/C caught my eye; if that extra weight really pushed things past the limit, the standard 7.10-15’s must have had no margin for heavy passengers or luggage. A few years after this, the police in Fremont, California, then home of the GM plant which became NUMMI and now Tesla, used Colonnade-style Pontiac LeMans patrol cars. I wonder if any of those had a second life as cabs.
Interesting to see this. Makes me think of the cop cars on the TV 1961-63 series NAKED CITY (at least the 2nd through 4th seasons) when the detectives at the 65th Precinct always drove unmarked brand-new 4-door hardtop Catalinas, with whitewalls and proper wheel covers. New ones each season. Really odd, especially given that there was no “automobiles provided by” credit. And the actual cop cars ranged from, at best, banged up 1958 Dodges to *really* banged up 1954 Fords. That series, with all its location shooting, is full of interesting car sightings.
Taxi’s were always Chevy, Ford and Plymouth. And Checker, of course. You just didn’t see the premium brands. So this Pontiac is a weird choice. Someone mentioned Pontiac being the low priced brand in Canada. Did they NOT sell Chevrolets in Canada? I have seen the Canadian Acadians which were slightly modified Chevelle’s. Could this be an advertisement for Canadian taxi’s??????
Canadian Pontiacs back then were actually Chevys with Pontiac sheet metal. Yes, they were priced about the same or maybe a tiny bit more than Chevys. That;s because there weren’t enough dealers in low-density populate Canada to justify having both in any given town. Plus Canadian median income was lower back then.
No, this is a US Pontiac, with standard 389. Canadian Pontiacs had Chevy engines and Powerglides.
Thanks for the reply. I really enjoy your posts. You are really knowledgeable and interesting. My family has always been into old cars. I remember seeing a 65 Acadian or Beaumont at an auto show with a Pontiac badge when I was a little kid. But I knew it was a Chevy Malibu. I had to figure out what it was. I just never knew if the Chevy was also sold in Canada.
DeSoto and Packard built cars for taxi service.
I worked all over North America after the Korean War, and I saw one of those in Hogtown back in 1965.Life was not as restricted as it is now,and anyone could start his own cab company. Too many rules now. BTW I never liked Ponchos. Blew one up down in Mexico running from the Federales. They could have had me,but their engine blew too. Got over okay. Never did go to Mexico again.
Never saw a Pontiac taxi in my long life. The only Pontiac police cars I recall were 1976 and ‘77 LeMans Colonnades used by the Baltimore County P.D. 400 cubic inch 4 barrels. A police officer friend said they had so-so acceleration, but were comfortable and reliable. Also, terrible fuel economy. He recalled that he often had to fuel up a second time before completing his patrol shift.
I’m also curious about the heavy-duty frame. And it strikes me that if Pontiac had this option available in 1963, the Catalina could have been purchased with either a heavy-duty frame or the “swiss cheese” frame used on the 421 lightweight racers.
I agree with JP Cavanaugh’s comment that this might have been a way to get heavy duty components out as regular production parts. The heavy duty frame is probably the convertible frame. Back in the 1950’s heavy duty parts were listed for “export” models.
Pontiac tried to compete with “low priced 3” a few times over the past 75 years. Same with Dodge, and they over took Plymouth.
DeKalb IL [where I went to college] had full size Pontiac police cars, since the local dealer was a powerhouse. But, after ’81, when no B body, switched to Crown Vics. And, didn’t go back to Parisienne when they returned in ’83.
In mid 70s’, along with “Sherriff Buford’s” LeMans, only saw Poncho cop cars in TV/movies.