Recently, there have been a few things from my early childhood that have come back into my present consciousness, eliciting genuine affection. Having been born in the mid-1970s, in the tail-end of the age demographic known as “Generation X”, I can attest that many of my peers and I have collectively displayed a penchant for irony. In my college years, I used to play along when all of us in the TV room of our dormitory floor would make fun of things we had come to associate with our parents’ generation. Sometimes, though, I’d be thinking, “Wait a minute… I actually like that.” For some of us, it can take a little while to develop the courage to applaud and defend the unpopular things we like.
In one of my recent essays here at Curbside Classic, which featured a final-generation Buick Roadmaster, I had referenced how the downsized “B” platform, when newly introduced for model year ’77, was pretty much universally acclaimed. A successful downsizing of GM’s full-sized cars meant greater efficiency, maneuverability, and space utility. As great as those cars were, I had never paid that much attention to them until I started reading about them here at CC, about five years ago. It wasn’t that I had any particular problem with these cars, but rather it’s that they seemed to fade into the background, much like the radio hits that got significant, recurring airplay on the Adult Contemporary radio stations when I was growing up.
I recently purchased a couple of compilation CDs of what might be termed soft rock or “Yacht Rock” – and I almost can’t handle the smoothness, in the best way. It’s bliss. All of a sudden, these collections of songs, TV commercials for which used to elicit loud, unforgiving guffaws from my cohorts, are now absolutely some of my favorite sets of jams tunes. Many of these songs are of the slick, mega-produced, West Coast ilk, the likes of which I used to hear in lobbies, elevators and department stores when I was a kid. Such songs featured some of the best session musicians and producers of that time, and big budgets.
This metaphor came to me at the most random of times, but it makes sense to me that the 1977-’79 era of downsized B-Bodies, and specifically this ’79 Bonneville, are the automotive embodiment of Yacht Rock. In 2019, this car is definitely a “yacht”, and I do not mean that in any pejorative sense. And despite its obvious patina, I think it rocks just the way it is. The body is otherwise straight and clean, all lights and most chrome trim bits are accounted for, and (if I remember correctly) the interior was also in pretty good shape.
To expand on this “Yacht Rock”-metaphor, it’s all in the little details on this Bonnie. There’s the chrome strip on the hood that culminates in the octagonal stand-up hood ornament. (Look at the gold filigree sunburst on that miniature work of art.) This precise level of detail could be likened to Walter Becker’s and Donald Fagen’s insistence on six hours of takes from seven different session guitarists to select the seconds-long guitar solo on their band’s (Steely Dan’s) #11 Billboard Hot 100 hit, “Peg”. (One of Jay Graydon’s takes was ultimately picked as the guitar solo featured on this hit.)
The icy blue shade of what must be the original paint makes me feel like being out on the water, like a “Cool Change” (Little River Band, 1979) or two are due for me in 2019. All of this Bonneville’s classy, brassy, shiny chrome is reminiscent of many a live orchestra that was brought in for recording sessions of the ’70s, versus the ’80s-on practice of using synthesizers. I’ve got a “Lotta Love” (Nicolette Larson, 1978) for this Poncho, especially in the original, unrestored shape it’s in.
There were close to 179,500 Bonnevilles produced for ’79, with three bodystyles and two trim levels, of which this base-model sedan took the lion’s share of sales with 71,900 out the door. From a sales standpoint, the Pontiacs were mid-pack (below Chevrolet and Oldsmobile, but above Buick), with about 226,500 full-sized models sold, including 47,000 downmarket Catalinas. From an aesthetic perspective and to my eyes, they give away little or nothing to the Buick LeSabre or Olds Eighty-Eight, though I like the Chevys the best.
Naturally, Chevrolet would “Steal Away” (Robbie Dupree, 1980) with the most full-size sales that year, with its deftly-styled and smartly-priced Impala and Caprice, with over 588,500 units (combined). Also for ’79, Buick clocked in with 172,000 units (including the Estate Wagon) and Oldsmobile moved about 291,500 units (including the Custom Cruiser wagons).
I have a (very) wide range of tastes in both cars and music, but I must give credit to the other writers (and commenters) at Curbside Classic for having encouraged me to give these cars a second look through their own enthusiasm for them. The automotive landscape will “Never Be The Same” (Christopher Cross, 1980) as it was back when this Bonneville was new. U.S. production of many domestic-branded private passenger cars seems to be coming to an end in the near future, which “Hurt[s] So Bad” (Linda Ronstadt, 1980). This, however, is what continues to make sightings like this old Pontiac all the more special.
Lakeview, Chicago, Illinois.
Saturday, November 20, 2010.
Amazing that GM could sell four different makes of the same type of car (big 4 door V8 sedan). Were there separate dealers that would require their version of the car? Were the buyers so make orientated that they would not buy another, similar GM car?
I know that same argument was used when badge-engineering was a hit in the UK – late fifties and sixties. BMC had Austin, Morris, MG, Riley, Wolseley, VandenPlas. Rootes had Hillman, Singer, Sunbeam and Humber.
“From a sales standpoint, the Pontiacs were mid-pack (below Chevrolet and Oldsmobile, but above Buick)”
Surprised by that. I always thought Pontiac was above Chevrolet and below Oldsmobile and Buick. But that guess came from growing up in Europe where big Americans were/are pretty scarce.
Your understanding of the GM prestige hierarchy is correct. However, both Chevy and Olds sold more of these cars than Pontiac.
The GM brand hierarchy was established when each brand had more or less one size of car and its own engines. There was minimal overlap of size/price/ power between brands. This distinction became blurred in the fifties when the lesser brands started offering more powerful engines and more luxurious models, and was blown up in thesixties when all of the brands (except Cadillac) started selling a wide range of sizes and prices.
Yes, most GM cars were sold through single-brand dealers. Dealers in smaller towns might sell more than one brand.
The buyers were oriented to the idea of expressing social status through GM brand. They’d probably have stayed in the GM family. But they paid extra for the prestige brands. Until GM sales started declining in the eighties, it was a net positive for the company.
Chevrolet was always the sales leader in the Sloan ladder, being the “mass-market” GM brand and their entrant in the “low-priced three.” The rest of them went Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick, Cadillac, in rising sequence. But the Sloan ladder distinctions became blurred, made indistinct by shared body structures, and later, shared drivetrains.
GM dealers were at one time brand-specific in larger markets. In San Francisco we had four Chevrolet dealers: Ellis Brooks, Les Vogel, George Olson and (somebody) Ingold. There were two Pontiac dealers, one owned by City Board of Supervisors member Roger Boas; Oldsmobile and Buick, and two outlets selling Cadillacs, both owned and operated by the Cadillac Motir Car Division. Later there was consolidation, two of the Chevy stores merging and the Cadillac stores franchised out to private dealerships, Kohlenberg and Fazackerly. It was a heady time, with the public flocking to new car introductions marked by searchlight beams in the sky, the people carrying off as many glossy brochures as could be found, and free refreshments at many dealers, like the unlimited serve-yourself doughnuts and coffee at Ellis Brooks Chevrolet. One year, San Francisco Giants star and future Hall of Famer, the late Willie McCovey, signed free “baseballs” (actually round sawdust clods wrapped and stitched to look like baseballs) at Ellis Brooks.
My parents shopped all four GM B bodies in 1977 before deciding on the Bonneville. By then, the price and equipment distinctions between them had become very thin, with only a few features that were exclusive to the ostensibly upmarket brands. I wasn’t aware at the time that each brand had a completely different set of V8 engines either. The choice mainly came down to whose styling you preferred, and minor ergonomic and feature differences.
*based on a true story
This series is wonderful. “You’re a f—- loser Cetera!”
I had just watched a youtube video on the making of “Aja”.
Then you post Yacht Rock.
That made my day. Hilarious satire!
At first I thought this was a car that was posted for sale locally here in New England, looks just the same, right down to the paint degradation. I always was fond of this generation of Bonneville. Never had focused that closely on the hood ornament, but doing so gave me a newfound appreciation for it. Clean it up a bit and I would be happy to drive it.
It’s More Than A Feeling that this Pontiac Didn’t Bring Me Down because we went to the Hotel California, played some Head Games and After the Love Is Gone said Riki Don’t Lose That Number and then Goodbye Stranger.
In case Riki forgets, the number is 867-5309.
Riki shouldn’t lose that number but it’s not the number off the wall. Two different songs
Yes, I know that. Does it really matter?
Not in the least. It did always bother me that they put the pause at the wrong place, though. Instead of 867-5309, it comes out as 8675-309. My grandmother, who worked as a telephone operator for Bell of Pennsylvania, would not have been amused. 🙂
Boston, ELO, Eagles, Foreigner, Earth Wind and Fire, Steely Dan, and Supertramp (Breakfast in America album?). LT Dan, those are some of my 1970’s favorite artists and songs.
Christopher Cross’ “Sailing” has to be the ultimate yacht rock song.
Cross, Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins all live in my area, and we have a yacht harbor, so I guess I live in the Mecca of yacht rock.
Nicely played, LT Dan!
Joseph, we know and appreciate “How Much You Feel” (Ambrosia 1978) about cars and music. 🙂
Great topic and story, It’s always a treat to enjoy your writing. Thank you. Really adds to the nice mix at Paul’s site. Excellent find and photos as well. This Bonneville sure reminds me of the Canadian Pontiac Laurentian, from 1979. Though being a Bonneville, I think it would be the equivalent to the higher trim level Parisienne.
Really nice view selections and composition in your photos. You really bring out the character in this Poncho.
I share your appreciation for Yacht Rock, and that brief window in time when adult contemporary music dominated the Top 40 Billboard charts between around 1978 through 1982. As quickly as Christopher Cross helped define the era in 1980. His sound was passé by 1984.
You’ll enjoy this clip. Canada had our own Christopher Cross sound-alike singer in David Roberts. This song, ‘Boys of Autumn’ was a big Top 40 song in Canada in 1982. And most Americans hearing it for the first time, would swear it is Cross. The song arrangement and singing are that similar.
Probably the biggest ‘vehicle’ for Yacht Rock was the syndicated TV show ‘Solid Gold’. Virtually every Yacht Rock one hit wonder appeared at least once.
Daniel, the Bonneville was equivalent to the Parisienne. The Parisienne used the same hood ornament and emblem as this Bonneville. In Canada the lineup was actually bigger than the US. We had the Laurentian, the Catalina and the Parisienne (lowest to highest price). Pontiac always was more of low priced car here and sold well. I remember many Pontiacs on the street from this era.
Also worth mentioning that Canadian Pontiacs while almost identical to US models at this time, used Chevrolet engine line ups. So ours had SBCs and no Pontiac V8s.
My Uncle had a ’79 Catalina he bought new. He bought a second ’79 Laurentian as his winter car. Afrer the Laurentian rusted out, he just used the Catalina as his only car. He kept the good one until about 2005 as his daily driver. He had started getting it sprayed by Rust Check and he repainted it with a high quality two stage paint job. When he sold it it was like new and he got peanuts. The new owners destroyed it within two years. I wish I bought that car at the time.
Joseph, thanks for another great write up comparing music and cars. It was very enjoyable.
Thank you for the Canadian Pontiac refresher Vince. I remember as well, how popular Pontiac was in Canada at the time. A generally highly regarded brand, with the exception of the Astre. In many ways I preferred the intermediate and full sized Pontiac models over their Chev equivalents. As well as the Grand Prix and Firebirds. They were my favourite GM brand growing up. Nice styling, interiors, and trim packages, made them very desirable in the GM lineup. As their cars were so sporty and stylish.
That is a heartbreaking shame regarding your uncle’s Catalina. Especially given he bought it new, and maintained it so well, for so long. I really feel so sorry for him, and you. Hurts like that linger for a long time.
The late 70s were a great time to be a Pontiac fan in Canada! Miss those days.
Daniel, thank you for the kind words and also for these great links! I’m a Billboard chart position junkee, and I’ve always been curious as to why some songs catch on, on either side of the border but not the other, and also those songs that share similar chart positions in both the U.S. and Canada.
And yes – David Roberts sounds a lot like Christopher Cross.
What a great pairing – Yacht Rock and this car. I would never have made the connection, but now that you have I can see it perfectly.
The 77-79 Bonneville has always been a guilty pleasure for me. Everyone loves the Chevy and the Buick. My favorite was always the Oldsmobile 88 for its clean masculinity but this car was my second choice.
Where the others were clean and minimalist, this one was brash and bold. I loved the fender skirts (with lip-less rear quarters to make them look right) and the dash which was one of the best on these B bodies. One thing though, I never understood that sunburst thing that Pontiac used on the hood ornaments. But it is pure Yacht Rock. I’ll never love this way again (Dionne Warwick).
One thing though, these wheel covers were pure fail. This car needed those classic Pontiac 5 spoke wheels to complete the package.
I’d really love one done up like that but with the gauge package.
Acres of brougham with a nod to the TransAm when you slam the column shift in drive and look at the dash.
Totally agree on the wheel covers! The basic full wheel covers seemed deliberately bland in order to get the customer to spring for the Rally wheels or the Snowflake wheels. Hell, even the wire wheel covers were an improvement….
100% with you all on these wheelcovers, which are pretty unimaginatively styled. I was glad they were all accounted for!
That is literally a clone on the outside of a car that I wanted to buy in the worst way around 1990 at the tender age of 20. It was the exact same on the outside even with the same wheels but had red bucket seats, gauge package, RTS suspension, power windows/locks, A/C and the upgrade 4 BBL version of the 301.
The previous owner changed out the exhaust to a dual rear with turbo mufflers giving the car a nice mellow sound and for some reason that 301 seemed abnormally strong perhaps getting better rear gears with the suspension upgrade. It was quick enough that dad didn’t’ want me to get it because of “having too much engine” which probably seems comical today but it had more than enough power to get me into trouble quickly at the time. Being 2k short of the 4995 asking price didn’t help the cause either. Oh the memories
I always fell into the Lesabre camp but you’re making a strong case for the Pontiac. That dash is quite attractive, it reminds me of the 68-70 Chrysler B body dashes in design
I made that Mopar dash association too – the full-width pad across the top and the main surface that tilts away from the driver as it rises are classic Chrysler from the late 60s-early 70s.
This is a terrific tie-in, Joe.
One thing that I always found fascinating about these B-body Pontiacs is how they seemed to cover the spectrum more so than the other B’s, being much plainer on the low end Catalina and more visually busy on the upper end Bonneville models.
If I were in the market for an older B-body, these would be good choices; not as plentiful, more unique than a Chevrolet, and mechanical bits are still dirt cheap. That’s a good combination.
Thanks for posting. Our family had a 79 I think, based on the taillights, which I remember more strongly than the grille. It was dark brown (natch) and the only other memory I have on it is we were involved in a small rear-end accident on Merriman Rd at Eight Mile (Baseline) while stopped for the light. I was in my child seat – for 1979 that meant the front center armrest, secured by my mother’s left arm. It was a low speed collision and we were OK. I recall that the Bonnie did not suffer much damage, but afterwards my father traded the Bonnie on a Ninety-Eight, which started my family’s run of Oldsmobiles. My father grew tired of poor service at Bob Sellers Pontiac and switched to Bob Saks Olds for a good eight years or so, until he bought a Datsun 810 Maxima (from Action Datsun – strangely across the street from the Livonia Ford Transmission plant).
When it comes to late 70s vintage GM cars,if I`m In The Mood to take a Sentimental Journey,the Stardust will fall upon the full-size GM sedans and coupes. Especially if I`m alone on Saturday, the Lonliest Night of the Week.
When I was in middle school in 1978, one of the carpool drivers drove a pre-downsized ’75 Ninety-Eight, with the radio always tuned to the local yacht-rock station, WASH-FM 97.1 (which remains an adult-contemporary station today). I nonetheless came to associate yacht rock with personal-luxury coupes, Broughams, and customized vans, all of which were having their last hurrah around this time. And my folks themselves had a ’77 Bonneville Brougham which I had a hand in custom-ordering. I somehow didn’t convince them to order a tape deck, but who needed it back when radio was playing England Dan and John Ford Coley every hour?
I remain a huge fan today – of late-’70s GM B/C bodies and the yacht rock that was their indigenous soundtrack.
Other great yacht rock era songs I love that would fit this car and the other B/C full size car’s of the late 70’s are Ian Gomm’s “Hold On”, Pure Prairie League’s “Let Me Love You Tonight”, Jimmy Hall’s “I’m Happy That Love Has Found You”, Rupert Holmes’s “Him”, Fleetwood Mac’s “Sara”, Herb Alpert’s “Rise”, J.D. Souther’s “You’re Only Lonely”, Steve Forbert’s “Romeo’s Tune”, Lee Ritenour’s “Is It You”, Marty Balin’s “Hearts”, John Stewart’s “Gold” and Grover Washington Jr.’s “Just The Two Of Us”
So many Yacht Rock classics! Pablo Cruise and “Whatcha Gonna Do”. Larsen Feiten Band and “Who’ll be the Fool Tonight”. Jim Photoglo and “Fool In Love With You”.
I loved Pablo Cruise’s “Whatcha Gonna Do” and Larsen-Feiten Band’s “Who’ll Be The Fool Tonight” (very underrated song), Jim Photoglo’s “Fool In Love With You” was an okay song but I liked his other Top 40 hit “We Were Meant To Be Lovers” a lot better, another yacht rock classic I love is Paul Davis’s “Cool Night”
One of my personal favourites from this era was ‘Love Takes Time’ by Orleans. A nice ‘comeback’ song for them at the time.
Great underrated song that I wish was available on iTunes, “Love Takes Time” was my favorite song by them, too bad it gets overlooked in favor of “Dance With Me” and “Still The One”
Thanks, everyone, for reading this one and for chiming in. It was almost as fun to read the comments and listen to the various posted tracks as it was to write this essay!
For my fellow Yacht Rock fans, check out the “Too Slow Too Disco” series of compilations from Germany’s “How Do You Are?” record label. These collections feature both well-known hits as well as obscure tunes from obscure artists that, in a perfect world, should have gone RIAA Gold or Platinum.
This has seen constant rotation at the Casa De Dennis:
http://tooslowtodisco.com/the-ladies-of-too-slow-to-disco/
Thank you for this wonderfully presented topic and photos Joseph. Really enjoyed this!
Your link is also much appreciated. Love the adult contemporary sound from this era. Consistently great work Joe.
Always liked this style of music. I was amazed back then to find that the Little River Band’s music was more popular in the US than it was here. Disco was quite a shock when it came along, but to me it was a flash-in-the-pan; cool at first but not long before it became same-old, same-old, bang-bang-bang-bang beat. Boring.
I can’t recall Robbie Dupree’s ‘Steal Away’; the band that comes to mind for that title is The Fureys. Different song though, and at 1994 too late for this era. 🙂
In black, red interior, and rally wheels. White letter Radial T/As. Probably be “Gimme Shelter” playing though.
Yes, I do remember “no static at all” with the song FM (Steely). This could be the theme song for the 1977 thru 1979 GM B & C platforms.
However, I was experiencing severe “static in my attic” on channel Z (B52s) with the 1985 thru 1988 GM B & C platforms. What was GM smoking at the time???
Summer of 1981, I was mowing several neighbors’ lawns that summer. The best car of the bunch was the 1979 Cadillac Fleetwood, black, chestnut leather, I seem to recall that it had no vinyl top, two tone painted pinstripe, beige and tan. Just a lovely, stately car.
In the right color and trim, a Bonneville with skirts would have been 90% of the car at 60% of the cost of the Cadillac.
My parents were Oldsmobile people…every time my dad car-shopped he looked at Glenway Chevrolet, Henry Sieve Pontiac, Floyd Dugan Buick, and just like clockwork, he’d pop for an Olds 88 or Cutlass, vinyl seats, vinyl top, A/C, AM radio, full wheel covers and the smallest V8.
One correction, Joseph, if I may:
AOR stands for ALBUM-oriented Rock.
AOR was what WLUP-FM was playing when it staged its infamous Disco Demolition Night in 1979. The format is an outgrowth of the Progressive Rock stations of the early 1970’s, and in reality, in most markets, those heritage Album Rock stations have evolved into Classic Rock today.
I liked how Pontiac came back with the downsizing. They hadn’t yet retreated back to their 1926-56 roots as a fancy Chevy; there was still enough attitude in enough of their models to BE Pontiacs.
But I’ve long contended that after 1982, Pontiac Motor Division had no reason to continue in the USA, and I still stand by that conviction. Even though I lived in Canada for two years in junior high and saw, learned and appreciated the “Cheviacs” from Acadians and Beaumonts to the 119-inch WB Chevy-underneath Parisiennes/Laurentians/Strato-Chiefs…that’s CANADA’s Pontiac heritage, which for many reasons is different from ours in the US.
Interesting phenomenon today, a number of Soft Adult Contemporary radio stations have been popping up…catering to, um, Listeners Of A Certain Age. They’re usually called “The Breeze.” And Yacht Rock’s a big commodity at those stations.
Here’s a Boz Scaggs tune that’s often forgotten, but it leans to the Rock side of the Yacht Rock equation.
Chas108, thank you so much for the correction on “AOR” – much appreciated. And I am also a fan of Boz Scaggs.
Great write up Joseph, as per your style.
I listen to a streaming service at work called Accuradio and there’s a specific channel called “Rock the Yaught”. A lot of songs mentioned here already are staples on it but I’ve got another to add, along with a car from that era – another B-body that I think epitomizes yaught rock on wheels. (I hope this works)
https://goo.gl/images/rzXy1A
https://i2.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/1979-buick-lesabre-palm-beach-exterior.jpg
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MQLHQCMxQJc
Dartmouth D, thank you, and an emphatic yes to both car and song! Paul Davis was underrated. And “I[‘d] Go Crazy” if I saw a ’79 Palm Beach edition LeSabre.
Haha great turnaround on the song! That the other one of his that runs on Rock the Yaught.
I have to improve my pasting methods so the links actually show up as a pic like other commenters. Thanks for taking the time to click on them.
Funny thing about that LeSabre. I know they must be very rare, if initial sales figures plus the passage of 40 years is any indication, but I saw one in my area a few years ago.
I live in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia on the east coast of Canada and the A&Ws here have a cruise night in the good weather months on Thursday evenings. I thought it unusual but didn’t realize how much of a unicorn (is that a stretch to say?) it was until I looked it up later….especially in a climate that has not much in common with Palm Beach (then again, we do have a great coastline and seafaring culture).
Very much enjoying this website because of contributions like this one. Also, thanks Paul for being the straw that stirs the drink, as they say.