(first posted 3/2/2011) Having repeatedly been confronted with the picture of the 1963 Grand Prix in other articles the last couple of days made me think: when exactly did the GP really start its final descent? And then a mental image of this picture of a 1978 GP popped up. I shot this in San Mateo a while back, sitting there so modestly with its dog dish hubcaps and all. The question was answered. The sin of name debasement was rampant in Detroit, but here’s an example as deadly as any.
Let’s bring it out one more time: the ’63 was a stunner, and undoubtedly Pontiac had its work cut out for it in trying to sustain the GP’s halo car image.
By 1967, the GP was getting a bit hippy, and not in the usual sense of the word for that year. But it still managed to convey a certain exclusivity, especially in the ads of the times.
The GP had been downsized before, in 1969, when it rode on a 118″ version of the new mid-sized GM frames. It was a bold step to inject new life into the personal luxury coupe, and ignited that mammoth American love affair with that segment, especially now that it was a bit more affordable. Although now not quite as exclusive, the GP’s stunning good lines (here in what may be my best photo ever, thanks to a setting sun) managed to keep its reputation largely intact.
The 1973 – 1977 Grand Prix was more than a bit challenged to keep up appearances, but its dramatic lines, sculptured beak and very distinctive tail allowed it to hang on, just barely. In this piece we won’t go much into GM’s quality issues of the seventies, and focus more on the styling, and the image the GP exuded, or didn’t. Regardless of how one feels about this generation, it did draw looks, if not always the most admiring ones. The field was now very crowded, and the Cutlass Supreme had somehow captured America’s attention in a way the GP didn’t anymore. Perhaps this GP is too masculine or slightly threatening looking compared to the Cutlass, which exuded a more benign image of gentle middle-class luxury coupe aspirations.
I apologize for the lack of proper front-quarter and rear-quarter shots of this car, which was one of the first I ever shot. What struck me was the side view (top), and how remarkably plain and un-eyecatching it was. This was a Grand Prix? GM’s only effort in trying to maintain any sense of ties to the GP’s heritage was in the beak, but it now too was only a pathetic little caricature of the dramatic 1971 GP beak (below).
I understand that GM’s first wave of downsizing presented challenges in the effort to shed weight, but really…how about going against the grain and bringing back the round headlights? Anything to get away from that profoundly generic front end.
I suppose it still beats the tail, which has now been utterly plucked of any plumage. How the mighty have fallen.
The GP’s dash is the only bit of attempted flair in this otherwise utterly undistinguished interior. I won’t even bother to show you the ’63’s sacred space.
At least Pontiac acknowledged the GP’s decline with a modest price reduction, from the 1977’s base of $5120 to the 1978’s 4880. But that doesn’t begin to reflect the drastic decontenting that occurred in that transition. The 1978’s standard engine was now the 231 (3.8 L) V6, which brought 105 (net) hp to the non-party. A 301 (5.0 L) V8 version with 140 hp was available, as well as a 150 hp version for the GP SJ. At least the V8’s had a half-way reasonable power-to-weight ratio with the new lighter body. But what about the vaunted GP glamor?
I’m going to do something I usually don’t, and repeat the top picture again, because it tells the sad story of the once Grand Prix better than any more of my words can ever do.
Pontiac did this before. They bunted. The stylists decided that to not make a error was more important than styling their cars. It is as though they stripped the Grand Prix of everything except the minimal. So, it looks like a generic car in profile. No one can say that it is bad, but obviously it is not a Grand Prix. It is like they froze when assigned to style the downsized car and thought that minimalism was the request.
Pontiac did this before. Remember at the end when Pontiac dropped all their Rubbermaid exterior trim pieces that were considered the height of cool a decade before? It was as though the G6 was a Grand Am without the ribbed Tupperwear exterior, remember?
That isn’t a Grand Prix. It is just a coupe looking for a marketing niche camouflaged among the personal luxury cars. Pontiac decided that it needed to put a lot of painted trim on this blank canvas in order to dress it up. Perhaps this was intentional; “let’s put a stripper out there and see who buys it, and if we need to, we can paint details on it later!”
I know that minimalism was cool for some car brands. But this was a Grand Prix, not an Audi. There was no way any Grand Prix driver would find this generation attractive enough to trade in a real Grand Prix for this generic version.
One more thing – I think Pontiac a stripper version of this car, I believe.
The Cutlass Supreme was the frumpy one of the bunch, a big comedown from the popular ’76-77 version. The back third just doesn’t work with the landau roof they all had. The Regal looked great when not tarted up, which the GP needs.
GM’s car divisions (Cadillac excepted) from about the mid-’70s to their bankruptcy tried to be everything to everybody, a result of dealers wanting something to sell to all tastes and budgets. This resulted in fancy Chevrolets, sporty Buicks, and cheap base-model Oldsmobiles. And cars like this strippo Grand Prix, a rare car that looks much better with the landau roof, opera windows, and other brougham gingerbread. Without it, you get an awkward attempt to foist a coke-bottle shape onto a boxy car that wants straighter lines. The front looks like it’s from one of those awful neo-classic cars like the Zimmer or Excalibur. Not sure why, but I really want a Pontiac logo in the middle of the grille; without it it looks generic. If you could get by the outside appearance, the interior was a knockout. Pontiacs had by far the best dash design of the A/G bodies, and the GP added to that distinct door armrests not used on any other GM car including the LeMans or Grand Am – note the raised section that holds the window controls that on other A bodies were just stuck on the door trim where the crank would have been. There’s also no indentation in the armrest to close the door with because all GPs had separate pull straps. LJ and SJ models could be fitted with Viscount leather bucket seats with open headrests, also a GP exclusive amongst A bodies. Either these or the standard bucket seats show off the interior best because they included a large (yet unobtrusive) console that neatly joins with the dash, rare for its time.
The 1981 facelift was a clear attempt to revive the 1963 body contours (especially around the rear fender), along with some colonnade-era creases on the hood and trunk lid. It didn’t work really well with the squared-off and downsized body, but it was a distinct improvement over the 1978-80 models IMO.
“GM’s car divisions (Cadillac excepted) from about the mid-’70s to their bankruptcy tried to be everything to everybody, a result of dealers wanting something to sell to all tastes and budgets.”
In effect, other than Cadillac, each division was trying to be their own little, mini-GM (“a Buick/Oldsmobile/Pontiac for every purse and purpose”). Instead of competing with Ford and Chrysler, they ended up competing with themselves. It’s no wonder that it ultimately led to the demise of two of them.
Exactly. FCA/Stellantis has been accused of having too many brands as well, but they’re widely sold in combined Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep/Ram dealerships and thus they can keep their brands distinct, without Jeep dealers insisting on some sedans or Chrysler dealers wanting a pickup truck.
GM in the ’80s and ’90s had many individual GM brand dealers that wanted a full line of cars, which continuously negated attempts at keeping their brands from competing with each other. Pontiac tried to woo a younger crowd in the ’80s with a more affordable take on BMWs, but dealers said they need a big traditional car so back comes the Parisienne which clashed in every way with the direction they tried to go. Buick did well with plush cars that were unabashedly American style and popular with older buyers, but hey lets make T-Type sporty versions of our cars in case younger buyers looking for high-performance cars step into our showroom, and Skyhawks for those starting out who need a cheap small car. Oldsmobile tried several approaches that failed to catch on (emphasizing high tech, trying to woo “import-oriented” buyers, etc.) and made a good impression with the first Aurora, but they couldn’t let go of the ancient Ciera because it was a cash cow, so this 13-year-old car for bargain hunters (and fleets) outsold the new Aurora and got in the way of Olds trying to update their image.
Not a deadly sin, considering the CAFE yearly increases at the time. Maybe if CAFE had been phased in more slowly, GM would have time to style and engineer these better.
PLC’s were so popular that Big 3 brought out stripper models, to take place of base 2 door sedans. Hence, by 1982, there was no more LeMans/Malibu coupe, or Olds/Buick equivalent. And later, Ford had no Taurus 2 door, since had T-Bird.
BTW, the ’63 GP was simply a Catalina with different trim, same B body, even some panels the same. Pontiac’s version of ’63 Impala SS. Not same as ’63 Riviera with its unique E body. The 1969 GP was a true PLC, no shared body parts with Tempest/LeMans.
There were however FWD A body two door sedans like the Celebrity, or the Pontiac 6000 up to 1988, which effectively succeeded the RWD A body line leaving the G body to cover the PLC spectrum.
I followed this idea of name debasing before. Buick Electra, Olds 98, The Grand Prix. Even Ford and Chrysler did this too. New guys would be hired to these companies and would throw away the value of a brand to move the metal and maximize profits. They didn’t care of the history. And they all essentially moved on or retired with no regrets.
Honda and Toyota made efforts to invest in brands and they lasted for years and are here today (Accord, Civic, Camry, Corolla etc). Of the Detroit Brands, Ford is invested in the F series trucks and Mustang, GM the Corvette. Chrysler brought back storied brands like the Chrysler 300, Dodge Challenger and Charger and briefly the Dart.
They may have been going for the clean look along those slab sides, but the dopey looking wheel covers and the missing filler piece along the back bumper speak volumes of how much this car tarnished the GP reputation, from a short year earlier. The earlier colonnade version had style and panache, like it or not, it had a presence. This green thing is just a nameless, personality lacking abysmal representation of what this brand became. This coulda been a Chevy, and maybe would more appropriately should have been. A Grand Malibu?