(first posted 3/11/2014) Some car models have very linear lives. Take the Lincoln Town Car. All throughout its long life, from Continental option package in 1969 through the final Panther models in 2011, it was a full-sized, RWD, V8 luxury car. So, too, the Chevrolet Camaro. It was always a stylish, sporty two-door, available in show horse-six-cylinder or race horse-V8 models. The Pontiac Bonneville is a different story. It started as a limited edition, top of the line, fuel-injected convertible in 1957, followed with specially-trimmed coupe and convertible models (with fuel injection now optional) for ’58. After that, it became the top-shelf big Pontiac, and was consistently offered in coupe, sedan and wagon models for some time–but not permanently.
Between 1959 and 1970, the Bonneville was pretty consistently the most prestigious Pontiac, with a full line of body styles, including hardtop coupes, hardtop sedans and a convertible, in addition to a more-mainstream pillared sedan and station wagon. But all that changed in 1971, when Pontiac decided to chase Buick and Oldsmobile with their “super Bonneville” Grand Ville. Its C-body-derived rooflines and plusher interiors resulted in the Bonneville slipping a rung, to approximately the same spot as the recently-departed Executive–the long-wheelbase Pontiac with a plainer interior.
But the Grand Ville never really took off, and disappeared after 1975. Model year 1976 saw the return of the Bonneville to its rightful place at the top of the range, and there it stayed. The 1977 downsizing made the Bonnie more popular than ever, though still selling at a fraction of the 1977-79 Caprice’s numbers. The 1977-79 Bonneville (CCs on the ’78 sedan here and a ’79 Brougham coupe here) is my favorite B-body, but the 1980 refresh was also very attractive.
Of all the 1980 “aero” B-bodies, my favorite is the 1980-81 Bonneville coupe. These looked more luxurious than the Caprices, but never achieved the sales volume of their corporate sibling.
The 1979 gas crisis shook a lot of folks in Detroit. Everyone was expecting a worst-case scenario of gas prices doubling or tripling overnight. Suddenly, Pontiac execs feared their bread-and-butter big cars would be albatrosses in dealer showrooms, and so a drastic plan was undertaken. The big Pontiacs–Bonneville, Catalina, and Safari wagons–were bumped off for 1982.
It drives me crazy that unlike the Olds and Buick variants, the big Bonnevilles were not around for 1982-85. I feel the Pontiacs were the best looking version–especially the coupes!
Loyal Pontiac buyers were greeted with this in the fall of 1981: A Grand LeMans with a miniaturized Bonneville nose grafted on. All in all, it was not a bad-looking car, but who would have taken it for a genuine Bonneville?
Especially when you could walk out of Horst-Zimmerman Pontiac to Bob Ericksen Chevrolet and pick up a REAL full-size Caprice Classic?
A wagon was also offered, with interiors a cut above the earlier LeMans versions, but it still was not quite a Bonneville, at least in your author’s opinion. Indeed, in the Canadian market, the 1982 Bonneville “Model G” was marketed as the Grand LeMans.
Why? Because those level-headed Canadians decided that eliminating the full-size Pontiac was dumb, dumb, dumb, and thus continued the B-body as the Parisienne for 1982. Yes, it was a quick trim-shuffle on the Caprice, but at least there was still a big Pontiac for folks who wanted one–at least in the home of Elsinore beer.
Now, if the doom-and-gloom scenario had played out, then Pontiac might well have had a great year, as buyers would have shunned the fuel-hungry biggies for something just as plush but more fuel-efficient. But it never happened, and Pontiac was caught with its pants down in 1983 as customers started lining up for full-size sedans again. Oops.
At least Pontiac realized their mistake, and imported the Canadian Parisienne starting in mid-’83. They even added the 1980-81 Bonneville quarters to the 1985-86 models, making for a very attractive car–in fact they and the 1980-81 Bonnevilles are my favorite ’80s Pontiacs. But the Bonneville remained G-based and midsize through 1986, with little to no change from 1982.
Finally, in 1987, the Bonneville’s reputation and size were restored as it joined its former platform-mates, the Delta 88 and LeSabre, on the new-for-1986 full-size FWD H-body. Fully modern and most attractive, the new Bonneville lost all its Brougham accoutrements and went for the smooth and sporty look, particularly in SE guise. Unlike its siblings, the Bonneville was not offered in a coupe model. It would be sedans-only from here on out.
Driver Information Center, seen above the climate controls. So ’80s!
All 1987 Bonnevilles shared the same powertrain: a 3.8L V6 with sequential port fuel injection, 150 horsepower and a four-speed automatic. SE models gained gas-pressurized struts, Goodyear Eagle GT radials, alloy wheels, full instrumentation and the cool Driver Information Center, which showed an overhead illustration of the car and had light-up sections for open door, open trunk and other alerts. I remember a friend of my father’s had a white 6000STE he bought new, and as a six- or seven-year old I was absolutely fascinated with that feature. If you opened a door, the door on the miniature car on the dash opened too! Cool!
While opera lamps, vinyl roofs and tacked-on chrome were no longer on offer (though wire wheel covers were available at least the first couple of model years), in luxuriousness the LE took over where the ’86 Brougham left off. Standard features included power windows, air conditioning and a 45/55 bench seat. These handsome lacy-spoke alloys were available as an option. Also optional on ’87 Bonnevilles was the Delco UT4 AM/FM stereo or Delco/Bose sound system, both of which added radio buttons to the steering wheel–quite possibly their first use in a car.
By 1989, the range had broadened out to three models. The SE and LE were much the same as in 1987, though some new wheel covers and alloys were available. The big news was the ground-effected, bespoilered SSE, which added sportiness to the nth degree when it came to the H-bodies. From the front, our featured Bonneville appears to be a 1990-91, as only the SSE had this grille in 1988 and 1989. 1990-91 SE and LE models got the SSE grille along with new taillights with amber turn signals, new wheel covers and other minor changes.
But as you can see, the front bumper does not have the matching two-tone paint present on the rest of the car, and the taillights are the earlier 1987-89 style, so I believe this is an ’89. I am guessing it was in a fender-bender at some point, and it gained a new grille and front bumper from another car. The front bumper was not quite aligned with the rest of the nose.
And about the SSE. It appeared in 1988, and immediately displaced the SE as the sporty Bonneville. This was really luxurious and sporty for even Pontiac, with ground effects, color-keyed wheels, plush 12-way leather seats, Electronic Ride Control and automatic climate control, among other refinements. The SSE would do 10.7 seconds 0-60, brake from 60-0 in 144.5 feet with its 160-hp, 210 lb-ft 3800 V6, 3.33:1 axle ratio and four-speed automatic. Not amazing in 2014, but pretty good for 1988-89. I would love to find one for CC, but haven’t seen one in years. Maybe some day…
I happened across this red-over-silver example last year, and immediately spotted it for what it was. The H-body Bonnevilles are rare around here these days, though plenty of Delta 88s and LeSabres can be spotted if you know what you are looking for. This LE was very similar to one my brother’s friend’s parents had in the early-to mid-’90s. Theirs was the same color, but was a 1990-91 and had the five-spoke wheel covers instead of the alloys this one sports. I remember riding in that car and thinking it was pretty nice. They eventually traded it in on a loaded 1996 Town & Country.
This car looks like it was cared for for much of its life, as the interior was spotless. LEs came only with the column shifted automatic and divided bench seat with fold-down armrest. While the same was standard on SEs, they could be optioned with buckets and a console. All SSEs came with buckets and console. Starting in 1989, a compact disc player was also optional, along with ABS. And ordering the UT4 Delco stereo added not only the radio buttons on the steering wheel, but also heat and A/C adjustments.
Like all H-bodies, these were very roomy cars, owing to their excellent space utilization. Our featured CC is quite well equipped, with two-tone paint, alloy wheels, the aforementioned UT4 stereo with steering wheel controls, and automatic climate control.
This generation of Bonneville was last available in the 1991 model year, and for 1992 it would get a much swoopier, ’90s-style body. Things like the non-flush push-button door handles and upright styling were losing favor for the aero look, and it was time for the big Pontiac to join the club. Oddly enough, I still see many 1992-99 Bonnevilles on the road, but this generation is nearly gone. Too bad, they were a nice looking car. Although I still hold out hope for finding a 1988-91 SSE for you all someday!
Great looking car with GM’s best FWD drivetrain… but that’s about all I can say about it. It didn’t handle any better than it’s Buick & Olds cousins, the very plasticy & grey Pontiac switchgear just yelled cheapness, and even me at 6′ tall seemed to think the dashboard was unusually high or the seat was low. Either way, it felt weird for that era of car. And a good thing to have the radio buttons on the wheel, as the stereo was simply out of reach. I’d still take one today, but would much prefer a Delta 88 of this vintage.
I bought one of these LE’s in Russia in this year. everything is working and everything is great except engine, this guy did a lot of a work for a last 30 years, so I have it fixed and right now I have almost new Bonneville 1989 LE in russia. I’d rather say it is almost a museum car here. So it says a lot about industry of this time in USA. A car without crasher or a rustic, i am very happy and so surprised, Here foe looking some information about this car, would appreciate if you can help me. I know that this discussion died in 2014, but why not ??
Great article, thanks Tom.
No surprise, I lusted after these way before I could drive. It was the SSE in medium garnet red with tan interior and the gold diamond spoke wheels of the 90 and 91 SSE that did it for me. At the time my parents had a medium garnet red 6000 STE and a 87 Fiero GT. These are the cars that cemented my demented love for Pontiac, that for whatever reason, I never grew out of.
There was an older couple up the street that had a 90 or 91 SSE in my favorite color combo and also had a 91 Grand Prix STE turbo in white. It always felt as if they were my parents 20 years in the future or something.
It may not be a linear progression, but this linear narrative definitely helps me start to uncode the post 73 GM saloon. Thanks Tom.
Great article! I always liked these too. That’s a very modern and purposeful look, with a dash of sportiness even. I have no idea if the driving dynamics match the exterior styling, as I’ve never driven or even sat in one; heck, I’ll just like it for its looks.
Love these and love the GM10 Grand Prix and ’92 Bonneville!
Just a note, although the Parisienne was imported from GM of Canada for 1982-84, for 1985-86 they were actually made in the US.
Sorry only 1983-84 were imported from Canada.
I agree, my ’83 was produced at St. Therese, Quebec.
. . . and, not only were these “B’s” Canadian in original marketing and design . . . but the “G’s” in their final RWD years came from Oshawa. My ’86 Cutlass Supreme LS Brougham was a Canadian car.
Wonder how many Pontiac buyers living near the border crossed over and bought big Pontiacs from Canada when GM didn’t sell them in the US? Admittedly there was this fuel scare, but….
It’s only been in the last few years that I’ve really started to like 70s-80s GM design. Growing up it never really did much for me in “real time”. However, the 1987 Bonneville was one I liked immediately. More so when the SSE came out! Something about it just works perfectly for me. I don’t know what.
When this generation Pontiac Bonneville first came out, I was not impressed. I’ve never liked front-wheel drive, and this was front-wheel drive. I also wasn’t pleased with its appearance.
I think discontinuing the full-size sedan was a wise decision while the Parisienne was a total, pathetic kowtow to the dealers. There was no corporate reason for every division to be in every segment, and no place for a big, pillowy brougham in the “We Build Excitement” brand.
Okay, but tell that to the tens of thousands of old farts have have 1) cash in hand and 2) want a sled.If I were a dealer, I’d want the sled back, too.
Exactly. The one-brand dealers wanted to be in every segment, resulting in the same car with four or sometimes five different names and grilles. It took GM another 20 years to get to mostly Buick-Pontiac-GMC dealers who could’ve steered the customer who’d always had big Pontiacs into a Buick.
Unfortunately, in the long run, its that short-term dealer attitude that killed GM. Every dealer has to be able to compete with every other dealer, and no dealer turns away a customer. Which does more than anything to forgetting what a brand means.
As long as you’re trying to present the brands as something different or fitting into some kind of hierarchy. The alternative would be to do what the Japanese automakers did in the home market, where each of the big manufacturers had several dealer networks, all carrying the same brand, but offering the same kind of stylistic and equipment variations as latter-day Detroit products.
The other thing to remember is that the H-body FWD cars were delayed, they were supposed to come out sooner, which would have bridged the gap.
Big cars had big profits, this is before the SUV craze. 1983 was huge recovery for Big Three, and alot of it was pent up demend for a new family size car. Buyers were eager to dump their aging 70’s leftover for a new ’83 B body. Poncho dealers wanted in on the action.
Sure, in long run, was overlap. But no one predicted, even in 1983, that GM would shrink market share. If they kept B bodies around for awhile, may have staved off losses in the late 80’s.
How long didn’t they keep the B-bodies around? They were made through 1996.
One of the (very few) US domestic cars I’ve any first hand experience of – while in North Dakota for a friend’s wedding about 12 years ago we were shuttled about a couple of times in one of the bridesmaids’ car which was one of these in dark blue.
Sadly the overwhelming impression I had was the smell – the poor lass had been having some kind of difficulties with rubbish collections in her local area (I forget the details, though she lived somewhere in Minneapolis and it had to do with a pay dispute if memory serves) so she’d been hauling her own rubbish to the dump in the boot of her car… and it stank!
Apart from the smell, I remember it being a very comfy ride. A bit floaty from a European perspective but less so than some of the other cars I rode in. What’s odd is that I don’t remember it as being especially big. Context I suppose. Here I’m sure – like any “full-size” car it would probably seem grotesquely oversized, but in its natural habitat it seemed a perfectly sensibly sized car.
Maybe my problem in warming up to these was from the first one I saw. Some family friends bought a new one in 1987 or 88. It was very basic (I remember thinking that it was more like a Catalina than a Bonneville). It was also not helped by the custard-yellow paint with a light caramel-brown interior, one of the least flattering color combos ever put on a car, IMHO.
This was the first new car either of them had bought in quite awhile, and they were very careful with their money. They liked to travel, and I recall them saying that the breaker for the wipers tripped during a long day of driving in rainy weather. This was the first time I had ever heard of this happening.
In short, the car did absolutely nothing for me. I am starting to warm to the higher trim versions in a decent color combo. This one looks pretty nice.
Back in 1989 I was still a Pontiac guy and in the market to replace my ’78 Grand Am with something bigger, more luxurious and with 4 doors. The ’89 Bonneville was the logical choice, but I too was not impressed by the plain jane, cheap interior on the LE. Was a non-starter until a bit of research revealed there was a luxury trim group available (present on the featured vehicle), that gave you much nicer seats with seat back pockets, better door panels and a leather steering wheel. Added the “gage” package (yes, that’s how Pontiac spelled it) that gave you a tach and full instrumentation (along with the cool driver information system,) and the cross lace wheels with 70 series black walls. Was a very handsome car in midnight blue.
Drove well with decent handling and acceleration. Reliability and body integrity? Eh. Recall the radio, power window motors, fuel pump and a few other things failing in the 7 years and 80,000 miles I had it.
That dirty yellow with brown interior was a tough one to like, let alone love. It’s funny, some color combos seemed doomed to poor resale, yet they sell to at least some people.
Good article on a nameplate that has one of the more interesting histories. One comment, I don’t believe any Bonnevilles were pillared sedans until the ’71 downgrade, and the top Pontiac four door under any name was hardtop only ’59 – ’76.
Agreed that GM’s reactionary dumping of the Bonnie after ’81 was dumb. (A Deadly Sin?) But, the comeback of the big Pontiac also lead to the weirdness that was GM in 1986 – it’s bottom line makes became the volume purveyors of large RWD V-8 cars while the prestige divisions mostly did without. Confusing times when the older GM clientele was working it’s way DOWN the Sloane ladder.
The press gave the subject car a lot of kudos. It was a pretty clean design. In some ways they finally got the “B” successor right. The Olds 88 and LeSabre struggled with a lot of trim doo dads as brougham and modern fought for their souls, a battle that modern finally won in ’92.
The SE was probably the sweet spot for these cars (and the bucket / console should have been standard). The SSE always seemed over done.
If not for the Deadly Sin of door mounted seat belts, these were pretty good cars.
Actually, pillared Bonneville 4-door sedans were offered in model years 1968 through 1970.
Good catch. My reference source shows they sold in miserable numbers. About 3,500 to 4,800 a year. I’ve never seen one.
I felt Pontiac was superfluous from about 1958 on. Mostly a chevy that was all dressed up. Did own a 68 firebird but it could have been a camaro just as easily. The OHC6 would have been a separation but I had a 350. The exception was the B body. All the B bodies were cool with me. Pontiac made the one exception that you touched on. A modern car that I l liked better than the older cars. The SSE. One of my stepsons had one and I could hardly believe the way it handled or the acceleration. Good job with the history.
BTW this is the first post I have received thru email. I like it and only some subtle differences in appearance. Good move.
The door mounted seat belts were/are a deal killer for me when it comes to GM’s of this vintage.
I don’t know why they mounted the seat belts on the door. I’ve seen several cars of this generation with door mounted safety belts. I’ve found them difficult to adjust and use properly. I usually ended up wearing them with the shoulder section under my armpit, rather than over my shoulder like normal.
in 1990 you had to have at least 1 of these setups on all cars sold in the USA, airbags, electronic seatbelts or these, passive seatbelts.
Although not great, I prefer these over the electric belts that ran along the door opening and usually tried to strangle you, and you still had to buckle a lap belt. GM got away with the door mounted belts because they were designed to be left latched all the time (yeah right) and let you free when you opened the door. I bet every owner tired that exactly once before just using it the old fashion way.
Ideally they would have just used airbags, but that requires some structural changes that were pretty expensive for a car being redesigned in 2 years.
Here is an odd combo…had a 95 Dodge Spirit, had a drivers side airbag, conventional drives side seat belt, but a motorized passengers side shoulder belt…
I remember the electronic seat belts. My parents had two Toyota Camrys, both had electronic seat belts. I didn’t like those seat belts. I’ve always preferred manual safety belts. By that time, I buckled up my seat belts religiously. I didn’t have to be asked or required (by law) to buckle up. I just did it. So the thought of having a nylon strap automatically wrap itself around me as the door closed seemed unnecessary.
Odd is right. I’ve seen cars with the driver’s side airbag and automatic seat belt and automatic seat belt on the passenger, but I’ve never seen a car with air bag and conventional seat belt, but motorised seat belt for the passenger seat.
Didn’t Subaru end up doing that for a while in the early ’90s? I’d have to go digging, but that’s my recollection.
I think the electric belt was a way of adding a passenger side restraint, the drivers side only mandate was first, then the passenger side one came later. GM did offer a driver side airbag as an option on the FWD C-body Oldsmobile 98 for 1988 or 1989, it was a rare option, later it became standard on the C-body Cadilacs for 1990 or so.
89 was the first year for driver SIR in the C-Body. IIRC there was some type of federal BS mandating those electric passive restraints back than. I don’t think I’ve seen an 89 with the airbag. Maybe I have but when I see a drivers airbag in that vintage of car I automatically think 90 or newer on the model year.
Than of course GM had the airbag option for the 1976 Riviera,Toronado,ElDorado and Deville……IIRC? I’ve seen more than a few of those over the last 40 years.
I know the airbag option was rare on the 1989 98, and it was for the Oldsmobile only, Buick didn’t get a balloon until the 1991 Park Avenue redesign.
My dad had really wanted to buy a 90 Regal or Grand Prix but hated those seatbelts. Ended up getting an SHO to replace his Taurus MT5 (received A Plan back then). That was the last time he seriously considered a GM, but not solely due to the seats.
What year was his MT-5? I own a 88 currently. Did he have good luck with it or was it a POS?
I had a three-door Geo Metro with these belts, I just left them undone and used them like a normal seatbelt after the one time I tried using them as intended and the lap belt wound up under my shins.
That’s what I usually did. I’m just a creature of habit. I do something one way, and I don’t like doing things different. Before automatic seatbelts were installed on cars, one had to buckle up manually. I was so used to doing it manually, that when the automatic shoulder belt came along, I remember saying “why is this there? I don’t need this. I just buckle the manual seat belt and that’s it.” I was glad when manufactures abandoned that and went back to the manual 3 point safety belt. That was so much simpler to use, not to mention more reliable. Should the battery die on you, you can still unbuckle the seat belt and get out of the car.
I find them to be the least intrusive of all the early passive restraint systems, the electric mouse/automatic cigarette remover on the Japanese stuff was pretty annoying, and the early airbag cars still had bumper car looking steering wheels which usually lost the tilt and tele functions too with an airbag, the GM passive belts at least still operated like a regular seat belt.
I thought they made the whole car feel cheap. I mean GM cars of this period didn’t exactly have a bank vault door feel to them begin with, now there’s a loose piece plastic on a floppy piece of fabric to rattle around whenever you close the door? Yuck!
The Parisienne…being a life long resident of Canada, there’s a car I haven’t seen on the road in ages. They were a pretty common sight on streets (especially here in Ontario) up until about the mid 90’s, then they started disappearing in large numbers.
I began kindergarten in 1982 and my teacher bought a new Parisienne that year. It was black with a dark red cloth interior, which I always thought was a sharp color combination. She eventually traded it in for a new Chevy Cavalier in 1987 *sighs*. I’ll freely admit I’m not much of a Pontiac fan, but how can one in their right mind go from a Parisienne to a Cavalier?
I’ve seen some Parisienne on the USA side of the border as well. They looked just like the Bonneville. If it weren’t for the name Parisienne on the side of the car, you could mistake it for a Pontiac Bonneville.
Depends on what year Parisienne, Jason. From the late ’50’s through the ’60’s, the Canadian ones were on the shorter Chevy chassis with the rear fascia trim like a U.S. Catalina and interiors a mixture of American Pontiac and U.S./Canadian Chevrolet . . .
Sigh. It was with the “downsize of 1977” that I thought everything fell apart for GM “big” cars. They simply looked like somebody had gone around the things with a huge paring knife and made them awful and boxy and not in any way attractive. But then, I hated the 1980s as a whole. They were something you survived, not something to look back and reminisce about.
I hope I can be forgiven for my disdain for all things 80s…to this tail-end-boomchild, the golden age of autos ran from the mid-50s to the early-mid 70s. My folks owned this gorgeous ’76 Bonneville, and for a good number of years, it became mine. Over 21 feet long. And a 2-door! I loved this car. 400/4bbl. Getting rear-ended by a drunk redneck after getting off working the late shift one night in ’94 sadly put an end do it. I still miss this beauty.
Well, there was this thing called Oil Crisis that mandated better gas mileage, and 400 ci + motors getting 8 mpg in family cars were not the answer.
Also, the 77’s handled much better, more European flair, which was where market was going. Once older people “got used to” the new size, they loved them. So much so that the Caprice stuck around longer, and we all know about the Ford Panther cars’ longevity.
No argument, sharp car. Nice job keeping it going so long. I had the ’72 version and kept it going until ’93 when multiple accident damage and a stereo theft left me with little to work with. But, I’d agree that the ’77s were a bit easier to live with day-to-day. It took me a few years to accept downsizing, but when all the “old school” cars were gone, it was easier to focus on the best of the new models.
I have my eye on one of these that belongs to a friend, he has been making some noise about selling it because he is out of storage space….
“They simply looked like somebody had gone around the things with a huge paring knife and made them awful and boxy and not in any way attractive”
So true. They looked as though no attempt had been made to style them, just to cut the flab off. Oh I know they were so much more efficient and all that, but efficiency doesn’t have to equate with ugliness. Just ask the Japanese (ducks for cover….)
I think you would find yourself in the minority calling the 1977-1979 first wave downsized B-bodies ugly around here, some of them were very pretty, the B-body coupe for example, was much better looking that the bloated 1974-1976 style LeSabre/Delta 88.
This is a damn attractive car.
I had a 77 New Car Guide from one of the US mags (Black cover, yellow type anyone?) Contained an interview with Chuck Jordan on the downsize redesigns, including great styling renders. Funny enough, the car quoted as a significant influence by Jordan was the Fiat 130 Coupe which is completely evident when you look at the two-doors. My taste is for pre73, but I really like the cleaner versions of this downsize platform. I can’t for the life of me understand why I don’t have that issue any more.
love those LeSabre sport coupes. Other than maybe a 77-78 Riviera I think it is probably one of the best looking B-bodies ever made.
The B-body Riviera is a curious beast, one of the shortest lived Riviera styles, only 77-78. I like them, and they are a bargain because of their relative anonymity. The look a little too much like a LeSabre for their own good, but they still are handsome, good bones too, they all ran Buick 350 or an Olds 403, so their isn’t a “bad” motor, they even had 4 wheel disc brakes available for 1978.
Revisiting my comment of four years back.
The early coupes were nice and distinctive; not so after they got dumbed down with the boxy roofline. Cue Pete Seeger’s ‘Little Boxes’. The sedans though were comparatively generic, there was not the brand differentiation we were accustomed to find between one GM division and another. Instead it was as though each brand’s front and rear design cues were just slapped on a corporate design and sent off to production. Sure they looked clean and new and efficient, but somehow they lost out on identity.
Of them all, I personally find the big Pontiacs the most pleasant design. It feels as though there has been more effort taken to create a distinct divisional identity.
While I liked the cars in general, the execution always struck me as the engineers and designers trying too hard, shouting at the top of their lungs, “Look at us! We’re Euro! We’re Euro!” . . . . . . . . . . . while the accountants were cutting the pins out from underneath them with an attitude as “We don’t care if you’re Euro, as long as you keep the costs below what we claim we want.”
Bingo!
Okay, I’m feeling a little old right now. Back in ’89 I was getting into my white ’66 Catalina in a shopping mall parking lot when an older gentleman in a new Bonneville (also white) pulled up beside me. We coveted each other’s cars for a while and had a very pleasant “I used to have one of those” conversation. And now the ’89 is a Curbside Classic…
I had a 89 Bonneville bought new. Liked the interior space, visibility, and 3800. Didn’t like the fact that the doors rusted out along with the rear quarter panels just behind the tires after three years. The A/C quit twice requiring major repairs. Door latch mechanisms would seize up and wouldn’t let you open the door until you took the inner door panel off and lubed the lock mechanism (three of the four doors did this). Not Pontiac’s best effort. I liked the second gen Bonneville much, much better. I had a 92 and a 98.
These were popular when new, but I always preferred the Oldsmobile Delta 88 from those years. They did seem to get the Pontiac brand “back on track” at the time, although the next-generation Bonneville on this platform made the big splash.
The Bonneville Model G was an attempt by Pontiac to appear “progressive” and dump those “outdated” full-size cars. It ended up backfiring, and the division quickly reversed that decision.
If I recall correctly, GM’s full-size cars rebounded earlier than the market in general from the severe 1980-82 recession. Sales of the full-size Chevrolets, Buicks and Oldsmobiles were gaining strength by the beginning of the 1982 model year, while the market as a whole didn’t really begin recovering until the 1983 calendar year. Pontiac dealers wanted a part of that action.
It would have been great if there ever was a two door version of this FWD 1987 Pontiac Bonneville much like its identical twin cousins the Oldsmobile Delta 88 and Buick LeSabre. In addition, if Chevrolet ever had their version and name it as an Impala since the RWD Impala was no longer available temporarily during that time and the Caprice Classic and Monte Carlo remained as the larger RWDs after the much smaller FWD Celebrity was the next one after the Malibu was discontinued. A Chevrolet Impala version of the FWD H-Body in both two and four door sedans could co-exist side by side with the larger RWD B-Body Caprice Classic and RWD G-Body Monte Carlo.
Just as Pontiac replaced the RWD X-Bodied Ventura with the name Phoenix towards the end of its production, Pontiac had done this again with their RWD A/G-Bodied LeMans with the Bonneville name towards the end of its production as well. Nevertheless they were the same carried over bodies from their respective predecessors with only name changes.
It’s a good looking car, better looking (I think) than the Buick and Oldsmobile of the same vintage. I just didn’t like the switch to front-wheel drive. I’ve driven all of them, and they all handled horribly! Maybe it’s because I was used to driving rear-wheel drive and was a newbie at front-wheel drive, but I just didn’t like driving them.
I bought an ’87 Bonneville SE new. It was a lovely machine in gunmetal grey, and handled remarkably well for the era. Lots of room, and oh that red illumination on the instrument panel… that never ceased to impress.
But oh, the mechanical woes. After a few weeks one of the sensors shattered and took the camshaft with it. Then there was a subsequent three week wait for parts.
After the warranty ran out at 60K is when the fun began. Every month or so something else would go, usually an O2 sensor but often something worse. It was as if parts were flying off the car. Then that mid-80’s GM paint job started to fade away.
After nine years and 110K miles I decided to sell it rather than sink more money into it. My father insisted on buying it from me. He sunk a few thousand dollars into additional repairs and then it was fine after that. He liked it so much that they bought a used 1992 Bonneville for my Mom. When the ’97 was done he started driving the ’92 and bought my Mom a 2000 Bonneville (for whatever reason she always had the nicer car). After she passed on the 2000 became his daily driver, which he still drives today.
FWIW, my wife ALWAYS has the “better” car.
I can understand your dad’s attitude on this matter. I always (almost) to the ladies.
🙂
VW first came out with passive belts in 1975. It hooked to door and had a starter interlock. I remember a few times cars were towed in for no start because the belt was unfastened. Also the buckle could malfunction, causing a no start condition. There was no lap belt, only a knee bar that was supposed to keep you in place. My 75 I bought in 1980 had it, the first thing I did was go to a wrecking yard and get proper 3 point belts out of another Rabbit without the optional belts. The mounting points were there, just a bolt in deal. I did leave the knee bar in, that’s where the ashtray and lighter were mounted. And it was a handy shelf for small items. Grandfather had a pristine 65 Bonneville Convertible, it was fully loaded and always garaged. I think he lowered the top once so he could take pictures of it with the top down. When he died around 1972 I drove it to school top down, I got a lot of attention in that beautiful car. I wanted to buy it so badly, but Mom didn’t want to keep it. Probably didn’t want the reminder of him around. I do remember she sold it to some used car lot, don’t know how much she got but I doubt anywhere near what that like new car was worth. As I recall, it even had a new engine after Grandpa had a parking “incident” taking out the oil pan. The car in the picture reminds me of my Dad’s 93 Buick Le Sabre, perfect except for dents appearing more often as his driving days were coming to an end. From the looks of the sticker on the back window, it now has probably it’s second owner. Dad’s Buick did have drivers side airbag and proper belts, but tiny mom used to drive seat all the way forward, inches away from that airbag. I disconnected it. She wore the seatbelt and I could just see a low speed fender bender taking her life with that early design high powered airbag exploding in her face.
that knee bar setup on the VW’s sounds rather scary. Kind of like driving around in a roller coaster car all the time!
My 74 Firebird still has the federally mandated interlock where the car won’t start unless the seatbelt is fastened. I hooked it up to see if it works and it still does. I can only imagine the profits the tow companies saw from these things failing or people forgetting when they were new.
What I remember is that it was the fastest I’ve ever seen Congress move on changing legislation once the complaints on the interlocks started flowing in. Coming out in the fall of ’73, I don’t think the interlocks survived the winter of ’73-74.
Which only goes to show, there are scarier things than well funded lobbyists. Start with, half your congressional district is pissed about something. And 1974 was a congressional election year.
After that law was changed, I remember tons of repair orders that only said, “Disconnect seatbelt interlock”. The really stupid thing about this was people would run the belts behind the bucket seats and leave them buckled. If you lifted your butt the car would start. Then if you wanted to wear the belt you couldn’t because they were behind the seat and the buzzer would go off if you tried to unhook it while the car was running. So as a passenger if the owner did this you didn’t even have a belt available for use!
I’m not against using seat belts. Most of the cars I’ve ridden in as a passenger over the years were equipped with either the 3 pt. seat belt or a 2 point lap belt. I just don’t like govt. making it against the law not to use them. I believe that should be up to the driver and passengers of the car.
When I bought my 68 Newport, the only seat belts installed in the car were the two shoulder belts – but there was nothing for them to connect to. I am a seatbelt wearer, so was resigned to finding a set somewhere and installing them. Then, I popped the rear seat cushion out and voila – every single seatbelt was neatly rolled up and hidden there. I suspect that some old-timer bought the car new and said something like “be damned if I’m agonna be a messin around with them seatbelts” and just took them out. All fasteners were still in the floor and after about 30 minutes, all belts were back in place, looking absolutely like brand new.
It was said more people were pissed about that interlock system then were pissed about Trick Dick and the Watergate Scandal
I have grown up wearing seat belts, and never understood why people have an objection to wearing them. Dad was an early-adopter, having them installed in his cars since the early sixties. When I’m in an older car that doesn’t have them, I feel vulnerable.
However I do find the modern warning buzzers and beepers obnoxious, and my daughter’s threatening to have a mechanic carry out a search-and-destroy mission on the noisemakers in her ’09 Honda Jazz.
Very cool article. I love the 1985 add promoting equipping your Bonneville with 305, super lift shocks, alloy wheels, limited slip and gauges and the ultra rare performance rear end ratio. It’s too bad they never in reality were ordered this way. Sure you might find the odd 305 or even rally wheels. But finding all the sport options plus a rear end ratio upgrade and limited slip has been a Bonneville that has never yet been seen by my eyes for the 1983-86 time era in it’s downsized G-body glory.
If I could go back in time to either 1980/81 I would love a Bonneville coupe with those neat snow flake alloys and the rare bucket seat floor shifter option along with gauges, limited slip, the best ratio available and the rocket Olds 350(1980) or the 307(1981). Failing that a nice mint 1985/86 Parisienne with all the sporty options and the higher compression 305 LG4 motor tied to optional 2.73 rear gears which were the top for that combo.
As for the 1987 FWD replacement those were indeed meant to take Pontiac in the “we build excitement” direction but for some reason never tickled my fancy the same way the G/B body cars ever did. I always considered them throw away cars for the time.
Maybe someone can help me here. I never understood the reason why they reverted to the old-fashioned sticking-out push-button door handles for this generation. Look at the photos of earlier Bonnevilles, and they have the modern recessed door handles we’re familiar with these days. But the oddities on the H-body? They immediately marked the car as anachronistic, a product of fifties/sixties thinking, and would have been illegal (“unsafe protrusion”) in many export markets had GM been in any fit state to pursue exports. It’s like some ancient greybeard in Marketing banged his fist on the table one last time before he exited the building.
I don’t get the oddball roofline, either. But it’s the door handles that bug me the most.
I recall when “Car & Driver” road tested a Bonneville SSE.
The cover caption of the all black test car was something like “What Darth Vader would drive”.
🙂
The 82-86 “Parisienne” was an embarrassment. Cheesy “Pontiaced” grill and horrendous taillights. It had a Chevy dash and Oldsmobile 88 Royale Brougham seats.
Truly awful comedown for what had been…like the Bonneville…an awesome car.
not all of them……some years had real Pontiac brougham seats
1985-86 models received the ’80-’81 Bonneville rear quarters, taillights, fender skirts and seats, but retained the Caprice instrument panel and front clip.
But I absolutely loved the name. Parisienne. Should been a Buick or a Caddy (de Ville Parisienne, anyone?), but I love the sound of the name.
I still like the 1992 and up models better… harrumph
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/my-curbside-classic/my-curbside-classic-h-is-for-heavy-breathing/
😛
These were decent cars. I owned two of this generation long-term, both after 2000. Cheap way to get around and provided a solid backup when my Grand Ams and W-bodies decided to break down.
More importantly, I got the clue right and now there has been a CC on every vehicle I’ve ever owned.
I enjoyed this article. I must address a few things. Parisienne did sell well. The sold well even when they were phased out in 1986. The reason was the other GM cars were downsized by 1985-1986 except Chevrolet Caprice and Cadillac Brougham. Parisienne filled that void left by larger Oldsmobiles and Buicks. Parisienne and Bonneville were the same car. The Canadians called it Parisienne and we called it Bonneville for decades going back to the 1960 I believe. It was that way until 1982. They did reuse 1980-1981 Pontiac Bonneville sheet metal and the seats and door panels. It worked. I personally wished they had used the instrumentation panel and front end too.
If you are curious just look up 1980-1981 Pontiac Parisienne and you will see what I am discussing. I liked the 1980-1981 Pontiac Bonneville a lot as well as 1985-1986 Parisienne. I like the G Body Bonneville once they fixed the trim in 1984. It was really a four door Grand Prix from that era. Pontiac made the decision to consolidate Bonneville and Parisienne into one car for 1987. That is when they started using the Bonneville name in Canada. Many of you are correct about Pontiac wanted some of that “magic” Oldsmobile and Buick were selling. Sales were in a slump at Pontiac during the 1970’s and into the early 1980’s and they started “Broughaming up” their cars.
Also note that Pontiac did get back into the big car game in 1983 with the Canadian Parisienne. Parisienne by 1985 was the GrandVille concept all over again.
1981 Pontiac Bonneville Brougham coupe:
and
1980 Pontiac Parisienne:
1986 Pontiac Parisienne:
Here is a link to how the 1987 Bonneville came about with photos:
http://autosofinterest.com/2012/09/27/1987-pontiac-bonneville-clay/
1987 Pontiac Bonneville commercial:
The 1987 Bonneville was late to the game to be used on the H-Body platform. That is one of the reasons why there was no coupe offered.
Interesting facts:
The G Body Bonneville was 200 inches long. The H Body Bonneville was 198.7 inches long. The G Body Bonneville trunk was 16.6 cubic feet. The H Body Bonneville trunk was 15.2-15.7 cubic feet. The Bonneville grew in size ( wider and longer wheelbase) when it switched to being an H body. The Bonneville was also at one point the largest front wheel drive GM C or H Body. The next largest was Buick Park Avenue at 197 inches long. The Cadillacs were next at 196.5 inches long( they were the shortest at 195 inches for 1985-1986). The Oldsmobiles were shorter. The Ninety Eight was 196.4 inches long and the Eighty Eight was 196.1 inches long. Riviera in 1989 was the largest front wheel drive Buick at 198.3 inches long.
Thank you again for this article.
OMG!!!! leather seats! – I have only seen those seats once on eBay, this is so cool thanks for sharing
My mother had one of the 87 Bonneville’s. I did not like that car at all. It was dark dirt showing blue with a horrid grey interior. It had orange Halloween guages that I hated. The seats were firm and uncomfortable. It was cheap looking and cranpwd compared to the pariesienne. it was an ugly car. A cut down piece or junk. It rode terribly. You felt every bump in the road. It broke down a lot and was unreliable
My aunt the year earlier bought a pariesienne. That car was spacious and had comfortable seats and green dashboard lights like god intended. It had a big trunk and an attractive body. It road good and the 305 Chevy was much smoother. The inside was like a Cadillac(a real one). Auntie never had any issues with it. We as kids thought she was rich having a fancy car like that.
Grandpa set everyone straight. Aunties car was thousands less. It did burn a little more gas but didn’t break down like the baby Bonneville. He calculated mother would have to drive like 268000 miles to save enough gas to pay for the increased costs and told mother that her piece of junk wouldn’t make it any where near that. He was right it lasted about 80 thousand troublesome miles while aunties car lasted over 20 years and over 300 thousand miles. Now auntie has a Lexus and after 2 horrible grand ams mother has a Toyota.
I agree. I like the ’87-’91 Bonneville, but the 1985-86 Parisienne is SO much more my style. As a kid the treasurer of my dad’s office had a light gold ’86 Parisienne with a beige interior. Dad was driving it one day and I got to ride in it. I just loved that car–though one in navy blue or maroon would have been even better!
I wish Pontiac had continued the Parisienne to 1990 alongside the Caprice. They probably would have sold a bunch.
Man, I haven’t seen one of these in so long I forgot they existed, the Olds and Buicks are still relatively common sights but the Bonnevilles are gone. I can’t believe this car is in Illinois!
They were everywhere when I was a kid, and I remember not liking them too much but now a days I think they’re pretty sharp, especially the SSE.
An Uncle of mine had this exact color combination new body Bonne in the late 80’s. I remember it being a comfortable car. This was the same platform as the Lesabre/Olds 88/98 if i am correct? In 95 just out of highschool I bought an 85 98 Regency the newer smaller style which I think is the same platform. It was amazing and this generation GM midsize was just a great platform.
The 80 Bonneville coupe is truly beautiful. The 83 is a disgrace which surly fooled no one. ( le mans). Or ugly version of a cutlass and I really don’t like the 86 fwd. Pontiac should have kept the b body Bonneville. Made the fwd one a Catalina and kept the g body as a LeMans with added roll down windows and a better front clip. Perhaps an updated version of the 77 can am would have been cool. At least the late 80s Bonneville wasent covered in plastic. I still don’t like it.
Brother had an ’87. Parents had an ’89. Sister had a ’90. I almost bought a new ’92 before I found my first MR2. Other brother picked up an ’87 Buick Electra, and my parents upgraded to a ’93 Park Avenue Ultra Supercharged when the ’89 Bonnie was stolen. My aunt had a ’99 LeSabre, and both my brothers shared a ’93, We loved our H-bodies.
Pontiacs definitely drove differently from Buicks. Tighter overall, even in later generations, though the Park Avenue wasn’t exactly a barge. I only drove Oldsmobiles in test drives, so I really wasn’t able to evaluate fully, but that platform went from a Deadly Sin in early C-body form (boxy Caddies, 98’s and Electras) to a Greatest Hit in subsequent generations.
As for the 3800 V6, it may have seemed outdated on paper, but customers loved the torque characteristics and the excellent highway fuel economy.
The beauty of that ’87 Bonneville was that it was absolutely spot-on for the Pontiac brand. It defined what a Pontiac was supposed to be even better than the 6000STE did. And it did so without the tack-on body cladding of the Grand Am. It also provided an alternative to the still-Brougham-ified Buicks and Oldsmobiles. Over time, the other divisions followed its lead out of the Brougham era.
Which also left those divisions rudderless later on. Only Buick survives because it’s big in China.
For those of you who like the Bonneville from 1980-1981 very much, there is a 1:43 die cast model. I own one. Here is a link of images to it from many sites:
https://www.google.com/search?q=neo+1:43+1980+Pontiac+Bonneville&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=WrEjU6iAN-qK2gXx-YGYAQ&ved=0CCUQsAQ&biw=1600&bih=754
They can be found on many sites for sale.
This site did an article about it:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/mini-cc-alert-baby-1980-pontiac-bonneville-brougham/
When I posted the other day, I was interrupted and never got the chance to come back to this…
I knew several people who had these cars.
One was my sister, she had a car similar to the featured car but in a gold color. It was a 1987 Bonneville SE, with the leather interior. She kept that car for 10 years and well over 250K miles. I don’t remember a great deal about the car itself, but I remember her remarks that she really liked the car and was sad to see it go. It didn’t go far, as her one son bought it from them and drove it well over 300,000+ before he moved overseas. I don’t remember what became of the car, however.
Back in the mid-90’s at one of the printing companies where I’d worked, my then-production manager had a 90-91-92? SSEi model. It was a red car with all of the toys. Unfortunately, his was something of a lemon, it seemed to me that it was always in the shop and had even stranded him at the office a few times. I can vividly remember the big Pontiac dart and SSEi letters screenprinted on the underhood pad. Not a good association.
When I moved to Grand Rapids, my neighbor across the street from me had a car very similar to the feature car, only all burgundy. Same cross-lace wheels, same interior. She drove that car until the early 2000’s along with a Chevy Corsica. She gave the Corsica to one of her kids not too long after and drove the Bonne for a while, but by the time it was 15 years old or so, she finally gave up on it. It had been largely abused (by her kids when it was newer) and she was not really keeping it in good condition, either at that point. It was just an old rusty car by then. IIRC, it had over 250K miles on it when she traded it for a Saturn Ion.
These H-bodies were pretty decent cars, at least to my eye. I’m more of a fan of the G body Bonnevilles that followed after, though. Especially the post-MY2000 versions.
I liked your story. I like the post 2000 Bonneville too. It reminds of a modern interpretation of 1980-1981 models in some ways. I also liked when they started using Oldsmobile Aurora seats. The Bonneville GXP was created because they needed to fill the void left by Oldsmobile. They did it with Bonneville GXP. I did not care for the Northstar V8 under the hood. I know they offered the SSE with the Aurora seats I think for a year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFMIkAp-f8k
Hi, I live in Sweden and own a Bonneville SSE from 1990. It is very uncommon here and I love the car.
I will try to attach a picture. 🙂
Nice car David!
Very rare to see one of these even in the US.
I have a gold 1989 SSE, it’s my first car, and it still runs great! Bought it with 109,000, have only put on about 7,500.
Dylan Wold, that is a nice looking bonneville!! Heres mine 1991.
Any chance you still have this gold SSE?
Back in 88 when my friend Randy’s dad was working for Ernie Miller Pontiac in Tulsa, Randy looked at and fell in love with the Bonneville SSE! I liked it too. Alas minimum wage just wouldn’t cut it for car payments. But he still lusts after one. But none are left anymore, least not around here. We also drove a Daewoo built LeMans. Ugh!
My best friend was a salesman and had 3 Bonnies: ’97, 95 and 01, each a different fwd version. He was the kind that walked into the dealer and said “give me the usual” and was disappointed when it went away.
We briefly had an ’85 Parisienne wagon, and it felt cheap flimsy and tinny compared to pre-80 GM B and C bodies we’d had so we sold it pretty quicky and bought a ’78 Electra that had been owned by the Buick dealer’s MIL – I knew car had to have been well serviced, and it was! My wife drove it 110 mi daily on her trip from the country to E. Baltimore, I wanted her in a good safe car, the Parisienne didn’t fit the bill but the Buick did! I”ve never cared for post-79 B & C bodies since!
’87 not ’97… he had ’87, ’95, 01 fwd Bonnies, all bought new.
PS re ’85 GM: my Dad bought a LeSabre Collector Edition new in that year, trading in his immaculate ’77 Electra Limited, because the traditional big Electra had been replaced by the fwd version. The new last rwd LeSabre also, in comparison, felt, and was, flimsy, no doubt due to the serious GM weigh reduction program in 1980. One day he closed the trunk lid on a trunk a bit too full of luggage in preparing for a trip to Florida and a protruding suitcase significantly bent the lid!! I should have known better when I bought the ’85 Parisienne, hated that thing.
My father bought an ’89 Lesabre, which turned out to be his last car purchase. He passed in 1997, which made me glad that he had “splurged” (his word) on that car. My experience with it was that it was a solid if totally unexciting big sedan.
Why am I talking about that car when this article is about the Bonnie? Because in my mind, these cars during the 70’s and 80’s were nothing more than boring clones of their GM stablemates. Take a look at any of the accompanying photos. With the exception of the original Grand Ville, I’d be hard pressed to quickly identify which GM division any of these cars came from. Quick, is it a Buick? An Olds? A Pontiac? Impossible. And I was a kid (of the 60’s) who loved cars and could tell you the year of any GM car made during that glorious decade.
Basically, I stopped paying attention to GM after about 1971, when everything they made became dull as dishwater, and indistinguishable from every other dishpan they were making.
I rented these in the early 90s from the Emerald Aisle at National Car Rental (AKA the GM dumping ground). The selection was great, De Villes, Sevilles, Le Baron Converts, SSE Bonnevilles, even the occasional Buick Reatta. I’d usually take the SSE over the others, particularly if lots of miles were in the offing. Nice car with a vast number of buttons!
Just a point, the steering wheel controls were introduced in 1986 on the 6000-STE.
A family friend had an ’83 Parisienne bought brand new and kept until the mid ’90s when he died. I rode in it a number of times and thought it was big and luxurious with a very cushy ride and comfy seats. Was red with dark red velour interior and was a really nice car.
Ugly and small it was like a gm version of the Taurus. Cheap interior with too much plastic, a hard ride, a fat steering wheel and a weird plastic smell that never went away. The seats were quickly as did the expensive tires. You had to drive them 200 thousand miles to save enough gas to make them competitive with the much better Parisian.
These. Cars are dull as a beige room until you have four adults and you need to eat up 300 miles of highway. After that you will gain a certain respect for it. Everyone is comfy you aren’t tired from driving, and you got close to 30mpg.
So I have a COAL about half written for my own ’89 Bonneville that, to this day, is still one of the best cars I owned. Honestly, I think this is one of the strongest efforts from GM in the 1980s. They drove really well, were well-differentiated from their H-Body siblings, and looked good. Yes, it had a thing for seizing door mechanisms, and yeah, it rusted like mad by the end, but I loved it all the same.
Good article.
We rented a ’95 Bonne for a trip from MD to Fl to visit the old folks, and were amazed by the gas mileage, probably around 28 mpg highway. I was always impressed by the 3800 engine, no wonder it was often on “Ward’s 10 Best Engines” list for a number of years. IMO the ’90s Bonne, LeSabre, and 88 were in some ways much better cars than the last of the lightened and cheesy GM post ’80 RWD “B” and “C” bodies, which were a mere shadow of their earlier ancestors, having had 4 of those ’77 to ’79s.
The 6000 STE was the first Pontiac (GM car?) to get buttons on the steering wheel, then the Bonneville.
I bought an ’88 SE new after getting tired of shifting my ’84 turbo Sunbird in NoVa traffic. The bucket seats were like the post car’s, but it had the black/gray striped velour on the doors, too, which livened things up. My uncle had a base interior that was all gray and drab.
The starter failed at 20k miles, then just maintenance until 100k, despite it being hit at both ends, both times in front of my house on King St. (knocked 50 ft by a hit and run in the front). GM repainted it for free in ’92. Wish I’d had it fixed when I smushed the front on a truck bumper in ’99 and 160k.
I had 3 beefs with the interior, which I otherwise loved: the windshield tint came down too low, the air vents were difficult to direct, and the glove box was tiny. All three were fixed in the ’89. The hit and run cracked the windshield, so I had them install an ’89 part.
Admittedly by the late ’80s, I was already experiencing serious fatigue, from this tired cookie cutter design template. A car, I would not turn my head for.
Sad about those mouse-fur gray interiors in the last generation of Bonneville. GM thought they struck gold when they put that stuff in millions of cars. Cheesy and cheap material. It had a smell, a feel and a look that was faker than pleather. Sad.
Was there supposed to be a Pontiac version of the 91 Bs? I read that somewhere and also that the Olds 98 was supposed to revert to that platform as well.
These and their successors were popular and with a totally different demo than the Buick/Olds. But unlike that demographic the Bonneville one was still in prime car buying years and started a big migration around 2000 to the imports. To me there is a ton of Bonnevilleness in the Infiniti Gs/Nissan Maximas. Now as those cars are phased out and its a crossover market the buyer who wants a sporty midpriced car is migrating to Mazda.
“immediately spotted it for what it was” Huh?