Somewhere in migration this Acadian lost its flock and ended way down south, all the way to Central America. Granted, Acadians didn’t “migrate”, as they were assembled in Canada in order to comply with the APTA pact. Still, one surviving example of the unfamiliar brand has found its way this far south.
My sighting played out like those of most Acadians: from the distance “Looks like a pretty well preserved Chevy II”, and then as one gets close, its odd provenance is revealed. This unlikely find occurred about three years ago, and good thing I was a CC reader by then. As soon as I reached home I went through the site’s posts to get the lowdown on this unusual offering.
I believe this particular year and trim hasn’t made it to CC’s pages. That’s the nice thing from old-gone Detroit, endless trim variations that kept stylists busy and buyers in perpetual wondering as to what iteration they wished to purchase next. Thanks to that, multiple posts can be made on something like ’64 Polaras. Try doing that with ’98 Malibus.
From the look of things, stylists placed more effort on this Canso Sport than in other Acadians. The aggressive nose almost works in making more dynamic the homely Chevy II lines. Regrettably, not much effort was placed on that plain back end. Talking about trim, some is missing on this Acadian, but it’s pretty intact otherwise. Metal is straight, no major dents, and the beige interior was in rather remarkable condition (sorry, no shots, there just was too much reflection).
Sunfire Asüna, from the Cohort by canadiancatgreen.
One could argue experiments like the out of necessity Acadian make, turned Canada into ground zero for GM’s badge-engineering make-on-the-fly brand efforts. The short Acadian tryout done, few decades later, GM’s captive-imports would be duking it out senselessly among themselves under the assortment of Asüna, Passport and Geo brands/dealers. Those Canadian GM marketing heads just had too much free time to hang around the cooler fountain.
So, how did our Canso reach Central America? Apparently it arrived to Costa Rica first, a windshield sticker attests to it belonging to that country’s Classic Car Club. I can only assume a nature-loving retired Canadian crated it along the rest of family possessions as he moved to tourists’ favorite Costa Rica. Later on, some local went through the trouble to register it in El Salvador (no small feat).
The car was on sale when I took these photos, just as it had been on my earlier sighting. Not many Acadian fans on these latitudes it seems. Should there be any takers up north, phone number is legible on the back window. It would be interesting to see if this Acadian can complete the journey home.
More on Acadians and Canadian brands:
1963 Acadian Canso Sport – My First Introduction To Mutant Chevys
1965 Acadian Canso Sport DeLuxe
Outtake: Why it’s an Acadian Canso Sport and Some Other Cheviacs
The Canadian market of the late 1960s also played host to Beaumont, essentially a Chevrolet Chevelle/Malibu.
Some units of the Acadian made it to Commonwealth markets where they had either zero or lower import duties than cars sourced from non-Commonwealth countries.
Maybe was sold new in Belize when it was the colony, British Honduras? Due to above Commonwealth market?
Those Pontiac styling cues really work on this body. But why didn’t they just sell it (and the Beaumont, for that matter) as a Pontiac?
One shudders to think what the Salvadoran registration authorities made of it, Rich; they gave you so much trouble with such a common car….. 🙂
Never been much of a fan of the 1st gen Nova’s styling, but the Acadian’s split grille does a good job of spicing up the front end a bit.
And, yeah, the split grille means they really should have badged it as a Pontiac. What was it with the Canadians and their versions of US domestic cars, anyway? Canadian Fords/Mercurys and Mopars (i.e., Plodges) had similar styling quirks.
I’m impressed at the obscure cars you keep finding there. Once one starts really looking, the treasure hunt just doesn’t want to stop.
In other “Cheviac” posts people asked “why bother with the tooling to make styling differences?”
Answer is because GM could afford to, and styling differences were a big deal in “good old days”.
This would be a good answer as to why Ford and Chrysler did the same thing, i.e., “well, GM is doing it, so we have to do it, too”.
GM was the undisputed auto leader back in the day, so following whatever they did was pretty much a no-brainer for the lesser two of the Big 3.
Those taillights are distinctive. Could have become a brand icon if the brand had lasted.
GM spewed brands in the ’20s and then again in the ’60s. In between, Ford made most of the unnecessary brands (Meteor, Monarch, Frontenac) while GM used series names like Parisienne.
Yes, they have a very 1962 Pontiac look about them, with extra added rounds.
Acadians and Beaumonts were assembled in Chile from CKD kits shipped from Oshawa. I wonder if perhaps that is the source of this car.
GM of Canada had a Pontiac version of the 1937-1959 Chevrolet. Chrysler of Canada had a Plymouth version of the Dodge from 1933 to 1959, although not as unique as the Canadian Pontiac. GM had more money than Chrysler.
The Ford-based Mercury (Meteor) and Mercury-based Ford (Monarch) were responses to the Chrysler/GM models after WW II. Also the one year only Falcon-based Frontenac. The 1965-1975 Meteor was based on the Monterey instead of the Ford.
Just as you could buy a 1965 Dodge with a six cylinder, you could buy a six cylinder Meteor (aka) Monterey. The Canadian Pontiac was still a shorter Chevrolet
Interestingly, GM, Ford and Chrysler all ended their lower priced versions in 1969-71.