I was at Kmart earlier today buying some underwear and this bodacious B-body was parked next to me as I was leaving. One can never have too much B-body.
I regret that I was unable to get the more typical CC full-on side shot, but some jerk in a white Lincoln was parked too closely for it.
I think the Bonneville dash probably aged the best of all the Bs, with the Caprice a close second. Mom had a ’78 Bonnie in navy blue with a tan top and I always thought the dash was very well laid out.
Despite the rust, this car was actually in pretty decent shape, with no major body damage and so forth, and probably doesn’t have too many miles on it. This may explain why I found it, because the 301 was not especially known for its longevity; I couldn’t even remember the last time I saw one in any old Pontiac still running.
Have you found any cool old B-bodies lately, or anything else worth sharing? Then share it with us!
(The audience has updated the year of this car to 1979.)
Ah the short lived B-body Bonneville which left customers clammoring for something full sized at the Pontiac store, a void filled by the Parisienne.
And that was the first of many wrong turns GM made in brand-management. I for one think their initial instinct was correct: leave the performance stuff (Corvette excepted; it’s a legacy product) to Pontiac and the bread-and-butter family cars to Chevy…or, if upwardly mobile, Olds and Buick.
No family barges in the Pontiac store? The answer was right in front of them; and to a certain extent, they later did it. Pair Pontiac with Chevrolet; both brands at the same dealers. Sort of a modern-day “companion brand” approach.
Not such a good idea? Well, it’s better than the way things did in fact end up…
Actually they likey would have been better off going to GM superstores at some point. All brands under one roof with minimal duplication. But that might have killed certain brands even sooner.
Sorry to nitpick, but a this is a car model near and dear to my heart…This is the 1979 model year, but a nice survivor nonetheless. Our family had a 1977 Bonneville when I was 16 and learned to drive. I drove it for 7 years before I purchased my 1st vehicle after college…
The 301 proved durable and reliable in the 77 LeSabre that my brother and I had in college. I had it first, and passed it off to him when I bought an Accord. We took it from 100K to 200K with a minimum of fuss. The “metric” transmission wasn’t so durable though. That old B body was fantastic. It was high style for the late seventies; a white coupe with a light blue velour interior and the Buick road wheels. It was a great roadtrip car, and would regularly return 20-21 mpg on the road. We used to see it for several years after my brother sold it in mid nineties.
How about B-body station wagons? Do you like those, too?
I used to get rides to high school with a neighbor whose dad had a Catalina Safari. I want to say it was a ’78 or ’79, beige with tan vinyl interior. I remember liking it at the time, as my mother was driving a ’73 Dodge Polara that seemed ancient and bloated by comparison.
All right, a ’79 Bonneville! These are my favorite B-body by far. Dad had a non-Brougham ’79, metallic brown, beige top and beige interior. It got traded for a new ’81 or ’82 Volvo 242DL in maroon with tan interior. The Bonneville was the last American car he had until he got a ’95 Jeep Grand Cherokee Orvis Edition. Thanks for posting this!
I found a ’78 Brougham myself about a month ago. I like the Rallye II wheels, although most of them had the wire wheel covers or finned deluxe wheelcovers.
It’s hard to see in my photos, but the blue one in this post actually had Oldsmobile spoked hubcaps.
I’ll update the year to 1979 when I get to my pc.
That’s a very nice survivor, indeed. However, as much as you missed them, I really don’t as the B bodies. regardless of make or model were as prolific as ants on a picnic table.
On the other hand, these are becoming rare, so when I see a nice example, I take a careful look and appreciate what these once meant to the motoring public.
I completely agree with educatordan on the concept of a GM superstore. I’m in my mid 40’s and the cars of my youth were oldsmobiles. The fact that they eliminated the once successful Cutlass is a crime. How hard could it have been to retain the cutlass and delta line and sell it through the chevy/pontiac dealers? Speaking of Pontiac, did GM really not see a reason to re-introduce the Trans-Am along with the assortment of muscle cars availabe? I know Pontiac has been vaporized but wouldn’t it be great to see an upgraded T/A on the streets?
I Would love to see a New Trans Am.
I much preferred Firebirds to Camaros all along.
Why would a Trans Am be innately better than a Camaro?
I’m not saying that the ones which were built, weren’t in fact better. But what made them better? If the badges were switched, wouldn’t the better cars stay better?
And if “what made it better” were put onto a Camaro, wouldn’t the Comaro be just as good?
Pontiac is dead; and badge-engineering is somewhat out of fashion. And it’s probably a good thing; now as the Camaro progresses through its life, IT can have the better ideas which in times past, would have been saved for the Trans Am.
I just hope I’ll be able to see out of the next-gen Camaro, ’cause I can’t see out of the current one – and I really like them! Probably another Impala in my future…
If you are asking me, My Mom Had a Pontiac, and my first car was a Firebird, SO, I have always been partial to the Pontiac as a result.
I Knew That Taillight looked a little off from the 78s as I remember them.
I Liked These Better the first year out…
Saw a B-body Buick a few days ago (at the same shopping strip where I saw the Toyota Publica pickup), but I was driving past at 50mph so no time to grab the camera. Needless to say it is r-a-r-e to see one of these as a daily driver over here!
this is my baby 79′ bonneville brougham only 70,000 original miles