PONTIAC LUXURY

FULL-SIZED PONTIACS IN AUSTRALIA ARE CURRENTLY SPLIT ALMOST EQUALLY BETWEEN CARS ASSEMBLED HERE AND IMPORTS

Pontiac was a strong seller in Australia until the late-1940s when Holden started building its own cars and couldn't sustain a full range of North American brands.

Imports continued to arrive until 1958, with styling that closely shadowed Chevrolet's before a new shape influenced principally by Buick appeared. A year later came the ‘split-grille' which would become a Pontiac styling feature for decades to come, as shown on the Laurentian above.

Pontiacs then recommenced local assembly, but the models we saw in Holden showrooms were hybrids that used a Chevrolet chassis and mechanical components topped by Pontiac sheet metal.

Billed as ‘luxury' models, local Pontiacs had leather seats, carpet and a heater/demister. Almost everything else including the radio and power steering cost extra. By the mid-1960s power steering was made standard but the local cars couldn't match the opulence of Bonneville and Grand Prix models being imported by several metropolitan dealers.

These cars would be powered by Pontiac's trademark 389 cubic inch (6.5-litre) engine or perhaps the potent Tripower 421 with triple carburettors. They had bigger wheels and better tyres than local cars and featured electric windows, tinted glass and airconditioning that would make them more attractive to wealthy buyers. For 1965 the local Parisienne line was enlivened by addition of a pillarless four-door Hardtop with vertically stacked headlights introduced at the 1963 restyle and the body now featured a pronounced ‘Coke-bottle hip' that gave 1960s General Motors cars their distinctive profile.

These were the first Australian Pontiacs to use a 171kW version of the 327 cubic-inch (5.3-litre) Chevrolet engine with performance to match the 6.5-litre Ford Galaxies that were also being assembled locally. Pontiac styling for 1967 shifted dramatically to incorporate a pronounced ‘beak' that further emphasised the length of its large cars. In North America it again followed Buick's lead by featuring hidden headlights on Grand Prix models, but Australian cars stuck until 1968 with stacked lights. The final 1968-69 Parisiennes had grille-mounted lights flanking a nose-extension more extreme than anything previously seen on a locally built car.

With the Statesman introduction GM-H saw no reason to continue the costly process of importing components to assemble the US-designed cars, so late 1969 saw the Parisienne and companion Chevrolet Impala disappear.

‘Full-sized' Pontiacs available in Australia are currently split almost equally between cars that were assembled here and US imports.

Currently the cheapest pre-1965 Parisiennes or Laurentians in average condition sell for under $25,000 and similar money will snare neglected examples of the mid-1960s Grand Prix and Bonneville hardtops.

These cars aren't bargain buying due to the amount of refurbishing they need, especially as the same models in excellent condition don't exceed $45,000.

We didn't see locally made Pontiac or Chevrolet convertibles and they aren't common as imports either. A Bonneville with power top in nice condition will likely cost around $60,000.