Pontiac Bonneville

Pontiac does not build many cars like the Pontiac Bonneville: a 2-door convertible with 347 cid Strato Streak V8, built from 1958 to 2005 at the height of the post-war boom. Its designer of record is Harley Earl.

Where it came from

The Pontiac Bonneville is a model line of full-size or mid-size rear-wheel drive (until 1987) or front-wheel drive cars manufactured and marketed by Pontiac from 1957 until 2005. The Bonneville (marketed as the Parisienne in Canada until 1981), and its platform partner, the Grand Ville, are some of the largest Pontiacs ever built; in station wagon body styles they reached just over 230 inches (5.8 m) long.

They were also some of the heaviest cars produced at the time at 5,000 pounds (2,300 kg) or more. The Bonneville nameplate was introduced as a limited production performance convertible during the 1957 model year, its name taken from the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, an early site of U.S. automobile racing and numerous world land speed records.

Under the skin

Under the skin sits 347 cid Strato Streak V8. Kerb weight is 3860 lb. The gearbox is a 3-speed Strato-Flight Hydra-Matic. The wheelbase is 124 in. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.

In context

Where it sits in Pontiac's history is not in doubt: the Pontiac Star Chief / Pontiac Executive (1971) came before it; the Pontiac G8 followed it; it was built at Pontiac Assembly, Pontiac, Michigan. On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Nissan Skyline, the Mini Mini, the Dodge Challenger. Nearby in the Pontiac catalogue sit the Pontiac 2+2 and the Pontiac 6.

The money

MotorJury scores cars on the United States complaint and recall record, and the Pontiac Bonneville has none: too old, too rare, or never sold there. Its value today is a collector's question, decided by provenance and condition rather than by a class average.