The Pontiac Pathfinder is a 4-door sedan from Pontiac, built from 1953 to 1958, at the height of the post-war boom. Under the bonnet: 283 cuin Pontiac V8 engine.
How it came about
The Pontiac Pathfinder was an entry-level full sized car or station wagon that was based on the Chevrolet marque, another General Motors brand. The Pathfinder was built and sold in Canada, and never sold in the United States. The Chevrolet chassis, engine, and body panels were used, but most of the distinctive Pontiac styling parts for each model year were incorporated. This resulted in shorter front and rear fenders than on U.S. built Pontiacs and Canadian specific wheels and hubcaps. Interior trim was often unique to the Pathfinder. The last Pathfinders were built in 1958 as Pontiac's (Canada) base model. Body styles included a sedan delivery which was Pontiac's last full-size sedan delivery, two-door coupes, four-door sedans, and a station wagon model. The Canadian built Pontiac sedan delivery was available only during the 1954 through 1958 model years since the sedan delivery was not sold in the U.S.
after 1953. The entry-level Canadian Pontiac models, from 1946 through 1953, used the shorter Chevrolet wheelbase. The 1953 model used Chevrolet taillights. The 1953 Pontiac Pathfinder De Luxe features all of the chrome bumpers and trim as the US built Pontiac Chieftain, with the exception of rear fender covers. From 1946 through 1952 these "Cheviacs" were sold as the Pontiac Fleetleader. Starting in 1954 these low-end Canadian Pontiac models (called Pontiac Pathfinders since 1953) used Chevrolet body shells and taillights, but with Pontiac features at both ends. These variants of U.S. Chevrolets are only recognized when compared to their U.S. Chevrolet or Pontiac equivalen
The hardware
Power comes from 283 cuin Pontiac V8 engine. The layout matters: a front engine drives the rear wheels, the classic proportion — long bonnet, cabin set back — that most people picture when they picture a sports saloon or a grand tourer. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Family and rivals
Its family tree is legible: it took over from the Pontiac Fleetleader; assembly was at Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. Its contemporaries in the catalogue — the Chevrolet Corvette, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, the Cadillac Eldorado — show what else the money bought that year. Its Pontiac stablemates include the Pontiac 2+2 and the Pontiac 6.
What it costs now
There is no federal ownership record for the Pontiac Pathfinder — it predates the complaint database or was never sold in the United States — so MotorJury publishes no running-cost figure for it. For a car of this age the price is set by the collector market and the condition of the individual example, not by a formula.