(first posted 4/29/2014) From a midwesterner’s perspective, it might seem that the Northwest is crawling with old cars, but for the locals who encounter them regularly, like Washingtonian cohort member Runningonfumes, some stand out more than others. All the Volvo 240s and Tercel wagons in the world wouldn’t make the sight of this pristine Grand Prix any less remarkable.
With its loop bumper, concealed headlights, and split grille, this is a rich example of turn-of-the-decade styling and a lot of other cars would copy these cues with varying degrees of success. Many undoubtedly found it garish, but without the vinyl roof and with cerulean paint, this particular car isn’t too kitschy.
In identifying its exact year, a little bit of research was required. Until now, I only understood the GP as the purpose-built G-body coupe built from 1969 onward; I didn’t realize it began life as a more special version of Pontiac’s B-body, a la Buick Wildcat. So this car, built before the nameplate’s reinvention as a midsize trendsetter makes it rather rare, and as a member of GM’s fullsize family, a definite big deal.
There are shades of the ’70 LeMans and ’68 Skylark present in the droopy rear end and, if you have bad enough eyesight, even the slightest hint of ’71 Riviera’s boat tail. All in all, it’s not a very distinguished design, and not very well matched to the front of the car. The optional vinyl top makes more sense given the featurelessness when viewed from this angle.
I’m not going to say this is evidence of GM’s disdain for customer’s intelligence, because the commonality almost seems accidental. Even the in ’80s when GM badged engineering reached its peak, various divisions would still get very differently themed front and rear clips on the same basic shape. But it’s still hard to grasp why anyone thought so much sharing of design cues would be wise. At least the front ends were suitably distinguished (until another domestic manufacturer cribbed a given theme, which was especially frequent in Pontiac’s case).
Even through the glare, we can see that this is a very clean interior, and even though the instrumentation and upholstery aren’t original, they–along with the center console–do a good job of making the car feel more modern.
Whatever complaints exist about the exterior styling or the GP’s relevance in 1968, its interior more successfully adhered to the car’s original personal luxury mandate, and would only get better in subsequent years. The same is true for the Grand Prix as a whole, so credit must be extended to those responsible for rescuing this example of the model’s most obscure incarnation.
Sweet looking Pontiac. Being from Washington state, it’s nice to see a car with a Washington license plate. I love the condition. Very nice.
The ’67 – ’68 Grand Prix is, politely put, is not usually one of the best regarded of the line. And, I’d normally agree with that. But, damn, I REALLY like this one.
Very cool car. I’ve never been the biggest fan of those rear fender skirts though. The only cars I think they look good on are Cadillacs
Nice find of a rare one. I picture this car with an Endura nose, a gentleman’s GTO for sure. I always kind of liked the looks of these versus the 67 model. Then the 1969 model came out and that was a game changer.
I like this model’s Endora nose :).
I had to look that reference up, but once I did it’s funny.
I really like this. I do not recall seeing a lot of these around back when they were newer – it was Catalinas and Bonnevilles everywhere, but few of these. I recalled the front and sides, but also do not recall paying attention to that delicious rear end. This looks like the car Bunkie Knudson tried to ape with the 69 Mercury Marauder, but the result was not quite the same. Fabulous catch.
Not bad! Can’t say I’m a fan of the “upholster the dash like the seats” method of dealing with dashboard cracks, but at least they were trying.
I’ve never gone to the Cohort in search of inspiration before – but the prospect of finding some ’69-72 GPs there leaves me tempted.
Perry, man, you are on fire with all these great posts. Though I was just a kid at the time, I remember being somewhat horrified by these when they came out. GPs had always been so good-looking, and this one was just bizarre, with those big hips, droopy rear-end, funky tail and fender skirts. Loved the front end, though. Amazing find, as I’m sure very few of these still exist.
Nice example, but man, I had forgotten how hippy and fat these GPs had grown. They were a far cry from the crisp sporty ’62s and the penultimate ’63. I was such a Pontiac fan then, still driving my first car all through my college years, a ’64 LeMans. My parents neighbor had one of these new, I would see it coming and going on our cul de sac all the time. Even then I thought it had ballooned up so disproportionately, and that front nose beak looked like the prow of a ship. Thank heavens the ’69 reinvented the brand, at least for a couple of years.
Good description. I don’t think anyone thinks of this as objectively good design, but I love it for the same reason I love the 58 Lincoln – it is pure “period immersion.” I look at this and I see the 45 year old guy who is starting to grow his hair and his sideburns a bit longer, who thinks of himself as the picture of cool with the gold medallion hanging on from around his turtleneck and with his shiny low brown boots with the gold buckles. This is what he would have driven.
Yup. That’s it.
That’s funny because it’s true. Once you’re over 45, and you’re starting to lose your hair, just shave it off. Go for the Walter White/ Hank Schrader look. What middle-aged car design would that be? One that was honest about its age, getting a bit bulkier, but still with a sense of purpose and world-weary presence. Any design changes would have to be made for utility and function, not fashion and frippery.
How about the 1973 International 1210 truck?
What’s that banging from inside the trunk?
As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster……
I’m surprised it took this many comments to get a Goodfellas reference!
“The paw?”
“The hoof.”
“The hoof, right, the hoof is caught in the grill, I gotta hack it off….ma its a sin, I can’t leave it there….”
We got a real problem. You know that thing we took care of upstate?
Paulie was just talking about that.
Yeah, well we gotta get it outta there. They just sold the property to make condominiums.
What?
Jimmy its been 6 months?
A rat the boys found wearing a wire.It looks the car a gangster who’s a step up from goons and leg breakers would drive or let his most trusted goon drive.I like this a lot,why would anyone want a Cadillac when you could have a Grand Prix(and probably quite a bit of change)
Ma! Get me a knife! I hit a deer!
That giant trunk could come in handy in a pinch.
Yeah but don’t shoot somebody in it or you’ll put holes in the gas tank.
A relative ordered one of these while stationed in Newfoundland. It was Verdoro green, w/ a white vinyl top/interior, buckets/console, 8-track, and a hood mounted tach (which never worked, even after being sent back for repair more than once!) At that time, I was just learning to drive and I thought it was the coolest “space ship” of a car. I also learned the proper technique for merging into highway traffic in that same car, as well as a host of other important driving skills! Fond memories, and yes, this one is IMMACULATE! 🙂
@Mike Notigan: Yes, my next neighbor’s ’69 SJ in the same color (no vinyl) totally blew all the young car guys minds!! 🙂
Elliot, I was all of 12 in 1969, a dyed in the wool car nut to the max. Every magazine, every model car kit….. Today’s feature car is a real beauty, but I can still recall the impression the 69 Grand Prix, in SJ and LJ (in honor of Duesenberg) versions, made on me. The golden age of Bill MItchell and GM design was here, in that time period!
The originals in 69 were the actual Duesenberg models, J and SJ. The joke in house was that they were actually for DeLorean: John and Super John.
Looks nice without a vinyl top but it really deserves to be an obscure Pontiac.
In this body style (’67/’68) a big Pontiac two door hardtop could have been had as a Catalina, Ventura, 2+2, Executive, Bonneville, Bonneville Brougham or a Grand Prix. Nothing much to distinguish one from another, really.
The rarer, or maybe more unusual Grand Prix, would be the only convertible – the ’67.
I guess I’m in the minority, as I think that beast is sexy as hell. I do tend to congregate towards the more outlandishly styled cars… which doesn’t explain my love of Fairmonts 😀
The Packard Predictor of ’56 really was named appropriately. I really liked these when new, but not so much now. ’63 was the best IMHO.
Hmmmm. ’58 Edsel and Lincoln. I predict there is a story here.
I read there was a plan for Packard to make a “new” car based on the 56 Lincoln but it fell through.What where they taking at Lincoln to come up with the horrid 57 and worse still 58 after the lovely 56?The 56 Lincoln is one of my favourite 50s American cars
agree on ’56 Lincoln, one of the best ’50s cars and lately their value has climbed. I think stylists were caught up in the “can you top this” mode during this period and each year they were lauded for their efforts but it eventually became an too much. the ’57 Lincoln was awful, it was done by Bill Schmidt and guess what he moved over to Packard so that’s his handywork (the ’56 Packard concept). i did read about Packard on it’s death bed talking to Lincoln about using the ’56 body.
But count me as one who is fascinated by the ’58 Lincoln. And there certainly is alot of styling cues for that in the ’56 Packard concept.
Along with the B-Bodied based Grand Prix before moving into a smaller and lighter Chevelle/LeMans based G-Body a stretched variant of the RWD A-Body during the late 1960s to early 1970s, remember that the Ventura at one time was also a variant trim name for the Bonneville/Catalina B-Body as well until the name was resurrected in an unrelated and significantly smaller Nova badged equipped RWD X-Body.
This poor Grand Prix didn’t know what it wanted to be. The Buick Riviera was so much prettier and more youthful. The ’69 Grand Prix fixed all that and the two cars switched places going into the 70s.
I find this particular car stunning. However, my opinions are opposite of yours on literally all counts. Everything you see wrong about this car I see “right”. The one positive remark made implies that hacking up a rare console to install aftermarket gauges is A-Okay — as if this car needs one shred of modernizing.
Not everything needs to be modernized. This car speaks to me — it’s equivalent to a fine piece of artwork — its curves, quirks, colors, (and likely sounds) appeal to me on a level that few material objects have the ability to do. And just because it’s big does not mean it needs a vinyl top. Am I the only one that appreciates how the fender skirts and lack of vinyl top accentuate this car’s presence in the first picture above?
And the “dumpy” GM rear ends….GM sold a lot of them and well… I find them a whole lot more attractive than their foreign competition and Bubbalia that’s been searing my retinas for the last two decades now…
I suppose this clash of tastes may be due to the ages in which we grew up perhaps. Either way, it’s a little depressing to see my absolute favorite style & genre of vehicles opined as mistakes and barbaric curiosities while the Mazda/Toyo/Nissan/Euro love fest appears to be blossoming. I have been coming here to escape the Nissan-BMW-Mazda-Toyota Hell that is my daily NC commute for awhile now but something just doesn’t seem right lately.
This trend, whether real or conjured up in my little-pea brain, is dampening my enthusiasm for subsequent visits and has effectively quashed any desire to submit anything. Darn.
Articles on difference tastes ebb and flow here – I’m only 33, but I like this just as much as I like the BMW 2002 below it. There are very few cars I don’t appreciate in one way or another.
I don’t just opine, I put my money where my mouth is. I’ve owned 4 rotary Mazdas over the years, but my current main vehicle is a Dodge Challenger.
One thing worth considering is that, at this point, most of the cars that are truly “curbside classics” at this point are going to be from the 80s and 90s. Most of this older metal is moving on to being used more sparingly. 🙁
I guess I’m confused, there are four, maybe five posts that give a negative opinion so far? Hardly the bashing you make it seem…
I think it’s attractive, too, other than the rear end. I quite like it. No, I’m not implying that it needs modernizing, but I can’t really like with sparse instrumentation and flat bench seats, so I appreciate how much more like today’s cars this looks like versus a lot of other similar cars (compare this interior to the one in the 68 Riviera that I posted a month and a half ago, for instance). I personally like it better than the car which succeeded it, but I’m sure that’s not the most popular opinion.
As for any bias in this site, you can relax, since it’s still heavy on domestics.
Thank you for the informative article on this car. I’ve never been a big fan of big Pontiacs but this car’s front grill is one of the best of the sixties. I agree with Chris M., it’s still second to the ’68 Chrysler 300 grill. But then almost everything is second to any 300 to me since I learned how to drive in my dad’s ’67 300 convertible.
I liked your comparison of its hind end to the boat-tail Riv. I didn’t see that at first and I appreciate seeing new details about cars through others’ eyes.
I understand your sensibilities, JB. With a greater number of new contributors, some of we lovers of the Great American Land Yacht have been diluted somewhat. However, I will also say that my tastes in cars has been broadened quite a bit over the last few years, mostly because of this site.
I certainly hope you don’t go away, I for one enjoy your insights and look forward to your postings and comments.
+1
Don’t post less JB, post MORE! And please continue to defend cars you like if you think they’re getting short shrift in the article.
I’m in much the same position as you, not being interested in most of the articles on 80s and newer cars that come along, though there are still quite a few articles being posted that are to my tastes. I’ve also been disappointed by the negative comments on some of the older car posts recently, so it’s not just your imagination. I can think of a couple articles in particular that seemed to bring out the worst in people. It happens from time to time.
+2
I’ve always been appreciative of Junqueboi’s comments as my sensibilities seem to mirror his at times. My hope and wish is that you continue to post and write here. Oh, and if your Colonnades are still with you, would love to read about them.
Well said about defending cars that are getting short shrift. The second article I read at CC after JPC’s on the FWBs was Paul’s on the Seville. I felt alone commenting against his opinion but others started chiming in and finally, over time, the car has gotten a fair shake. Same with the Mustang II.
The comments are as valuable to the site as the articles themselves which many times (like capsules) are just vehicles for the comments. I always seem to agree with your pov btw JB.
Agree. The different opinions here are insight into why automotive history is what it is, like it or not. This GP is not one of the greats, but I’ll go on record that a black vinyl over gold edition of this car caused me to turn into a used car lot around ’87 or so. Pinhole rust in the trunk floor stopped me. Love this beast. We need all the advocates for this car we can keep aboard!
I don’t think any bashing was intended by anyone, and I’m all about different strokes for different folks. My tastes run to the clean-lined mid-sixties designs where American cars are concerned. (See Perry’s post on the ’66 Galaxie as an example.) I love the Grand Prix through the 1967 model year. Where things start to get a bit more heavy and baroque, such as with this design, is where they lose me. But that’s me, and it makes me happy to know that there are people who love this design enough to preserve it. I would rather the interior be left intact and original, too. Anyway, I hope you won’t be discouraged from posting something that you find cool.
The color, the lack of vinyl top, and the fender skirts suit this car perfectly. And it’s from GM’s golden age. How could anybody not appreciate this car’s beauty? And it’s in my state! If somebody on this site doesn’t like it, they can buy it and give it to me! Just because it might not be everybody’s cup of tea, it doesn’t need to be insulted. Any car kept in this pristine condition regardless of make deserves the respect the owner obviously gives it. After all I drive a VW, (the cars that always sit on the ripoff dealers service lot), A Nissan Titan (a joke truck, only real men drive Ford, Dodge or Chevy-GMC), and it’s brown “Copper” in color (looks like a rolling turd), but if anybody doesn’t like it they can turn around an look the other way. I drive what I like, period. And most people on this site are considerate of what other people are fans of. So don’t let it get to you, Junqboi.
junqueboi. Ran out of edit time trying to properly spell your name.
@ 67Conti: I totally agree. I’ve always loved cars by General Motors of 1949-1970. My grandparents owned Buicks and Chevys. I’d buy one if it were properly maintained, never been wrecked, or neglected. 🙂
My tastes are all over the place. From the thirties to the eighties, US, Euro, Jap and Aussie. For me there’s a great gulf between a 71 Buick clamshell and a 71 Pontiac clamshell. One is an apex of car design, the other makes my eyes sore. It’s like that, opinions are like a*holes. But there’s so few a*holes on this site. Mostly informed opinions. I always read your stuff, Junqueboi, even if I don’t agree. Hang around, write some more. Last thing I want is for commenters here to end up as the Stepford Wives.
JB, I will echo JP’s comments, and I will go a step further saying my exposure to a wider variety of automobiles here has been educational and reinforced my existing thoughts about them – both positive and negative.
Spoiler alert just for you: read my post on Thursday. Something will be very far up your alley and it is rare. Please stick around, your voice and experience brings a lot of depth and texture to the site.
I love the GM cars of the 60s. My grandparents, on my mom’s side of the family, had Buicks and Chevys.
Only two blocks from my home. I definitely wouldn’t park that car there. Washington’s largest methadone clinic is a block away.
I stopped dead in my tracks when I walked by this one yesterday.
The blue paint was stunning on a sunny morning. I didn’t see the owner so
I have no interesting facts. Found on Capitol Hill, Seattle, next to a big church.
This GP could be a Mad Men prop it was so fine.
Yeah Eric it’s not the best neighborhood, but it’s
not like it was parked on E Pike.
I much prefer the 67 Grand Prix with its GTO-like rear styling – the changes to the 68, front and rear, giving the car a large Tempest look, were never to my liking. But to be really happy, give me a 63 in midnight blue; that car is a real stunner – and a trend setter.
A neighbor bought a new 67 GP, in burgundy with a black vinyl top. Gorgeous car (looked like it was in motion in the driveway), beautiful interior. For me, it made up somewhat for my disappointment with the 67 Thunderbird becoming bloated and LTD-like rather than continuing as a sleek, personal luxury coupe.
JB, I feel some of your pain but hang in there. And do submit a post. There is room for all ages and tastes here.
Yes, this is a gorgeous Grand Prix–beautiful proportions and detailing.
I owned a ’67 Grand Prix convertible in the ’90s in Tyrol Blue with a Pearl White interior and top. The ’68 GP pictured above is Tyrol Blue if I’m not mistaken.
You reminded me of a ’67 Grand Prix hardtop I nabbed a couple years ago in Davis, CA.
What a difference a year makes! The ’67 always looked good to me, especially with the parking lights above the bumper/hidden headlights–looking much cleaner than the “regular” big Poncho with its stacked lamps. I also really liked the rear, with the GTO-style tail lights. The 1968 just doesn’t work as well–like the stylists were just running out of steam before the major redesign. I feel the same way about the 1970 Riviera–not terrible, but not as “pure” as it had been before.
Kind of like GTO-style tail lights at 125% enlargement.
Sweet and rare GP ragtop.
I agree. I’ll take a 1967 any day over the 1968; better styling both front and rear. I like the Grand Prix from its first year 1962 until 1968. Anything after 1968 I don’t like because to me they downsized and cheapened it.
This car shows just how much difference the eight-lug-nut wheels made to the overall look of 1960s Pontiacs. This is still an impressive looking car, but the wheels would have provided the final touch. Their absence is quite noticeable, in my opinion.
Yeah I love those 8 lug wheels. How come no one ever did this again? I can only guess that there just wasn’t any true benefit other than looking cool. Other than Super Duty Fords/Chevys/Dodges virtually ever car has 5 lugs now, from Civics with 14″ to Audi RS7s with 21″ steamrollers.
The eight-lug wheels had integral aluminum brake drums, so the bolts had to be set farther apart than with conventional brakes — that was the reason for it. Once discs became available, the eight-lug wheels disappeared pretty quickly.
Thanks for the info, I learned something new.
“Until now, I only understood the GP as the purpose-built G-body coupe built from 1969 onward; I didn’t realize it began life as a more special version of Pontiac’s B-body”
Well good that you are learning. At first I was like ‘what how could you not know’? Then realized the 60’s may as well be the 1920’s to younger people.
Anyway, the earlier full size GP’s sold better, before the mid-size muscle and sporty coupe sales ‘boom’. DeLorean realized this and planned for the ’69 G body, while the 67-68 were on sale, so they were just place markers. I can see how this GP must be some kind of alien space ship to some, compared to the consistancy of the more popular mid size GP’s.
I really like the nose of this car. Hidden headlights with that upright center section–classy. The droopy tail could perhaps have been better dealt with, but I do actually like the hint of boat-tail from directly behind.
All in all, I’d drive it! Though, if I were looking for a personal luxury coupe in ’68, I don’t think this would have held a candle to the Chrysler 300 of the same year. (Or a Toronado or Riviera, for that matter.)
Regarding ‘bashing’, the ’68 GP has made a comeback in collector car world. 20-30 some years ago, these were looked down on as “too big” or the usual “not as good looking as the 63’s”.
Now that these are 46 y/o, looked on more favorably. See more of them featured in collectible car mags, shows, and Pontiac car boards.
Pontiac’s got a “coke bottle” look in 1965. So the Grand Prix does have a different look from 65 through 68. I am not sure one style is better than the other, but the 63-64 models are perhaps more classic than the later ones.
The Chrysler 300 letter series was gone before 1968.
Yes, the 300 letter series was gone, but the non-letter 300 was still around and was (in my opinion) one of the best looking cars of ’68 with the hidden lamps set into a bold crosshair grille, and the trademark knife edge fenders and triangular C-pillar.
I think the 61 300 G was the best in terms of style and performance. The 62 had less tail fin though. Not sure if the engine was still ram induction or not.
After a bit of googling, I am quite sure the 62 only got 2 4 barrels on top of the engine with 470 lb-ft of torque. The 61 had 495 with long ram induction manifold.
Chris was talking about cross-shopping a 1968 Chrysler 300 versus a 1968 Pontiac Grand Prix. I’d rather have a ’61 300G over either, but that’s a different comparison. 🙂
A beautiful car. I think this bodystyle might look better without the skirts, but to each his own.
> Until now, I only understood the GP as the purpose-built G-body coupe built from 1969 onward; I didn’t realize it began life as a more special version of Pontiac’s B-body, a la Buick Wildcat.
That reminds me that Cordoba similarly started as a special edition of the Chrysler Newport before becoming its own (downsized) model.
Perhaps I should point out the Pontiac Grand Prix and Buick Wildcat were preceded by the Oldsmobile Starfire in 1961. These cars may have been a response to the Thunderbird.
I think you missed my point, Fred. I was trying to point out a parallel between the history of the Grand Prix and Cordoba names.
The 1st gen Grand Prix was a basically a sub-model of the fullsize Catalina before coming into its own as a sporty midsizer. Similarly, the “Cordoba” name first appeared as a sub-model of the fullsize Chrysler Newport before reappearing as the midsize Cordoba that most people remember.
Not completely, but I have googled the newport cordoba. My point was that the Grand Prix and Buick Wildcat were 1962 models. Oldsmobile had the Starfire in 1961. Chevrolet had SS (Super Sport) Impala’s from 1961 perhaps. I suspect that Pontiac and Buick wanted them because Olds had the Starfire.
From ’63-’66 the Grand Prix and Starfire shared the same roofline with the curved rear glass. The Wildcat kept the standard GM roofline. The Starfire ended production in ’66 with the success of the Toronado. The Wildcat continued on until 1970.
Mark – Near the end of the 60’s (69 for sure) the Impala coupe got a curved rear glass too. I was thinking then that I might get one, but got a GTO instead.
Love it, lose the wheel spats and it would be perfect, no need for an ugly vinyl top and I’m not fussed about what powers it I’m only allowed to do 62mph anyway.
What a beaut! Such a clean, unmolested original. It’s not like I’ve never seen one, but very few going all the way back to when they were new. Really, it’s so nice it almost looks like it’s been stored away inside some garage since new!
Admittedly, though, it was the introduction of the 1969 GP as a sporty and luxurious intermediate that I especially recall. I very much like the1969 and up models at the time and to this day.
Wow i know that car! That is my baby! i was living in Magnolia for a bit. I moved to California at the end of 2014 and will be moving to Texas at the end of this year. I am very happy to find my own car on the internet and see that people enjoy seeing it as much as i do everyday. Thank you for the good read!
These were rare even when new.
And to me, these provide the perfect explanation for taking the chance they did on the ’69 downsize, which, at least for a couple of years, put the car back on par with the spectacular 1963 models.
I can only recall seeing a small handful of these in my lifetime. A very imposing car, great find!
Considering the full size 1968 Pontiac line had a pretty ugly restyling of the grille and taillights, the Grand Prix came off as the best looking one of the bunch. It does scream, however, for a full-sized version of the GTO’s’ Endura’ bumper and horizontal grillework (much better looking than the eggcrate grille and the ‘nose ring’ center section). Delete the skirts, add the 8-lug wheels, and you’d have a 1968 Grand Prix that is heads and shoulders above the rest of the 1968 Pontiac full-sized line.
I took a few pictures a 1967 GP convertible at a parking lot car show in the western suburbs of Boston last year. I had not seen one in decades. I suspect a GP of any kind was pretty rare back in the day, but this one had a surprise inside that made it very special…
… a factory 4-on-the-floor!
Looks like it might have a factory hood tach, too. If not OEM, at least it’s Pontiac branded.
GP seems to have lost its way a bit after 1964, bottoming out with this model. Bloated and portly, it lost all of its sporty pretentious. Kind of like a once great athlete that let himself go after retirement. The public must have agreed, as sales were down to 31,000. Guess the stylists were pre-occupied with the newly restyled Tempest/LeMans/GTO, which were quite nice. Then, the beautiful ’69 GP appeared, and all was forgiven. Radically restyled and much slimmer, it was better in every way. Sales soared to 112,000. A nice swan song at Pontiac for John DeLorean, who would move to Chevrolet.
By 1967, the Grand Prix was in a bad way. First, there was attractive new PLC competition from Oldsmobile (Toronado) and Cadillac (Eldorado) and a swoopy new Riviera.
Then, Pontiac’s own full-size 2-door hardtops like the 2+2, Catalina, and Bonneville were arguably styled just as well (some might say better) and have the same level of available equipment. And, as mentioned, Pontiac was all about intermediate muscle in the mid-sixties. It’s no wonder the Grand Prix languished in those final full-size years.
The front end of the ’67 GP was pretty cool though. And the whole body design was a one year only model. But Peak Prix has to be the ’63-64. The ’65 was excellent, it’s just that the ’65 Bonneville/Catalina were nearly as good, so it lost some distinctiveness.
I’m actually not as big a fan of the personal luxury as a long-hooded LeMans era, 69-72. It seemed a more cynical approach to the marketplace, and I know the collonades have their fans, but the quality and performance was devolving by ’73-’77.
I glanced through the previous comments and am a little surprised that no one mentioned how the ’67-’68 Grand Prix surely must have influenced the 1969 fuselage Chryslers.
A gorgeous relic of a vanished age.
Super cool looking car. As a young cc enthusiast of maybe age 4 or so I remember the neighbor brought one of these home. With innocent but challenged pronunciation I ran home to Mom and announced “the Larmet’s got a new Grand Pricks!” Never made that mistake again
I made that pronouncement the same way when I was a kid, but my mother corrected me and told me that it was pronounced ‘grand PREE’. I NEVER made that mistake again! A beautiful car, I`d kill to have it.
Where were the Aussies when this was posted? I’ve been saying all along GM used various styling cues in its overseas products, and the GP’s rear end found its way on to the HQ Holden Monaro, although with the Monaro’s smaller dimensions, it seems to wear it better.
Beautiful car! But when these were new, with the headlight doors open, they reminded me of the ’59 Edsel. No design ever really dies, I guess!
I knew a kid whose dad bought these from 69 forward, but I dont think I have ever seen this earlier variant. or maybe do not recognize the shape without the vinyl and gewgaws to distract. in this lovely blue, the rear roof pillar/rear bench vent window barely visible rear wheel and euro modern sculptural rear quarter panel all scream Citroen SM to me. did the French crib design from the General?