In the underground parking garage of a downtown luxury shopping, office, and apartment sprawl heavily populated with many new, high-end luxury cars, a Malaise Era B-body Pontiac was one of the last cars I could have expected to see. But one can stumble upon strange things at 2:52 AM, particularly after a couple of vodkas on the rocks, and this silver 1978 Pontiac Bonneville is living proof.
Leaving the 22nd floor apartment of some friends’ resulted in me stepping off the elevator in the residents’ parking spots, a sea of mostly BMW M cars, Range Rovers, and Porsches. Making my way into the slightly lesser “public parking” still revealed almost exclusively late-model, higher-end cars. Walking back a different way than the way we came revealed this very original yet respectable condition ’78 Pontiac Bonneville Brougham, a car about as out of place as a marching band at a cocktail party.
My friend who was with me told me he frequently sees this car, always in the same spot. The fact that it has an expired inspection sticker seems to speak true to this Pontiac’s lack of frequent movement. The green Massachusetts plates (which haven’t been issued in 23 years) and AAA decals also hint that this car’s owner is older and genuinely make me assume he or she is quite possibly the very original owner.
Photographed: The Prudential Center, Back Bay, Boston, MA – November 2016
And there’s those hubcaps with the plastic fins that break off.
Anybody else feel the compulsion to reach out and snap off another one?
Nahh… I’d just rather wash it and see how much more paint ends up on the wash mitt.
I’d love to have seen a shot of the odometer. One has to wonder if that’s one of lucky old cars that’s lived a long and relatively coddled life as a Summer shuttle to The Cape and back, or various out-of-town forays with little other regular use at all. I’d be willing to bet the mileage is still well inside 5 figures.
could have 0,1-9 in front of the 5 digit odometer. Much like my 77 Chevelle, I’ve no clue how many miles are really on it, other than what I’ve put on it myself.
The owner probably owns the entire building 🙂 I love the red interior and it is always fun to see something so unexpected or seemingly out of place that it makes all the details stand out even more than usual. A well-traveled veteran of the streets, it’s nice that it now gets to rest indoors.
Actually, here in DC, parking garages in large residential buildings, at least in buildings of a certain age, and with resident’s ages to match, contain a wealth of older cars, in frequently very clean condition. One building I visit frequently sports two Karmann Ghias, a beautiful Datsun B-210, several late-70s Cadillacs, and then even a few collector cars (like a ’48 Plymouth and ’68 Oldsmobile).
Isn’t that the truth. One can walk around the neighborhoods of San Francisco, especially Richmond and Sunset, with the deep garage being the first floor and see many an old car. If the door is open you can glance in the back and see quite a few sights. Same for taking a look into the back of the City’s older repair garages, those still around, and see stuff back to the 50’s.
I found this Caddy in San Fransico’s Marina District with a local parking permit on its bumper.
Pictures, please.
It doesn’t look in very good shape if it’s a Garage Queen.
Until you mentioned that this car is frequently seen parked in the same spot, I’d have guessed that a drug deal was going down.
The drug dealers of people who can afford $6,000/month rent for a 2-bedroom apartment drive much nicer cars 😉
The grille and tail lights tell me that is a 1978 Bonneville. My father owned a 1978 from new for almost a decade. The ’79 tail light was divided into more and smaller rectangles.
You are indeed right. All fixed. Pontiac has never been my area of expertise 🙂
Cool and unexpected location for a CC sighting. It’s like the urban equivalent of a barn find!
Like fintail Jim, I was wondering about the model year on this car as well. I think the grille is from a ’79, but the tail lights are definitely from a ’78. I’m wondering if the grille and/or front clip were replaced on this ’78 Bonnie after an accident, with a junkyard source for parts…
I think this car looks really good in Silver since it de-emphasizes the heavy chrome rocker panel moldings and looks more streamlined. I also like the look without the rear fender skirts. Too bad the Catalina interior wasn’t more posh, since I always thought its exterior was cleaner than the Bonneville.
I like it. I’d gladly own it. But here in Texas, that silver paint would be gone in a week. Silver and Red don’t do good down here.
Put rear skirts on that thing and I’d rock that car.
What is everybody’s fascination with fender skirts? I hated them when I was growing up in the 50’s & 60’s and still do today. One of the worst abominations ever visited upon a car IMO. But each to his own. Fuzzy dice, steering knobs, continental kits and curb feelers inhabit the second tier of my intense dislikes on cars. And don’t get me started on today’s wagon wheels.
Nice find Brendan. Given the production longevity of the 1977 era B platform, and the familiarity of the design, it doesn’t look too hugely out of place. Imagine how truly dated and unusual a ’78 LTD or Monaco might look.
My now-deceased aunt lived in a condo building with similar parking, and most of the residents were also elderly. One of the occupants kept a pristine ’57 Thunderbird in the garage. Always would sneak a look when visiting her.
Wow, this looks like a Joe Dennis find. This has Chicago written all over it. Quite a surprise in the Boston area.
This car reminds me why I had such a distaste for silver cars for so long. None of them ever looked good after a few years, and those from GM (with its soft lacquer paint jobs) were the worst.
And vodka on the rocks? Really Brendan, we must find you a cocktail with some flavor. 🙂
Now that you mention Chicago, maybe we should ship him some Malört… 😉
You know Malort is my jam. With no trace of irony I say this.
Good idea. Is that an appropriate QOTD? What are you drinking?
Put me down for Balvenie 12 Year Doublewood Scotch 🙂
I need to get myself another bottle of Balvenie. Right now the only scotch I have on my bar is Laphroaig QC, which is excellent, but you have to be in the mood for it.
Nice to see one of these Bonnevilles in survivor shape as well. As of a couple years ago there was one still in service in Richmond, as I’d nearly always see it in the parking lot of a shopping center I frequented (the same place I found my 780 as a matter of fact). Presumably it was an employee car (and it may still be for all I know). Interesting to compare this to the ’86 Parisienne my family owned and see the subtle but many changes that occurred in the ’80 refresh, the back 2/3 of which was called back into service for the ’85 Parisienne.
Brendan’s comment reminded me that when I went to buy a bottle of gin the other night, it got about three feet of shelf space next to the vodkas, which seemed to go on for maybe 30 feet. I settled on Bombay London Gin. I’m trying to decide if I like it more or less than Beefeaters, which is my standby for a good martini or G&T. My tastes in whiskies are like my tastes in cars – good quality for a reasonable price gets my money every time. Whatever happened to the days when Johnnie Walker Black was the expensive stuff? 🙂
You can thank the 90’s and 00’s for the overproliferation of vodkas. Remember when all the trendy bars had a four page martini menu?
More recently it’s been whiskey-based cocktails, at least in my part of the country. I’m all for that but my wife despairs the trend as the only way she’ll drink whiskey is in an irish coffee. But even that is starting to turn a bit of a corner with more and more gin-based drinks finding their way in. Maybe that’s the new trend? (I’m a fan of Bombay Sapphire but I’ll fully admit that the nifty blue bottle looking good on the shelf may have a small bit to do with it.)
I haven’t really gotten into Scotch yet, it’s my next unconquered frontier 🙂
You have a lot to look forward to – one of life’s greatest pleasures.
I keep it straightforward and simple when it comes to alcohol. Not a big fan of sweet drinks and I find when you order something with any type of mixer, you’re paying for the booze buy only getting the mixer.
Dry Grey Goose martini with a twist is my go-to drink to order at a bar. Occasionally its a Manhattan (preferably Rye whiskey over Bourbon) or a Negroni (Vodka over gin, unless pre-mixed), if the know how to make the latter. Otherwise it’s a full-bodied Cabernet or Merlot.
In this case I was at a friend’s apartment and was basically told to help myself to whatever they had. Didn’t see any martini glasses or dry vermouth, so I kept it primitive with Ketel One on the rocks. Contrary to most, I honestly quite like the taste of a good vodka without anything to over-power it, so long as it’s chilled.
It just needs a little love…
If I saw a 1979 Bonneville in a parking garage and had a few drinks in me, I’d have trouble believing it was real.
I’d hate to be the person who has to park in front of the spatially-challenged black Mercedes SUV.
If you went there often, I would implore you to put a note on it with my contact information in case they want to sell. Then it could join my B-Body in a parking garage here in NH. Despite the wear, I’d love to own that.
According to the Commonweath, it is a 1978 Model with a valid registration and passed inspection in September. Perhaps the owner just hasn’t gotten around to putting the sticker on the plate yet.
Nice find. The shot emphasizes what I always liked least about the downsized Pontiac B bodies, the taillights are too heavy looking.
Here’s a relative I saw
This is a 1979 year model. Note the bright, textured horizontal band that separates the tail light segments. Note also that it has fender skirts as did my fathers 1978 Bonneville Brougham. The silver subject article seems to be missing its fender skirts as evidenced by the absence of a wheel opening trim as clearly seen on the front wheels.
I don’t remember if the Catalina had fender skirts. I believe the new down-sized C bodies did but the Bonneville was the only B-body that had them. The Caprice/Impala, Delta 88, and Le Sabre did not.
I believe only Bonneville in the U.S. and Parisienne in Canada, the top end Pontiac B-bodies had the fender skirts, lesser models did not. In fact I think they were the only B-bodies to keep the skirts in the ’77 downsize.
Had a ’77 Bonnie many years back as a winter beater (a 5.0L Mustang isn’t too useful during a Cleveland winter), liked that car a lot. Got great mileage for what it was, easily saw over 25 highway mpg.
I suspect there is a very loving owner involved here. In our area the parking garages in buildings with younger tenants are a great place to find piles of barf and puddles of urine. The starboard side of that Bonneville would give you plenty of privacy to produce either.
Brendan,
I like your candor.
The 1986 Parisienne refined the lines and added the correct fender skirts to the Bonneville which was produced for 7 years.
My black Parisienne Brougham with tufted champagne cloth interior is one of my favorites. Poor man’s Cadillac with Chevy 305 4 bbl. and 4 speed automatic.
Looks showroom new after 30 years!
Gary
What’s that chrome bar beneath the tail-lamps?
Some sort of rare factory metal bumper?
…I thought that ’77-9 Pontiac was most commonly equipped with a wooden rear bumper. LOL
Nice find. I attended an event at the Glendale, CA Hilton recently and was shocked to find dozens of old cars of all kinds parked on two floors of the hotel’s garage. Staff told me that the owner pays monthly garage fees to store part of his collection that is in transit. If anyone here knows the whole story, I would be interested to hear it.
I always liked the Bonneville of this era. When the downsized B and C bodies came out I was not impressed at all with the look as I had always had a soft spot for traditional American full sizers and the Bonneville managed to carry off the appearance of being much bigger than it actually was in addition to still LOOKING like a traditional car. The ‘shear look’ made even the Cadillac of this era look a tad cheap to my eye.