I’m learning to be more thankful when friends and acquaintances ask me to participate in fun activities that would fall outside my normal routine, at times when I usually wouldn’t be anywhere but home. As I’m sure I’ve stated before, my summer life in Chicago brings with it a plethora of available activities to the point where judicious choices need to be made to avoid burnout.
It also brings an expanding roster of many friends I’ve known and kept in contact with throughout the years, from different places I’ve lived, who will be in the Windy City for business or pleasure. It can sometimes make me feel like I’m the star of my own sitcom or talk show, with a cast of revolving “very special guest stars”. I take my friendships very seriously, and I’m always grateful when someone has thought enough of me to reach out and arrange for us to spend time catching up.
With my ’88 Mustang in the college university dormitory parking lot. Sophomore year, 1993 – ’94.
My college buddy, Jason, happened to be in town for a convention on the day when I had spotted our featured car. It was a sobering (but awesome) thought that he and I have been friends for over twenty-five years since starting as college freshman in one of the honors dorms back in the early ’90s. What’s cool about Jason’s and my friendship is that even though we’ve gone very long stretches of time without seeing each other in person, when we have had a chance to hang out, it hasn’t been just about reliving the past and the “good, ol’ days” of yore.
One of the great realizations from this particular visit after work was how we were able to keep a great conversation going, inclusive of current world and life events. It was a great reminder of why and how he and I (and others in that same group) had become friends in the first place, more than half our lives ago. Part of the running joke on this evening, however, was how even though we’re pretty much the same dudes as we were back then, there are definite “creaks of adulthood” that are now clearly visible, audible, and feel-able. I choose to view my receded hairline (and I do shave my head) as a badge of honor, having made it thus far in life.
In the midst of Jason’s and my conversation as we had left the restaurant under the Loop tracks, I heard this ’69 Bonneville before I saw it. There’s something about the way a car’s engine and exhaust system will reverberate underneath the elevated train tracks and between the buildings that seems to pulse through your body as well as in your eardrums. Even with my SLR (versus the camera on my phone) and with its flash off, it’s really hard to get a decent shot of a moving car in low light, but I managed one (at the top of this essay). In my conversations with Jason earlier that night, I had cited writing for Curbside Classic as one of my adulthood hobbies of which I’m the most proud.
I had to wait to get home in order to research a few facts about our featured car. For example, Pontiac offered convertibles in two of its three full-sized lines for ’69: the 122″-wheelbase Catalina, and the 125″-wb Bonneville. (There was no convertible offered in the Executive line, Pontiac’s mid-range full-sizer.) Baffled by how I was going to be able to distinguish a Bonneville from a Catalina, one easy tell turned out to be the wider, “hockey-stick” taillamps of the Bonneville, versus the shorter units on the Catalina. Convertible production of both models was nearly identical, at 5,400 apiece. Most of the full-size Pontiacs that year were powered by a 400-cubic inch V8 with horsepower figures rated at 265 (with the automatic transmission) or 290 (with the manual). There was also a 428 available with either 370 or 390 hp.
Perhaps the most jarring realization was that while Jason and I have been friends for just over 25 years, this ’69 Bonneville was about that old at the time all of us had started hanging out. The life of this classic Pontiac was nearly equally bisected by the year a bunch of us young adults all met each other living in a dormitory (that was ancient even in the early ’90s), passing the time when we weren’t studying or acting foolish by playing the card game Euchre in the TV lounge or going to “Old Wave” night at a local theater-turned-nightclub. I may have lost touch with all but maybe seven or eight in that original group of friends which included both Jason and I (thank you, social media!), but witnessing this classic Bonneville convertible pass as Jason and I wrapped up our conversation was a testament to the greatness of the passage of time not being something to really fear, but to celebrate.
Downtown, The Loop, Chicago, Illinois.
Wednesday, July 31, 2019.
I have terribly mixed feelings about the 69 Pontiac. On the one hand my maternal Grandma had one, her last car. So I get some serious sentimental vibes going on those rare occasions where I see one.
But I have to admit that, objectively, it was the least successful look of those 1969-70 GM B body cars. The front was the only good thing going for it, and Pontiac screwed that up in 70.
I once knew a kid who drove a 10 year old beater 69 Catalina convertible. This was in the late 70s when there was still a tendency to jack the back up a bit and put bigger tires back there. That look did not work on the 69 Pontiac at all.
I have come to like the frontal styling of the ’70 Pontiac B-Bodies, but I remember thinking how messed up it looked when I was a young kid. I guess I just wasn’t ready for that whole “six-headlight” look at the time.
I take the opposing view to J P’s view of the ’69 full-size Pontiac. I liked the smooth, integrated look of the hockey stick tail lights, especially the longer ones on the Bonneville. They were flush with the deck lid. Wouldn’t the arrangement lend itself well to an LED array retrofit?
True there were much better looking Pontiacs in the 1960’s. My favorite is the 1963 Grand Prix.
Jim, the “hockey stick” taillamps are one of my favorite design elements on these cars. I’m trying to think of another car on which they were executed less gracefully, but the only two I can think of at this moment are the Hillman Avenger / Plymouth Cricket, and the second-generation Mazda Cosmo – both of which I think wear them well.
Grandpa had an avocado green Catalina. Nothing looks good in that color – even avocados try to turn black as fast as they can to avoid looking that color. Yet there he was, with my grandmother and their toy poodle, taking a ride in that car.
It rode like a cloud, and handled like one too. Grandpa showed us that we could float across the eight-track railroad crossing without so much as a jolt among the seven of us. He even did this with both hands scratching the top of his head, and laughing at our alarmed reaction at his daring stunt.
The avocado green vinyl seats adhered themselves to our tender thighs and during the summer, could give us wicked branding on unprotected skin. Yet the Catalina also had a powerful air conditioning system that when turned on, felt like engine braking against the enormous V8 engine. Grandpa got 8 miles per gallon!
The entire interior was avocado green, the thick carpeting, the vinyl inserts in the doors, and the dash oozed this amazing color. The Catalina, also included attractive wood grain plastic and convincing shiny plastic chrome. Every door included an ashtray that we were not permitted to use for anything other than the ashes of a tobacco product. Since we didn’t smoke, we just flipped them open and marveled at their hidden purposes. I couldn’t wait to smoke, just to use them!
Grandpa had this generation Catalina, (his third), for a few years before he traded it in for a 1972 Catalina. It was also Avocado Green and it looked like the same car he previously drove, except uglier. The grille was garish and horrible looking.
My Grandma’s Catalina was a silver 4 door sedan with a black painted roof – the only one I ever saw like it. She bought one without air, but at least the interior was the base-level cloth which shielded out tender upper legs from the blazing hot black vinyl around the edges.
Grandma’s car had what I believe was the base 2 bbl 350. I remember the wheelcovers with the little slits in them that would allow tiny pebbles to get in but not get back out, so that you would hear the tinkling sound of tiny pebbles against the stainless steel.
I viewed the 69 as a terrible downgrade from her previous 64 Catalina. Even though the 64 was in a horrible dull beige with that kind of coppery-brown interior, that one was full of visual eye candy inside. The 69 was just the kind of dull that comes from cost cutting.
Long contemplation of the 1969-70 full-size Pontiac (versus the 1965-68 cars) has yielded the conclusion that the cheap-looking 1969-70 dashboard (and the even cheaper-looking 1971-76 dash) was, to GM’s beancounters, a necessary trade-off for the 1969 model’s larger standard wheels (15″ versus 14″), steel beams inside the doors, front head restraints, increased (optional, later standard) availability of front disc brakes, and other equipment that improved the safety of the cars somewhat.
Also noteworthy (although not shown in the photos here) is that, unlike any other year from 1965 to 1970, the 1969 Bonneville had its own separate grille treatment from lesser full-size Pontiacs, involving strange vertical “nostrils” on either side of the vertical Endura nose. As one of the car magazines wrote in a photo caption at the time, in a comparison test: “eek what a beak!”
Yeah, that dash was one of the worst ever for cheapness.
But at least they kept those fabulous articulated “clapper” windshield wipers. And the gearshift end stayed attached for the life of the car. 🙂
They also kept (for 1969 and ’70) the red, Indian head profile-shaped high-beam indicator within the speedometer. I fondly remember the one in my ’66 Bonneville convertible; when I was on an isolated highway, I used to turn the dash lights down and the high beams on, so that the Indian head was all that showed.
My grandmother had a white ’69 Catalina four-door post (I think) with a black painted roof! And I never saw another one with such a two-tone either.
VanillaDude, come to think of it, I seem to remember a disproportionately large number of Pontiacs built from the late ’60s through the early ’70s being the avocado green color you described. I’m sure Dupont produced ginormous vats of it!
I’m staying on the Chicago Riverfront for a few days to attend a business conference, and your posts have me keeping my eyes peeled for the CCs you keep featuring.
But I doubt I’ll ever have your “quick-draw” photography skills with my iPhone’s camera app!
Welcome to Chicago, BuzzDog! There’s great weather here all this week – not too warm, not too cold. A different college buddy and his wife are also here this week, so I’m glad they’re not dying of heat like many of us were just a few weeks ago!
Post 1966 full sized cars degeneration has been a pet peeve of mine. American full sized cars between 1966 and 1977 were popular, but lousy.
Everything full size began to get worse after the launch of pony cars. Full size cars were put on autopilot and then put on a back burner for a more than a decade. The success of the Iacocca inspired fake-luxuries found in Fords, also found replication in all makes. Why craft real luxury which is costly, when plastic, wood applique and vinyl gave a year’s appearance of luxury in what was considered a luxury car?
Cadillac cut enough corners in this era’s rides to bring in the dough that the smaller cars couldn’t bring in, and do it at a greater profit, thanks to “modern” manufacturing methods. New is new. Buyers believed that post 1966 full sized cars were still worth their cost, even though that new interior was a glued warped mess by the time the final payment was mailed in.
We wonder why full sized cars began to lose market share? Why buy an Oldsmobile, Chrysler or Mercury when the only difference was the fake grain on the vinyl, the fake stitching on the dash and the shade of fake wood grain on the trim? Full sized cars after 1966 were not good cars. There are few exceptions. Yet they sold millions of these things.
I had one of these for about 20 years, a project car that sadly never got done. In 1969, all Bonnevilles came with a 428-360hp (small valve) engine.
4Door64, thanks for the engine info. And I really hope your Bonnie didn’t end up at the crusher, but got sold (and completed) instead!
I think that the changes that resulted in a plainer interior were not just due to cost cutting. There were safety requirements that had to be followed. The dashboard had to be padded, the steering wheel could not have the attractive die cast chromed horn ring, and there couldn’t be any protruding knobs in the dash. Door pulls were located under the arm rests. All of that beautiful chrome trim had to be replaced by anti-glare materials. Styles were changing and monochromatic color schemes reflected the popularity of your home’s wall to wall carpet and minimalist furniture design. I’m not saying that cost reductions were not a factor but there were more factors in play.
I’ve had a ’56 and ’57 Cadillac that were classic Fifties interior designs. My ’64 Cadillac still had an attractive chrome plated instrument panel, trim, and door pulls. The windshield and side windows had shiny chromed trim. It looked nice, but there was a lot of glare to deal with on a sunny day.
In contrast my ’70 Coupe de Ville had a color coordinated interior almost devoid of chrome. It was very cosseting and it remains one of my favorites, I think it was the tall front seats, like individual arm chairs. The dash and doors featured inserts of simulated “Tamu wood” whatever that was, but it looked nice and modern to me. By 1977 Cadillac had cone back to more shiny trim inside though much of it was just plastic. “Wood” included. My ’94 Seville STS had a really beautiful interior, smooth, integrated and modern, not unlike a contemporary Audi. The wood was real and nicely finished. Here’s a pic of the dash.
Jose, I think you’re 100% right-on with safety materials being part of the reason for the change in aesthetics. It’s all fun and games until your face plants on some of that beautiful, shiny, poke-y chrome and hard metal surfaces in a wreck. (Not that that has happened to me, but I’m sure it happened to enough people who lived to tell about it.)
Here is a pic of the seats. Interestingly enough, the seats in my 2007 F150 look very much like my old Cadillac’s seats. Probably one of the reasons that I like the truck so much.
Wooo oo..!! Love the loose characterful energy in the pics of the orange car.. You have great style, in writing and photography! First lesson of business, have the camera along at all times..
Pikesta, thank you so much. This piece almost didn’t get written, as I was wondering how many words I could wring out of *one* decent picture, but where there’s a will, there’s a way. 🙂
“Most of the full-size Pontiacs that year were powered by a 400-cubic inch V8 with horsepower figures rated at 265 (with the automatic transmission) or 290 (with the manual).”
The real difference is the compression ratio, 8.6:1 (265 HP) vs 10.5:1 (290 HP). The transmission type didn’t matter.
Thanks, rpol35. Good info.
Another great one by the amazing Joseph! I truly enjoy reading your posts! The way you tell us about your life is so interesting and how you relate to cars is amazing.
Pontiacs were very popular on the. Brooklyn NY Street that I grew up on.
1966 Catalina 4 door sedan in blue, owned by my best friends parents.
1966 Catalina 2 door coupe in red, owned by a retired neighbor and his wife.
1963 Catalina Safari Wagon In a golden beige color, owned by our next door neighbors
1969 Catalina 2 door coupe in yellowish beige,
Owned by a neighbor across the street.
1967 Bonneville 4 door hardtop, owned by a neighbor 2 doors down.
1965 Grand Prix, in jet black, owned by a lady who was a widow.
I’ve always admired these Pontiacs, as to young me they looked cool and fancy, but not over the top! My favorite was the Grand Prix, as I got to ride in it often as Mrs, Marino worked close to our junior high school and will take me and my friends to school every morning. She was the nicest person in the world, and since she had no children of her own, she basically adopted all the kids on the block as her own.
Great memories of Pontiacs
NJcarguy, thank you so much.
Referencing the Pontiacs on your street, that seems to be a very large number! It’s probably similar to the number of Buicks I used to see around my old neighborhood(s) in Flint.
I was in NJ for business travel almost three years ago, when this ’74 Grand Prix rolled past the intersection where my colleagues and I were about to eat dinner: https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/in-motion-classic/in-motion-classic-1974-pontiac-grand-prix-another-mans-treasure/. It was a great (grand) moment on that particular business trip.
Nice car Grand Prix, Joseph ! I didn’t read your article, but did see it was when you were in Somerville NJ. Did you know that during the summer, there is a classic car show every Friday night along Main Street in Somerville ! I live about 40 minutes from there, so next time your travels bring you to NJ, let me know! It would
Be great to meet you and enjoy some classic cars.
Also, besides a ton of Pontiacs on my block, the other popular cars were Cadillacs (no Calais models though lol), Oldsmobile, and Buick. There were about 90 homes on my block so it was like strolling through a GM lot. I don’t think there were any Fords, but maybe a Chrysler or two.
It surprises me how unloved these are, for me they’re the best looking full size Pontiacs of the 60s, especially as convertibles. I like them more than their lauded intermediate siblings for 68-69.
I do like the ’69 full-sizers and think they wear that whole Pontiac “beak” really well.
I also think the ’68 and ’69 intermediates are hot. In terms of my personal favorites in the looks department, I think the LeMans/GTO/etc. are just below the Chevelles as my favorites of the four GM divisions.
I was breezing through the CC front page and with one glance at the picture, I thought that must be a Joseph Dennis article. You have developed a distinctive style, based at least in part on interesting introspective writing and the Chicago street landscape.
I love the 69 Pontiac droptop, at least before someone put the giant wheels on it. That style is seen a lot in my area, as well. I appreciate the taste in big, stylish old Americans, but can’t warm to the huge wheel with rubber band tires look.
Jon, thank you so much. I appreciate the good words.
The look of this particular wheel-and-tire combo isn’t exactly what I would want, but I have come to appreciate examples that are well done in this ilk (which is not to say all of them).
Great pic & write up! I love that you often capture the ‘eL’ train tracks in photos you take in the Loop.
I had a aunt & uncle who had a pale yellow & vinyl walnut ‘69 Executive Safari Wagon. I was only 6 or 7, but I remember it was one of the first wagons I saw with a vinyl roof – I never understood why you would want such a vast amount of vinyl covering on a wagon’s roof.
I like the ‘69 big Pontiacs, I think it was a big improvement over the 1968, which in my opinion seem like a inside joke on let’s make an updated Edsel – ten years later. I like the ‘70 Pontiac too, with it’s dual horn grills retro classic front and interesting reuse of the ‘69 rear bumper. I think the ‘71 big Pontiac was god awful – this was the start of Pontiac’s big sellers being only specialty cars like the Firebird & Grand Prix.
Glad someone brought up safety concerns and mandates as one of the reasons dashboards changed by the end of the 1960’s. I believe one safety idea for the ‘70’s was to make all car hoods matte black to prevent glare, of course many muscle cars got this look, as well as NFL players putting black paint under their eyes.