It had been a long, crappy day at the office, and I was headed home to a long night of leaning on the youngest boy to make up more missing homework assignments. And then I realized I had nothing thawed for dinner. Thank God for the roasted chickens at the grocery store – but it was about five windy degrees outside, so dashing in to get it was not going to be a joy. What a relentless day it was! And then there it stood.
It’s amazing how finding a curbside classic can instantly shuck off my day’s stress. And making my day even better, as I walked around this Grand Prix snapping photos, the owner stuck his head out of the barber shop across the way and invited me in to talk about his car.
“I bought it off this lady who bought it new but wasn’t driving anymore,” he said. “It’s got only 80 thousand miles on it.” A broughamified coupe was certainly the kind of car a middle-aged woman would have bought in 1979. By the looks of the car, she didn’t have many places to go in the ensuing 35 years. Even the pillowy interior looks barely ruffled.
I know these were a mere shadow of Grand Prixes gone by, especially the stunning 1963 and 1964 models. We’ve gone so far as to call this Grand Prix a GM Deadly Sin; read all about it here. But let’s ignore the storied Grand Prix history and weigh this car on its own merits for a moment. Pretend this car was called something other than Grand Prix. As a midsized two-door on the cusp of the 1980s, it wasn’t bad.
One of these was in the motor pool of a state agency where I worked in 1988. (Department of Mental Health. All of my friends, and even some of my family, joked that it was a remarkably accurate placement.) They had a motley crew of vehicles, including a couple of Ford vans, a bare-bones compact (an Escort, I think), and a rust-riddled white Caprice wagon. It wasn’t hard for the GP to stand out among this competition. I checked it out every time it was available, and I pretty quickly came to like driving it. It was comfortable and quiet. The power steering was typically finger light, but was precise enough. It had enough go power for the city traffic I drove in. Its ride felt a little floaty but never unsure. The one thing I couldn’t get over was the feminine styling. See above, re: middle-aged women buyers.
But the strapping fellow who owned this one seemed more than secure enough in his masculinity to drive it. (He was also brash enough to park it in a handicapped space.) Actually, he was selling it. When I explained to him about Curbside Classic, he became pretty excited to find that I would be sharing his Grand Prix all over the Internet. He even dashed out to the car with me so he could prop up the For Sale sign in the front window so I could photograph it. Unfortunately, my iPhone doesn’t like the cold and it chose that moment to shut down. Then it took me more than two months to get around to writing about this GP. So much for helping a guy out.
Note: a rerun of an older post.
The Grand Prix has been a frequent subject around here. Read about it: 1964, 1968, 1969, 1976, 1991.
Sure it’s nothing like a ’63 GP but what 1980 car was anything but a shadow of what it had been in 1963. For the times I like it and it fit them well. These were quite attractive in 2-tone livery and they must have been designed for it as most seem to come that way. The 3.8 V6 was a decent choice, probably better than the lame smallest V8 (265?) that Pontiac had on offer at the time. For what they were, a nice car, and I don’t see anything particularly feminine about them. IMO the Cutlass Supreme was the best iteration of this downsized A-body breed . Great find!
It wouldn’t be out in the snow and slush if it was mine !
Indeed! Hopefully he JUST bought it and is getting it home to be put away until spring.
I never had a serious objection to GM intermediates back then, other than the fixed rear door window. The remark on “feminine” styling reminds of the Olds Cutlass, which my mother fancied but never got. GM may have been onto something with those A-bodies: as Paul has argued, women may have preferred these to B- and C-bodies; does anyone have sales statistics on this?
A friend had a beautiful 75 Grand Prix Model J that was really well equipped. It has been cared for when he bought it in 1980 and he really enjoyed that car. I drove it on occasion and found it to be nothing like the Cutlass I owned. It really never impressed me. Then I drove both a 78 Grand LeMans and 78 Monte Carlo. To me, they were light years ahead. Both felt lighter on their feet, both the 301 and 305 seemed to be more adequate for the job than the 400, and they both seemed to be better handling.
I may be the minority but I truly believe these were the right cars for that time in our economy and fuel situation.
Agreed! I think quite handsome in a clean understated way, and very prescient given Oil Shock Mk II in 1979… thanks to Mr. Ayatollah! I was very lucky that time as I could get gas in the company garage and never had to wait in any lines, as I did in 1974. And lots and lots of gas was needed given an 80 mi 2-way commute from the country to the city in a “72 Skylark with a 350V8.. Remember those wonderful odd-and-even days to get gas anyone?
Always thought these were hideous and just kept getting worse. I may be the only one who things the GM10 version was far better.
My father had one with the 301. The crank failed and it sounded like a diesel. Pontiac had to replace the engine under warranty.
I had the same thing happen with the 301 in our ’77 Bonneville. A friend who I was giving a lift to said “oh, it’s a diesel!” when I started it up. It wasn’t a diesel; it just sounded like one. This seems to have happened to lots of Pontiac 301s, though I’ve read several explanations for what was making all the ruckus.
Aside from the vinyl top, this GP is a dead ringer for the one my grandparents had in the early ’80s. About all I remember of it is green…acres and acres of green.
Not sure why these would ever be considered a deadly sin, the Olds Cutlass was the top selling car in America. If it’s a deadly sin to be the top seller and make GM very rich then it’s a topsy turvy world. These had great handling, all the road tests raved positive about them. They were significantly more economical than the preceding Colonades. I’m not a fan of the Buick V-6 or the metric hydramatic, but they did the job OK.
Neighbors had an “81-2ish”, one. (tutone blue/no vinyl top) Was a good looking car.Memory fuzzy…think it was “auto”, on the floor.
Car is in beautiful shape! The only thing is I personally don’t think wire wheels / covers belong on a Pontiac. A set of snowflakes or honeycombs would look really sharp.
True, but they kind of go with the full-Brougham experience, don’t they? Along with the two-tone paint and padded rear-half vinyl roof.
I took drivers ed in high school and drove a ’78 Grand Prix. I like these downsized Grand Prix. The ’73-77 models had grown too large.
I like it and love the color. Probably a bit gutless to drive but was adapting to the times and distinctly still a Pontiac.
I actually think these look good, and better than the Cutlass or Monte Carlo. Nice gauge package too.
But when I saw the lead picture from the rear I immediately thought “Stutz Bearcat Ii”, which I believe was made from the previous iteration. The heat must be getting to me!
GM loved that pinstriping with the clear sections to cover their two-tone cut lines.
Didn’t notice last night. That “Focus”, parked in front of the “GP” is a twin to my old one. My aunt got the car “semi, new” in “03”.
When she passed in “07”, tha car came to me. She had covered parking; in the time she owned it, about “3300” miles were put on it.
I had it till almost “2015”.
In “2011”, I had to have the “a/c” system rebuilt. If memory is working, there were about “85,000” miles on it when I traded it.
Drove a ’79 loaded GP as a company car. Seems to me the car had a 305 Chevy motor under hood. Not fast, of course nothing was then. Comfortable and quiet. One thing stands out. The door window glass wasn’t supported then. When the window was partially open and you closed the door, it flopped around in a non-confidence inspiring way.
Has something happened to Curbside? No updates for days?
We’re fine. It’s your device. Power down and restart. Or open anew browser tab.