Let’s take a look at four renderings done as part of the development of the 1973 Colonnade cars; the Cutlass in this case. This fastback has a number of elements seen on GM cars, including the Monte Carlo-ish fender sculpting. It even has the cabin ventilation exhaust openings as were used on 1971 cars, but on the sides. The tail looks like it made the cut to the final car.
The colonnade roof is on full display here, as are the reverse scallops on the fenders. Yet it manages to not quite feel that much like the real thing. Maybe because it comes across so trim compared to the production car.
This doesn’t seem to have contributed too much, except the rear roof line.
Even more so the case here. Feels more Pontiac-ish.
Here’s the real thing, in case your memory banks need refreshing. And here’s the CC for it, if you can stomach it.
The original into for the Colonnades was fall 1971, but was pushed back a year due to a UAW strike. And for 5 MPH bumpers,
Point is, the very first sketches were drawn during the height of muscle car era, 1968-69, hence the drawings with ‘442’ on them. Don’t see any ‘brougham’ badges.
We all know what ended up happening.
Was it really pushed back for the bumpers as well? I’ve heard of the strike being the reason but that’s new and interesting. I’ve tried so many times to picture these as they would’ve appeared had they not had those obtrusive bumpers on the ends. I bet had they not been concerned about the rollover standards the roof might’ve looked more like the concept drawings. Slimming down the b and c-pillars would’ve made a world of difference in appearance.. Very interesting!!
These were probably drawn up in ’69-70 at the height of the musclecar movement. I wonder if they would’ve been dramatically different had that all peaked in ’73 when they debuted. Of course that would also mean no bumper or roll over regulations to change the styling as well. So many what-if’s in my mind.
When I look at these cars all I can see is what was improved on with the downsized cars that followed. I’m on the fence about g-bodies, I think they should’ve had a longer wheelbase but if you go from one of these to a b-body it’s like night and day. The glass area, the styling, use of interior room and lighter materials, all of it. I often think of these cars as the “awkward” years for GM’s intermediates.
They probably wouldn’t have looked as different as you think. All the A-bodies had heavily revised rear ends for 1974, as the back bumpers did not meet the new standard. And I’m not sure if the ’73-’75 Chevy and Pontiacs are so blocky and dull because the bumper law or a conscious styling decision; Designers were already trending towards bulkier bumpers, while the ’73 Oldsmobile front bumper was still pretty slim.
Blockier bumpers came about in ’74 as a result of the 5-mile-per-hour standard also being applied to the rear bumper (it was previously 2-1/2) and the mandate of standardized bumper heights. During an impact, the “battering ram” style was less prone to under- or over-ride the bumper of another car, particularly if both cars were so equipped.
It’s correct that the Colonnades were supposed to debut in fall of ’71 as ’72 models, and the UAW strike delayed the launch. I hate making the following reference without a a source (and I think it might be in De Lorean’s book), but somewhere it’s been reliably speculated that quality issues may have also played a factor in the A-bodies’ delay. The B- and C-platforms that were introduced for the ’71 model year had design issues (for example, the ventilation system), which were exacerbated by an unprecedented number of shared components.
As for bumpers, the regulations didn’t take effect until the ’73 model year (September 1, 1972, according to the NHTSA website)…so I’m not exactly sure how bumper regs could have delayed the introduction for the ’72 model year.
It is verified in period car magazines that the UAW strike delayed the coulda been 72’s. They didn’t have time to retool for new cars.
I was guessing about the bumper regs. GM needed to get cars in showrooms, first.
Still love the old steel color keyed Oldsmobile Rally Wheels.
The color keyed wheels are actually called Super Stock III’s. The Super Stock II’s are identical, except that they’re argent gray instead of being color keyed to the body.
The first one looks like the love child of Speed Racer’s Mach 5 and a ’66 Toro.
First one looks OK, second one is sweet. Much better than the final product. Third and fourth? Meh. The last one looks like what should have been the show car, taking the turntable about two years before the real models were released.
Renderings 1 and 3 seem to have served as inspiration for the greenhouse on the BOP 2 doors for 1974 that we discussed the other day. Drawing number 2 seems the closest to production, and the roof seems to predict the more formal Cutlass Supreme than the regular Cutlass coupe as shown at bottom. The federal bumper requirement likely added a lot of visual heft to the car, with the need to block-up the front and back.
I have never seen these before, and find them very interesting.
I am generally not a fan of most of the colonnade designs except for the 2 door coupe with the formal opera window. We have a 74 Chevelle like that with mild tweaks that is very nice.
My only complaint is the excessive width from the edge of the tire to the edge of the farthest point on the body side. It does made the car seems like it looks like it has a too narrow track.
I’ve always said that the Colonade cars probably looked great as sketches in the Summer of 1969, before all the BS started messing with the looks.
Photo 1’s rear window reminds me of that Monte Carlo bubble back window GM used in both the Grand Prix and Monte Carlo for Nascar homologation in the mid/late eighties.
I’ve never seen these design sketches before, but I always find design studies to be interesting in that many design cues are later incorporated in a real world model, in some way, shape or form.
I’m liking this. In reality, I would have ordered a 73 Pontiac Grand Am saloon/sedan with the NACA Ram Air hood, 400 V8, 4-speed, green-on-green or green-on-red, no vinyl roof, air-con, AM-FM radio, honeycomb rims (polished aluminum), power locks, & power windows.
NACA hoods never made production on the GA’s, the photos you see around were all prototypes. Also, the 455-SD was initially slated to be an option, dropped for production.
Gotta say, I like the (initial) end results way better than those sketches.
A prime example of giving a car a makeover and the new model not being as good looking as the previous one.Something US car makers,especially GM and Mopar excelled in
That was pretty much the story of the domestic auto industry from 1971 through 1976.
GM (and all other manufacturers) sure had some talented and creative designers didn’t they? Too bad the hard realities of the marketplace and of the capabilities of the materials and methods available at the time kept more of these fun designs from becoming reality.
This was a good post. Please do more.
here is a rendering from my collection of original studio artwork that was a step along the path to development of the Colonade roofline presumably for the Pontiac Grand Am. This was done by GM designer Bill Michalak
“…car a makeover and the new model not being as good looking ..”
Looks are subjective, at the time, the 1972 GM mid sizers were called ‘dated’, and the new Gran Torinos were cleaning up on the sales charts.
The muscle car era ended, and young buyers would go to personal lux cars. but also, the F bodies started making a comeback, since some just wanted sporty looks, and didnt care to get big blocks to save $.
Of course, in hindsight, the once “dated” ’72 A bodies are Collectibles and the colonnades are just ‘special interest’ cars.
Not sure if posting links is allowed or not, but there is a really nice Grand Am I found on ebay right now. I’d say these were the closest to the original form: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1973-PONTIAC-GRAND-AM-75-000-ONE-FAMILY-OWNED-ORIGINAL-MILES-/281093721673?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item41727dce49#v4-42