Okay, I admit it, I love me some Malaise, so sue me!
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It’s funny to think that almost thirty five years ago when the new downsized B Bodies debuted that they were considered new, exciting, modern and the wave of the future. If anything, they were truly the right cars at the right time.
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I have seen this car around my town for some time, driven by a little old lady. She always drove it in a way that seemed to convey “Why yes, I do have class and good taste…”
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.I always wanted to stop and compliment her on it but I was never able to catch her.
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.I have a feeling that she must have passed away as one day back in the early summer I found it sitting on the side of the road for sale. It totally caught me off guard, so I had to sling the Buick around and go back to investigate. From what I could tell the car looked to be original, with just a little over 100,000 miles on the clock.
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The last I saw of it the new owner had tinted the windows, but it still looked good, in all it’s Malaise Glory.
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[ED: the downsized 1977 Pontiacs were by far the sales laggards of the five GM divisions, and are not exactly common anymore. I’ve yet to find one here. Their weak sales led Pontiac to drop the full sized cars altogether in 1981, which also turned out to be a mistake. As gas prices dropped again, demand for full-size cars picked up substantially, and in 1983 Pontiac scrambled by bringing in the Canadian Parisienne.]
Those velour upholstery looked mighty inviting… And looked incredibly well for its age.
I was 100% ho-hum on these cars when they were new. But if I found a car like this for sale today, I’d badly want to buy it and drive it and love it.
Nothing says 1970s like red velour! The steering wheel shows GM in all of its wierd glory – printing woodgrain onto aluminum, so that it can wear off later.
I always considered the Pontiac to be the second-best looking of the 77-79 B cars, right behind the Oldsmobile 88. I liked what the fender skirts did for the lines of the car. I am left to wonder why Pontiac shared the coupe roof with Buick, and did not get the Chevy’s more upright design with the bent back glass. Oldsmobile had a different coupe roof yet, making 3 all together (not including Cadillac).
I also was a fan of those finned wheel covers that were used by Pontiac for several years in the 70s. Each of those fins was a separate piece of (I believe) aluminum. If you held one of the caps in your hands and shook it, the fins would rattle a little, and some would eventually fall off. These were not the heavy, expensive diecastings that would have been used a decade or so earlier.
Edit – I just noticed the clever placement of the blue Caprice in the last picture.
The 77-79 Olds 88 is one of my absolute favorites. Especially the 78 Holiday 88 Pace Car.
The Delta 88 was the pace car in 1977. The Corvette was the pace car in ’78.
It is interesting to look back at the malaise-era now and realize the GM B bodies were probably the finest American cars of all. Hmmm…wish I would have bought a nice used one at the time.
Mmmmm, B-body Bonneville. This is my favorite B-body. When I was in college in the late 90s, I found a metallic mint green ’78 four door for sale with around 100k on the clock. I really wanted to sell my old Camry and buy the Bonne but my parents wouldn’t hear of it. The green on green crushed velour interior was the icing on the cake.
My brother had a 1979 Parisienne.which was identical to car featured here. His was baby blue on top with darker blue below and baby blue crushed velour. Also had 305-2V and THM200. The THM200 succumbed soon after the warranty expired and was replaced with a THM350, so no more problems in that area.
I drove the car a lot and it was very good. The suspension tuning was very different than the Chevy B Bodies, much firmer and more controlled. The quality of the interior materials was also much better. I liked that car a lot and it was a good car for the time, and good looking, too. Really, these B Bodies were the last truly good cars GM ever made, especially if they had a 350 under the hood. Of course everybody here knows I love these cars so I am biased.
The one thing I found odd with this car was you could not adjust the driver’s seat for rake. You could the passenger seat, but not the driver’s. Very strange.
If I could snap this car up, I would in a minute. They are easy to maintain as parts are still dime a dozen and very cheap and any mechanic can wrench on them. Bolting on more horse power is a real cinch, too. An intake, cam and dual exhaust and you’d added 50+ hp for less than $1000.
I love me some malaise too. Specifically the 77 impala wagon with 350/350 drive train. If I still had it I wouldn’t have my current inspection problems. 77’s are smog exempt in Texas. Now own a 91 S10.
Someday when I have a day to write, I’ll bore you with my opinions on chevrolet and it’s fall from grace. Naw, I’d have to stand in line.
<em"Someday when I have a day to write, I’ll bore you with my opinions on chevrolet…"
I’m (we’re) waiting!
Truth be told though, my 2004 Impala is a fine car, so far.
I misspoke. Should have said GM and specified Olds Starfire, Saturn, or most any GM front wheel drive. I tried but my comments kept getting rejected because of certain words. I thought I was safe with an S10 because of the 4.3 and rear wheel drive. I was wrong.
I wish you luck with your vehicle when it gets a little older. GM has made a lifelong Nissan fan out of me.
A high school girlfriends father bought one of these in ’77, black with the red velour interior. Very sharp! I was advocating for the Buick Regal that was his alternative choice, as I was unconvinced of the downsizing program. I recall at the time an advertising push to get your full size car now (in ’76) because they will no longer be available on that “grand scale”.
But after driving in the black Bonneville, the space utilization of the Regal/Cutlass/Monte Carlo in ’77 was obviously poor in comparison and their demise was imminent, they were downsized the following year in ’78.
Maybe the Pontiac Bs would have looked/sold better if they used the Caprice/Impala’s roofline and fishbowl rear window or the Oldsmobile’s more formal quarter window treatment. Something about the roofline just dosen’t seem to fit right.
I don’t think the problem is the roofline. The roofline looks fantastic on the LeSabre. It’s the skirts and the decklid/taillight design that conspire to make this car look, well, fat. Whereas a LeSabre with full wheel openings, and a lighter look at the rear, seems lithe and sleek, especially when accented by the mag style road wheels.
Oh baby. Seeing that LeSabre reminded me of a girl I dated briefly in high school. Her grandmother had the light silver on dark silver version of this car with a 3.8 turbo motor in it. She took care of her grandmother in the afternoons, but since she was undergoing chemotherapy, the grandmother slept a lot.
Us being teenagers, would sneak out in Gramma’s blower Buick and go hooning around the neighborhoods, when we weren’t, ahem, doing other things. I can attest that the back of the LeSabre was very roomy. And the turbo V6 was zoomy.
Was that the Sport Coupe edition? Go Granny Go!
IMHO, the Pontiacs were the best looking of the bunch.
This chariot represents what I rode in The first Time I was taken into THE CITY for a night out on the Town.
I remember Sitting in That 2 tone Brown With Tan vinyl top Brogham Landau, thinking wow what An improvement over the 76’…. where as before I had ridden in it, I wasn’t sure What To think.
It was my first ride in the downsized GM full sizers and I loved it.
As for my night out, it Snowed the whole time we were in the city, but The Bonneville had no trouble getting us home.
Love all the Bs and my favorites were the early models where you could actually get an engine bigger than slightly over 300 cubic inches. The Caprice get’s my respect for surviving but my favorites will always be the Pontiac & Oldsmobile versions. The Bonnevilles are likely the rarest of the breed.
I believe that all four GM divisions that sold B-bodies offered a 350 cubic inch V8 through 1979, and all except Chevrolet offered a V8 of around 400 cubic inches (Pontiac 400, Olds/Buick 403) through 1978. Chevrolet had offered a 400 cubic inch V8 in 1976 and earlier years, but it was never available in their B-bodies after they were downsized.
IIRC, the Olds and Buick C-bodies kept each size of engine for one year longer than the B-bodies did (403 through ’79, 350 through ’80). The Olds and Buick full-size wagons did as well, even though they were B-bodies. Olds and Buick’s pre-1976 wagons had been built off the C-body and had featured the same engine lineup as other C-bodies. Even though the 1977 versions moved to the B-body, they continued to use the C-body engine lineup. The larger engines may have lasted one more year in Pontiac’s wagons as well, but I’m less sure of that, and I don’t have a reference handy at the moment.
I know, my grandmother had a 1979 Olds 98 sedan with a 403V8 in that lovely burnt sienna color with a brown interior and cream white vinyl top and moonroof. I still dream about that car. She loved to bomb her way down the back roads of Ohio in that sucker… I think she purposely took the routes she thought would most likely have the least number of cops on them. 😛
In California, in ’77, it was the Buick 231 or the Olds 403.
Nice chrome octopus medallion. Is that a bullet hole in the fender?
Looks like a missing badge to me but I can’t tell if that would be a missing medallion or (more likely) a missing Pontiac arrowhead.
It looks like the Brougham badge got moved. In the ’77 brochure, the ‘B’ in Brougham lines up with the ‘V’ in Bonneville. Maybe the badge came off and they used adhesive to put it back on.
“[ED: the downsized 1977 Pontiacs were by far the sales laggards of the five GM divisions, and are not exactly common anymore. I’ve yet to find one here. Their weak sales led Pontiac to drop the full sized cars altogether in 1981, which also turned out to be a mistake. As gas prices dropped again, demand for full-size cars picked up substantially, and in 1983 Pontiac scrambled by bringing in the Canadian Parisienne.]”
Here in Massachusetts, I see 1977-81 full-size Pontiacs once in a while. I wouldn’t say I never see one, but I see one rarely enough that when I do, I notice it. The 1983-89 Parisennes and Safaris are somewhat more common. I would agree that full-size Pontiacs of either era are probably a less common sight that contemporary models from other GM brands.
Conversely, I remember not being Impressed by a ride in The Coupe De Ville a month or two later on the beach in Florida. It Was Copper Metallic, with Matching Orange-ish leather interior. I was Intrigued by the unusual color, but was quite shocked at How Utterly similar to the Bonneville it seemed.
I remember thinking what a better buy the Bonneville was, The same Car as a Cadillac, just was Not Special enough in any way.
A friend of mine, also 17 at the time, was given a 77 LeSabre Sport Coupe which had a fancier Dash than the Pontiac, Hard to believe, but in The Year or two that I Knew Him he Went from a 75 Monte Carlo, triple White, to The LeSabre, which To My Shock he traded for a 72 Luxury LeMans, (?) he must have kept the cash differnce and spent it, I Imagine. THen I Much approved when he traded that for a 1970 Emerald Green Sedan De Ville With White Leather. To Date I think I enjoyed piloting that car around more than any other, when given the chance.
Children spoiled when parents get divorced sometimes do questionable things, or make mysterious decisions.
The only problem with the 77-79 LeSabre is that so many of them came with those miserably slow V6s. This was in the waning days of each division having its own engine, and Buick had cast its lot with the V6, and pushed them heavily.
I am with you on the 77-79 Cadillacs, although they would certainly scoot with that 425 Cadillac V8.
My memory is getting foggy, and I am struggling to remember the Pontiac engine choices. It seems like Pontiac had a 301 V8, and also a bigger one, like maybe a 401? Olds had a 403 and still put a lot of Oldsmobile 350s in the 88s.
In the 1977-81 era, Pontiac’s V8s were as follows:
265 (introduced 1980)
301 (introduced 1977. Some Pontiac models in this era were equipped with Chevy 305s, apparently because they were built on the same assembly line as their Chevy counterparts and the same engines were installed in everything regardless of brand. I’m not sure if that was ever true of the flagship B-bodies in this period, or if they were all 301s.)
350 (Pontiac stopped building its own 350s at the end of the 1976 model year, so all 1977 or later Pontiacs with 350s have engines sourced from other GM divisions. The 350s were dropped from most B-bodies after 1979, but Olds and Buick wagons were an exception, where they continued to be available through 1980. This may have been true of some Pontiac wagons as well.)
400 (Pontiac’s own 400, not the same engine as Chevy’s. Dropped from production after 1978. Some 1979 Trans Ams were built with 400s, but these had engines set aside for this purpose at the end of the 1978 model year. Engines of this size class were dropped from most B-bodies after 1978, but Oldsmobile and Buick wagons were an exception, where they continued to be available through 1979. Leftover ’78 Pontiac 400s or newly built Olds 403s may have continued to be available through ’79 in some Pontiac wagons as well.)
You could get the 403 through 1979 in any B or C body, its just not that common to see it on a B-body like a Bonnevile, but almost every 1979 Olds 98 or Buick Electra I see has a 403 under the hood.
In ’79, the Olds 403 in the Bonneville in California would’ve been the only available V-8 aside from a 2bbl Chevy 305. The Pontiac 301 was n/a in Ca.
Gasoline V-8 as the Olds Diesels started to move across the various GM divisions for ’79. A gas 350 with a 455 crank does not a diesel make . . . .
The engine choices are very wide in that 1977-1979 era for the B’s.
Chevrolet still had the 250cid inline 6 as the base motor believe it or not, I have seen only one inline 6 downsized B-body Chevy ever, the next choice up was the 2bbl 305 and the 4bbl 350 was the top choice.
Pontiac gets even a little stranger, the base engine was a 2bbl Buick 3.8, next up was a 2bbl Pontiac 301, then a 4bbl 301, then ANY 350, according to the owners manual I have for one, it could have had either a Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile or Buick 350 depending on where it was made(need to check on this again to be sure) then the tried and true 4bbl Pontiac 400 and an Oldsmobile 403.
Oldsmobile had the 2bbl 3.8 as the base motor, then a 2bbl Oldsmobile 260 V8, and I believe Pontiac 301’s, Oldsmobile or Buick 350’s and the Olds 403.
Buick had the 2bbl 3.8 V6 as the base motor and the 2bbl and 4bbl Pontiac 301’s as an option, various 350’s like the Pontiac, and the Oldsmobile 403 as the top engine option, in 1978 Buick added a 2bbl and 4bbl Turbocharged 3.8 V6 to the LeSabre Sport Coupe, which interestingly enough was availble in 1977, but with non-turbo engine options of course.
Then later after 78, the Oldsmobile diesels start to appear and in gets a little more confusing, those some of the choices were streamlined when the B’s were redesigned in 1980.
Even though these were very aftractive cars, Pontiacs full-sizers have been on a slow decline since the start of the 1970’s, these did little to improve sales, I always liked the Pontiac interior with the air conditioning vents hidden in the black strip that runs around the dash, also, I always gave Pontiac kudos for being the only one to still offer a full compliment of gauges on their B-body, oil, temp and volts, along with an optional fuel economy/vac gauge, Chevrolet had temp and fuel econ guage in their guage cluster option, Olds has a fuel econ, temp and oil pressure gauge package option(rare) and Buick had only a fuel economy guage as the only option.
Chevrolet still had the 250cid inline 6 as the base motor believe it or not, I have seen only one inline 6 downsized B-body Chevy ever…
GM offered that as the fleet choice for much longer than necessary. I wouldn’t be surprised if you could order the I-6 and a Powerglide in 1977 if you asked real nice and said pretty please.
I-6 yes, Powerglide…nope, it was gone after 1973.
Forgive me Carmine (and your Godfather 😛 too) I was being a wise-a$$ about GMs love of holding on to things forever… I’m surprised they didn’t push a flathead 6 and Powerglide on fleet customers until their bankruptcy. GMs conservatism with their big family cars has always irked me. Why wait until 2012 to give the Impala the 3.6VVT engine and 6-speed auto combo? (Which BTW IMHO will make the 2012 Impala the best W-body EVER for combo of power and fuel economy and it’s a one year only model. I can’t wait to snap one up in few years when the used ones have lost +50% of their value.)
Everyone hold on to things forever, GM just seems to be the one called out on it the most, do you think every nut and bolt on the Camry is new every time?
Thank you for this authoritative answer. There were a lot of things I never understood about GM, and engine choices was one of them. First, they made every division standardize displacements at 350, 400 and (other than Chevrolet) 455. I always figured it was with an eye to substituting between the brands. But why not just pick the best, kill the rest, and have a corporate 350 or 400?
Then, just as they start heavy duty musical chairs with the engines, they all start coming out with different displacements again, like Chevy 305 and Pontiac 301. In truth, I think that the place was becoming a dysfunctional madhouse even then, with very little in the way of actual planning being done at the corporate level.
Well, remember, each division acted…or rather, was like its own little car company, they had design departments, engineering, plants, etc, and Pontiac had a plant and foundry where it made 350’s for Pontiacs, and Olds and Buick and etc, all had pretty much the same set up.
By the time these downsized B’s came out in 1977, GM was just starting the process of paring down engine plants and combinations, but that is a large scale process, remember that after 1976, the BOP 455 were gone, so thats 3 right there, by 1981 Buick made no V8’s at at, the last genuine Buick 350 was made in 1980, and Buick was put in charge of the 3.8 V6, same for Pontiac, their V8’s were gone after 1981 and Pontiac just made the 2.5 Iron Duke. Oldsmobile was going to only be making diesel engines, but they recieved a reprive and continued to make the 307.
Around this time was when the disclaimers started to appear on the window stickers, “This GM vehicle is equipped with an engine made by XXXX Division in a XXXX Plant.
Our 77 Delta 88 Royale had the 350 Chevy and THM 200 combo. Ran like a dream. Only got rid of it after repairs from an accident were done incorrectly. By then it was an old car, not worth trying to re-repair to meet Pennsylvania road safety inspections.
The 1985 Mercury Capri RS we bought with it was a POS. Should have fixed the Olds.
P.S. These were the cars that GM got sued over. They advertised the 350 Chevy as a “Rocket” engine. Even though the SBC ran like a champ, I think I would have sued, too…
Tom you are exactly right. I’m currently searching for a replacement emblem. I will be tucking her away from the cold weather coming up soon and will be preparing to remove the original 400 6.6L engine for a complete rebuild. Do you have any contacts for NOS parts?
Can’t help but think of The Simpsons ~ Milhouse’s Dad Drives a Bonnieville or is it Luanne?
I want One, Either a 63 Convertible or One of These, 66 was nice too.
But Somehow the last ones in 2003 or so look quite a bit More cheaply put together
than even thier LeSabre cousins, by a wide margin.
2005 were the last LeSabres and Bonnevilles… and actually the 2005s look OK because of the decladding program instituted by Lutz.
I’m generally not too sentimental about nameplates, but killing the LeSabre (and to a much lesser extent, the Bonneville) nameplate, was unbridled stupidity on Lutz’s part. The LeSabre was the top-selling full-size nameplate for years; the Lucerne that replaced it came and went with almost no fanfare.
And switching to the ridiculous “G_” naming scheme probably did what two decades of plastic cladding couldn’t: kill off Pontiac.
In an ironic way, I find the cladded Pontiacs rather attractive now. At the time, I thought they were awful. But now, I find them kind of neat.
Must be the sinus medication I’m taking these days…
That is one nicely preserved example. None the less I can’t get too excited about it. Most of the B-boxes had that droopy looking rear end but with that roof and the fender skirts to me it looks like Godzilla stepped on the back of it. I guess that’s why I prefer the Electra it’s quarters that are reminiscent of tail fins eliminate most of the droopy look.
Agreed. The fender skirts do the styling of the car no favors, nor does the “droopy” (good description) rear end. I like the LeSabres for ’77-79 except for the rear end, but the Electra is much nicer with its crisp finned appearance. The Delta 88 was (to me anyway) the most successful B aesthetically, because it did have a finned or accentuated rear fender that worked very nicely with the rest of the car. I have a special place for these ’77-’79 Bs because my parents had a ’78 Caprice new, but the 1980 restyle improved the appearance of all the Bs a lot — especially, and ironically, the gorgeous 1980 full-size Pontiacs! I guess it was already too late though, because they only lasted 2 seasons and are very rare now.
Buick, Olds and even Chevy took many big Pontiac cars sales in the 70’s.
Another Factor Is that Unlike Olds & Buick, Pontic had a Much more Popularly Priced Personal Luxury car, and was Moving on average Well over 100 and in many years OVER 200,000 Grand Prix a year. That no doubt decimated the Full sized Pontiac sales to some extend. Pontiac Also Moved well over 100,000 Firebirds a year in the second half of the 70s.
I had a 1978 book handy, and The Delta 88 Started above the Catalina but Below the Base BonnieVille. I found it somewhat surprising that you could get a Delta 88 for less than the Bonneville.
Edited to add…. I forgot that Cutlass & Regal often were very similar to GP.
Did you ever find out what they were asking for the car or what kind of engine it had?
I did not, as the car was gone not long after I shot these pics.
I have the car now. I just bought it from a man in Davison Michigan on 6/21/14. I am trying to find the past owners. I do know that the original owners were Lucille & Thomas Quattlebuam of East Tawas Michigan.
The car is still in pretty good condition. She had a 400 cu. in. 6.6 litre that appears to be the original motor from the block numbers. I drove it back to western New York and will slowely restore it but it really does not need much.
Thomas, I am so thrilled to know that you found my story on this car, and to hear that it is in good hands!
I remember seeing the lady that originally owned it driving around town on occasion, and it would always catch my eye.
If you are a user of Facebook, please come join us at my page called The Brougham Society…I have featured the car there on occasion too, and it has always gotten wonderful responses!
-Richard
Richard,
Currently she “Lucille-the Bonneville Brougham” has 107k on her so she has not seen much road time since your 2011 article. I can picture the proud little old Lady cruising to the grocery store in it. From what I understand back when the Qauttlebaums owned her, they would head to Florida for the winter. Sad to say that obituaries on the internet state that Lucille passed in 2003 and husband Thomas joined her in 2005. God rest their soles, I hope they are looking down on the Brougham with smiles.
Well I guess the wintering in Florida would explain why the body is in such good condition!
I’ll look forward to seeing it once you are finished with it!
Why the two sets of licence plates the ones on the floor dont match the plate on the rear.
In Michigan, and in most U.S. states, they only have one plate; on the rear.
It appears the current tag on the rear is the vanity plate; the one on the floor the current edition, but previously used Michigan license plate.
In most U.S. states, you pull the plate(s) when you sell the car, in others (California, Alaska, Hawaii. Oregon and Washington), they stay on the car when sold or traded. Clear as mud, eh Bryce?
My Avatar was California 1E90766. Issued in 1976 as the 1974 Courier previously had Cal. Vanity plates which went with the previous owner who traded it on an Oldsmobile. I got the truck used from Scripture Oldsmobile in San Rafael, October, 1976. The Bank of Dad refused financing on the ’71 Mustang C351 4-speed or ’67 GTO with Hurst his n’ hers THM400 I had my eyes on (way back then).
Just to add to that…the plate on the rear is a personalized one. Those take time to order and be shipped. The plates on the floor are probably the previous registration – those can be transferred to another car but the registration fees are never refunded or credited. So he’s hanging on to them (although if he’s smart, he’ll find a better place than the front-seat floor).
Hate to get picky with the nits…but to clarify, only a few states have only one plate. Michigan, Pennsylvania, Florida, are the only ones I can think of.
It can be a problem – in many states, a missing front plate is viewed as a tip-off that the car has plates switched, and maybe is stolen. It can get some unwanted police attention.
My cars are registered in Michigan – and I’ve been all over the West with it. I know.
Delaware, North Carolina, and Florida all have only a rear license plate. Those states are probably less common in Michigan, but I see them all the time here in NJ.
Add to the one plate-states: Arizona and most of the Southern States.
I’m waiting for Hawaii to dump the 1991-93 Rainbow Design and revert back to the 1976 style King Kamehameha plates (front n’ rear of course!).
That figures we are allowed to keep vanity plates and move them from car to car and replace them with regular plates to sell cars but we need 2
Nothing says “road trip” bettert than one of these “B’s”
The plates on the floor were the ones Grandma had on it. It was one of the 1996 only issued Worlds Motor Capital plates. After her (presumably) passing, the plates were replaced with the “ROSEICE” plates. The last time I saw the car, even those were replace with a basic Michigan Plate.
I worked with a guy that had that exact same car, except two-tone green with green velour. Pretty hideous, but he was proud of it and kept it in concours condition until the day he sold it. Being a traditional Pontiac guy, he was most proud of the fact that it had the last of the big-block Pontiac engines in it.
My own experience was with a Delta 88 which was a sturdy and comfortable car, but none too frugal with a 350 of unknown provenance. My dad had a 98 of the same vintage with the 403 and a very rare gauge package which included (I think) an ammeter, oil pressure and temperature gauges. Nice, solid car – great “Doctor’s Car” – navy blue with dark blue “pillow top” tufted blue velour interior. Strictly high class 😉
These cars were tanks, love to have the featured one as I am partial to red/white combination. Would probably have to replace the wheels with Pontiac “rally” wheels. “jpcavanaugh” is right, those fins are known to drop off at the least provication. My final B-body was a 77 Pontiac Safari complete with (peeling) fake wood paneling. 8-passenger, fully loaded but a real beater. A buddy gave it to me when it dropped a u-joint and I fixed it and drove it for a couple of years, including at least twice with the full complement of passengers. What a boat – we nicknamed it the EM-50 Urban Assault Vehicle.
Wish it had the swank Valencia cloth interior.
i have a 77 Bonneville Brogham Landau with the Valencia interer , i owned it since it was 2 years old and bought it from a friend that bought it new! i also have the window sticker!! it has the 400ci 4 v engine. always stays in the garage
Here it is…
It was also available in red.
“Swank” LOL… That’s Awful, I’d Prefer Red, excent it be all different shades of faded now…. Ugh!
Was this LOUD pattern only available on Pontiacs? At Some point the big wigs seem to have limited choice of decor for Optimum resale values?
I Would Like a 98 Regency 1984 in Dark Red or Blue With Nice Primo Leather Interior. A 4 door, for convenience, and to put the back windows down.
Maybe a set of Buick T-Types while we are at it, or better yet The Palm Beach edition or is that from another era?
I Miss the cars, and at times, much of what I was doing in the 70s.
The Valencia option was Bonneville Brougham only, they few that I have seen were well cared for cars, so I dont know about the fading. The red valencia was the same thing except with a red background where these were tan, dark red where the dark brown is and silver and black stripes.
I dont think there was anything this strange for the other B’s, but Oldsmobile had a Mojave and Tahoe for the Cutlass Brougams, featuring an Indian blanket motif for the Salons and a flowery patern for the Supremes.
The Tahoe print upclose is shocking.
Heres a closer look at the Tahoe.
That’s the one!!!
I actually have one of the last remaining of those prints. It’s exactly like this, and no, it’s not for sale 🙂
And this one is actually the Mojave Edition, it was only for the Cutlass Supreme Brougham. The Tahoe was for the Cutlass Salon Brougham.
I own a bonneville brogham with the valencia! 2 dr 400ci
There was actually a ’78 or ’79 aeroback Cutlass Salon with this interior for sale on ebay about a year or so ago. I saved a pic.
The Palm Beach LeSabre is from this era too, it was a pastel yellow on white 2-tone combo for the LeSabre Limited coupe, they were 1979 only I believe, I have only seen one ever.
How about a nice Regal Somerset!
(blue and tan on the right)
Carmine: would you like to do a piece on the interior highlights of the Great Brougham Epoch? Let me know…amazing stuff there.
I’d love it as well!
Now THAT would make for some fun reading for me!!!
Count me in, too!
To paraphrase Der Arnold:
Do it. Do it now.
Don’t forget the Pierre Cardin AMC Javelin/AMX’s. Those were pretty psychedelic too…
I think I could do something……
I remember those Regal Somersets with the tan/blue combo. Looks like the Smuckers “Goober” pre-mixed peanut butter and grape jelly combo. Barf!!
Thats my car!!
How about the ’75 and ’76 Cadillac Calais with the plaid, leisure suit upholstery??
Give me a white belt, Bruce Jenner hairdo and some white low cut boots!
I actually saw a ’75 Calais with the plaid upholstery on ebay awhile back too. I’ll post the pic if I can find it.
I saw a pic of this interior in red…it was AWFUL!
I can deal with this one, it kind of reminds me of the Cutlass Designer interiors Olds offered in 78 and I think 79.
Valencia velour — one of the most interesting auto interior fabrics ever! I have a 1978 Pontiac data book I need to consult (with actual fabric swatches of this stuff!), and from what I remember, Valencia was also available on the Grand Safari wagons! Now that would be something! I wonder if the Valencia also covered the third seat on 3-seat models! A much more toned -down version of this idea was offered on 1979 Cutlass Supreme Broughams with a pinstripe effect velour. Of course, Valencia is nothing compared to the crazy fabrics offered on mid-70s Cadillacs. I love this stuff, but even I am a little sickened at the sight of the 1975 Monticello velour…
Whoa!
Wow. I did not realize that Cadillac offered a Charlie the Tuna designer edition.
This era Bonneville has always held a special place for me, my dad bought one of the 79’s new, a coupe with brown exterior, cream Landau and tan interior. Only came out in the Summer (grew up in Ohio). IIRC a Buick 350 under the hood. He held on to it long enough for it to be my first car over 20 years later.
I remember getting yelled at for peeling the ‘chrome’ off the door lock while going to my grandmothers house when I 5 or 6. It had this curious issue when it rained water would run in by your left foot on the passenger side. Still has the best ride out of any car I’ve ridden in, potholes, what potholes?
Nice, but I have always preferred the four-doors. Also, I’ll take it, along with a St. Regis.
And for the love of god guys, stop using the wrong ‘its’! Hell, I will proof read them for you!
Richard Bennett has just e-mailed me to let you all know he’s stuck at his Mom’s house without his CC password, so he’ll respond to comments as soon as he can.
Amazingly enough I got my little laptop to work for a while. I came home from my trip to my grandparents for Christmas, and it worked fine. Then yesterday I turned it on and it was FULL of viruses!
So as soon as I get my files off of it I have to take it in. So if you don’t hear from me for a few days, that is why.
While its true that these didn’t sell in great numbers for Pontiac, remember that the entire full-size car market was deflating at the time, and big car sales really didn’t start to turn around until well into the 80’s. The first oil embargos shocked customers, but he 1979 one really deeply effected their psyche, I seem to recall that 1979 was the last year that the standard full size Chevrolet was the division best seller, the year after that, it was the new Citation.
Fuel economy concerns plus escalating prices push many consumers to mid-size and compact cars, many families came to the realization that maybe they didn’t need a full size 6 passenger 2 ton car all the time. That combined with compact cars that now offered features that were only reserved for big cars, take cars like the new FWD X-cars that came out in Spring of 1979, you could get them with a full compliment of power accessories, cruise, plus plush interiors and column shifts like a big car.
I doubt we saw these new but I did run across a B body wagon recently some must have snuck in.
One of the other interesting thing about these B’s is that they were the last gasp attempt to offer a sporty big 2dr car from GM. Pontiac, Oldsmobile and Buick all had pseudo performance versions with handling packages and bucket seats between 1978 and 1981 or so. Pontiac offered a bucket seat combo on the Bonneville coupe with a suspension package and snowflake wheels similar to the ones on the Trans Ams. Oldsmobile had the Holiday 88 which had buckets and a sway bars, sort of an out growth of the Delta 88 Pace Cars from 1977 and Buick had a LeSabre Sport Coupe which was non-turbo in 1977 and had a 301 standard but could be optioned up to a 403, in 1978 they made the turbocharged 3.8 V6 the standard engine in the LeSabre Sport Coupe.
I recall the never/hardly seen LeSabre Sport Coupe had the larger Buick road wheels and blacked out trim with the 3 spoke sport steering wheel. Most of these vanished from the line up around 1980-1981. My 1980 Buick catalog still claims that there was a LeSabre Sport Coupe avaialble, but I have never seen one, ever. After these were gone, it was back to the brougham for full size coupes. There was a brief attempt again in the late 80’s with cars like the LeSabre T-Type coupe and FE3 equipped Delta 88’s.
Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe the Bonneville coupe only offered buckets if you opted for the leather upholstery.
Car and Driver road tested the LeSabre Sport Coupe in the May 1977 issue and came away impressed, with the exception of the interior since aside from the steering wheel it was identical to other LeSabres. Interesting to note: The Sport Coupe was only available in the colors that Buick offered vinyl roofs in, so that it could maintain a monochromatic appearance and raised white letter tires were available as a no-cost option.
I’ve seen pics of Bonneville coupes with the buckets that were in cloth.
Those were sooo good looking 🙂
Love the color on this one, among my all-time GM favorites: Firethorn Red.
Thanks for posting this Richard! The ’77-79 Bonnevilles are my favorite B-body by far. The first car I remember riding in was my dad’s 1979 Bonneville sedan. It was dark metallic brown with a beige vinyl roof and beige cloth interior. It had the standard chrome wheel covers and fender skirts. It was a really neat car. Later on, my 2nd grade teacher had a light blue 1978 Catalina coupe with white vinyl half-top and Pontiac Rallye II wheels. And a few years after that, a friend of my dad’s picked up a used ’77 Catalina Safari in Firethorn Red with color-matched Rallye II wheels and red interior (same color combo as the car above). They were really sharp cars. I don’t know why they didn’t do as well as the Caprice, 88 and LeSabre.
You are welcome! A lot of thanks though goes to Paul for the additional commentary at the end. I admit that I kind of rushed through this one as I was wanting to get it done before I left for the weekend.
I have to admit that even I don’t know why these cars sold so poorly. I think the Pontiac styling worked rather well.
I think that the reason these appeal to me so much is because they are so relatively rare compared to the other B cars.
Thanks again everyone, I’m looking forward to sharing more!
-Richard
When I was 15, my parents had a 1978 Olds 98 Regency. I thought (at the time) we were the richest folks on the block. It had the pillow type seats. Lots of warranty repairs, dad was picky like me. I loved that car and feel that it has formed my desires to this day. I love full sized vehicles. Current ride is a Siverado 4 door. 6’1 and 240 pounds just does not get comfortable in a small car.
On another note, I worked at the local Olds/Toyota dealer when the folks traded that 98 on a Toyota Cressida. The Olds needed an alternator and was wholesaled to another dealer. I stopped for one last look at the old Olds at the repair shop and the mileage had gone backwards about 30,000 miles. Those actions today would get someone in big, big trouble.
i have a 77 bonneville brogham with the Valencia! had it for 35 years . 2dr with the 400ci engine!!
Please post pics!
it has the rare gage cluster too!
Wow–GM B-bodies! It would have been impossible for me to turn down this car had I found it for sale. When I became old enough to drive in 1986, my parents had two 1977 B-bodies that were acquired as used cars. Mom’s was a brown Caprice 4-door, and Dad’s was a black Bonneville 4-door. Both had beige vinyl tops and beige vinyl interiors. The Chevy was a 305 2bbl and the Pontiac was a 350 4bbl (of Pontiac origin). I was a part-time driver of course, but a year or so later the Pontiac became ‘mine’ when a used 1985 Caprice joined the family. The Caprice and Bonneville drove very differently, and the engines were only the starting point. Of the two cars, the 305 would pull harder off the line than the 350, but would run out of wind after hitting second gear at 40 mph. The Pontiac did not come off the line quite as hard with the 4bbl carb as the 2bbl Chevy, but continued to pull hard after the 1-2 shift. The Pontiac also had the optional suspension package that included bigger brakes, bigger wheels and tires, and rear anti-sway bar, but I believe the Caprice felt lighter overall and certainly handled no worse than the Pontiac. Both cars were reliable, comfortable and quiet and were kept a long time. The Chevy was totalled when someone turned left in front of my father in about 1988 (replaced with a 1984 6-cyl coupe), but I drove the Pontiac through high school, through college, and did not sell it until the weekend of the blizzard of ’93 for my first purchased vehicle, a 1991 Chevy 4wd pickup–although the lot boy dropped the only set of keys the dealer had in the snow and I couldn’t pick up it up until after the storm–but that’s another story.
Friends from school had a 1979 Caprice and 1979 Bonneville as well, so I was always around B-bodies.
Regarding the wheel covers, the fins were plastic and broke very easily. To those that commented on the fender skirts–our car did not have them when we purchased it, but fender lip trim had been added to match the front fenders, and the car looked wonderful. I never cared for the skirts either. I wish I could figure out where the pictures are!
CC ALERT! CC ALERT! Murilee Martin at TTAC has found a 1981 sedan model of this car! Look under the “Junkyard Find” section at TTAC! BUY IT NOW! BUY IT NOW! BUY IT NOW! RESTORE IT! RESTORE IT!
I own a
1977 bonneville Brougham 4 door with the 400 engine,It has 53000 orginal miles has been completely gone thru rides like your on a cloud aqnd is
dark brown with a cream colored top and the valencia interior that looks like your grandmas drapes Love it!!!
What was it like to sit in the 1977 Pontiac bonneville brougham seats? Was it soft or firm?