Photo courtesy of nifty43
(first posted 3/21/2017) In Spanish, “Ventura” means fortune. Pontiac must have felt they were suffering from a spate of mala ventura in the 1970s, their electrified image and popularity in the 1960s transitioning to an uncertain brand identity and disappointing sales. The Ventura was one of many Pontiac under-performers in the 1970s and so it was quietly dropped and replaced with the Phoenix. Perhaps GM imagined the Phoenix would make their compact car sales rise from the ashes. They didn’t.
Pontiac had always sold tens of thousands of plain-jane Tempests and Strato Chiefs but, in the 1960s, the Pontiac brand had used aggressive, muscular styling and the halo effect of the performance-oriented Firebird and GTO to storm the sales charts. By 1969, Pontiac was the third best-selling brand in the US. But as performance became an ugly word with rising insurance premiums, stricter emissions standards and the oil crisis of 1973, the brand could no longer rely on its (decreasingly) gung-ho performance models to boost the brand’s image and sales.
Instead, Pontiac awkwardly attempted to be a cut-price Buick with plush models like the Grand Ville and Luxury LeMans. It was, after all, what the market seemed to want: economy or luxury, preferably both. Pontiac’s efforts to reposition themselves achieved mixed results. The Grand Prix personal luxury coupe sold commendably well, if not at Chevrolet Monte Carlo levels, but their intermediate and full-size sales flagged. During the 1970s, Pontiac’s LeMans was regularly outsold by its platform-mates from Buick and Oldsmobile and, of course, Chevrolet. The full-size Catalina, Bonneville and Grand Ville similarly lagged next to other GM full-size models.
The first-generation Ventura, launched in 1971, was a lazy rebadge and a foreboding sign of even more lazy rebadges to come. Shortly thereafter, Buick and Oldsmobile also released rebadged Chevrolet Nova clones, the Apollo and Omega. The Ventura outsold them but fell well short of the Nova.
The redesigned 1975 X-Bodies, boasting a new front suspension similar to the Camaro’s, were slightly more differentiated visually but any pretence of following the Sloan Ladder principle was abandoned. North American buyers wanted economical compacts and every GM division’s dealers wanted cars to sell to them. As a result, Oldsmobile went downmarket with the price leader Omega F-85 coupe and Buick offered the Skylark S. Pontiac even undercut the Chevy Nova’s base price—in 1975, the cheapest Ventura coupe retailed for $3162, while the F-85 was $3203, the Nova $3205 and the Skylark S cost $3234.
Photo courtesy of A Guy In Vancouver
If you were expecting anything exciting or different from Pontiac’s compact, you were out of luck. The base engine in both the Nova and Ventura was Chevrolet’s 250 cubic-inch six. You could opt for Oldsmobile’s 260 cubic-inch V8, available with a new five-speed manual, but this was also available in the Omega. The biggest engine available was Buick’s 350 cubic-inch V8. Trim levels initially consisted of base, Custom, SJ and Sprint. A 1975 GTO, based on the Ventura, was proposed but never reached production.
Each year of the second-generation Ventura carried a different front-end design; this is a 1977
Anything the Ventura did, the other X-Bodies did as well. If you wanted a sporty appearance package, there was the Ventura Sprint but also the Omega SX and Rally Nova. A more luxurious interior? Nova LN/Concours/Custom; Omega Salon/LS/Brougham; Skylark S/R; Ventura SJ. If you wanted Pontiac’s new 301 cubic-inch V8, you could get that in both the Ventura and the Buick Skylark. The Ventura, therefore, was for people who wanted a compact and liked their local Pontiac dealer. Or it was intended for people who couldn’t haggle their local Buick or Oldsmobile dealer down enough on price.
The only feature unique to the Ventura was Pontiac’s Iron Duke four-cylinder, introduced as a credit option in 1977. Considering the standard-fit Buick 3.8 V6 was regarded by many as underpowered, the Iron Duke was hardly a feature worth crowing about, even if Ford and Chrysler didn’t offer four-bangers in their compacts.
The range-topping Ventura SJ almost seemed special. It had bucket seats and a console as standard, as well as Pontiac’s Rally Tuned Suspension. It also was sized closer to the European sport sedans Pontiac fancied as competition for their Grand Am. But where the Grand Am received extra effort in the form of an attractive dash not shared with lesser LeMans models, as well as a daring front fascia, the Ventura SJ resembled a base Ventura with bucket seats and a firmer suspension. Which, in essence, is exactly what it was. It was also starved of marketing while the Grand Am had been advertised extensively on TV and in print media. The Grand Am was hardly a roaring sales success but the Ventura SJ smacked of a missed opportunity to target aspirational domestic car buyers and reassert Pontiac’s identity.
To GM’s credit, they had attempted to broaden the scope of the 1975 X-Body ranges by offering the more luxurious trim options consumers were clamoring for. However, Ford had developed a machine that could print money—the Granada. With upscale styling inside and out but humble, relatively economical Maverick underpinnings, the Granada was a profitable vehicle that was exactly what economy and cost-conscious consumers were looking for. GM’s top-line X-Bodies were much subtler in appearance and suffered for it, even if they were dynamically superior.
photo courtesy of dave_7
Halfway through 1977 model year, Pontiac introduced the Phoenix sedan and coupe. Changes from the Ventura included a more formal nose and ribbed, chrome lower body mouldings. The Phoenix was initially intended to slot between the Ventura and LeMans, like the Granada slotted between the Maverick and Torino/LTD II. However, like the Maverick, the Ventura was axed after 1977.
While the Phoenix had initially arrived in one well-specified trim level, for 1978 the range was expanded to include a hatchback; the line was split into base and plusher LJ trims. Engine offerings were mostly the same as the Ventura: a standard Buick 3.8 (231 CID) V6 and optional 2.5 (151 CID) four-cylinder and Chevy 5.0 (305 CID) 2-bbl V8 engines, but no longer any Pontiac 301. The largest engine available was now the Chevy 5.7 (350 CID) 4-bbl V8, but only in California and high-altitude counties. Those regions missed out on the standard three-speed and optional four-speed manual transmissions.
The Phoenix was no longer Pontiac’s premium compact and had to fulfil both roles. While you could kit one out with a V8, bucket-and-console interior and Pontiac’s RTS, you could also buy a base model with a plain full-width bench and a 105 hp V6 that groaned under the weight of the 3000 pound body.
In 1977, Pontiac shifted a total of 90,464 X-Bodies, less than a third of total Chevy Nova sales. For the first year of the Phoenix flying solo, sales dropped to 76,527 units despite the arrival of the new base trim. Furthermore, the vast majority of those sold were the new base sedan and coupe, outselling the LJ sedan and coupe by around 4-to-1 (curiously, the base hatch was the slowest seller; it was never offered in LJ trim either). These figures were disappointing. The Mercury Monarch outsold the Phoenix. So too did the Buick Skylark, although the Oldsmobile Omega’s pathetic sales figures made the Phoenix’s look good by comparison.
While the Phoenix wasn’t dramatically different from the Ventura, it still represented an investment of marketing and development dollars and it couldn’t turn around Pontiac’s compact car sales. Why GM chose to release the Phoenix so close to the end of the RWD X-Body’s run was a mystery. It did serve to introduce the Phoenix name which would be used on Pontiac’s FWD X-Body in the 1980s, but the RWD Phoenix lasted just 2 model years—the abbreviated 1977 run, a full year in 1978, and a truncated run in 1979 as the FWD cars arrived early.
The new FWD Phoenix also didn’t have any buena ventura. It was somewhat of a turkey, falling behind the Chevrolet Citation and Buick Skylark in sales and then self-destructing after word spread of the new platform’s reliability issues.
The flight of the first-generation Phoenix represented the confusion reigning at Pontiac as GM tried to massage luxury into their models to stop the bleeding. By 1980, Pontiac had fallen below Buick and a dynamic Oldsmobile in sales volume. The 1970s had been rough for Pontiac but, fortunately, the 1980s would be a new dawn for the brand. Pontiac doubled down on its “excitement” brand marketing and offered more dynamic and, crucially, visually sportier cars and sales took off much like they had after similar efforts in the 1960s. A new compact, the Grand Am, lead the sales resurgence. While the Pontiac Phoenix never rose from the ashes, the Pontiac brand did. The excitement brand finally enjoyed some buena ventura again, for a while.
Related Reading:
My CC: 1972 Pontiac Ventura II – Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained
Curbside Classic: 1975 Chevrolet Nova Custom – ‘X’ Marks The Spot Of Its Uncertain Future
Vintage Review: 1975 Chevrolet Nova LN – Chevy’s Take On A BMW
Curbside Classic: 1977 Oldsmobile Omega F-85 – The Fully Clothed Stripper
Pontiac was lost in the odd place that was the 70s. American car buying public was in the “low cost” Brougham mode, and that’s where Pontiac was…in 1954….The push after 1956 towards performance generated a market that was “nuked” by the combination of fuel price and insurance price hikes that decimated the “hot” car market after 72, What to do? Well , let’s try to go back to the “upmarket” Chevy market! But by then Oldsmobile (esp. in the compact and midsized market) owned that. The efforts like the Grand Ville were the attempt to go back to it. the (Pontiac was the “lowest” line to have a “C” body in the 40s and Grandville had “C” roof on a “B” body”) But the “kids” (er maybe just my generation) saw Pontiac as “performance” and by 1976-77 only a Firebird-T/A was “Pontiac”, But the dealerships needed cars to match Chevrolet,just because… And thus the Pontiac “Novas”. BTW on the Citation/Pheonix FWD versions, I liked the Poncho version better. No technical reason, just familial experience shown that the Pontiac and Buick versions were somehow better, YMMV!
In late 78, early 79 I was looking for a car and mainly considered mid-sized domestic cars. I wanted reliable/dependable and relatively economical transportation. Early on I narrowed my interest to the X body cars and for nearly 2 weeks prowled used car dealers within 50-60 miles to find the best example that was available. I found 9-10 different cars, but finding THE car was difficult. I wanted a Chevy with a Chevy engine, a Buick with a Buick engine, or maybe a Pontiac or Oldsmobile with their “correct” engine.
One of the cars I found was a Pontiac Phoenix that really appealed to me, but it had the Olds engine and a lot of hard miles on it. It was THE prototypical 70s car: silver grey with a burgundy velour interior, and yes, a near full length console with a floor shifted automatic transmission.
Instead, I would go with a 77 Nova 2 door with the 6 cylinder engine, automatic transmission, and a vinyl bench front seat. Dependable, but vaguely boring.
Still would make a good choice to anyone wanting an American RWD vehicle for little money, if you can find one. I see all of those cars as a sort of empty canvass – what the final nature of the car would be is up to you (budget pro-touring for me, please).
As a kid at the time, I liked the Phoenix emblem, and having amber rear turn signals was something of a novelty at the time. Also, the Pontiac center caps on the steel wheels never seemed to stay put. On my 77 Sunbird, the casting was pressed into the cap, not bolted, so I would lose one now and then. I would hear a metallic “clink” and then try to pull over to retrieve it! I used JB Weld to secure them, big globs of it. I just replaced the center caps on a set of Mopar Road Wheels – they are secured by 2 screws. That cost more, but was a better engineered solution.
Can someone explain me the 3 different taillight variations of the 1975-79 Ventura/Phoenix models? I have looked at many pictures and couldn’t figure why for example some Phoenix had the smaller taillights. Was it related to manufacturing plants, model years or trim levels?
Here’s an interesting site about the Ventura and other X bodies as well.
http://www.pontiacventura.com/
Phil:
From looking at the photos on the website referenced, I can see 2 varieties of the Ventura/rectangular….typical of model year “tweaking”, and there appears to have been 2 varieties of the Phoenix tail light. The same basic Phoenix tail lights were “tweaked” for export markets. Not to mention that in the write-up it was mentioned that there were 2 models of the Phoenix: base and LJ. I believe the base Phoenix had the “old” Ventura rectangular tail lights, while the fancy LJ had the fancy/wraparound tail lights.
I think if I were looking for 1 of these RWD X-bodies today, it would be a toss-up between the Phoenix on looks, or the Buick Apollo(?) for it’s buildable V6.
My “ideal” Apollo/Skylark (?) actually was for sale near me last summer. $3,500 for a brown over tan interior V6 4 door. Unfortunately I had bought a new (to me) car a few months earlier.
The shorter tail light was on all 1975-77 Venturas. And the 78-79 base Phoenix.
The longer was the 1977 and a 1/2 Phoenix and 78-79 mid level
The wrap around tail was the top line trim in 78-79.
The webmaster of pontiacventura.com had incorrectly said that there was “no rhyme or reason” to the various light shapes. But, I wrote him an email explaining it and he thanked me back.
Can go on and on, but GM fully embraced badge engineering in the 70’s to cut costs. To pay for strikes and rising regs.
To clarify, I checked old car brochures site and says that for 78-79, the Phoenix LJ trim got the wrap around tail lamps. And the base had carry over 75-76 Ventura lamps.
The 77.5 PHX had longer lights like the Nova Concours, but only that short model year.
The pontiacventura.com site claimed that they “put in whatever lights depending on Buick or Olds body at plant”, but offered no proof. Just guessed.
I think this car is proof of the malaise that was overtaking GM at the time. A strong Divisional General Manager was increasingly necessary to fight the ever-tightening grip of “The 14th Floor” which was GM’s central bureaucracy. DeLorean was able to do so at Pontiac through 1969 and to a lesser extent at Chevrolet through 73, and John Beltz got things done at Oldsmobile.
But once James MacDonald took over from DeLorean in 1969, Pontiac began to lose focus and tried to become all things to all people.
The X platform had its unique problems in that it was a really old platform by the late 70s. It handled well but was never particularly roomy and never seemed able to overcome its late 60s economy compact roots. The Granada was based on even older underpinnings but the Ford guys truly nailed both interior and exterior styling and concept. It truly looked like a new vehicle when it came out, something that the GM X cars were unable to do.
I think part of the problem was the location of the cowl. Being further back than the norm gave sportier proportions for coupes and hatchbacks (more wheelbase in front of the doors) but made for cramped-looking and obviously-carryover sedans.
Will, thanks for a very comprehensive write-up on two almost forgotten cars. I am going to get on my soap box on this one, as I think these too-similar X-Bodies were a quasi Deadly Sin, at least as far as brand differentiation was concerned. While the first Nova clones in the early 1970s were all blatant badge-engineered rush jobs, GM had the opportunity to inject some divisional distinction into the ’75 redesigns. After all, it was very clear at that point that “compacts” would account for an increasingly large share of the U.S. market, and that there was room for some “upscale” movement in terms of price and content (the Seville being the ultimate expression of where the X-Body could go). Unfortunately, other than having the Seville up in the stratosphere, all the other X-Bodies were clustered together in terms of price and features, with minimal differentiation. Styling was also nearly identical, other than unique front fascias and tail lights. Dashboards were identical. Motors were swapped around. GM would have had the time and money to make the individual ’75 X-Body products more unique–enabling them to charge more for some models and better cover an increasingly important market segment. But they took the cheap and easy way out, and it showed in the results.
At the end of the day, why would anyone pick one X-Body over another? Chevrolet obviously did fine, due to its scale and the fact that compacts were in the brand’s “sweet spot.” But the others lumped together, and oddly, the X-Bodies from “premium” divisions were not even as nice as the Chevrolets: for example, the ’77 Nova Concours had a nicer interior, with a fold-down center armrest, than the Olds Omega Brougham, which only offered a bench seat with no center armrest. This confused state of affairs led to the cars being seen as interchangeable, which was deadly to the GM myth of divisional distinctiveness warranting price premiums.
Some might argue that the Sloan Ladder was irrelevant at that point (buyers start with Chevy and work their way up through Pontiac, Olds and Buick, culminating in Cadillac). I’d agree that the buyers’ journeys weren’t necessarily that linear, but that unique divisional identities were enormously important if their existence was to be justified. This model of shared mechanical and chassis components with unique brand identities and styling across multiple brands still works well. Exhibit A is the Volkswagen Group–although there is some overlap (don’t want to lose customers at the margins) each of their brands is positioned to go after different buyers with specific tastes/needs. GM used to do that in its heyday, but lost the plot in the 1970s, with these X-Car clones being a primary culprit.
Your point is a good one. Taken farther, I think it could be fairly argued that these cars were the canary in the coal mine, signalling the end of Divisional-specific cars that differed by any more than interior/exterior styling. Common engines, common hardware, just a choice of which grilles/taillights/dashboard you liked better. This would become the GM norm within just a few years.
I agree, and it seemed that BOP divisions wanted the X body as “bait and switch” products, to compete with Chevy and Ford. And for awhile it worked, in that Cutlass/Century/Regal/GP sales were high.
But, Granada was also huge, and GM ignored it, including its successor Taurus in the 90’s.
But with Phoenix, why did Pontiac bring it out in spring 1977, and then 6 months later have all new ’78 LeMans/GP to overshadow it?
The base Phoenix kept the front styling, but the bumper pads were gray, instead of body color. Then, the 79 model year was an afterthought. “Close out sale on 79 X cars” before the FWD versions.
Originally all GM or Ford or Chrysler cars were longer or shorter versions of the same thing. Sometimes a bigger and smaller body that were not at all the same, even if for example the two cheaper Buick lines were the small body and the two expensive lines were the large body shared with Cadillac. Still a lot of the points were the same and the same dashboard fit both. In 1959 GM went to one body, but still with different frames and engines. Then in 1960 compact cars came out, then intermediates. So there were three times as many car models. So GM saved money by making each size more and more the same. It looks like with the smallest cheapest line they decided to spend the least money on differentiation.
Well then came SUV’s and eventually in three or four sizes as well. It was inevitable that Mercury, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, and Plymouth had to go.
By the way the rear seat room in the model in question sucked. Cramped and uncomfortable in all directions. I think the Ford equivalent was probably a lot better. My parents had the Buick version with the V6 that ran about like a Model T four.
I always liked the hatchback option. Very practical.
I often wonder if those huge lids had trouble staying up and killed anybody when they got old.
Just from experience, these hatches were not that heavy to be dangerous. Of course, we’ll hear from someone who “knew someone’s cousin’s lawyer…”
Gas struts in my experience eventually very slowly lose pressure. The first clue is when it’s cold and they don’t hold the hatch or tailgate up. So what do people do? Find some broomstick or something and prop it up. The struts get worse and worse. Then one day you knock the stick out of place when loading or unloading and….blam on your head, or maybe your back because you are leaning into the car.
Next thing – well maybe after a few blams – is you buy some generic struts to replace the dead ones.
Trust me on this.
Maybe I’m an outlier, but I would have chosen a Ventura over the other GM compacts, because I just like its looks. In fact, in high school I very much wanted a Ventura SJ four-door with Rally II wheels, and the buckets-and-floor shift interior. I was never certain if it was possible to spec one that way (buckets in a domestic four-door were still fairly uncommon at that time), but in my imagination it was. In high school a friend’s father got a Monarch sedan as his company-supplied vehicle and it had buckets, which we thought was totally cool.
So funny. I went to the LA Auto Show one year and a cutaway Phoenix was on display.
The photo I have of it still makes me laugh: my friend Luana sitting in the front passenger seat with her arm resting on a non existent door sill.
Surprised we didn’t get thrown out. And it was the same light blue metallic as the car in the first photo.
Great write-up, William. The Ventura and Phoenix always made me think of GM and their shifting of the same cars around the different brands. Ok, we know it is a Nova but we can make it look different. Lets change grilles, steering wheels, seats and taillights and no one will know the difference. I’m sure from a financial standpoint it worked for them, and it satisfied the dealers so they each could have a chance to sell a compact in their line-up. But lets face it – the only one that truly benefits from this is the big cheese themselves – GM. And ironically this is still practiced with them today. Sit in a current GMC, Chevy or Cadillac SUV and the similarities are amazing.
The Ventura always makes me think of my Dad and my college-going sister looking for a car for her back in 1977. There was a 1976 Ventura advertised in the newspaper, with very low miles as the owner was elderly and suddenly passed. We went to see it. My Dad thought it would be a great car for my sister’s commute. Well as soon as she saw that plaid bench seat it was over. She refused to even drive it! Needless to say my Dad was angry, but as a bratty little 10 year-old I told him – “That’s an old person’s car!” So even then I knew it wasn’t for her! Maybe if it had buckets or rallye wheels it may have helped a little, but in this case the flat beige paint and multi-colored plaid seats weren’t going to do it for sis. Funny how even back then cars were stereotyped. She ended up with a 1977 Mustang II that she loved, and eventually it would become my first car.
A funny Phoenix story with a somewhat sad ending – I had a great uncle that always drove Pontiacs. He had a 1973 Catalina that was getting too big for him to handle, so he went to see my other great uncle from the other side of the family that worked in sales at the same Pontiac dealer for over 50 years! He ended up trading in the Catalina for a gold colored 1978 Phoenix sedan – the same color gold as the hatchback in the brochure. One day I was driving to work and there was a long, slow stream of traffic. I was cursing as to why everyone was going so slow. Sure enough, after everyone had a chance to go around this obstruction – there he was – uncle in his 1978 gold Phoenix! He was the SLOWEST driver ever! I saw that car slowly deteriorate over the years along with my uncle’s health. Well, sadly he got into a very bad accident one day and totaled the Phoenix. He stopped driving after that, and I remember talking to him about that car before he passed. He said it was one of his favorite cars ever and that it saved his life.
Back in 1985 a college classmate had a ’76 Ventura 2-dr hatchback. It was white with a red interior, plaid seats, dk red carpets, door panels and dash etc. I rode in it a few times and it seemed pretty comfortable, with decent front seat room and a good ride.
For what it’s worth I think the Phoenix was a nice development of the Ventura with better front end styling and ritzier interiors. That it never sold very well even in front-dive format always puzzled me. Maybe it just wasn’t differentiated enough from its linemates.
For several years I had a ’77 Chevy Nova Concours, very reliable and economical with the tried and true, but slow, 250 cube 6. Nice interior, but one strange quirk. I ordered it with a/c, apparently a rather rare option, since I often went to D.C. in the summer. The dash on my car was obviously taken from the Buick Skylark, with the Buick’s lower a/c outlets crudely patched over with metal pieces! Oh GM, how the mighty fell!
My Mom had a 1977 Concours (2-Door in Firethorn Red with a matching red crushed velour interior). It was the first time my Dad had purchased a ‘loaded with all the options’ car. We had the 305 V8, so maybe not ALL the options, as I think you could get a 350. Our car was fast enough for us though.
But in examining the picture of you Concours, it seems to be missing a hood ornament. I could’ve sworn that gussied-up Nova had one. I seem to remember it being a squared off looking shield with a “C” on it in similar font to the script “Concours” on the front fender.
My favorite parts of the car was the brougham-tastic waterfall grill and the 3 lights on each side in the back instead of 2, reminiscent of an Impala, or in this case a ‘Little Caprice’ as this is what that car seemed like to me at 17.
Had a 1976 Ventura which was the base model with a V6, auto, and air. Used it for commuting on my job. It was excellent for that and gas mileage was in the mid-20’s.
In the wake of the oil crisis, Buick and Oldsmobile also released rebadged Chevrolet Nova clones, the Apollo and Omega…”
The ’73 Omega came out in fall 1972, and Apollo spring 1973. Before Oil Crisis 1 in Oct ’73.
The BOP X body clones was reaction to higher small car sales to Boomer buyers in general. They were not brought out as a quick fix for the OPEC Embargo.
So many auto history bloggers will make it sound that as soon as the 1970’s rang in, “suddenly oil crises started.” But, gas was cheap until winter ’73, affecting the 1974 model year.
Winter 73-74 that is. Cant edit comments as we used to.
But mainly that oil prices and supply weren’t a big issue until OPEC turned off the spigot.
The Oldsmobile Omega was introduced because Oldsmobile dealers complained that the 1973 intermediate line-up no longer offered either the F-85 nameplate or six-cylinder engines. They wanted a low-price car to lure buyers into the showroom.
Of course, they then wanted to sell those buyers a V-8 powered Cutlass S or, better yet, Cutlass Supreme. Hence, the poor sales of the Omega.
In the latest issue of Hemmings Classic Car, a reader who worked at a Buick dealer in the 1970s claims that the X-body Buick Apollo/Skylark was a mistake that hurt the division. Owners of 1968-72 Skylarks would come to the dealer and look at the new X-body Skylark, and think it was the equivalent of their current car. The rapid inflation of this era meant that the X-body Skylark was priced higher than their old A-body Skylark. The sales reps did nothing to dissuade those customers from believing this. Those customers soon discovered that their new Skylark was nothing like their previous A-body model in quality or ride comfort.
I can see that mid size A body owners would be disappointed buying the name.
However, the Skylark compact was popular enough to stick around until 1998. Saw many older drivers in them, especially the later FWD N bodies.
I recall that fuel prices were edging up in the summer and fall of 1972. Nothing like once the embargo hit, but inflation was working on them and lots of folks in my world were suddenly getting more attuned to fuel mileage. I remember a lot of discussion (in person and in the magazines) when the 73 models came out about how their fuel mileage was worse than ever, likely due to higher weight and lower output engines than in 72.
Apologies. Mixed up their dates of introduction. This has been corrected.
I recall from back in the seventies a radio commercial for these cars. The perky singers chanted this:
Girls: “Ventura’s an ECONOMY car!”
Boys: “It’s a PRESTIGE car!”
Both: “Ventura’s an ECONOMY car…. with PRESTIGE!”
At the time that stuck this car guy as extremely silly. It still does, though less so now (My 2017 Mercedes E class gets better mileage than my 72 Pinto, so an economy car can have prestige)
With Mercury getting a ’71 Maverick clone, the Comet, then the BOP dealers demanded their own Nova. “If Ford can do it*, so can we.”
*badge jobs without unique bodies, motors and interiors
We’re quick to criticise these cars for their lack of divisional distinctiveness, yet back in the thirties there was as much if not more commonality between the various GM makes using a particular bodyshell. The body and doors would stay the same, only front end sheet metal, fenders, and trim would vary. Oh, and wheelbase, along with everything mechanical…..
Of course in those days the contour of the doorskins wasn’t so ‘styled’, and didn’t affect the line of the fenders.
Every time I see or hear about The Pontiac Ventura that song by the band America, Ventura Highway, plays in my mind. Now it is stuck there and won’t stop. Great write up.
Great song too.
I always likes this song too, but was only 12 when it came out. Living on the oposite side of the country from “Ventura”, my 12 year old mind thought the song was inspired by the car from Pontiac, and not an actual place in California. ?
The 1977 brochure points out that the 4-cylinder Ventura came with a 5 speed manual transmission rather than the six’s three-on-the-tree. Fair enough, then, if you’re willing to use the gears and put up with the Iron Duke’s protestations when revved – but you could still get it with an automatic!
That must’ve been a real hairshirt that opened up the possibility of losing stoplight drags to pre-turbo diesel Mercedes and clapped-out VW buses.
A Phoenix quirk is that it retained the 1968 Nova dash to the end; the other divisions’ X-bodies got a new dash pad molding and revised gauges for 1977.
I think because the Phoenix used the gauge cluster from the Grand Prix rather than standard Nova gauges and they wanted to retain that on the cheap.
The ‘77.5 Phoenix did a pretty good job of foreshadowing the ’78 LeMans, as it was almost the same front clip. Handsome, though it sat a little awkwardly on the more curvy ’75 sheetmetal of the rest of the car. If they’d spent a little more money to tighten up all the body lines they could have had a looker–kind of like a smaller A-body LeMans with a longer hood. But, nope, GM wasn’t going to spend that kind of money (and for a truncated 2-year run I can understand why).
I have a friend who had a Phoenix in the late 80’s in an orangey red color. I thought the color and that A-body looking nose was very handsome.
The dash pad my have been the same but at least it got round gauges, I really wished for this cluster in my 76 Omega.
GM never got luckier with also-rans in a segment than it did with the ’68-’79 generation of X cars. If Chrysler’s quality had been a lot better in the ‘70s, GM would have suffered a complete smack-down with these cramped and ill differentiated cars.
One of the lazier styling points and pointless pet peeves of mine is the fake plastic vent on the B pillar on most of the sedans, regardless of Division from ’75 on up. I did not realize some of the vinyl topped versions escaped the plastic doo-dad – it really cleans up the styling even with the vinyl top.
Opel Ascona B (1975 – 1981) roofline. Who is the father – who is the son ?
I know I am one of the few, but this is one of my favorite GM models ever……had three of them over the years, and always enjoyed driving them.
Id take on of these over the US Ford Granada any day, purely based on the visual appeal. The Granada appears to be pastiche of a larger Brougham, which may well ahve been Lee’s intention.
The roof line is very early/mid 1970s Opel/Vauxhall FWIW
My driver’s ed car was a brand-spanking new ’77 Phoenix. It was the 2-door base model, orange with a tan painted top. Boring, but did the job, and it was nice to have a new car. Nothing like the other large family cars I’d been practicing on, but that was probably good for newbies.
One of the best things about it is that it was so new, we were finished with it before the Driver’s Ed signs ever arrived!
Although the wheels are I suppose stock on the example in question the tires look farther out than normal. Maybe bigger and wider proportion tires than originally?
I would pick the Pontiac Phoenix in SJ trim over any Granada any day of the week if I could go back and order any of these new. My Grandfather had a 1976 white Granada coupe with white vinyl bucket seat interior but a column shifter and those cheap small common wheel covers they used on so many. That car turned not only him away from Fords but also my dad after his and my terrible experiences with a 1979 Fairmont. The Granada began it’s decline after Winter number three where rust was already forming around the front fenders. The white paint job on that car was rough and patch even when new and I remember seeing an actual paint drip on the bottom rear quarter fresh from the factory. My grandfather made them correct this. The car was cramped, flaccid, underpowered with the wheezing 250 six and the steering was so limp and lifeless that it I remember my grandfather having to keep correcting it on the highway as it drifted around.
That car literally started falling apart when it had but 70K miles on the clock with loads of rust, an oil smoking engine despite numerous oil changes, badly sagging rear springs, cracked vinyl seats and dash and oodles of electrical issues including a non functioning radio, A/C and various battery draining issues that left us stranded many a time. I think that was traced to a rusted out ground but not entirely sure as it was so many years ago. I just remember my grandmother complaining about that car every time we went someplace as she was always worrying if we were going to make it.
On to the X-bodies. One big memory was getting a ride every morning in my best friend at the time’s mother’s 1978 black Nova Custom with the tried and true 250 six. That damned car was un- killable with an odometer that went around the clock several times and always managed to start every single morning regardless of weather and temps. It was Upstate, NY salt that eventually did it in but they sure got there monies worth with that one.
My great uncle also had an X-body of the same year but made by Buick with the much rougher running 231 V6 and shockingly an upgraded firm ride suspension. He used to complain about ride quality with that car especially with Michelin tires which made most every bump felt. He was used to the old cushy riding Buick’s of old so this was a hard pill to swallow. I think he kept that one until around 80K and sold it at my uncles repair shop for around 1200 bucks. His 1985 Park Ave, which he had until his sudden death in 1997 was more to his liking.
My only experience with the rwd Phoenix was as a passenger in a friend’s car…his dad worked for the Cincinnati Water Works and would buy old fleet cars. Around 1984 the old man got him a powder blue Phoenix, 4 cylinder auto, vinyl seats, rubber mats, dog dish hubcaps. What a turd that thing was.
My friend got an Earl Scheib paint job and Auto Shack (before they became Auto Zone) wire wheelcovers and thought he was the coolest thing on 4 wheels.
I’m late to the party but that’s no surprise. I’ve owned my 75 Ventura coupe (no hatch) for about 12 years now and love to drive it. It’s got the Olds 260, which is no powerhouse but sure sounds great thru 2 1/2″ dual exhaust with Flowmasters. And it’s pretty rare to see another one anywhere. One of my favorite cars ever owned, this ones a keeper.
i have a 77 phoenix myself i love it its kind of a boat but a great highschool car to tune and build by myself. im only 16 but from hearing so many racing stories from my family i found this car and im gonna try to make my own sleeper out of it its a 77 2dr landau bucket seat console 350 4 bbl
We had a few Ventoras which were just a six cylinder Victor with all the fruit, I guess Pontiac knew about those and changed one letter in the badge.
Could this be the only American car which offered both a 4 cylinder, and a V8/5 speed combo? I’m pretty sure the Mustang II and Chevy Monza only offered a 4 speed with their V8 performance option. Or automatic. The only other candidate which comes to mind might be the Dodge Dakota pickup, though that’s not really a car.
Edit: Duuhhh .. Fox Mustang and 3rd gen F Body of course. But I bet the Ventura was first; a trend-setter you might say.
Dman, the Monza and Sunbird offered a 5-speed with the V8–maybe not the same year though? I know the 1976 Vega/Monza had an optional 5-speed with the standard aluminum Vega 2.3 liter four-cylinder. However, by 1978-79, when the 151 / 2.5 liter Iron Duke had replaced the Vega engine, logically, I would think it also had an optional 5-speed.
As for the Ventura, my dad bought a used 1975 Ventura when we came back to the US in 1977. I asked my dad how many mpg it got, and he told me 15mpg… I was aghast. It had the 260-V8… basically, a debored Oldsmobile 350.
I joked, and grumbled, it had the power of a Nova six and the fuel consumption of a big V8…
After I started driving in 1981 (and fueling it), I logged the mpg, and sure enough, it got 13 to 17 mpg per fill-up.
That said, even though I was just a teen with limited exposure to other cars, though it broadened when I got a job installing car stereos in summer 1982, and portering cars was among the tasks I did, as well as delivering radios and getting them, even with my biases, I thought it cornered pretty well and was a good-driving car.
And while it was a malaise-era car, it treated my folks and me quite well, it proved very reliable over 12 years and 95k miles.
Given the clean lines of the Nova, the more basic Nova noses/grilles worked better IMO. This ’77 grille is rather busy/overdone, not suiting the rest of the car.
Well, Pontiac finally hit pay dirt with the compact segment in the 1985 Grand Am N body. It replaced the X body Phoenix, and lasted until 2005. And did somewhat better then Olds Calias/Acheiva/Alero.
I can’t get over how gawdawful Pontiac’s advertising was in 1981, as typified by the Phoenix vs VW Dasher ad shown. This is the same GM division that had one of the most spectacular automotive ad campaigns ever in the 1960s that helped propel Pontiac to 3rd place in sales. Take your pick from any of them and admire Art Fitzpatrick’s (exaggerated) car drawings, Van Kaufman’s lovely streetscapes, and the unheralded copy writer that stuck to a catchy headline and just a few sentences to let you know how awesome your life would be if you drove a Pontiac. Now look at the Phoenix ad; a boring photo of the car under a wordy three-column layout of which about 80% is legal gobbledegook. The other 20% is a few comparisons showing the Phoenix’s superiority over a competitor in various minor features. 15,000 miles longer between spark plug changes! Now that’s what sells cars – spark plug life!