Here’s a curious pair by canadiancatgreen at the Cohort, capturing two different ages of the Pontiac saga. I believe the red and black one is a 1956 Chieftain, although the lack of trim makes that inconclusive. Yet, the model still belonged to the era of Pontiac as just an ‘upscale Chevy,’ just as “Bunkie” Knudsen and Pete Estes were beginning to work their magic.
The model behind the Chieftain needs no introduction. It’s the sinfully deadly Fiero, although getting less deadly by the ’86-’88 years. A rather questionable era of Pontiacs. As for the Corvair in the distance, it appeared a while back on its own post.
Further reading:
On The Go Outtake: 1955 Pontiac Chieftain – The Well-Disguised ’55 Chevy
Appears to be a Chrysler Shelby rim on the Fiero.
Windows (and walls) on the background housing appears thoroughly inadequate for Edmonton winters. Or summer, for that matter. Housing, that thankfully largely disappeared by the mid ’70s.
Is it just me, or does the perspective of the photograph make the Fiero look much closer in size to the Chieftain than I would have thought possible?
The Corvair in the parking lot got my attention too!!
As I’m presuming this is a Canadian shot photo (canadiancatgreen?) Is it possible the Pontiac is in fact a 1956 Cheviac? Possibly a Laurentian? That would also explain the size as I believe American Pontiacs of the era were bigger than there Canadian siblings.
Pontiac shared the same basic body as Chevrolet. Wheelbase was longer and front fenders accommodated that.
That older Pontiac is a 1956 model . They were virtually the same as the earlier ’55s but with only minor trim and grill changes . A lot of those cars are gone by now with some remaining . My first car was a ’55 Starchief which I got in early 1972 . Finding parts for it was quite difficult even back then ! Happy Motoring .