Time to highlight again the products of Pontiac and its people; from owners to admirers. This time the images cover from the “suspender streaks” days to the cool Wide-Track era; with a bit of the luxo late ’60s also showing.
This is the second such Pontiac gallery, covering the brand’s remarkable transition in those years. As for the images, they’re mostly from the ’50s and ’60s, and the people are quite varied in these.
Please note the full wheel covers on the ’67 and ’68 GTO. Guess what? They didn’t all come with Pontiac’s styled steel wheels or mags. The ones on that convertible are really cheesy, but the ’68 looks just like how I remember many/most looking by then. The GTO had morphed from an edgy car to a sleek, slightly fat mainstream car. No wonder Pontiac brought out The Judge.
Excellent & Spectacular again, Rich !
3rd photo could be my mom in that ’49 Nebraska Star Chief (altho we were in NYC)….
I remember her ordeal of parking without power steering —
2 hands for each half-turn of the steering wheel..
We’d be rolling around like pups in the front seat, and if she needed to stop short,
Mom just swung out her right arm to catch us.
Lost mom last week at 94. Safe travels.
As much as I liked the styling of most early 50’s GM offerings, I can’t say the same for Pontiacs, even though I can now see just how close their kinship was. However, by the early 60’s my opinion had changed and I felt Pontiacs were the coolest cars around.
Nice selection of ‘62 full size Pontiacs here! I have a soft spot in my head for those, having co-owned one with a friend in high school. The white 4 door hardtop in the lede photo would be a ringer for ours if it was a Bonneville and had a red Morrokide interior. Ours, being a $250 beater in the late 70s was more of a babe repellent than a babe magnet, though! 😉
I think the dark blue ‘62 photobombing the maroon ‘60 (??) is a Star Chief, going by the chrome stars at the end of the rear quarters.
My heart skipped a beat seeing the ‘64 Bonneville convertible, though! One of the top 5 tail light designs of the 60s, in my opinion. Would’ve like to own one of those or the coupe versions for old times sake. I believe ‘64 was the last year the four speed Hydramatic was offered.
Good work on this photo set, as usual Rich!
Even with the hubcaps, I could live with the “ashtray green” GTO!! Yes I could!! 🙂 A very nice photo review of the “PONCHOS” of those years. 🙂 DFO
In 1949 my mother won a 1949 Pontiac 4 door sedan in a raffle. Since it was still a seller s market a local dealer n Brooklyn NY offered her $2500.00 to sell it sight unseen, but she turned it down. Since she didn`t have a lie at the time she gave it to her father (my grandfather). He had it for a number of years and even though I don`t remember what model t was, it was gray with the chrome ‘suspenders’ on the hood and trunk and had a super cool Indian head on the hood ornament that lit up when the lights were on. A few years ago a member of my car modelers club had an old Marx toy version of this car. A plastic one in appx. 20 th. scale. I painted it gray and put Bare Metal Foil on for the chrome trim. My other loved it and it is still on display at my house.
Memory flash. The first photo shows two girls sitting on the hood of a ’62 Pontiac. Well my first car was a ’62 Grand Prix with black lacquer paint (former show car I was told). I got out of my high school class to find a large girl sitting on my trunk. I got upset right away because one could not even touch the paint on that car without leaving a print. For the entire next month I got to see a large butt print on my trunk as I was told not to rub-out the paint as it was already thin..
The green ’68 GTO surely caught my eye. I had the same year and color GTO as a daily driver for several years in the mid ’70’s. Thankfully, mine didn’t have a vinyl top. I had the styled steel GM rally wheels. The wheels and hide-away headlight covers were among the few options. No power steering nor power brakes.
I wish I could recall the official name for the color. Forrest Green?
That would be Verdoro Green. Very popular Pontiac color, 67-70.
Also, referencing a comment above, some may or may not know that the standard wheel on the GTO was a body colored plain steel wheel with the small dog-dish style hubcap. Optional were various iterations and styles of full wheel covers, as wheel as various styles of factory styled steel wheels, the Rallye I, and the Rallye II. 1967 and 1968 were the only years both were available.
Thank you for the color information. I recall seeing a good many Pontiacs from that era in Verdoro Green. Especially ’68 and ’69 Firebird 400’s.
You could look at the wise guys in pic #8 and draw quick conclusions, but the Peter Epsteen Pontiac sticker speaks volumes. Be respeckful and mind ya business, ya jamoke, you…
And also note neither one of the GTO’s have hood tachs, the dumbest idea ever in my opinion.
I’ll bet 90% of Autronic Eyes are recent add-ons. Men have to mark their new territory.
I like the 59 Catalina post coupe with doggies! Think it has three-on-the-tree?
Base model for sure, probably does have a 3-on-the-tree. I’m thinking though from the narrow track, it’s a Cheviac and the model would be a Strato Chief rather than Catalina.
I thought the track looked too narrow to be Wide, but I’ve seen a ’59 Cheviac at YT’s Rare Classic Cars, and it’s freakishly narrow. Could just be skinny wheels and tires.
What’s in the garage behind the red ’60?
My father’s first new car was a ’50 Pontiac, mine was an ’84. He moved up to Olds and then Buick (with a Chevy wagon in between right after buying his first house).
A ’57 Plymouth if I’m not mistaken.
Man with the red GTO convertible stills own it. His story , along with that photo, was in Hemmings Classic Car .
Great pics! Woman on the right, in the first pic, looks like actress Corinne Bohrer.
She (the one on the car) looks so much like my wife when she was 18 it’s scary… a doppelganger! Then she grew out her blonde bangs at 20 and looked even better. 55 years later she still does.
That brunette with the white ’63 could be a model. I’d much rather look at the women than the cars frankly but the ’67 Goat is gorgeous too!
I showed that photo to my wife… and she agrees, she has an unknown twin somewhere!
Thanks for this great post; it feels like a portal to another era. Struck me how slim all the people are.
Not surprising everyone looks so happy .
I had a 1954 Pontiac Coupe in the early 1970’s, it was fully loaded and I got the radio to work, Dual Hydromatic Drive, power windows, on and on .
-Nate
Green GTO:
I get the impression the gentlemen has just graduated college and got his first regular pay check and splurged on a GTO.
I can identify as my first car out of college was a ’83 Old Cutlass Supreme with bucket seats.
Some things never change!!
The ’68 GTO in Vedoro green looks a lot like my old ’69 Parisienne. Same color, black vinyl roof, but mine was a four-door and the headlights were standard. It was the last front bench auto I owned. Great thing with the bench seat was you could tell how your wife/girlfriend was feeling towards you by where she positioned herself on the seat. Up close and personal was very promising but over by the door was chillsville.
I love that ’63 Grand Prix ( my first love for cars) and that ’64 Bonneville convertible after it. Pontiac had some real classy cars in the 60’s and no wonder they did so well. Almost brought a ’63 when I was in Kansas but had title issues.
I owned the 1967 LeMans convertible as shown in 2008. Gulf Turquoise with white top and black interior. It came with the full DeLuxe wheel covers shown on the GTO beneath it. They featured the PMD logo in the center.
As with so many others, nearly all restored examples wear rally IIs. Tough to even find a LeMans that doesn’t have GTO crap on it. Most people seem obsessed with having the GTO hood.
I owned the 1967 LeMans convertible as shown in 2008. Gulf Turquoise with white top and black interior. It came with the full DeLuxe wheel covers shown on the GTO above it. They featured the PMD logo in the center.
As with so many others, nearly all restored examples wear rally IIs. Tough to even find a LeMans that doesn’t have GTO crap on it. Most people seem obsessed with having the GTO hood.
Look at how classy the ladies looked. No tattoos! When women cared about their appearance.
Oh, and the cars were nice, too.
Sure do miss the Pontiac. I had a 64 Catalina two door hardtop, 3 speed, a 68 two door Catalina hardtop , and a 72 Catalina two door hardtop. Thanks for sharing some memories.
There was nothing like the Pontiac Indian hood ornaments of the 40’s and 50’s. Many of them would light when the headlights came on. They are getting harder and more expensive to find. A lost art.
I wonder if that kid still has his 68 GTO