The Best-Looking Pontiac Ever Built Was...

[vwlarry]

(drumroll.........)

...the 1969 Pontiac Grand Prix is my choice for the most beautiful Pontiac ever built. Sleek, bold, voluptuously sculptured, and a major trendsetter (although none of its imitators ever achieved the original's clean and almost austere, gimmick-free elegance), it still knocks me out whenever I see one. The SJ model (so cool that Pontiac used the Duesenberg tag), with its deep-dish wheels and concentric hubcaps, was a fantastic looking car that photographs just don't do justice to. Plus, even the interior was a look into the future, with its wraparound instrument panel that BMW would be celebrated for after they copied it years later.

John Z. Delorean ran Pontiac then, and the all-new '69 GP was his swansong at Pontiac, after a decade under his leadership that saw Pontiac become THE styling leader of the automobile industry. After this car, Pontiac went into a decline that didn't end until its death a few years ago.

I'm throwing in a photo of the first Grand Prix, from 1962, to show how the GP started out beautiful, and stayed that way, at least until '69:









Now, let the disagreements begin!

[worth_fixing]

Mmmmmm, I really really hate nearly all Pontiacs for their cheapness and ultimate crappiness, but the only car that brand has ever released that has gotten my total approval was the G8. It's just so badass and properly awesome. ...and this is coming from a guy who bleeds fuel economy and diesel. If this thing came in manual, I would be fapping right now, this very moment, as you're reading this.

[vwlarry]

[QUOTE=worth_fixing;76097221]Mmmmmm, I really really hate nearly all Pontiacs for their cheapness and ultimate crappiness, but the only car that brand has ever released that has gotten my total approval was the G8. It's just so badass and properly awesome. ...and this is coming from a guy who bleeds fuel economy and diesel.

Curious...does your distaste for Pontiacs actually extend all the way back to the marque's origins, or is it confined to the later models? Pontiacs were for many years celebrated for their high quality of both engineering and for their excellent construction quality. Are we forgetting that there was life before the 21st century?

Additionally, my thread here was started not as an overall assessment of PMD's ultimate goodness or awfulness. I love design, and simply like to start up conversations about that subject. Even if it needed a jumpstart every 50 yards, the '69 Grand Prix would still rate an "A+" grade from me for its aesthetics. I hope we can stick to the subject, then.

[xdre]

Mmmmmm, I really really hate nearly all Pontiacs for their cheapness and ultimate crappiness,

Then you know very little about Pontiacs.

[SuperGroove]

Mmmmmm, I really really hate nearly all Pontiacs for their cheapness and ultimate crappiness, but the only car that brand has ever released that has gotten my total approval was the G8. It's just so badass and properly awesome. ...and this is coming from a guy who bleeds fuel economy and diesel. If this thing came in manual, I would be fapping right now, this very moment, as you're reading this.

The G8 GXP did come with a manual as option.

But I was hesitant to respond. But pictured you looked like this....well...I mean I imagined you weren't a dude

[l88m22vette]

The GXP was a 362hp with a 6spd

[rsj0714]

Yeah.. no it isn't:

[71DubBugBug]

This one! , just kidding

but honestly, the 63 gto

[luckeydoug1]

77-81 Bonneville Brougham.

[worth_fixing]

Curious...does your distaste for Pontiacs actually extend all the way back to the marque's origins, or is it confined to the later models? Pontiacs were for many years celebrated for their high quality of both engineering and for their excellent construction quality. Are we forgetting that there was life before the 21st century?

Then you know very little about Pontiacs.

You're right; I guess I'm refering to Sunfires, Azteks, Grand Ams/Prix, Montanas, Sunbirds and such. I'm too young to remember any good Pontiacs at all.

The G8 GXP did come with a manual as option.

But I was hesitant to respond. But pictured you looked like this....well...I mean I imagined you weren't a dude

HAHAHAHA...sorry to ruin your...uh...fantasy, but I look like an uglier Tom Cruise.

[rsj0714]

You're right; I guess I'm refering to Sunfires, Azteks, Grand Ams/Prix, Montanas, Sunbirds and such. I'm too young to remember any good Pontiacs at all.

Do some research. You don't have to be 60 to remember or drool over older Pontiacs. I know I'm not nearly old enough to remember them at their release, but I do appreciate them for what they are.

[l5gcw0b]

^corvette chassis


I like the GTO(camaro, torino, SL) with the eyebrows over the wheels.




lol

[vwlarry]

Do some research. You don't have to be 60 to remember or drool over older Pontiacs. I know I'm not nearly old enough to remember them at their release, but I do appreciate them for what they are.

I'm old, but still not old enough to have been around when Mozart and Beethoven produced their masterpieces. But that doesn't keep me from discovering them, and expanding my conciousness by listening to them, does it?

[worth_fixing]

Do some research. You don't have to be 60 to remember or drool over older Pontiacs. I know I'm not nearly old enough to remember them at their release, but I do appreciate them for what they are.

I don't remember seeing any good ol' Pontiacs driving around, sorry. But to comfort your displeasure, I absolutely love the old GTO (not the new one though) I can oly associate with the newer Pontiacs as they're the ones I've sat in/driven. I can attest to their crappiness. Although I know the older Pontiacs have existed, I've never sat in/driven any of them, therefore I can't attest to their quality. Simple as that. You can listen to a Bethoven and appreciate it because you can listen to 98% of his performance. I can't relive the Pontiac experience because they aren't around anymore. Sorry to disappoint guys, but for me, Pontiac is a decent sized pile of crap and left consequently. I'm sure it wasn't always so.

[geofftii2002]

I always preferred the 1964 GTO. I like the cleanliness of the design - it's classically early 1960's before things got all cartoonish, bloated and brash. There's little in the way of adornment on the slab sides and in the nose, the silly beak is not as prevalent as in later cars - at this point its just a nice styling touch that sets the Pontiac line apart. The subtle sweep of the roof where it meets the quarter is a very nice touch. I also love the thin, delicate pillars. Over all its linear, simple, clean, compact and very modern with just a hint of what might lurk under the bonnet.

[Air and water do mix]

Strangely enough, there's something really appealing about that one.

[randyvr6]

I love the 1961. Great clean lines and the grille is fantastic.

[nix6speed]

Classic: 1967 GTO



Modern: 98-02 WS6

[The Kilted Yaksman]

[Soze.K]

What are you guys, 12 year old bigots?

U MAD BRO?

[2 doors]

I agree with these choices.

I took my drivers test in a 1986? Pontiac 6000 LE. My parents also had a 1984 Parisienne station wagon at the time. But I will hardly submit either of these to this thread.

[Air and water do mix]

U MAD BRO?

The post you laughed at was removed, doesn't that tell you something? Don't trash good threads with racist bs. You'll get no more responses from me on the subject, as I don't want to ruin my friend's thread.

[Mayerz]

These are my favorite pontiacs



But i still hate them, like every GM ever made.

[worth_fixing]

But i still hate them, like every GM ever made.

...completely understand your hate.

[devianb]

Wasn't a production model, but I am going with the Banshee.

[MissHood]

Mmmmmm, I really really hate nearly all Pontiacs for their cheapness and ultimate crappiness, but the only car that brand has ever released that has gotten my total approval was the G8. It's just so badass and properly awesome. ...and this is coming from a guy who bleeds fuel economy and diesel. If this thing came in manual, I would be fapping right now, this very moment, as you're reading this.

Pontiac has made many great cars, I don't know if I'm bias becuase I have owned a 97 Grand Prix GTP 2 door for 5 years now and It's been one of the best daily drivers i'VE ever owned. It's easy for basic matinance, and It's a GM, parts are endless in the Junkyards. It's a shame that Pontiac folded up.

Also to the guy who posted the 1961

[200HP4dr]

Sorry, but I think Pontiacs without stacked headlights aren't that pretty.

This, however;



Is a pretty Pontiac. Though I still wouldn't call them pretty. To find pretty Pontiacs, you must go back a couple more decades. How about some Torpedo 8 action?



Chris

[VAB5]

I agree GP, but I gotta go '67:

[vwlarry]

These are my favorite pontiacs



.

There you guys go and make me start changing my mind. The first Firebirds, and this the first iteration of the second generation, are absolutely gorgeous automobiles. Pininfarina would have been proud to have his signature on these second-gen cars, IMO. The lines are lithe, Ferrari-esque, and the details are incredible. Look at the shape of the windshield (a design fetish at GM in the sixties) for example. No other car handled this area like this, and the steep A-pillar, with its softly rounded upper corners combined with the swept-back rake of the glass, make this detail on these cars amazing, IMO.

[VAB5]

Of course, I coulda said "mine"!

[TORSEN TRACTION]

srsly



pretty awesome!

[Iroczgirl]

1956 Pontiac does it for me :



That was a whole other era.

[vwlarry]

Not really "beautiful" but distinctive and for its time, pretty tasteful, was the '58 Pontiac, especially from the rear. They eschewed the tailfins of the time and instead had nicely integrated, handsome taillamps with a kind of sexy looking "hood" atop them. I like these Ponchos v. muchly.

[Jetta603]

Of course, I coulda said "mine"!
nice! very clean awesome car. love it!

Sick! looks awesome!

[PsyberVW]

I'm old, but still not old enough to have been around when Mozart and Beethoven produced their masterpieces. But that doesn't keep me from discovering them, and expanding my conciousness by listening to them, does it?

Not to go too far off-topic, but this is why I am in favor of kit cars / replicars.

Beethoven's music is still play by symphonies and individuals today. You didn't have to catch a Mozart concert, to hear a Mozart song.

With these cars, as they age and we lose parts and even entire cars to attrition, the scope of their impact begins to diminish. Fewer and fewer people will get to experience these cars until really there is nothing left but a few museum pieces and online photo galleries.

How could we then expect any future generation to ever really appreciate these works? Looking at a photo of a P51d Mustang doesn't give you the same experience/reference as seeing one at an airshow. Likewise, just seeing these cars drive by can be enough to make an experience for a person to remember.

Anyway, I was always a fan of the 1968 Firebird, the '34 Coupes and Convertibles, 41's.. Really, I think each generation had something I liked.













I like the sedans too, but this morning I'm in a coupe mood.