1960 Pontiac Bonneville

During the 1940’s and 1950’s, GM cars were available in three body types: “A” (Chevrolet and Pontiac); “B” (Oldsmobile plus lower-priced Buicks) and “C” (Buick Super and Roadmaster, plus all Cadillacs).  The B- and C- body cars were restyled together; with A-body cars being re-styled a year or so later. All five makes had their own look, but always within that year’s A, B, or C body type. In 1954, under the direction of Harley Earl, the B and C cars became lower, longer and wider and adopted the wraparound panoramic windshield.  Chevrolet and Pontiac took on their version of this styling in 1955.  The cycle repeated in 1957 for the B and C cars and in 1958 for the A cars. 

For 1959, the cycle was broken: all five GM brands were restyled and they all had some common appearance items. They were all longer-lower-wider by several inches in each dimension.  The huge windshield wrapped around the side and over the top, plus all four-door hardtops had the same flat roof and wraparound back window. There were some brand differences: station wagons and pillared sedans were offered by Chevrolet and Pontiac, and in the lower-priced Oldsmobiles and Buicks, but not by Cadillac.  Cadillac had a unique six-window 4-door hardtop. 

GM’s 1959 styling was a reaction to the sales success of the big fins on Virgil Exner’s 1957 Chrysler Corporation cars.  Some felt GM had gone too far, especially with the so-called batwing 1959 Chevrolet and the 1959 Cadillac’s tall fins.  Compared to these, the 1959 Pontiacs were relatively restrained, with a split grille in front and small v-fins in back.  For 1960, GM in general and Pontiac in particular backed away from some of 1959’s excesses.  Chevrolet’s batwings were flattened and Cadillac’s fins shrank.  Pontiac’s grille changed from split to horizontal and the v-fins were gone. 

The first Bonneville was the ultimate 1957 Pontiac, a mid-year convertible with a 310 hp fuel-injected V8 and a price of $5,782.  Limited to one car per dealer, only 630 were sold.  For 1958, Bonnevilles were sold as luxury hardtops and convertibles. Starting in 1959, the Bonneville replaced the Star Chief as Pontiac’s top series.  For 1960, Pontiacs were available as Catalinas (2- and 4-door sedans, 2- and 4-door hardtops, a convertible, plus 6- or 9-passenger Safari station wagons), Venturas (2- and 4-door hardtops), Star Chiefs (2- and 4-door sedans, plus a 4-door hardtop) and Bonnevilles (2- and 4-door hardtops, a convertible, plus a 6-passenger Safari station wagon). 

With Hydramatic, the Bonneville’s standard engine was a 389 CID 303 hp V8.  Like all other ’60 Pontiacs, Bonnevilles could be ordered with a 318 hp TriPower V8.  There was a long list of available options over and above the convertible’s $3,476 base price: bucket seats, power steering and brakes, Circ-L-Aire air conditioning, Magi-Cruise speed control, power windows, a removable Sportable AM transistor radio, power front seat, and a Safeguard speedometer with excess speed buzzer and warning lamp.  Seat belts were also an option.  For Pontiac, 1959 and 1960 were the years that introduced “Wide-Track”: front and rear track were nearly 5 inches wider than in 1958.  The 1960 Bonneville convertibles weighed over two tons. They were nearly 20 ft long and almost 7 ft wide but only 4 ft 4 in high.

Pontiac seemed to be riding a crest of increasing sales, from 219,823 in 1958 to 388,856 in 1959 then to 418,154 in 1960.  However, in retrospect, 1960 was the end of the big-car era. AMC’s compact Rambler and American were selling well, as was Studebaker’s Lark. In 1960 the Big Three joined the compact market with the Chevrolet Corvair, Ford Falcon and Plymouth Valiant. During the next few years, more and more compacts were introduced; by the mid-60’s the market continued to fragment as most manufacturers also offered mid-size models. Nonetheless, in one form or another, a Bonneville remained in Pontiac’s big-car lineup almost until the make’s demise in 2009..

  References:
- T. Burness, “American Car Spotters Bible” p. 680-681
- Encyclopedia of American cars, p 776
- http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/main.php?g2_itemId=69432&g2_page=2, pp 03, 13 & 14

Research by Mitch Grayson, LeMay Museum Research Staff Volunteer