The Grand Prix, based on the
extended intermediate platform, remained the most expensive Pontiac coupe, also
after it stood on the 4-door wheelbase by 1973.
This was ‘corrected’ in 1975 at the arrival of the Grand Ville Brougham,
and after an equipment relapse in 1976, making the Grand Prix some 500$ less
expensive, all standard-size coupes became priced over the Grand Prix.
As usual, the Bonneville’s wheelbase
initially was stretched some inches over that of the Catalina, but this now was
in favor of the hood length, whereas at earlier models the extra space was in
front of the rear wheels, without benefiting to the rear compartment. This gave the Bonneville and Grand Ville the
honor of the GM standard-sized cars with the longest hood/deck ratio (the
smaller Grand Prix, categorized by Pontiac as full size, was champion of course
with a hood twice as long as the deck), but the DeVille by Cadillac had a
longer hood with another three inches before the cowl. However, after two years, Pontiac chose to
stick to the 124-inch wheelbase that was also used by the regular Buicks and
Oldsmobiles. At the same time, the Grand
Ville adopted rear fender skirts to distinguish it from the Bonneville.
The Grand Ville used an exclusive
formal roof for both hardtops, which in 2-door form created more room for the
rear passengers. By 1975 the roofs were
changed, eliminating the hardtop appearance at the 2-door (though still labeled
as Hardtop), and then shared with the Bonneville (which share had dwindled to
under 12%), together with the fender skirts.
4-door hardtops were no longer offered for the other series. Bonneville and Grand Ville (and Parisienne
Brougham in Canada) became equipped with rectangular headlamps, which were part
of the Catalina Custom package by 1976.
Grand Ville Brougham for 1975 and its 1976 successor Bonneville Brougham,
as well Grand Safari for both years, received a hood ornament.
As at other divisions, the top
Bonneville and Grand Ville could increase their share within the full-size line
from one third to close to a half.
Eventually, Bonneville’s share would grow to 5 out of every 6 in 1980,
due to its appealing looks with rear fender skirts, only shared by the
Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight since that year.
Canada traditionally built full size
Pontiacs starting on a lower level than in the USA, with the Laurentian now as
the basic model, next to the Parisienne receiving the Brougham suffix, and made
also models for the USA, which became available in Canada since 1970.
Under the skin:
Except
for the 1971 and 1972 Canadian Pontiac Laurentian, all full-size Pontiacs used
V8 engines. In the USA, even the Pontiac
V8 350 engine was skipped in 1972, and then released again for another year in
1974, confining to 400 and 455 V8s.
Canada, however would use Chevrolet V8 350 engines through the period,
mostly with 2 or 4 barrels. The 3-speed
manual option was halted in the USA in March 1971, but would continue through
1972 for the 6-cylinder in Canada.
Power
front disc brakes were standard from the start, but power steering was optional
in the first year. Radial tires were
used from 1975.
https://mjs.home.xs4all.nl/Pontiac%20full%20size.htm
https://mjs.home.xs4all.nl/Pontiac%20full%20size%20engines.htm