Pontiac Bonneville

Pontiac Bonneville

Pontiac Bonneville was a full size automobile build by General Motors division – Pontiac. The production of the vehicle began in 1957 and continued until it was cancelled in 2005. Pontiac Bonneville at first was introduced as a limited performance convertible in 1957. In Canada Bonneville was known as Parisienne, until they renamed it to Bonneville in 1982. Two different classes of Pontiac Bonneville were introduced. It was produced as a both full-size and a mid-size vehicle. However, the latter one production only lasted for 4 years, from 1982 to 1986, so the vehicle is usually associated as a full size automobile. There were 10 different generations of the Pontiac Bonneville!

First generation

In 1958 Bonneville became a separate model and it marked the beginning of the first generation of Pontiac Bonneville.  The vehicle was available as both a two door hardtop and a convertible. The Pontiac Bonneville was actually used as a pace care in Indianapolis 500 in 1958. The vehicle was made with a 300 horsepower 220 kilo watts V8 engine and was considered an expensive vehicle at that time.

Second Generation

In 1959 the second generation of Pontiac Bonneville was introduced. It became a full top line series and two new additional body styles were added: four door sedan and a four door station wagon. The production continued till 1960 when it was cancelled.

Third generation

The third generation Pontiac Bonneville model began its production in 1961 and was produced till 1964. The Bonneville remained to be Pontiacs most luxurious and most expensive model throughout the 1960s. Pontiac Bonneville had an even more luxurious interior. There were 6 different body styles offered of the third generation Bonneville: two door convertible, two door hardtop, four door hardtop, four door sedan and a four door station wagon.

Fourth generation

From 1965 to 1970 the fourth generation of Pontiac Bonneville was produced. The new General Motors corporate edict took effect which meant that all Tri Power engines were discontinued. That year larger V8 engines were made standard for Bonneville. Also in 1967 the carburetion was changed.

Fifth generation

In 1971 the fifth generation of Pontiac Bonneville was introduced and the production lasted for five years, till it was discontinued in 1976. The Pontiac Bonneville moved down in the model hierarchy and it replaced the previously existed Pontiac Executive. The fifth generation Bonneville was offered in three different body styles: four door hardtop, two door coupe and a four door sedan. Even though in 1971 Bonneville moved down in the line of model hierarchy, however in 1975 it once again became a luxury vehicle when the new Pontiac Bonneville Brougham model was introduced.

Sixth generation

The beginning of 1977 marked a new generation of Bonneville vehicles. The sixth generation lasted from 1977 to 1981. The Pontiac Bonneville continued its duties as the downsized big car. It also came in three different body styles: two door coupe, four door sedan and four door station wagon. In 1980 the sixth generation Pontiac Bonneville received a new styling and aerodynamic improvements as well as the reduced weight. The standard engine in this generation vehicle was a V8 135 horsepower engine. The production of the vehicle only lasted for four years because of the economic recession that began in 1979. The end of the sixth generation Pontiac Bonneville marked the end of all Pontiac V8 engines and from that point, the division would use Chevrolet engines.

Seventh generation

Even though the full sized Pontiacs were discontinued, the name Bonneville didn’t go anywhere and it replaced the midsized LeMans. The reason behind such a decision was that General Motors believed that well-known name would increase the sales of the vehicle. The model was produced between 1982 and 1986 and the vehicle was known as “Bonneville Model G”. It had two different body styles: four door sedan and a five door station wagon.  With the seventh generation, General Motors began marketing the Pontiac Bonneville in Canada too.  Seventh generation Bonnevilles are direct descendants of 1964 Pontiac Tempest. Even though the seventh generation of Pontiac Bonneville marked another downsizing of the vehicle, in 1983 the new full-sized model was introduced. The Bonneville once again was one notch below the top.

Eight generation

The eight generation of the Pontiac Bonneville began in 1987 and it lasted till 1991. The vehicle came only as a four door sedan. It had a four speed automatic transmission and a 3.8 liter engine. Also, the 1990 models had a remote keyless entry and a compact disc player added to the options list for all models. The facelift model made in 1990 had different lights put in, compared to the previous models.

Ninth generation

The ninth generation of Pontiac Bonneville was produced between 1992 and 1999. It once again had a one body style; it was a four door sedan. The new 1992 model had the interior and the exterior of the vehicle completely changed. The new Bonneville came in standards with driver airbags and ABS was available in the sport appearance package. In 1993 the Spurt Luxury Edition was offered. The new edition was an SE sub trim, with more options such as leather seats, electronic climate control, and automatic headlights and such. In the 1994 models passengers’ airbags became a standard. The 1996 received exterior changes. Headlights, tail lights, lower body claddings were drastically changed.

Tenth generation

In 2000 the Pontiac Bonneville was once again redesigned. The new Bonneville had improvements made in the engineering and the technology, which Pontiac dubbed “luxury with attitude”. The vehicle came in one body style; it was produced as a four door sedan. The Bonneville regained V8 option on the GXP trim, its first since 1986. Vehicle was highly rated for its safety; NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) gave the safety of the driver four stars and the safety of the front passenger five stars. The production lasted till 2005, when General Motors announced, that it would dropped from Pontiacs lineup. Only about 12,000 Bonnevilles were sold in 2005.