1965 Pontiac Bonneville

By 1965, the Pontiac Bonneville was a household name, having joined the lineup as a separate model in 1958. The name was sourced from the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, where many of the world's land speed record runs had been set. Its storied introduction began on the 1954 Motorama concept car circuit as a bubble-top two-seat sports model that did not see production. The name was revived in 1957 as a specialty convertible in the Custom Star Chief life, with just 630 examples built, allocated one to a dealer. The limited original production was followed by an ascension to the pinnacle of the marque's marketing program during the mid-1960s

For 1958, Bonneville became a full-fledged series, comprising a convertible and a hardtop coupe. In 1959, all General Motors cars were redesigned with Pontiac having the sole distinction of a 'Wide Track' chassis. Now called 'Bonneville Custom,' a four-door Vista hardtop was added to the list of available body styles, along with a new 389 cubic-inch engine with a four-barrel carburetor. Bonnevilles equipped with Hydra-Matic transmissions had 10.0 to 1 compression, which resulted in 300 bhp with four-barrel carburetion.

The full-size Bonneville was given a fresh design for 1963, with vertically stacked headlights and a deeper recessed grill. A new fourth generation of styling was introduced for the B-Body Pontiacs in 1965 with even more pronounced 'Coke Body' styling. They shed their body side moldings but gained V-shaped front fender badges and Bonneville block lettering on the rear fenders. Ribbed moldings were added along the rocker panels, enhancing its aesthetic appeal. The length of 222.6 had grown by eight inches, and its wheelbase measured 124 inches. The interior received new dashboard styling and instrumentation, along with new upholstery. Body styles on the Star Chief included a sedan and four-door hardtop, while the 1965 Bonneville included a two- and four-door hardtop, a convertible, and a station wagon.

Styling

The 1965 Pontiac Bonneville wore 'Bonneville' identification on the left-hand side of the hood and on the rear fenders. An elongated V-shaped badge rested behind the front wheel cutouts, and stainless steel accent panels traversed the lower body, beneath the fin-shaped crease. The elegant and attractive styling was well received by the public and media alike, earning Motor Trend's 'Car of the Year' award.

Body Styles, Pricing, and Production

The two-door hardtop was priced at $3,290, and the four-door hardtop listed for $3,360. Pontiac built 44,030 of its two-door and 62,480 of its four-door hardtop. Twenty-one thousand fifty were convertibles at a base price of $3,500. The station wagon was the most expensive in the lineup, priced at $3,560, and 6,460 examples were built.

Mechanical Specification

Engines

The Bonneville and Grand Prix came standard with an overhead-valve, 389 cubic-inch V8 engine with five main bearings, hydraulic valve lifters, a Carter four-barrel carburetor, 10.5:1 compression ratio, and delivered 333 horsepower at 5,000 RPM and 429 lbs-ft of torque with the manual transmission. With the Turbo Hydra-Matic automatic transmission, the standard 389 CID V8 produced 325 hp and 429 lbs-ft of torque.

The 389 cubic-inch V8 with a two-barrel carburetor and 8.5:1 compression was available as a no-cost option. It came with a Turbo Hydra-Matc and produced 256 horsepower.

With three two-barrel carburetors and a 10.75:1 compression ratio, the 389 CID V8 produced 338 horsepower and 433 lb-ft of torque. Known as the poor man's Tri-Power, this setup boosted the base price by $133.

The 421 CID V8 with 10.5 compression and a four-barrel carburetor produced 338 horsepower and 459 lb-ft of torque. With 10.75:1 compression, output rose to 356 hp. The 421 High Output V-8 option was listed at $376 and produced 376 horsepower.

Transmission

A synchromesh transmission was standard, and GM's Turbo Hydra-Matic 400 was optional (and new for the 1965 Pontiac). Manual transmission options included a three-speed and a four-speed unit; the three-speed was standard on all available engines, except the 389 CID V8 with 325 hp. The shift lever was positioned on the steering column but could be moved to the console for Bonnevilles with bucket seats, or to the floor (which came with a Hurst linkage). The four-speed manual was a $231 option and was not available with column-mounted shift controls. Like the three-speed, the floor-mounted four-speed used a Husrt linkage system.

Unlike the previous fluid-coupling-based Super-Hydramatic, the three-speed Turbo-Hydramatic 400 used a torque converter, and its shifting pattern was changed to a more modern 'P-R-N-D-S-L.' This transmission was a $231 option, except for the 325 hp 398.

Dimensions, Suspension and Brakes

The 1965 Pontiac Bonneville had a 124-inch wheelbase, an overall length of 2226 inches, and a width of 79.7 inches. The suspension was independent with coil springs, A-arms and tubular shocks. The Hypoid uit with semi-floating rear axles was standard, and a wide range of differential gear ratios were offered, depending on the engine and transmissions selected.

- A 3.23:1 ratio was used for most three-speed manual and engine combinations.

- The three-speed manual had a 3.42 gear ratio with the 421 CID V8 with 376 hp

- The four-speed had a 3.42:1 gear ratio

- The Turbo Hydra-Matic ranged from 2.41:1 to 3.23:1

Additionally, a list of optional ratios was available depending on the engine selected.

Cast-iron drum brakes measured 11 inches in diameter at the front and rear, with the rear drums having a 2-inch depth while the fronts measured 2.75 inches. The front brake linings gained a 10 percent increase over the 1964 Bonneville.

The Bonneville Brougham

Pontiac offered the Bonneville Brougham option for an additional $161, adding Ponchartrain cloth and Morrokide upholstery, 'Brougham by Fisher' roof pillar badges, and a Cordova top. Standard equipment included fender skirts on the passenger cars, Deluxe wheel discs, Deluxe steering wheel, dual-speed wipers, courtesy lamps, armrests, padded assist grip, padded instrument panel, and an electric clock. The standard interior was cloth and vinyl upholstery combinations.

Pontiac built a combined 134,020 examples of its Bonneville for 1965, accounting for approximately seventeen percent of the company's total production, the highest single-year Bonneville production up to this point in history, and nearly 14,000 more than the previous year. Sales increased slightly the following year to 135,331 units.

The Bonneville would remain part of the Pontiac lineup through 2005.

by Dan Vaughan

To celebrate General Motors' 50th Anniversary 'Golden Jubilee', all stops were pulled out by the designers on the 1958 Pontiac Bonneville Sport Coupe, undoubtedly one of the flashiest of all 1950's vehicles. A one-year-only body was featured as a final statement by longtime GM styling chief Harley Earl before his retirement. The entire 1958 lineup literally sparkled chrome. Unique two-tone exterior color combo's and deluxe interiors were showcased on interiors on all 58 models from Chevrolet's, Pontiacs, Buick, Oldsmobile, and Cadillacs. Their motto for this year was 'The Boldest Advance in Fifty Years!'

Semon E. 'Bunkie' Knudsen became Pontiac's new general manager in the summer of 1956 and soon after he hired Pete Estes and John DeLorean. Huge changes were in the works for Pontiac. First introduced as mainly a dealer promotion vehicle, that attempted to highlight Pontiac's new high-performance image, the original Bonneville was a largely flashy convertible with a highly powered V8 engine generating 310 horsepower.

Originally introduced as a limited production performance convertible in the Pontiac Star Chief model range during the 1957 model year, the Bonneville eventually became its own series in 1958. Historically based on the Cadillac DeVille, the Bonneville was built by the Pontiac division of General Motors from 1958 until 2005. Pontiac has been best known for its performance vehicles, especially since the introduction of the Bonneville I 1957. Perhaps a little flashier and faster than a Chevrolet, it is still cheaper than an equivalent Oldsmobile or Buick. That has remained Pontiac's mission.

First appearing in 1954 on a pair of bubble-topped GM Motorama concept vehicles called the Bonneville Special, the Bonneville name first entered the lineup as the Star Chief Custom Bonneville, which was a high-performance, fuel-injected luxury convertible late during the 57 model year. The very first Bonneville was a spectacular, chrome-laden convertible with a continental-style spare wheel mounting, fuel-injected engine. It came with an eight-power front seat, under-seat heater, defroster electric antenna, and many more unique and exclusive features.

During that first year, only a total of 630 units were produced. This small amount made it the most collectible Pontiac of all time, especially since it cost twice the amount of the star Chief convertible. The Bonneville has persisted and remained as the division's top of the line model until 2005. Many speed records were being set at the Utah salt flats, and the name was created from the town of Bonneville, the place of much auto racing, and most of the world's land speed record runs.

The public must have liked both the car and its name became in 1958, a coupe was added into the lineup as Bonneville expanded into its own series. This year it paced the Indianapolis 500. Offering 225 hp an 285 hp V8 engines, the Bonneville sat atop the Pontiac range, also offering a deluxe steering wheel, unique upholstery, and chrome wheel covers. The Bonneville also featured wraparound windshields and rear window, two-toning on the roof, and long striking side spear plus chrome hash marks placed on the front fenders.

During its third year, the 1959 Bonneville gained a 4-door body style along with a nearly complete line in itself. The Pontiac Wide-Track was born in 1959 when all Pontiac makes and models received new chassis with 'wide-track' stance. During this year, the introduction of two of Pontiac's greatest marketing inspirations was showcased, the split grille, and the Wide Track slogan, both are still part of Pontiac's image to this day.

Sales peaked in 1966 at 135,401 units sold. In 1969, the main highlight became the new V8 engine that provided 360 horsepower. Considered Pontiac's most expensive and most luxurious model throughout the 1960s, the Bonneville was extremely instrumental in moving Pontiac to third place in sales from 1962 until 1970. Bonneville's constantly received updates, changes, and restyling, along with new features for all of its trim models throughout the 1970's.

During the early 1970's, the Grand Ville name was being used for Pontiac's highest-price model, and though the Bonneville was de-emphasized slightly, it never went away. In 1976, the Bonneville emerged in the top spot. This was the final year before the down-sized full-sized Pontiacs began to appear in 1977.

The Bonneville nameplate was quite abruptly moved from a full-size vehicle to the mid-sized car in 1982. The mid-sized car was previously known as the Pontiac LeMans. This change was not taken to very well by customers, so Pontiac was forced to reintroduce a full-sized vehicle. They brought over the Canadian-built Pontiac Parisienne, which was basically a restyled Chevy Caprile that was powered by a Chevrolet V6 or V8 engine. Once again, Bonneville was placed one notch below the top of the line.

Just like the previous time, downsizing became the salvation that the Bonneville needed. The Parisienne was discontinued in 1987, and the Bonneville was redesigned completely as a front-wheel-drive vehicle and once again rejoined in pre-1982 platform buddies, the Buick LeSabre and the Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight. It again regained its status as the senior Pontiac and the SE Bonneville was placed on Car and Driver magazine's Ten Best list for that year.

The decision was made by Pontiac to change the Bonneville from rear-wheel drive with a V8 engine to a more economical front-wheel drive 3.8 V6 vehicle in 1987. The V6 that was installed was a 3.8L V6 with the RPO code of LG3. A dive in the performance market soon followed, as this engine only produced around 150 hp, though it had a kick of 210 ft-lbs of torque power.

The following model that was introduced in 1989, the Bonneville LE may have been Pontiac's attempt to add a bit more of pep and pizazz to the Bonneville line. This new model moved up to 15 hp and 10 ft-lbs of torque, and this engine has the RPO code of LN3. The Bonneville was once again redesigned in 1991, though it did remain as an H-body.

A total redesign was done in 1992 to the exterior of the Bonneville, though the interior experienced very few changes. The LE trim was also taken off the lineup. Available trims for 1992 were SE, SSE, and SSEi, and airbags now came as standard features in Bonnevilles. Nearly 100,000 Bonneville models were sold in 1992.

Things once again changed in 1993, though the exterior remained the same, the interior did go through a slight update. A sport Luxury Edition was made available for '93, which was basically a base SE, with an SSE exterior, an all of the same available options as an SE. Much remained unchanged for the 1994 model. Much of the vehicle has remained the same throughout the next few years, making way for a total redesign for the 2002 model year.

The Bonneville regained a V8 option on the GXP trim for 2004, which has been a first since 1986. On February 8, 2005, GM announced that the Bonneville would be dropped from Pontiac's lineup for 2006. The high-end Pontiac Grand Prix GXP trim replaced the Bonneville.

For many years, the vehicle fondly called the 'Bonne', the Pontiac Bonneville has showcased a mix of luxury, performance with the aid of a supercharged 3.8-liter engine.

by Jessican Donaldson