The 1962 Pontiac Bonneville remained the division's priciest and most luxurious model and contributed to the entrenchment of Pontiac as one of the top three automotive brands in Detroit's performance sweepstakes. Pontiac named its Bonneville after the famous Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah and after its bubble-topped 1954 GM Motorama concept car. The first road-going Bonneville was a high-performance and expensive convertible in the 1957 Star Chief line. A total of 630 examples were produced that year, and its role expanded for 1958, being applied to the top-level 300 horsepower 370 cubic-inch V8-powered two-door hardtops and convertible. It became a full-top-line series for 1959.
Pontiac would use the Bonneville name through the 1960s, representing its most luxurious model and built on General Motor's longer wheelbase full-size B-Body architecture.
Body styles on the 1962 model included a four-door Vista hardtop, two-door hardtop, convertible, and a six-passenger Custom Safari station wagon. The station wagon came with pleated Morrokide upholstery in two-tones, a concealed luggage locker, and was the most expensive Pontiac, priced at $3,630. The two-door hardtop listed for $3,350 and the convertible was priced at $3,570. A total of 4,527 examples of the station wagon were built, 21,582 of the convertible and 44,015 of the Vista Hardtop.
Bonneville's could be optioned with the Tri-Power (three two-barrel carburetors) 389 and 421 CID V8 engines, and some were equipped with the 405 horsepower 421 CID twin four-barrel Super Duty V8. Bonnevilles equipped with the manual transmission came standard with a 389 CID, four-barrel V8 with 8.6:1 compression and 235 horsepower at 3,600 RPM. The Bonneville with an automatic transmission came standard with a four-barrel 389 CID V8 with 10.25:1 compression and 305 horsepower at 4,600 RPM. With three two-barrel carburetion and 10.75:1 compression, the 389 CID V8 could produce upwards of 348 hp. The 421 CID V8 with 11.0:1 compression and two four-barrel carbs produced 405 hp at 5,600 RPM.
Standard equipment on the Bonneville's included Morrokide or optional all-leather upholstery, rear foam cushions, padded dash, courtesy lights, deluxe wheel discs, electric clock, dual speed wipers, and sun visors.
The Pontiac Bonneville Third Generation (1961 to 1964)
The Bonneville received all-new styling for 1961, shrinking slightly with a 123-inch wheelbase (down by one inch), a width of 78.7 (two inches smaller) inches, and a length of 218.9 inches (decrease of about two inches). It continued to used the company's B-Body platform with a front-engine, rear-wheel drive configuration. The smaller footprint was attributed to the new perimeter frame design, which also helped in reducing weight. Pontiac introduced a new compact model called the Tempest in 1961, catering to the small car market and expanding the company's portfolio of models. Styling updates included a protruding twin grille theme, taller rooflines, squared-off bodies, and small tailfins. The Bonneville was the senior model and endowed with more luxurious interior trim, upgraded cloth and upholstery, and more standard features. They had a more powerful standard V8 engine than other full-size Pontiacs, and for 1963 only, the top offering was the 421 cubic-inch Super Duty with two four-barrel carburetors offering 425 horsepower.
The Pontiac Bonneville Fourth Generation (1965 to 1970)
Pontiac restyled its B-Body line in 1965 with more pronounced 'Coke Bottle' styling, fastback rooflines (on coupes), twin air-slot grilles, vertically stacked headlamps, v-shaped hoods, and curved side glass. The wheelbase was longer, now measuring 124 inches and growing to 125 inches in 1969. Engine options throughout this generation of styling included the 389, 421, 400, 428, and 455 CID.
In 1965, Motor Trend awarded the Pontiac Motor Division the 'Car of the Year' award.
The Bonneville nameplate would remain part of the Pontiac line for many years and through ten generations of styling. On February 8, 2005, GM announced that the Bonneville would be dropped from Pontiac's lineup for 2006. The last Bonneville was assembled on May 27, 2005.
by Dan Vaughan