Comments about this vehicle

Author	Message
Kowalski ◊ 2004-12-13 01:59	Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser
oldsdude ◊ 2005-10-18 06:35	Could be a Pontiac hard to tell? Taillamp looks like a Pontiac Parrisenne dont know if I spelling that right? -- Last edit: 2005-10-18 06:43:42 -- Last edit: 2005-10-18 07:24:08
antp ◊ 2005-10-18 10:16	"Parisienne"
G-MANN ◊ 2006-05-18 23:37	The thing is all the 80s American station wagon seem have been designed by the same person. And what was the deal with wooden side-panelling back then?
Hecubus ◊ 2006-05-19 00:19	The wood panelling is a throwback to the original station wagons, which were actually made of wood (at least in some part. But of course, this was a massive pain to take care of, so by the 50's, wood had been phased out in favour of metal bodies. But the wood panelling (I imagine all of which was fake) was kept around, I guess because people liked the look (it's probably worth noting that it was usually put on the top of the line model)
qwerty_86 ◊ 2006-05-19 06:07	I believe Pontiac wagons with wood panels added the submodel name of "Safari" so it'd be a Parisienne Safari.
Junkman ◊ 2006-05-19 12:56	qwerty_86 wrote I believe Pontiac wagons with wood panels added the submodel name of "Safari" so it'd be a Parisienne Safari. The 'Parisienne' moniker was only used for Pontiacs assembled and marketed in Canada, and I'm not sure if it was used on wagons at all. If it cannot be verified that this car was sold through the Canadian dealer network, then it simply is a Safari Station Wagon.
Junkman ◊ 2006-05-19 13:04	G-MANN wrote The thing is all the 80s American station wagon seem have been designed by the same person. And what was the deal with wooden side-panelling back then? Not all of them, but the 77-89 GM B-body wagons shared the body across all divisions (Buick Estate, Chevrolet Caprice, Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser, Pontiac Safari). They can only be told apart by the front clip, taillights, and wheel covers, provided they remained original. This sincerest form of badge-engineering gives us thirteen model years of lookalike wagons! Interestingly, prices differed vastly across this range of essentially the same cars. They were also often equipped with whatever engine was at hand, so you could end up with a Chevy-powered Buick or Olds-powered Pontiac. This even resulted in some law suits for GM when buyers found out their Buick was Chevy powered. -- Last edit: 2006-05-19 13:06:01
G-MANN ◊ 2006-05-19 13:36	I thought something like that might have happened, since most of America's car brands are owned by two corporations. How on Earth did people choose between a Buick, a Chevy, an Olds or Pontiac, when their cars all looked the same?
Junkman ◊ 2006-05-19 13:56	G-MANN wrote I thought something like that might have happened, since most of America's car brands are owned by two corporations. How on Earth did people choose between a Buick, a Chevy, an Olds or Pontiac, when their cars all looked the same? Same way Europeans chose between a VW Passat and an Audi 80, or between a Morris and an Austin. I would think there are three main decisive factors. -Brand loyalty. Despite the cars are essentially the same, the various brands do have significant 'meanings' to them in the US - prestige- and performance-wise. -Price. The Buick, second-highest in the GM hierarchy (after Cadillac), cost almost 40% more than the Chevy, which is considered the entry level make to GM ownership. -I'd rather buy a Chevy if there is a good Chevy dealer in town, than a Buick from a Buick dealer who is a known crook or miles away.
G-MANN ◊ 2006-05-19 15:05	There was more of a difference between the Audi 80 and the VW Passat, for one thing Audis are more prestigious than Volkswagens even if now they are in the same company. Which is meant to the be the best out of Chevy, Buick, Olds and Pontiac?
antp ◊ 2006-05-19 16:06	Chose between a Peugeot 806, Citroën Evasion, Fiat Ulysse or Lancia Zeta
Hecubus ◊ 2006-05-19 16:11	Buick is at the top of the GM hierarchy (well, below Cadillac, of course), followed by Oldsmobile, Pontiac, and then Chevy.
G-MANN ◊ 2006-05-19 16:14	Chevy is below Oldsmobile when it has the Corvette and the Camaro? What does Oldsmobile have?
Hecubus ◊ 2006-05-19 16:29	Hey, I never claimed it completely made sense. Pontiac is supposed to be GM's performance division, and yet the Corvette is locked in as GM's fastest car (while Pontiac got stuck with a couple of parts bin cars, and Burt Reynolds).
qwerty_86 ◊ 2006-05-19 20:48	junkman wrote The 'Parisienne' moniker was only used for Pontiacs assembled and marketed in Canada, and I'm not sure if it was used on wagons at all. If it cannot be verified that this car was sold through the Canadian dealer network, then it simply is a Safari Station Wagon. Actually, the Parisienne was sold in the US in the '80s. I've seen several Caprice-based Pontiacs badged as Parisiennes running around here and several in the junkyard. -- Last edit: 2006-05-19 20:49:31
qwerty_86 ◊ 2006-05-19 20:51	G-MANN wrote Chevy is below Oldsmobile when it has the Corvette and the Camaro? What does Oldsmobile have? Oldsmobile doesn't have anything anymore. They've been phased out. They used to be under Buick, but above Chevy and emphasized engineering and technology over design. The Olds 442 (the old RWD ones, not the FWD one) was the only sporty fast car they really made that was similar to the Covette and Camaro. The Toronado seemed to be their flagship vehicle with all sorts of technological gadgets followed by the Ninety-Eight as their luxury car. -- Last edit: 2006-05-19 20:55:54
JN_Parisienne ◊ 2006-12-04 10:04	Parisienne was sold under that name in Canada from '77 through '86. Bonnevilles were full size in the states, and became midsize, making Canada the only place to buy full-size Pontiac for a few years. Parisienne name made it's triumphant return to the states in '83-'86. That wagon is definitley a Pontiac (ribbing on the tailights). It is either a Bonneville or Parisienne Safari, depending on the year and country of origin. -- Last edit: 2006-12-04 10:05:24
Mackinac359 ◊ 2010-12-31 18:26	Parisienne and Laurentian were used for Canadian Pontiacs. In the USA we had Bonneville and Catalina. I once saw a Laurentian at the dealer that had Catalina on the trunk (car was new). In 1982 when GM downsized the Bonneville to the LeMans body, the dealers screamed bloody murder for not having a full size car or wagon to sell. In the Canadian market the Parisienne remained a full-size B body car sharing most everything with Impala and Caprice. In '83 for the USA they brought back the B body using the Canadian Parisienne name. The sedan was a mix of Chevrolet Caprice front clip (with Pontiac grille and hood ornament)and an Impala rear valance with unique Pontiac taillamps. Parisienne and Parisienne Brougham (usually 2 tone with thick body side molding and puffy seats with thick plush carpet). The wagon was a Caprice Estate with Pontiac grille, hood ornament, center spine, Pontiac tail lamps and nameplates. The base wagon was Parisienne, the woodgrain wagon was Parisienne Brougham. In '84 the wagon became a Parisienne Safari. In '85 the sedan returned to the '80-81 rear panels, decklid, bumper and taillamps, and the wagon returned to the wider woodgrain vinyl decal and thicker molding surrounding the woodgrain (which always faded to white after 2 years). The last 2 years of the wagon were just Safari.
goondocks ◊ 2015-05-11 23:26	Supposed to be the same as this: /vehicle_39254-Pontiac-Bonneville-Safari-1979.html

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1977 Pontiac Grand Safari

1977 Pontiac Grand Safari in Fight Club, Movie, 1999

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