Pontiac Grand Ville

1972 Coupe

1972 Convertible

The Pontiac Grand Ville wis the tap-trim model in the diveesion's full-sized line frae 1971 tae 1975. It displaced the Pontiac Bonneville which haed served as Pontiac's flagship syne 1957.

The Bonneville itsel wis no discontinued durin this period, but wis demotit in status, in effect replacin the discontinued Pontiac Executive. The Grand Ville an Bonneville shared a nummer o trim an design elements that distinguisht them frae the Catalina, an wur in fact haurd tae tell apairt. It seems unlikely that maist buyers iver fully grasped the difference.

In addition tae mair luxurious interior trimmins, the Grand Ville uised the mair formal rooflines o the Oldsmobile 98, Buick Electra an Cadillac DeVille, the premium models o those diveesions. Thare wis uisually some distinctive chrome up front an taillicht trim at rear tae set it apairt. For 1974 anerlie, the Grand Ville haed its awn pairkin lichts, which wrapped aroond the corner o the front fender. The caur wis aften seen wi deluxe appearance options, sic as sport wheels an vinyl tops. Rear fender skirts wur featurt on the 1973 tae 1975 models.

Standard equipment on Grand Ville models included a 455 cubic-inch V8 ingine (1971-74 models, 400 cubic-inch V8 standard an 455 optional for 1975), Turbo Hydra-Matic transmission, power steerin an pouer front disc brakes. Popular options included air conditioning, power windaes an driver's seat, tilt steering wheel, cruise control, AM/FM stereo wi tape deck an muckle mair. Ane o the rarest options available on Grand Villes an ither full-sized Pontiacs durin this period wis the adjustable brake an accelerator pedals affered frae 1974 tae 1976.

Grand Ville enjoyed moderate success frae 1971 tae 1973. Housomeivver, the Arab Oil Embargo o late 1973 an early 1974 led tae petrol shortages, lang lines at fillin stations, an skyrocketin pump prices. Thir factors wad shairply cut intae full-sized caur sales in 1974 as Americans wur shunnin big gas guzzlers in favor o smawer mair fuel-efficient caurs. For 1975, the Grand Ville became the Grand Ville Brougham an includit mair staundart equipment than in previous years, sic as pouer windaes an a carpetit trunk. This wad be the final year for the Grand Ville series, which an aa includit Pontiac's last convertible till 1983. For 1976, the Grand Ville nameplate wis dropped an the lineup wis renamed Bonneville Brougham, returnin that nameplate back tae its umwhile flagship status.

Grand Ville convertibles wur rare in the years frae 1971 tae 1975, niver toppin 5,000 per year durin the model run. Frae 1973 tae 1975 the Grand Ville wis Pontiac's anerlie full-size convertible afferin, 1971 an 1972 full-size Pontiac convertibles wur affered in baith the entry level Catalina line an the posh Grand Ville line. Thare wur nae convertible Bonnevilles efter the 1970 model year. The rarest o the rare Grand Ville convertibles wis the 1971 model wi juist unner 1800 ensaumples biggit. The final year 1975 proved tae be the maist 'abundant' wi juist ower 4500 models biggit, as wird haed gotten oot that this wad be the final year o production. The Grand Ville convertible haed the lawest production amangst its corporate cousins, the Olds 88 Royale, Buick LeSabre/Centurion, Chevrolet Caprice Classic an Cadillac Eldorado convertible lines.