2003 Pontiac Bonneville SE 4dr Sedan Shown
The Pontiac Bonneville was a constant sight on Pontiac’s dealership lots. Very few nameplates have lasted that long, and even fewer belonged to mainstream vehicles that were neither luxury nor sports cars. Like other long-lasting, everyman models from America’s domestic automakers, the Bonneville coil springs subsequently experienced the major trends that swept through its brand and the auto industry as a whole during its lifetime, serving as a telling chronicle of what we’ve driven over the years.
Named after the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah where many land speed record attempts are made, the first Pontiac Bonneville air suspension debuted in 1957 as a tail-finned, high-performance convertible based on the Star Chief. It was the brand’s top-line model and coupe, sedan and even wagon variants followed shortly thereafter. Through the late 1950s and ’60s, the Bonneville earned a reputation for being both luxurious and performance-oriented thanks to generous power outputs from some of its big, muscle-car-era V8s. Today, some of these early Bonnevilles are highly prized as collector cars.
As with other cars during the Nixon era, the Pontiac Bonneville lost its performance edge as new governmental regulations went into effect. The biggest change occurred after the second gas shortage of the 1970s, when for 1977 Pontiac downsized the Bonneville suspension into a more fuel-efficient, full-size car powered by V6 or V8 engines. In the early ’80s the nameplate hit an all-time low when it was affixed to GM’s midsize car platform, reducing the once-proud Bonneville to a gussied up LeMans. Another metamorphosis occurred in 1987, when the Bonneville returned to full-size status, atop GM’s new front-drive family car platform.
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