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Topic starter
28/01/2021 8:37 am
General Motors 1959 line-up to my eyes was one of the most beautiful array of cars for the Fifties decade. Each Brand had their own unique styling queues and PONTIAC was no exception. Many agree that after the chrome-riddled '58's, the '59's were a welcome sight.
I have the '59 GM line-up draped on a front wall in my garage that allows me to view them whenever I come or go from the garage. Seems like one Brand in the line-up always captures my attention, and last night it was the PONTIAC posters.
Some REAL CAR Pontiac Facts:
The 1959 Pontiac was part of General Motors "planned obsolescence" effort to create a new body design each year. The cars were completely changed and different looking from the previous years models.
PONTIAC'S new body style for '59 came with "Wide Tract" design giving it the widest stance of any car on the road at the time. The BONNEVILLE CONVERTIBLE sold for $2,867, but was the lowest production model of the PONTIAC series with only 4,673 leaving the factory.
The most popular of the BONNEVILLE models was the 4-door Hardtop with the famous Vista Dome styling (referred to most car buffs as the "Flat Top"). The car had an amazing production run of 38,696 cars that sold for $2,839.
PONTIAC of course also offered a low-price model with their attractive CATALINA 2-door Sedan selling for $2,111 and seeing 26,102 leave the assembly line. For the station wagon and family warranted car, the attractive CATALINA 9-passenger SAFARI could be had for $2,145 with 14,084 examples produced.
The CATALINA 4-door VISTA HARDTOP SEDAN was the second most popular seller in the Catalina series with a production run of 45,012 cars and a price-tag of $2,844. The STAR CHIEF series was still around with the least popular being the 4-door Sedan that saw 27,872 produced and selling for $3,005 in base form.
George Schire
Oakdale, Minnesota
28/01/2021 8:58 am
My all-time favorite Pontiac, and the illustrations really accentuate the "longer, lower, wider" styling of the '59.
In the mid-60s, a friend's family had a '59 Bonneville 4-door hardtop, just like the blue one pictured above. P O N T I A C was spelled out across the center of the lower portion of the dashboard, and the P and C were pull-out ashtrays for driver and passenger, respectively. My friend and I would switch them out to see how long it would take his Dad to notice that he was driving a CONTIAP 
Another great post, Thanks George!
This post was modified 5 years ago 6 times by Moe Parr
Barry Levittan
Long Island, NY
28/01/2021 9:26 am
The '59 Pontiac is a beauty and yes, the first year "Wide Track." As nice as it may be, I'd swap it for a '58 in a heartbeat.
Good going George, another great post.
John Bono
North Jersey
George Schire and George Schire reacted
28/01/2021 10:30 am
Thanks George! This post made me recall how amazed I was back in the day, even as a little kid, how the various car companies managed to produce such different designs of their cars every year. Then as I grew older and began to understand a bit more about car production I was even more impressed. Such changes seem to have started in 1958 and carried through to around 1965; albeit to a diminishing degree each year. It made for very exciting times every September for my group of car freaks though, as we excitedly toured the various dealerships, ogling the latest designs. After that it was the emerging pony and muscle cars that added to this excitement. What a great era!
28/01/2021 10:32 am
Much of the attraction of these Widetrack, Pontiac posters - right up through the '60s - is down to the extraordinary artwork of Fitzpatrick and Van Kaufman who are now woven into the fabric of U.S. popular culture alongside such greats as Norman Rockwell.
George Schire and George Schire reacted
Topic starter
28/01/2021 11:32 am
@moe-parr, LOL love the ashtray story. My dad would have never noticed. We always teased him about all the things he never saw. One time my brother and I removed a closet door in his bedroom and he never noticed it gone. We'd move pictures on the wall and he never noticed.
George Schire
Oakdale, Minnesota
Topic starter
28/01/2021 11:36 am
@jack-dodds, oh how I remember fondly those annual visits to the dealerships with my Dad in September and October each Fall. Seeing the new cars displayed was something I looked forward to, perhaps me more than my Dad. I know though, that because I enjoyed it, he made sure I we were able to make the visits. That he did it for me makes it even more special.
George Schire
Oakdale, Minnesota
28/01/2021 8:02 pm
@georgeschire A very nice memory for you to have George.
George Schire and George Schire reacted