1975 Pontiac Grand Ville - Alfred's Ladder

 

The Pontiac Grand Ville was the top-trim model in the division's full-sized line from 1971 to 1975. It displaced the Pontiac Bonneville which had served as Pontiac's top-trim model since 1958.

 

The Pontiac Grand Ville is a great example of the Old General Motors. Or, in other words; the way things used to be at GM.

 

 

 

The Grand Ville sold moderately well from 1971 to 1973. However, the Arab Oil of late 1973 and early 1974 led to gasoline shortages, long lines at filling stations, and skyrocketing pump prices. These factors would sharply cut into full-sized car sales in 1974 as Americans shunned big gas guzzlers in favor of smaller more fuel-efficient cars.

 

Under the long tutelage of Alfred Sloan, the long time president, chairman and CEO of General Motors, GM had what was known as brand architecture,  a pecking order of makes within their ranks that could, in essence, accommodate a person from first car to last. Starting with humble Chevrolet and moving north with each succeeding vehicular need, customers moved up the ladder  through Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick and finally to Cadillac. Coincidence that so many ambulances and hearses were Cadillacs? 

 

 

For 1975, the Grand Ville became the Grand Ville Brougham and included more standard equipment than in previous years, such as power windows and a carpeted trunk. This would be the final year for the Grand Ville series, which also included Pontiac's last convertible until 1983. For 1976, the Grand Ville nameplate was dropped and the lineup was renamed Bonneville Brougham, returning that nameplate back to its former flagship status.

 

It's debatable how well that brand architecture ultimately worked seeing how brand loyal many consumers are. After all, if GM's "brands" were doing such a good job of distinguishing their brands from one another, then it would go to reason that if a Chevy man you'd have issue with moving to a Pontiac, Oldsmobile or other GM brands. People are loyal to brands, not companies. What can't be argued is GM's unbridled growth through 1920's, 30's 40's and 50's.

 

 

From 1971-1974, the Pontiac 455 was the only engine available. For 1975, a 400 engine was the standard engine with the 455 optional. With either engine in a car north of 4500 pounds, fuel economy, a sore subject then as it is now, was abysmal.  

 

GM's margins in the '50's were so great that they did everything and anything they could to stave off any reduction in profits. While platform sharing, where different cars share much mechanically, is the ideal way to operate a car company, problems arise when the lines are blurred between makes and models. Case in point, this Grand Ville, which is nothing more than a trim package of the less expensive Chevrolet Caprice. It also might as well be an Oldsmobile 88 and Buick LeSabre. Save for a slightly shorter wheelbase, it also might as well be a  Oldsmobile 98, Buick Electra or Cadillac DeVille. Familial resemblance was just too strong amongst those makes and models to make having all those makes and models, ultimately, make sound business sense.

 

 

The final year 1975 proved to be the most plentiful with just over 4,500 cars built, as word had gotten out that this would be the final year of production. The Grand Ville convertible had the lowest production amongst its corporate cousins, the Oldsmobile 88 Royale, Buick LeSabre/Centurion, Chevrolet Caprice and Cadillac Eldorado convertible lines.

  

Drive several of these cars back to back and you'd be hard pressed to be able to distinguish any difference in their driving dynamics. They're all big, floaty, wallowing, underpowered and braked. What were you paying a premium for in a Cadillac or Buick that you couldn't get in a Grand Ville or Caprice? As customers began to realize that the cars were very similar they began to ask the same question.

 

Grand Ville convertibles were rare in the years from 1971 to 1975, never topping 5,000 per year during the model run. 1975 was not only the last year for the Bonneville but for Pontiac convertibles. GM stopped production of all convertibles after 1976.

 

Following years of building little more than those trim packages of Chevrolets, GM pulled the plug on Pontiac as part of the reorganization following their 2008 bankruptcy.