The Pontiac Star Chief is an
automobile
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...
model which was manufactured by
Pontiac Pontiac may refer to:
*Pontiac (automobile), a car brand
*Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief
Places and jurisdictions Canada
*Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality
** Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...
between 1954 and 1966. It was Pontiac's top trim package on the
Pontiac Chieftain
The Pontiac Chieftain is an automobile which was produced by Pontiac (automobile), Pontiac from 1949 to 1958. The 1949 Chieftain and Pontiac Streamliner, Streamliner models were the first all new car designs to come from Pontiac in the post World W ...
, with later generations built on longer wheelbases, and serving as the foundation platform for the
Pontiac Bonneville
The Pontiac Bonneville is an automobile built by Pontiac (automobile), Pontiac from 1957 until 2005. Bonnevilles were full-size car, full-sized, with the exception of a brief period of mid-size car, mid-size between 1982 and 1986. The brand was in ...
. The car was easily identified by its chrome star trim along its sides, a feature all Star Chiefs were equipped with.
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First generation (1954)
Between 1954 and 1957, the Star Chief was Pontiac's prestige model and was based on the
Pontiac Chieftain
The Pontiac Chieftain is an automobile which was produced by Pontiac (automobile), Pontiac from 1949 to 1958. The 1949 Chieftain and Pontiac Streamliner, Streamliner models were the first all new car designs to come from Pontiac in the post World W ...
. In 1954, Pontiac also introduced air conditioning with all the components under the hood, a first for the price range.
Seat belts were added as options in 1956. The Star Chief was available in Deluxe and pricier Custom trim, with the top trim level hardtop called the
Catalina
Catalina may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''The Catalina'', a 2012 American reality television show
* ''Catalina'' (novel), a 1948 novel by W. Somerset Maugham
* Catalina (''My Name Is Earl''), character from the NBC sitcom ''My Name Is Earl''
...
.
Prior to the introduction of the Star Chief, all Pontiacs had shared the modest wheelbase of the Chevrolet since the beginning of Pontiac. The introduction of this new premier model in 1954 was the first application of the longer 123.5 inch (313.7 cm) wheelbase of the junior Oldsmobiles and Buicks to the Pontiac division. The car was still on the A platform, but with added towards the rear of the frame.
Power the first year came from Pontiac's venerable straight eight engine, with the six-cylinder not available. The eight produced in the Star Chief, five more than when fitted to other Pontiacs.
Second generation (1955-1957)
Along with an all-new body, the straight-eight was superseded by the new ''Strato Streak'' V-8 power in 1955.
Typical for the 1955 Pontiacs is the design with two wide "Silver Streaks" running the length of the hood. The hood ornament “Indian” was amber plastic that lit up when the headlights were turned on. Also for 1955, the new Star Chief
Safari
A safari (; ) is an overland journey to observe wild animals, especially in eastern or southern Africa. The so-called "Big Five" game animals of Africa – lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and Cape buffalo – particularly form an importa ...
two door hardtop wagon, which was similar to
Chevrolet
Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...
's
Bel Air Nomad, was introduced, shared with the
Pontiac Chieftain
The Pontiac Chieftain is an automobile which was produced by Pontiac (automobile), Pontiac from 1949 to 1958. The 1949 Chieftain and Pontiac Streamliner, Streamliner models were the first all new car designs to come from Pontiac in the post World W ...
. This variant lasted through 1957; after that the Safari name was used for all of the division's standard four door wagons. The Safari was introduced on January 31, 1955, over three months behind the rest of the 1955s. Prices listed for the Star Chief averaged at US$2,594 ($ in dollars ) and 203,404 were recorded to have been manufactured in 1955.
When the storyline of ''
I Love Lucy
''I Love Lucy'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning six seasons. The show starred Lucille Ball, her husband, Desi Arnaz, along with ...
'' pointed towards a
Hollywood setting in the 1954-1955 season, the characters drove (in episode 110, "California Here We Come") to the West Coast in a red on white 1955 Star Chief convertible, that in the previous episode "Lucy Learns to Drive" was "bumped together" with a 1922
Cadillac Type V-63
The Cadillac V-63 is a large luxury automobile that was introduced in September 1923 by Cadillac as a 1924 model, replacing the previous Type 61. It used the GM C platform and was replaced by the Cadillac Series 355 in 1931. It retained the na ...
. General Motors was a sponsor of the show and the Pontiac was used several times for
product placement
Product placement, also known as embedded marketing, is a marketing technique where references to specific brands or products are incorporated into another work, such as a film or television program, with specific promotional intent. Much of th ...
.
The Safari was not quite part of the Star Chief line, as it sat on the shorter Chieftain wheelbase. It was officially part of the "27 series", whereas the longer Star Chief received the "28 series" designation.
In January 1957, some time after the rest of the new models, the four-door "
Custom Safari Transcontinental" station wagon was introduced.
For 1956 the design was lightly revised, with heavier looking bumpers and a vertical slash on the front door above the swage line. In 1957, the high performance
Star Chief Custom Bonneville was introduced as part of its divisional head's push to raise the marque out of the doldrums. The silver streaks running down the hood were dropped for the new "Star Flight" design. All gauges were placed in an oval on the dash and the side trim had a missile-shaped spear behind the front door.
1955 Pontiac Starchief (15041199863).jpg, 1955 Pontiac Star Chief Custom Catalina
1956 Pontiac Star Chief 2 door Hardtop (8357640809).jpg, 1956 Pontiac Star Chief Two-door Catalina
Pontiac Star Chief 1957 4.jpg, 1957 Pontiac Star Chief
Third generation (1958)
![Pontiac Star Chief Catalina 1958](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/Pontiac_Star_Chief_Catalina_1958.jpg)
In 1958, the
Bonneville was first given its own position in the Pontiac lineup as the ultimate Pontiac, and was only available as a two-door
hardtop
A hardtop is a rigid form of automobile roof, which for modern cars is typically constructed from metal. A hardtop roof can be either fixed (i.e. not removable), Convertible#Detachable hardtop, detachable for separate storing or retractable ha ...
and two-door
convertible
A convertible or cabriolet () is a passenger car that can be driven with or without a roof in place. The methods of retracting and storing the roof vary among eras and manufacturers.
A convertible car's design allows an open-air driving expe ...
. While no longer Pontiac's prestige model, the Star Chief remained a well-appointed car, and the division's finest four door hardtops and sedans. The 1958 Star Chief received all-new bodywork and an updated chassis with an appearance that was shared with all GM cars for that year. The body was considerably longer and lower, and featured a new honeycomb grille design and twin headlamps.
The sedans and coupé models all shared the longer 124 inch wheelbase, while the Custom Safari model remained on a chassis two inches shorter, shared with the lesser
Chieftain
A tribal chief or chieftain is the leader of a tribe, tribal society or chiefdom.
Tribe
The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Afroeurasia.
Tribal societies are sometimes categori ...
.
In spite of the new bodywork, sales of the 1958 Star Chief dropped precipitously; down by around 60% while Pontiac's overall sales dropped by more than a third. 1958 was also the year the "Silver Streak" styling feature was no longer offered, which was first used in 1933.
![1958 Pontiac Star Chief Custom Safari](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ad/1958_Pontiac_Star_Chief_Custom_Safari.jpg)
The engine was updated from the unit used in 1957 to a slightly bored out version. Power only increased marginally, to for the manual version, while the most powerful "PM" option was now up to .
Fourth generation (1959-1960)
In 1959, when the Bonneville gained a full range of body styles, the Star Chief was limited to sedans and hardtops, while the Bonneville and the new
Catalina
Catalina may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''The Catalina'', a 2012 American reality television show
* ''Catalina'' (novel), a 1948 novel by W. Somerset Maugham
* Catalina (''My Name Is Earl''), character from the NBC sitcom ''My Name Is Earl''
...
models received the lion's share of Pontiac's attention in the marketplace. In 1959, the Star Chief made 17.97% of Pontiac sales.
This was also the first year of the "wide-track" Pontiacs with a front tread width of and rear tread width of .
In 1960, the new
Ventura was introduced, and the Star Chief was thereafter limited to four door sedans and hardtops. This was a novel, but unsuccessful approach. The Star Chief was equipped and powered in a manner similar to the lower-priced, slightly smaller
Catalina
Catalina may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''The Catalina'', a 2012 American reality television show
* ''Catalina'' (novel), a 1948 novel by W. Somerset Maugham
* Catalina (''My Name Is Earl''), character from the NBC sitcom ''My Name Is Earl''
...
series.
The Ventura was more lavishly equipped in the manner of the high-line
Bonneville, but was available with only two doors and rode the
Catalina
Catalina may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''The Catalina'', a 2012 American reality television show
* ''Catalina'' (novel), a 1948 novel by W. Somerset Maugham
* Catalina (''My Name Is Earl''), character from the NBC sitcom ''My Name Is Earl''
...
's slightly shorter wheelbase. This gave sedan buyers of modest means a larger choice than Catalina for only slightly more money, and gave upscale coupe buyers a lighter, sprightlier alternative to the big Bonneville. The Ventura lasted only through 1961, and was replaced by the even sportier new
Grand Prix
Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour
Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to:
Arts and entertainment ...
. The Star Chief continued to be available only with four doors through the end of production. Compared to the Catalina, the Star Chief was equipped only very slightly more lavishly; the major additional interior feature was the electric clock.
Fifth generation (1961-1964)
For 1962, Pontiac offered a Super Duty V8 with two four-barrel carburetors, rated at , as a US$2,250 option as the base Star Chief listed at US$3,097 ($ in dollars ).
[Flory, J. "Kelly", Jr. ''American Cars 1960-1972'' (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Coy, 2004), pp.191 & 193.] A rare option, it was probably never ordered on this somewhat heavy sedan. As in the other Pontiac series, the 4-door
hardtop
A hardtop is a rigid form of automobile roof, which for modern cars is typically constructed from metal. A hardtop roof can be either fixed (i.e. not removable), Convertible#Detachable hardtop, detachable for separate storing or retractable ha ...
was designated the Star Chief Vista. Bonneville taillights and the three chrome stars on each side continued to distinguish the car from the Catalina. The stars were located either on the roof or rear fender, depending on year. No wagons were offered. All
Safari
A safari (; ) is an overland journey to observe wild animals, especially in eastern or southern Africa. The so-called "Big Five" game animals of Africa – lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and Cape buffalo – particularly form an importa ...
wagons during this period (including the Bonneville Safari) rode the four and a half inch shorter wheelbase shared by
Chevrolet
Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...
and Catalina.
File:1962 Pontiac Star Chief (27508494900).jpg, 1962 Pontiac Star Chief 4-door Sedan
File:1963 Pontiac Star Chief (19046151442).jpg, 1963 Pontiac Star Chief 4 Door Sedan
File:Classic Days 2019, Berlin (CDB90020).jpg, 1964 Pontiac Star Chief 4 Door Sedan
Sixth generation (1965-1966)
![1966 Pontiac Star Chief Executive (14295605630)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/1966_Pontiac_Star_Chief_Executive_%2814295605630%29.jpg)
For 1966, the car was renamed the Star Chief Executive as the first step towards retiring the name, which by the mid-1960s had become dated. For 1967, Pontiac dropped the Star Chief name for United States sales and renamed the mid-priced model the
Executive
Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to:
Role or title
* Executive, a senior management role in an organization
** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators
** Executive dir ...
.
In
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, Pontiac models used Chevrolet drivelines for greater economy. To ensure that used car buyers in the U.S. were not sold less expensive Canadian models, different series names were used. The Canadian equivalent to the Star Chief was called Laurentian. Nonetheless, Pontiac offered a similarly-named series called the Strato Chief, but this model was the lowest-priced big Canadian Pontiac.
References
{{Pontiac Early Timeline
Star Chief
Rear-wheel-drive vehicles
Full-size vehicles
Convertibles
Coupés
Sedans
Station wagons
1950s cars
1960s cars
Motor vehicles manufactured in the United States