Re: Bill Stephenson's SJ Grand Prix!
Wow, what a beautiful GP! Those 69-72 Grand Prix's were truly special cars, and John DeLorean was very proud of his personal luxury car. The all-new 1969 Grand Prix was another home run for Pontiac, and ushered in a new era of 'personal luxury' cars in the 1970's. The Grand Prix was soon followed by the Chevy Monte Carlo, then Ford (and the rest) developed their own personal luxury cars, using the Grand Prix long hood/short deck design, and sporty driver-focused cockpits.
The 1969 Grand Prix SHOULD have won the 1969 Motor Trend Car Of The Year. The criteria for the Car Of The Year is that a vehicle had to either be a new model, or a totally redesigned version of an existing model. Also, any significant design or technical advances, creating a new class of car, etc., would make a car a strong candidate for the Car Of The Year.
For 1968, it was a no-brainer for Motor Trend. The all-new GTO was a totally new design, revolutionary Endura bumper, hideaway headlights, it was the obvious choice. But Chrysler felt slighted because Motor Trend did not give the award to their new Road Runner. Granted, the 1968 Road Runner was also all-new, and it too created a new class of cars (the budget Musclecar), but the GTO edged it out...
In 1969, along comes another winner from Pontiac; the 1969 Grand Prix. Totally new design, and the term 'personal luxury' car was used to describe its unique niche in the market. The Grand Prix sold like hotcakes, and it's huge ironing board hood, short deck lid, and wraparound cockpit was very innovative and stylish. It was a shoe-in for the 1969 Motor Trend Car Of The Year. But Motor Trend gave the 1969 award to the Road Runner. Odd, considering the 1969 Road Runner was basically a carryover from 1968.
Another little bit of trivia on the 1969 Grand Prix. The 1969 Grand Prix offered a leather interior, unusual (but not unheard of) for a GM car at that time. The only other Pontiac that was available with the luxurious leather interior that year was the Firebird, and the only color choice was gold.
Very cool car, I love the 69-72 Grand Prix's! [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/Can-I-Have-It.gif[/img]
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