“For years now, our full-sized Pontiac Catalina has been known for innovative styling, outstanding performance, advanced features and great trade-in value, all at an easy Pontiac price. If you’ll forgive a touch of immodesty, it’s even better for ’72.” So says a brochure showing this 1972 Pontiac Catalina Brougham Coupe. The seller has it posted here on craigslist in beautiful Sonora, California and they’re asking $9,500. Here is the original listing, and thanks to T.J. for the tip!
What a great-looking car. I wish the seller had photos of this nice hardtop coupe body style with the windows open, but no luck. It appears to be a really nice car and the seller says that it has 57,699 miles and it sure looks like a low-mile car. Pontiac offered what they referred to as the Series 252 cars from 1971 through 1976 in a four-door sedan, four-door hardtop, a two-door hardtop as with this car, a two-door convertible, and a four-door station wagon.
At almost 19 feet in length, this car isn’t for the faint of heart, or for those who have trouble backing up or driving without using the side mirrors. The seller mentions having a set of brand-new in-the-box (or, boxes) original wheel covers that go with the sale of this Springfield Green Catalina Brougham. Even with federally mandated 5-mph bumpers, I think this is a pretty crisp and clean design.
I don’t see a flaw inside this 4,300-pound car. A friend of mine had one just like this but in a light tan color when we were in high school and it was a monster, especially when I borrowed it one time and had to keep putting a dollar or two of gas in it, several times… Typical cheap teenager. The seats are more luxurious in the Brougham, with “hand-fitted” Catalina cloth, and they look great, but I can’t tell if the seat bottom in the front is faded or if it was replaced at some point. It seems to be much lighter than the seat back and the back seat, which we don’t get a clear photo of but can see in the last photo. My dad had a 1970 Olds 98 with these same green brocade seats, this brings back a lot of memories.
The engine is Pontiac’s 400-cu.in. OHV V8, which would have been factory-rated at 175 horsepower and 310 lb-ft of torque when new for the two-barrel version. It sends power through a Turbo-Hydramatic 400 three-speed automatic to the rear wheels. Expect about an 11-second 0-60 time and 11 mpg, ouch. I just sold a vehicle with 550 hp, a 4.5-second 0-60 time, and 15 mpg. Technology has advanced quite a bit since 1972 and that doesn’t mean that this Catalina isn’t a great buy and a great car. Have any of you owned a Catalina from this era?
These are still great looking cars. Comfortable and smooth on the road with room for real size people. Sure there are cars that deliver 4 second to 60 times but you can only go so fast before LEO wants to discuss your driving privileges. Let me drive this instead. I’ll be along in a minute.
Love this land yacht, but seriously, what were the Big 3 thinking back in the 70’s that pea green would be a great car color? Reminds me of the same color shag carpeting we had in our house back in the day…!
Sadly Pontiac, like so many other great Marques, are gone. Also gone are aspirational names like Catalina, Ambassador, Fleetwood, GRAND anything, Imperial, Brougham, et al. Replaced by combining letters and numbers just as bland as the vehicles that wear them! 😳. I had a 1974 Grand Ville and 1980 Bonneville Brougham, both luxurious and beautiful!
Love the color- bet a weekend compounding, waxing and polishing would have that ol girl looking like new glwta
Not a Brougham! This is a standard 2 door Catalina Coupe with a vinyl top.
Rob, I believe this is in fact a Brougham. The Brougham has the same seats that are in this car, along with the “bright-metal moldings” around the wheel wells that are shown on this car.
The Brougham was a Catalina with sort of Bonneville interior and exterior features. The biggest tell is the three spoke steering wheel in place of that gawd awful two spoke.
72 only had 2.5 mph front bumper, 5 mph was 1973 for front, 2.5 for rear, 1974 5 mph for front and rear
I didn’t think ’72 had any bumper requirement.
I believe for ’72 it was 2.5 mph just up front – very reasonable.
Thanks for that update, John. And, thanks for not yelling or otherwise being angry…
From Wiki: “For 1972, Catalinas and other full-sized Pontiacs received new Grand Prix-style “V” nose grilles and sturdier front bumpers that could withstand crashes of up to 5 mph (8.0 km/h), a year ahead of the Federal standard that took effect in 1973…”
Didn’t Olds and Pontiac debut the impact absorbing bumper a year early? Marketing advantage, maybe?
I love this one! Lose the whitewalls, put some nice wheels on her, and cruise the weekends away!!
What a great car! Dad’s second new car was a 1976 Catalina 4 door (first was a 1969 Laurentian). I loved both of them, and learned to drive on the 76. I recall as a Grade 11 kid on Boxing Day in 1983 coming home from a reasonably successful date with a former Miss Octoberfest (well, I thought it was successful, but there was no follow up!) driving the 76 back from dropping her off at her parents house. It had snowed a couple of inches that night and the plows and salters were not out yet. I took the corner at the intersection of Ripplewood and Cyprus in a lurid, full-out 2-lane slide; it was late at night in a residential area where there was not a car to be seen so I was going at it with some conviction. This was a right hand corner of about 110 degrees, so a fairly tight lane on exit. Pleased with my prowess but determined to do better, I did a u-turn and went back around the corner. On the next approach at a higher rate of speed, I was even further out when the left rear wheel hit the curb just a bit: it snap-hooked the car hard to the left and over the curb into an oak tree. I smashed the left hand front bumper into the fender but no other damage.
I got home a few minutes later and walked into my parents bedroom to tell them I had fallen off the road a bit. Dad asked if anyone was hurt, I said no, and he told me he was going back to sleep and we’d talk about it in the AM. You folks now know FAR more details about it than he ever did! I think he used it as an excuse with Mom to eventually get himself a new Oldsmobile….
Then there was the time I yumped it off the crest at the corner of Buttonwood and Warren. And then the time I threw it down a 15′ ditch on the access road to Mosport in the rain.
Good times. And darned tough cars!!!!!!
bt
NEVER was there an animal called a Catalina Brougham.
Are you sure about that, Utesman?
https://www.lov2xlr8.no/brochures/pontiac/72pon/bilder/11.jpg
“At almost 19 feet in length, this car isn’t for the faint of heart, or for those who have trouble backing up or driving without using the side mirrors.”
You’re being plural, Scotty. The passenger side mirror was optional.
You’re right, Bub! And now that I look at that second photo, the one of the passenger side, the front fender looks a hair of a shade off from the passenger door tone/color, doesn’t it?
Love the car, hate that color. “Old Lady Green” was what we called it.
This one is gone, did one of you snag it?
F. Y. I.: If you click on the ‘time posted’ in the original CraigsList ad BEFORE the screenshot we can all see when the ad is from for the record book!