Let’s see a show of hands for those of you who have owned a 19-foot-long car. That many? This 1973 Pontiac Grand Ville is just a hair under 19 feet, but with storage dust on the bumpers, it’s probably close to that. Speaking of bumpers, how about that “pedestrian-friendly” front bumper? Ha, wow! Made for a handful of years, the Grand Ville was slotted over the Bonneville and they’re as big and luxurious as they look.
Life wasn’t all wine and roses in 1973, as much as a lot of us like to think back to “How good things were in the ol’ days.” It wouldn’t be long before huge, gas sponges like this Grand Ville would be on their way out. This model was made from 1971 until 1975 and we’ve seen a few here on Barn Finds over the years, but mostly convertibles. A four-door hardtop is what I want in my luxury car.
The taillights were unique on this model over the Bonneville, or the Executive, which the Grand Ville replaced at the top of the Pontiac lineup. Buyers would get several body styles, including this four-door hardtop, a two-door hardtop, a convertible, and a station wagon. 1973 was the most prolific production year for the Grand Ville with over 73,000 made. The next year after the gas crisis, only 36,000 were made. The ’73 through ’75 cars got rear fender skirts.
The interior was luxurious but this was the era when even Pontiac’s top model had power windows on the options list. Still, this car has them and it looks like almost every other option. Bigger than a lot of SUVs today, this would be an imposing car to drive today, and driving one this nice around texting drivers would give me the chills. The back seat appears new and the trunk could house a family of four.
The standard engine for the Grand Ville from 1971 to 1974 was a 455-cu.in. OHV V8, which had 220 horsepower and 350 lb-ft of torque, unless a buyer checked the box for dual exhaust then it bumped the numbers up to 250/370, respectively. This one appears as clean as can be and the familiar seller has this gorgeous car listed here on eBay in Williston, Florida – not to be confused with Williston, North Dakota… The current bid price is $5,335 but the reserve isn’t met. Have any of you owned a Grand Ville?
Is that a cigar lighter on the drivers seat back?
Not sure of your reference, but like other upscale vehicles of the time, I think my GRAND VILLE had one cigarette lighter and ashtray in each rear arm rest in addition to one in front.
Good eye, pictures 10&11 clearly show it, that’s exactly what it is, and I assume one on the other side as well. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that, as like Rick sez, most lighters were in the ashtray. Those may have been GrandVille exclusive.
Oh yes those are cigarette lighters on each end of the front seat. It seems crazy today. I had a friend who had one of these and his young children pressed the lighter in over and over again until it got white hot and ended up burning the interior out of the car.
As with most American cars of the 70’s, a cigarette lighter was installed on the rear door armrests along with a small ashtray as well.
And 🎵 It’s great! 🎶 Isn’t it GRAND? 🎵 When Pontiac put the GRAND over Bonneville ! What a beautiful monument to the days of OTT excessive chromed luxury. I actually owned a 73 GRANDVILLE in metallic copper with black vinyl roof and plush black interior. Loved that car, but unfortunately a seal connecting transmission with radiator broke. Had to have it towed to dealer. Although out of warranty, Pontiac paid for the repairs, saying it was often a problem. Unfortunately the car was never the same. Later purchased 1980 Bonneville Brougham in triple black. Also loved that one, but it too left me stranded when driveshaft failed! So there you have my Pontiac sob 😭 (definitely not SAAB 🤮) story.
Man, it looks like you could fit an extra row of seats behind that front bumper. I’d say, front and rear bumpers combined, you got an extra foot of car than what you had on previous cars. Sheriff Buford T. Justice may have had better luck catching up to Bandit with a 455…
Anyone else noticing that 1957 Dodge Sweptline in the background?
Good Night To All
Flint
Well, never owned one, but took my drivers test on a ’68 Lincoln, at 229 inches, it was almost 19 feet. I read, this car cost almost $4600 new, almost a grand more than an Impala. As incomes grew, hopefully, this was the car that replaced that Impala. Usually, after a Pontiac, most buyers skipped the Buick/Olds market, and went straight for the Caddy. These were road cars, and most buyers had long travels in mind, and they ate up the miles, as we sat in the back waiting for the trip to be over. Like most all these, they were driven until the doors fell off, and the motor went for some hot rod, but not many kept a 4 door Poncho. Apparently somebody did. For $5grand, you can’t go wrong here.
Nice car. They used a dark blue one of these in the movie The 7-Ups in a fantastic chase scene. Roy Scheider eventually almost gets decapitated in a 73 Ventura chasing this car. I hope it finds a good home.
What a tank that car was. It was pretty much indestructible. Good ol’ Bill Hickman behind the wheel as he was in the Charger in Bullitt.
Awesome car chase in that movie with Bill Hickman behind the wheel. Those 455’s had a lot of torque!!
Never had a Grand Ville, but owned a Caprice of the same year which was within less than an inch of this in size. Funny thing was, my other car at the time was a Spitfire. It was always quite the transition going between cars.
I’m on my 5th Grandville, all drop tops! Current one is a 73 like this one, had 2 75’s (my favorite), and 2 other 73’s, it’s a lot of car to move around but lots of fun
I had the pleasure of owning a 1971 pontiac Bonneville , it was a 2 door hardtop. Very rare. The front bumper was like a Cadillac bumper. There were two ashtrays in the dash. Sold it to someone in Chicago.
My Mom’s car was a 72 just like this. I drove it all through high school. Don’t know how it was geared but that puppy could move.
I drove a variety of full size American automobiles back in the sixties and seventies. I never actually measured them or researched their dimensions. But they were big, comfortable and roomy. They also liked to drink gasoline. I’m like most of we older folks who sometimes look back at the good old days with rose colored glasses. We remember things fondly but forget about the not so great things like smog and 5000 mile tune ups. The advances in fuel efficiency in today’s cars is laudable in my estimation.
My Mother had a 1975 Pontiac Grand Ville 455. It was a very solid, powerful, and stylish in Black over Silver. A cigarette lighter and ashtray for every passenger, A/C, Cruise Control, and power everything. Had a full throttle switch that shut down the A/C compressor at full throttle to assure all the power of the smog controlled 455 went to acceleration on demand. I was a 15 year old teenager at the time, and we had that car until she replaced it with a ‘79 Grand Prix. If I would have had that car as an Adult, I assure you that smog 455 would have been “fixed” to pre-smog high performance specifications. Such is 20-20 hindsight.
I just have a picture in my mind of one these going down the road with four adults all smoking. Shades of Mad Men. I don’t miss the seventies at all. Rock music “ballads” and stadium concerts, shag haircuts, and elephant bell bottoms. The eighties weren’t much better but at least the music was.
Auction update: this one ended at $7,099.99 and no sale.
I’ve never owned a Grand Ville but this one sure is a beauty. I’ve always been an admirer of the Pontiac division of GM. I’ve had an 81 Bonneville 4-door, and a 90 Bonneville SSEi 4-door. Back in the 80’s a friend of mine had a 71 Grand Ville 2-door with the 455 of course and one day he took me for a ride and let me tell you that car was FAST! Pontiac certainly added a few extra horses in some of their top of the line vehicles because for me having a few 455’s and two 472 Caddy’s as well it was clear his Grand Ville was a powerful piece of manufacturing for the 70’s decade. I remember when I was a kid my father owned a 67 Pontiac Executive 4-door it was a nice family sedan. I truly miss Pontiac, it saddened me dearly when it went out of production in 2010. I’m hoping whomever takes ownership of this Grand Ville treasure this vehicle for as long as it takes.