Of all the great controversies in the motoring world, one of the most incendiary is the fender skirt. Some cars came with them from the factory floor, other cars were subjected to the whims of their owners; either way, there is little middle ground in a discussion of its aesthetic appeal. In the case of this 1972 Pontiac Luxury LeMans, it is a card-carrying member of the “Factory Fender Skirt Organization,” if such a thing existed, but the seller has instead left them in the trunk for the new owner to decide on. It’s a “super-solid southern” car with 103,265 miles on the odometer that is for sale on eBay in Birmingham, Alabama, with a current high bid of $8,100 (and a “Buy It Now” option of $16,800).

As “super solid” as this Luxury LeMans is, it wasn’t a super seller when new, at least not in this two-door hardtop form. Only 8,641 of them were sold compared to 80,383 basic LeMans hardtops (and 37,615 Luxury LeMans four-door hardtops); perhaps the two door’s sporty styling didn’t lend itself as well to the more cushy luxury leanings of the 1970s. The standard engine in the Luxury LeMans line was this Pontiac 350 two barrel with 8:1 compression and 160 horsepower, which was a torquey powerplant that is still more than adequate for most driving. Almost all Luxury LeManses had an automatic transmission (as does this one), but 269 had the synchromesh transmission. That would be an interesting (if not particularly valuable) find today.

The interior is where the Luxury LeMans really stood out from the rest of the lineup, with a cloth and Morrokide (vinyl in Pontiac-ese) interior, and, quoting from the brochure, “an instrument panel with the look of rare Ceylonese teak.” That smacks of “rich Corinthian leather” before Ricardo Montalban was even hired by Chrysler. It also has the deluxe steering wheel and extra sound insulation. Being a southern car, this one has factory air conditioning, which has been upgraded with an aftermarket compressor; it “blows cold” and the “engine runs cool, without issue.” The interior itself is original, and you can see that there are a few tears in the lower cloth of the driver’s seat. I’d see what I could do to repair that without replacing the original upholstery (if anything can be done).

The exterior has been repainted in the original “Cameo White,” but the base was a straight, rust-free Pontiac, as evidenced by these trunk floors.

The look is capped off with sporty Rally II wheels instead of the basic wheel covers (a nice choice, then or now). I could do without the tack-on rub strip on the side of the car, but if that’s the car’s only fault, so be it. It’s hard to find an unusual GM A-Body because they made so many of them, but anecdotally, you don’t see too many in this trim level. That leaves one question, and you know what it is: yes or no on the skirts?