The Pontiac Bonneville is a model line of full-size or mid-size rear-wheel drive (until 1987) or front-wheel drive cars manufactured and marketed by Pontiac from 1957 until 2005.
The Bonneville (marketed as the Parisienne in Canada until 1981), and its platform partner, the Grand Ville, are some of the largest Pontiacs ever built; in station wagon body styles they reached just over long. They were also some of the heaviest cars produced at the time at or more.
The Bonneville nameplate was introduced as a limited production performance convertible during the 1957 model year, its name taken from the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, an early site of U.S. automobile racing and numerous world land speed records.
Origin
thumb|left|Rear view of a 1987 Pontiac Bonneville SE
thumb|left|1988 Pontiac Bonneville
For 1987, Pontiac migrated the Bonneville from the rear-drive G-body with a V8 to the GM's one year old front-drive H Body platform, shared with the Buick LeSabre and Oldsmobile 88. Initially, a 3.8 L V6 was the sole engine, mated to a four-speed Hydramatic 4T60 automatic — in base and LE trim levels. The base model was only used for 1987. For LE models, an SSE sport package was also available featuring a quicker gear ratio, sportier suspension and more standard features, marketed as having a more sporty, European character than the LeSabre and 88.<br />Wayne Cherry (facelift: 1993)
| engine = 3.8 L Series I L27 V6
3.8 L Series I L67 V6
3.8 L Series I L67 V6
3.8 L Series II L36 V6
3.8 L Series II L67 V6
| transmission = 1992–97: 4-speed 4T60-E automatic<br />1992–96: 4-speed 4T60E-HD auto<br />1998–99: 4-speed 4T65-E automatic<br />1997–99: 4-speed 4T65E-HD automatic
| weight = 3,446–
| wheelbase =
| length = 1992–95 SE: <br />1992–95 SSE & 1992–93 SSEi: <br />1996–97 SE: <br />1996–99 SSE: <br />1998–99 SE:
| width = 1992–97: <br />1998–99:
| height = <br />1998–99 SSE:
| layout = Transverse front-engine, front-wheel drive
| related = Buick LeSabre<br />Oldsmobile 88<br />Oldsmobile LSS
| assembly = Wentzville Assembly, Wentzville, Missouri, U.S. May 1991–1993 (1992–1993 model years)<br />Lake Orion, Michigan, U.S. 1993–1998 (1994–1998 model years)<br />Flint, Michigan, U.S. July 1995–June 29, 1999 (1996–1999 model years)
The ninth generation Bonneville debuted on February 8, 1991, at the 1991 Chicago International Auto Show, with sales launching in July 1991 for the 1992 model year. The exterior featured an aerodynamic drag coefficient of .305; the interior featured a trunk pass-through; and two available engines: the naturally-aspirated 3.8-liter V6 and its supercharged variants. Both engines used a 4-speed overdrive automatic transmission. The ninth generation Bonneville was the first General Motors vehicle available with dual front passenger airbags.
Engine availability
- L27 - SE (92-94), SLE (93-94), SSE (92-94)
- L36 - SE (95-99), SLE (95-99), SSE (95-99)
- L67 - SSE (92-93) optional, SSEi (92-93)
- L67 - SLE (95) optional, SSEi (94-95)
- L67 - SLE (96-97) optional, SSE (97) optional, SSEi (96-99)
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Production by trim level
|-
! Year !! SE !! SSE !! SSEi
|-
! 1992
| 95,402 || 13,034 || 7,566
|-
! 1993
| 79,764 || 12,792 || 6,168
|-
! 1994
| 66,727 || 7,462 || 5,968
|-
! 1995
| 80,852 || 6,168 || 4,822
|-
! 1996
| 61,568 || 3,833 || 4,060
|-
! 1997
| 61,287 || 8,282 || 4,446
|-
! 1998
| 58,411 || 3,641 || 3,413
|-
! 1999
| No production breakdown available
|}
Tenth generation (2000–2005)
alt=|left|thumb|Rear view (2000-2003 SSEi)
left|thumb|2003 Pontiac Bonneville
The 2000 Bonneville was restyled, using GM's G platform,
For the last year of production, Pontiac gave the mid-level SLE the new GXP styling. The 2005 SLE featured all GXP styling cues, except the wheels, badging, muffler tips and engine all remained unique to the GXP.
Return of the V8
For 2004, the Bonneville regained a V8 option on the GXP trim. This was the first time since 1986 that a Bonneville had a V8 engine. As a result of the discontinuation of the Oldsmobile Aurora, this opened up a "hole" in the GM lineup between Pontiac and Buick, allowing Pontiac to expand upmarket somewhat. The engine is Cadillac's Northstar V8, producing , . As Pontiac's website said, "With GXP, V8 power gets reintroduced into the Bonneville line in the form of the world-renowned 4.6 L (279 in<sup>3</sup>) Northstar V8 engine, giving in 6.5 seconds demonstrates better performance than BMW 330i and 530i, and Lexus ES. Its 3.7:1 final drive ratio is the most aggressive found on any car in its class."
Safety
NHTSA crash tests for the 2005 Pontiac Bonneville resulted in a safety rating of 4-stars for the Driver and 5-stars for the Front Passenger.
Discontinuation
GM announced on February 8, 2005, that the Bonneville would be dropped from Pontiac's lineup for 2006. The last Bonneville was assembled on May 27, 2005. About 12,000 Bonnevilles were sold in 2005. With more than half of Pontiac dealers also selling Buick models, the Buick Lucerne along with the Chevrolet Impala continued as GM's only mainstream full-size cars until the introduction of the 2008 G8.