The Pontiac Safari is a line of station wagons that was produced by Pontiac from 1955 to 1989. Initially introduced as the Pontiac counterpart of the two-door Chevrolet Nomad, the division adopted the nameplate across its full-size wagon range in 1957. Through its production, the Safari was positioned between Chevrolet full-size station wagons and below its Buick and Oldsmobile counterparts. During the mid-1960s, the Safari added simulated woodgrain trim to the exterior, becoming a feature associated with the model line.
The name "safari" is derived from the Swahili word safari, which means journey, originally from the Arabic سفر (safar) meaning a journey; the verb for "to travel" in Swahili is kusafiri. As General Motors expanded into the intermediate, compact, and subcompact segments, the Safari nameplate saw a similar usage as the Estate (Buick, Chevrolet) and Cruiser (Oldsmobile) nameplates, denoting the highest-trim station wagon in each model range.
After 1989, Pontiac became the first GM division to discontinue its full-size wagons; along with model overlap between its divisional counterparts, demand for full-size wagons had been overtaken by minivans. For 1990, the Pontiac Trans Sport was introduced as the first Pontiac minivan. After 1991, Pontiac ended its use of the Safari nameplate (and production of station wagons) entirely; the GMC Safari continued through the 2005 model year.
1955–1957 (A-body)
left|thumb|1955 Pontiac Star Chief Custom Safari interior
The first-generation Pontiac Safari was developed as a divisional counterpart of the Chevrolet Nomad. The two-door sport wagon began life as a 1954 Motorama concept car derived from the Chevrolet Corvette. To decrease tooling and production costs, the design was shifted to the full-size A-body chassis (from the Corvette) to increase its sales potential; to further decrease overall design costs, the Pontiac Safari was created to share the design across two divisions.
Sharing its 122-inch wheelbase A-body chassis with the Nomad (derived from the Chevrolet Bel Air), the Safari shared its exterior bodywork with the Pontiac Chieftain. Though using the shorter-wheelbase A-body chassis, Pontiac considered the Safari part of the B-body Pontiac Star Chief series, officially designating it as the Star Chief Custom Safari (Series 27).
1955
left|thumb|1955 Pontiac Star Chief Custom Safari
Introduced on January 31, 1955, the Pontiac Safari served as the flagship Pontiac station wagon; at $2,962 ($ in dollars ), it also was the most expensive Pontiac model line before optional equipment was added using the GM "A" platform.
For 1955, 3,760 examples of the Safari were produced, serving as the lowest-production Pontiac for the model year.
The V8 engine was expanded to 317 cubic inches for 1956,
While 10 vehicles were produced with a manual transmission, a 4-speed automatic transmission was paired with the V8 as standard equipment.
1957
left|thumb|1957 Pontiac Star Chief Custom Safari Transcontinental (four-door)
For 1957, Pontiac expanded the usage of the Safari nameplate to all of its station wagons, replacing the previous 860 and 870 with Chieftain Safari and Super Chief Safari station wagons. The previous Star Chief Custom two-door sport wagon remained in production; during the middle of the 1957 model year, a four-door Star Chief Custom station wagon was introduced, named the Safari Transcontinental. In contrast to the two-door Safari and its four-door counterparts, the Safari Transcontinental was fitted with model-specific side trim (shared with no other Pontiac) and a standard roof luggage rack.
As with all Star Chiefs, the two-door Safari was fitted with a 347 cubic-inch V8, produced with 270 hp (4-bbl) or 290 hp (3x2bbl).
In total, 9,094 examples of the A-body Safari were sold from 1955 to 1957. For 1959, Pontiac revised its model range, introducing the Catalina Safari and Bonneville Safari (the Star Chief remained, becoming sedan-only). The Bonneville was offered with two rows of seating; the Catalina was offered with either two or three rows of seats.
Following a slight downsizing for 1961, the Safari returned as part of the Catalina and Bonneville series, with the 9-passenger option remaining exclusive to Catalina Safaris.
For 1965, full-size Pontiacs underwent a redesign, with the Safari again returning as a part of the Catalina and Bonneville series. For the exterior, a vinyl roof was introduced as an option.
1966–1970
thumb|1969 Pontiac Executive Safari (aftermarket wheels)
For 1966, the Safari nameplate was dropped by Pontiac, as its B-body station wagons (Catalina and Bonneville) deleted the secondary series designation. For 1967, the Safari nameplate returned for the newly introduced Pontiac Executive full-size station wagon (replacing the Star Chief) and the top level Bonneville Safari, with the term "Safari" used to identify exterior woodgrain trim for the first time; all three wagons were offered with third-row seating.
1971–1976
thumb|1976 Pontiac Catalina Safari
For 1971, Pontiac revised its station wagon branding, making the Safari a stand-alone model series based on the Catalina. The Bonneville station wagon was dropped in favor of the Grand Safari, which itself was based on the Grand Ville series. In 1973 the Grand Safari also adopted exterior woodgrain trim. Officially designated as a B-body vehicle, the Safari (and its Buick/Oldsmobile counterparts) shared the 127-inch wheelbase of the C-body "senior" sedan chassis.
For 1974, the Safari again became a secondary series designation, becoming part of the Catalina range; the model line adopted the rectangular headlights introduced on full-size Pontiacs for 1975.
Glide-away tailgate
The 1971-1976 Safari wagons featured a clamshell tailgate, with separate, independently operable window and tailgate components. The rear power-operated glass could deploy from the roof as the tailgate (manually or with power assist), could deploy from a recess under the cargo floor. The power assist tailgate, the first in station wagon history, ultimately supplanted the manually operated tailgate, which required marked effort to lift from storage. Both the window and tailgate portions of the system were operable via switches on the instrument panel or a key switch on the rear quarter panel. The system, heavy and complex, made it easier to load and unload the extremely long wagons in tight spaces — for example, the entire tailgate could open inside a closed garage or with a trailer installed. But the design was not adopted by other manufacturers and would be eliminated when GM reduced the length of their wagons by about a foot for model year 1977, when the overriding concern became increased fuel economy.
1977–1981
thumb|1980 Pontiac Catalina Safari
For 1977, Pontiac downsized the Safari alongside the rest of its full-size B-body vehicles. Shedding over 1000 pounds of curb weight (dependent on powertrain), the Safari remained part of the Catalina range. In place of the previous 400 and 455 cubic-inch V8s, 301 and 403 cubic-inch V8s were fitted to the model line; a 350 cubic-inch V8 was also added as an option.
1987–1989
thumb|1987-1989 Pontiac Safari
For 1987, Pontiac retired the Parisienne sedan from its model range, with the Parisienne Wagon rebranded as the Pontiac Safari, marking the first use of the name since 1981. While used as a stand-alone nameplate for its full-size B-body station wagon, the change marked the introduction of Pontiac Sunbird Safari and Pontiac 6000 Safari wagons. In 6000 LE trim, the model line was offered with optional exterior woodgrain trim. In 1987, the 6000 LE wagon was renamed the 6000 Safari, sharing the optional V6 of the 6000 STE.