1972 Pontiac Bonneville
Bonneville means speed; a vast dry lake in Utah used to time land-speed record runs, a place where the fastest cars in the world compete. It’s also a great name for a car. Pontiac first used the Bonneville name back in 1953 for one of their flamboyant Motorama show cars. Then in 1957, a special convertible Star Chief with every option Pontiac offered became the first production Pontiac to bear the name. In 1958 it became its own model, when the one year-only body was available as a hardtop or convertible. By 1959 things took off when Bonneville became its own full line of Pontiacs, including four-door sedans, hardtops and wagons, along with their two-door hardtops and convertibles. Pontiac promoted their new “Wide Track” slogan around the Bonneville. Wide Track was Pontiac’s engineering of a wider track width front and rear than other divisions that shared the same body architecture. Besides making the cars look lower and wider it also helped stability in corners and even in straight line driving. Bonneville was positioned as the most highly optioned, luxurious Pontiac made. A minor restyle happened in 1960, and then in 1961 the new B-body platform debuted. The new body was so well received that by 1962 Pontiac was the number three manufacturer of cars, right behind Chevrolet and Ford. Pontiac was finding great success with marketing all of their cars as fast, performance-packed luxury alternatives to more staid choices, and it was working. In 1963 they offered the 421ci “Super Duty” engine with two four-barrel carbs and solid lifters. Pontiac maintained their third-place position throughout the 1960s. In 1971 the high-end Bonneville was dropped a notch for the new Grand Ville Pontiac. Body styles were reduced to a four-door sedan and two- and four-door hardtops. Horsepower was also reduced as yearly updated Federal emissions requirements were rolled into each successive year’s Pontiac production. 1976 was last year of the larger Bonnevilles, as the new B-body platform was downsized for 1977. These smaller Bonnevilles did not sell well, and partially as a result of this Pontiac opted to eliminate full-size cars after 1981. In 1982 the Bonneville line was applied to a smaller midsize A-body platform.
1972 Bonneville
The heavy-looking front end of the 1971 Bonneville got even heavier with the massive grille/bumper combo for 1972. These bumpers met the federally mandated five-mph bumper standards that didn’t take effect until 1973. Horsepower ratings dropped due to lowering compression and retarding timing for emissions standards, and also because the way engines were rated changed from gross to net horsepower, meaning the horsepower with all of the accessories that pull power are factored into the output rating.
AVAILABLE MODELS:
1972 Bonneville
- Body Styles
- 2-Door Hardtop
- 2-Door Sedan
- 4-Door Hardtop
- 4-Door Sedan
- Station Wagon-nine passenger
- Station Wagon-six passenger
- Engine Options
- 400-2bbl Cubic Inch V8, 180hp
- 400-4bbl Cubic Inch V8, 200hp
- 400-4bbl Cubic Inch V8, 250hp
- 455-2bbl Cubic Inch V8, 190hp
- 455-4bbl Cubic Inch V8, 220hp
- 455-4bbl Cubic Inch V8, 300hp
1972 Bonneville VIN Decoder:
First Character: GM Division
Second Character: Series
Third and Fourth Characters: Body Style
- 27 ~ Sport Coupe
- 35 ~ Station Wagon 2-Seat
- 37 ~ Hardtop Sport Coupe
- 39 ~ 4-Door Hardtop
- 45 ~ Station Wagon 3-Seat
- 57 ~ 2-Door Hardtop
- 69 ~ 4-Door Sedan
Fifth Character: Engine
- P ~ 400-2bbl V8, Dual Exhaust
- R ~ 400-2bbl V8, Single Exhaust
- S ~ 400-4bbl V8, Single Exhaust
- T ~ 400-4bbl V8, Dual Exhaust
- U ~ 455-2bbl V8, Dual Exhaust
- V ~ 455-2bbl V8, Single Exhaust
- W ~ 455-4bbl V8, Single Exhaust
- X ~ 455-4bbl V8, Performance
- Y ~ 455-4bbl V8, Dual Exhaust
Sixth Character: Year
Seventh Character: Assembly Plant
- P ~ Pontiac, Michigan
- D ~ Doraville, Georgia
- C ~ South Gate, California
- A ~ Atlanta, Georgia
- B ~ Baltimore, Maryland
- L ~ Van Nuys, California
- N ~ Norwood, Ohio
- W ~ Willow Run, Michigan
- X ~ Kansas City, Kansas
- Z ~ Fremont, California
- 2 ~ St. Therese, Quebec, Canada
Eighth through Thirteenth Characters: Basic Production Numbers
The sequential starting numbers.
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