Canadian Pontiacs???

[Paul Steinberg]

Was this a US Pontiac, or was it the Canadian version? It looks like a C/B built unit, but doesn't have the C/B emblems on the front fenders, that is why I ask.

 

[Terry Lange]

Paul, based on what appears to be Bonneville trim level, plus the wider, longer stance of the car over a Canadian Parisienne, I always assumed that it was a Superior Consort. This is the only other picture (other than of it wrecked) that I have of the car.

 

[Paul Steinberg]

Thanks for the additional picture. Now, I can clearly see that it is a not a C/B.

 

[Jean-Marc Dugas]

I know that it is a long shoot, but I wonder if these are from the same manufacturer?

The roof lights seems to be the same

Alsom from what I understand of the Canadian Pontiacs, they used to have the same front clip and trim package of their American cousins but the rest of the car was a Chevrolet.

 

[Keith Snyder]

The 1962 Pontiac is a Superior Consort which was built on a Bonneville chassis. Superior never built on the Canadian Pontiac chassis. A fair number of these Superior Pontiac professional cars were sold in Canada over the years. The Chrysler depicted was photographed in front of the Chrysler Canada offices in Windsor and was the product of a local coachbuilder

 

[Steve Lichtman]

The roof lights are Chrysler taillights. Seems like a lot of folks used them. On the Consort from Astorian, they were probably a later add-on to what was originally a combination.

 

[Terry Lange]

The roof lights are Chrysler taillights. Seems like a lot of folks used them. On the Consort from Astorian, they were probably a later add-on to what was originally a combination.

We're getting a little off-topic here on this thread, but these lights are actually tail light bezels and lenses from a '61 Plymouth Fury. These were very popular roof lights on Superior low top Pontiacs, National Chevs, and other makes that were imported into Canada. I was told many years ago by an ambulance operator in Canada, that the import tariffs and taxes were much higher on ambulances than on other specialty vehicles. Because of this, many importers (I assume distributors, rather than individuals) brought these cars across the border, and then outfitted them with the emergency lights and other equipment once they were in Canada. Since there were only 2 major pro-car dealers in Canada, it makes sense why so many of these cars ended up with the same lighting package on them. This may or may not be true, but it came from a credible source at the time.

I do remember seeing the Astorian Pontiac when it was brand new, and owned by Community Ambulance, a short-lived company in Winnipeg. I don't think it was ever a combination, but I was only 11 back then, and probably wouldn't have known the difference.

Terry