Pontiac's Big Move (From Sport to Luxury): The 1972 Pontiac Luxury LeMans
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- Опубліковано 7 вер 2024
- Do you agree with Pontiac's shift from Sport to Luxury in the 1970s? Let's examine one of the biggest shifts with a detailed overview of the 1972 Luxury Lemans.
When I was a kid an elderly neighbor traded in her late husbands mid 60's Cadillac for new fully loaded '72 Luxury LeMans. She absolutely loved it and took good care of it, never drove in bad weather or when "the streets are wet" and would even periodically go to the garage with a duster to dust it off! It looked showroom new till the day she died in the mid '90's - I hope who ever got it appreciated it!
Great video! My first car in 1976 was my Grandmother’s 1972 Luxury LeMans. It had the 400 ci with 2bbl. I removed the fender skirts and added dual exhaust. Later I added a “Quick Shift Kit” in the TurboHydroMatic…the car would “chirp” one rear tire on the first to second up shift! I drove it from 1976 to 1984…sold it to buy my wife’s engagement ring.
Adam, As a former LeMans owner and a subscriber who regularly clamors for more Intermediates* on your channel, I welcome the spotlight on this fine specimen. On the broader subject of Pontiac Division's sporty offerings of the 70s, one might argue Pontiac sold hundreds of thousands of 'performance-oriented' Firebirds during this period. Getting back to Intermediates, when are we finally going to have the video that answers the question of why Kojak chose a Buick Century over the Mercury Montego and Dodge Coronet? 🤔 I will give two thumbs up to the first commenter who replies to my remarks with - Who loves ya baby? 🍭🍭
That's true, although the lower the performance got on those second gen Firebirds (as years went by and engines lost power), the higher sales became, peaking in 1979 with 211K sold.
I'll bite " who love ya baby" 🥄🍭
@@mikec4834👍👍
@@mikec4834👍👍
@@mikec4834👍👍
Adam, I'm a retired Snap On Tool dealer. In the mid 1980s, I had a route in Brooklyn, NY. One of my customers was BK Chevrolet. They employed a tech who could change 3 of the small block Chevrolet's cam shafts in a 10 hour day. Amazing! Apparently the cams weren't "soft", there was a coating on them that wore through too easily and caused the lobes to round prematurely. Anyway, my point is that I really like your channel and I appreciate your insights into all of the vehicles that made up my younger days. Thanks for all of the information and keep up the great work!!!
Awesome. Thx!
That guy was making more $$$ than you!!! 3 a day.... flat rate killing it!
There is one of these Luxury Coupes that's been on the Property of my Friends Property in Venus Florida that Was on Property wen He Bought the Property 20 Years ago. My Friend would give Car to Anyone Willing to Cut Down all the Trees to Remove car. @@RareClassicCars
I had an 82 Trans Am, the 305 had two flat lobes on the cam with 50k miles!
Totally agree that the demise of carpet at the bottom of the door panel is unfortunate. I'm vividly aware of it every time I have to clean the scuffs off my late model vehicle.
This is my summer ride since 1995, a 72 Luxury Lemans coupe with the 350 V8. Love it, it's dependable and looks good with the skirts. Added the Rally II wheels and dual exhaust on it!
1972 was quite a menagerie of mid-size Pontiac choices: LeMans, LeMans Sport, LeMans GT, Luxury LeMans, LeMans with the GTO option, and LeMans Safari.
Absolutely -- what a year! And it seems like far too few took advantage of that.
Another great car that you just don't see enough of anymore.
I see one daily in my garage, LOL
By the 1972 model year it was very clear that "Personal Luxury Mania" was heating up as the lessons learned from the 1969 Grand Prix were applied across the whole industry. Ford constantly reminded buyers that the all-new 1972 Gran Torino was the "affordable" Thunderbird, since that mid-size platform was the basis for the actual Thunderbird/Continental Mark IV. Chrysler took the nod from Pontiac with the Dodge Charger Special Edition, (Charger SE), which sold like hotcakes for '73/"74. The Luxury LeMans was the right car at the right time!
1972 T-Bird had a different platform than Torino.
For 1972 the Ford Torino and Mercury Montego switched from unibody construction to an all-new body on frame platform using a perimeter frame allowing an all-coil suspension with a four-link rear axle, wheel base was 114 " for coupes and 118" for sedans. An extended version of this new platform was used for the Thunderbird and Continental Mark IV with the stretch allowing for a 120" wheelbase and beefier upper and lower control arms/bushings for the front suspensions. Engineering development for Fords 1972 intermediate cars allowed cost sharing with the new Thunderbird and Mark IV as personal luxury cars are thematically the same as a 2-door mid*size coupe. @@Johnnycdrums
@@eddstarr2185 My grandfather had service vehicles updated every few years from his employer with the chevy, ford, or plymouth option and budget with only certain options approved- finally the company authorized air conditioning in 1970 and automatic way back in 1956, He started with chevy in line 6cyl but company pushed the 56 ford for it's safety rating [still with a 6 ] and my grandfather stayed with the custom and custom 500xl thru to 1972 when he felt the new four door gran torino drove better, parked easier in cities and garages and rode like the full size ford custom and galaxie and with the reduced cost of lower sized torino platform. Fleet accounts authorized the smallest cost v8- a 302 2 v. Of all the company cars he bought only 2 - 66 custom 500 XL with in line six and he said it rode like a cadillac on long trips and his last service car, a 1972 gran torino 4 dr. He had the car for 32 years until he needed a smaller car for his new senior driving test. It had 190k miles on it and motor ran strong and strong as a tank. When he donated it, it started on the first try and didn't smoke.
Interesting. As a child of the 70s I never once thought Pontiac = luxury. It was always 'performance' due to Trans Am and Grand Prix.
My downstairs neighbour had a coupe,. Silver with a silver vinyl top, a manual transmission dual exhaust and the Rally II wheels. It was the first car I fell in love with! It was loaded!!
I still thank about my first ride in that car! The owner was a 28 yr. old mom with a 2year old. She'd pop that clutch and peel out! She told my mom "that car is the best thing I got out of my marriage!"
thanks for sharing.
That one side view image of the luxury LeMans is so stunning. The proportions really are amazing.
Trying again. A friend had a first generation Riviera that developed oil pressure trouble, so we got a new pump and crawled under the beast to try the fix. When we got the pan off, we found out what had happened. The bottom had granular plastic in it with the shape of the oil pickup imprinted in it. When we pulled the pump off, the pickup tube was clogged. Fortunately the screen blocked the pieces down at the bottom of the pickup. They kept the oil from making it into the crank under normal pressure. We decided to go ahead and install the new pump and cleaned out all the plastic. That's when we discovered that the pieces were gear teeth. Sometime in the car's history, the timing gear stripped and, unfortunately, whoever replaced it didn't know to clean out the sump. That plastic was a crappy idea and thankfully my friend had an oil pressure light that showed something wrong in time to save the engine.
Most mainstream American automakers made the switch from whatever their niche had previously been to "luxury" focused models around the same time, as big horsepower was literally IMPOSSIBLE to develop under the emissions rules of the day, so if you couldn't go fast, you could still buy a car that got you from A to B in extreme comfort and maybe give your self image a boost along the way. Great vid as always Adam.
My parents bought my brother as a graduation present a 1973 Pontiac Luxury LeMans. Bright Blue with white interior. Oh my God, I fell in love with that car from the first sight. I ended up getting that car after my brother went smaller and bought him a Volkswagen Rabbit. That pontiac though was the smoothest ride I had ever seen at that time. It was gorgeous. Beautiful to drive. I loved it.
Another fantastic video. You’re the only one doing videos on this stuff and we love it. ‘70 Lemans owner here. Thank you.
Glad you enjoy it!
Just bought a ‘72 Pontiac Luxury Lemans. Took off the rear skirts, it already has silver pipes and it sounds sweeeeeeet. 🔥 Wanted a Chevy but this beast is plenty rad.
Some time in the late 70s we had a Luxury LeMans that my grandparents gave us (used), during a short time when we didn't have a second car. It was a `74 and was a bright green color, with a white vinyl top, IIRC. One of the few things I remember about it is that after every rainfall there was water in the trunk. I vaguely remember that the engine was a 307, or whatever size that engine would have been at the time. I have all the family cars recorded in a book, but that's in storage right now,
The more I think about your narration on the up-market trend for Pontiac, the more I can see the logic. You're right...and it did help sales, I believe.
The sales boost probably would have been more noticeable but for the 1973 Oil Embargo, and the suppression of sales that brought.
Thanks for posting.
I had a 1972 Luxury LeMans in high school (1984). Passed down from my parents. Mine was silver with grey vinyl top and grey interior, identical to the one shown here. It had 400 c.i, single exhaust... we took the skirts off, added larger 15" wheels and tires, and repainted it dove grey... Loved that car. Immediately regretted selling it.
My sister in law bought a used 72 Pontiac Lemans back in mid 80s used for like 400 dollars. It was 2 door with 350 auto ( column) . It was real plain jane, rubber floor mats, bench seat, no power anything. I think only option it had was Am Radio. It was like a cream yellow. It was in great condition for what it was.
Let me tell you she drove it for YEARS. Me and my brother did very little maintenance on it, or any repairs at all for that matter. One time we changed the oil on it and decided to check the plugs to see if we should do a tune up. She had been driving it for a couple of years by this time. The plugs look dry and clean like they barely had any miles on them. we put it back and did nothing to it. It rode well, didnt wear out front tires as far as I know it she never had a front end alignment done on it.
I tell that was bout the best running , most reliable car I have ever seen. She finally sold it and got something else because she wanted a nicer car. She always said she should have kept that car. I would have bought it but I had moved away and did not know she was selling it.
It's almost as if GM told their Pontiac designers to take a 1968 Chevrolet Malibu Concours and reintroduce it as a Pontiac Lemans. I think Pontiac did a nice job with the '72 Luxury LeMans although it was perhaps 1-2 years late to the party. As I recall, a bench seat with center folding armrest was standard equipment in the Luxury LeMans. This "luxury" feature, available on various mid-sized 1968-72 GM cars, was not available on the competitive Ford Torino and Mercury Montego until 1972.
My high school friend worked very hard, and bought a new '73 Luxury Lemans-a design of "acquired taste" -we were all really shocked of the design of the '73 models from all of the manufacturers-but in today's world, I enjoy seeing them! Thanks for your videos!
My Dad's 64 Impala got hit in the rear and totaled in Sept 1971. He was working for a Pontiac dealer at the time and he bought a left over 71 Catalina, Baja Gold with a black vinyl top. I was impressed with the car at the time because I thought it looked so much better than my uncle's 70 Catalina. If I could go back, I would try hard to talk my Dad into getting a 72 Luxury Lemans with the 400. What an awesome car that would have been.....
My dad had a 76 grand Le Mans, which was like a Grand Prix mixed with a LeMans. Luxurious yet sporty
I had a 1970 Monte Carlo that Chevy had produced with fender skirts, front bench seat, soft top nylon roof, but it still had a Turbo Jet small blk 400 cu in V8 with a 4 bbl carb and 300 HP, with dual exhaust. It was my Highschool Car.😊
I lived in Canada in the 70s and Pontiac was king.
Yeah Adam, back in my senior year of H.S. a classmate of mine wanted to "TRADE" his '68 Pont. F-bird, with a 250 inline / OHC -6, with a one barrel carb , for my '71 Datsun 510 Wagon. He had a family (in H.S.) and he didnt need that car. Wow, the throttle was a "screw-driver" inserted into a thing, that was screwed to the dash. First thing I don'e was ordered a new throttle cable from GM. $7.00, and then "rebuilt" the master cylinder, and then a "head" job. after that , the car was great! Sold it in '82, with the $ I bought a 1975 Honda CB400F, Super sport . I have that motorcycle still, all original, time to sell it. Great little bike.
I remember that my neighbor across the street had this exact same car, the Luxury LeMans….it was a sky blue color with black vinyl top.
Loved the Luxury LeMans!!!
As a kid in the '70s, I don't think I fully understood the changes going on in Detroit then. I knew the OEMs had to suddenly pivot away from performance due to emission standards, end of racing and then the need for better mpg from 1973 on. But I also assumed it was to also appeal more to aging silent/early boomer generations where performance was less of a priority to people reaching middle age and/or starting families. With or without fender skirts, these Pontiacs were gorgeous and classy cars. Again, many thanks for featuring voice clips of the original designers in your videos before they're completely lost to time!👍
A friend of mine bought a new 1972 LeMans, dark green, skirts, black vinyl top, just like the one shown. Smooth, quite, beautiful car.
My buddy in high school had one. Rode like a cadillac in my book, smooth and clean.
In 1991 I bought a 4 dr. Luxury Lemans here in Canada for a hundred bucks, it came with a Chevrolet 350(factory),which had been changed to four barrel. We put a new cam and lifter set in it, and it went great.
The black '69 LeMans that Adam shows at the beginning? It was a Tony Lapine design; He later moved to Porsche where he designed the 944 and the 928 cars. If you look carefully you can see similar design details.
'68-'69 Lemans is one of my Favorite cars, and I never in a million years would've guessed that the same designer went on to do Porsches!
Car at the beginning is a 68 GTO not a 69 LeMans. But both models in both years shared the same basic body.
I always felt the Luxury LeMans looked more luxurious outside than in - it promised more than it delivered. But then intermediate interior luxury was just starting; it has not been a 'thing' before. The Cutlass Supreme 4dr hardtop stickered for ,$10 more than a Luxury LeMas, and gave a better account of itself inside -though you didn't get the fender skirts :)
We had a silver luxury lemans. It was a beautiful ride
Thank you Adam. I remember Luxury LeMans. I knew Pontiac had to go the luxury route as they all got away from sporty cars during that time because the market shifted. Oldsmobile did with the Toronado as you know. The luxury era was a grand time although some did not like it. Things changes again the the 1980's when Pontiac went back to performance cars. The sad part was the fate of LeMans after 1981. The compact LeMans no one likes to talk about or mention. This car ( the Luxury LeMans ) could be nicely loaded especially later models in the 1970's that had skirted rear wheels and features also. I think they were called Grand LeMans.. I liked the fact you mentioned Grand Ville( Grand Bonneville and shared interior photos. That interior become Bonneville Brougham in 1976. I thought the Luxury LeMans has a specific emblem too. Thank you for sharing the conversation in regards to the connection with Blaine Jenkins as well with Pontiac and the connection to Oldsmobile.
Very stylish design. and that classic GM green...beautiful !
I liked, still like the "Luxury" LeMans, always have since they came out. Especially the one featured here with the bucket seats/console. Similar looks Chevy had like my sister's '71 Monte Carlo with buckets/console and fender skirts, power windows/locks and my Dad's '72 Monte Carlo with bench fabric seats and fender skirts. Never saw the Cutlass with fender skirts but yes on the Buick Skylarks of those years. I'm glad there was that choice for those who didn't want a muscle looking version of the same car(s).
Insurance was also a big Pontiac Killer. The insurance industry was getting wise to big block intermediates like GTO's and 442s. Another luxury intermediate that came to mind was my Aunt's 68 Skylark Custom 4Dr with fender skirts, split bench, armrests, and road wheels. The Luxury Lemans looks great in silver-green. Can't believe more 4 doors than coupes. Once again another great detailed video by Adam.
My grandfather bought Oldsmobiles most of the time. I remember him talking about how Pontiacs were old peoples cars when I was very young....
Boy oh boy did they change their image! But then GM corporate stepped in and demanded that every single cent should be pulled out of their designs after about 1990, and of course the company went away.
Great video!
Pontiacs were considered bland and boring until 1956, when Bunkie Knudsen took over Pontiac Division as general manager. He brought Pete Estes and John Z DeLorean with him as heads of engineering to re-boot and relaunch Pontiac as a youth oriented performance division. And Pontiac really became this "outlaw" division, within General Motors.. They didn't play by the rules all the time, but were very good at having their way.
He didn't do it alone, obviously, and Bunkie Knudsen and Pete Estes were highly talented. Pontiac had many other bright, young, highly qualified engineers and designers on board as well. They all worked very well together. In November of 1961, Knudsen transferred from Pontiac to Chevrolet Division with Pete Estes becoming general manager of Pontiac with John Z DeLorean as chief engineer.
John Z DeLorean in particular was a renegade that traveled in celebrity circles and was frequently mentioned in gossip pages. He became General Manager of Pontiac Motor Division in 1966 when Pete Estes, like Bunkie Knudsen before him 5 years prior, had been transferred to head Chevrolet Division.
DeLorean was public and high profile. Everyone in America knew John Z.. People mostly never heard of other auto executives. GM corporate brass didn't care for any of this, they're much too straitlaced and buttoned down for that sort of thing. An eventual parting of ways was inevitable..
But for a decade and a half, DeLorean made GM billions of dollars and created an automotive powerhouse in the form of Pontiac Motor Division. He would be promoted to general manager of Chevrolet before leaving the company.
@@MarinCipollina Pontiac really turned their image around, during the era you mention, by wins in auto racing.
@@tomwesley7884 well.. only up to a point. That lasted through 1962.. Factory sponsored racing was outlawed in 1963.
What a great looking car. One that had not yet been hampered by the bumper regulations coming in the next year. The fender skirts really make the car along with the luxurious interiors they came with. Wouldn't mind having one. Thanks Adam.
My first car was a 71 LeMans, 2 door with the 350 2bl. I always get nostalgic about it whenever i see videos like this.
Those Rally2 wheels on that dark green Le Mans shows how important the right wheels should be in the overall appearance of a car
“We build excitement!”
You are correct, the carpet at the bottom of the door panel is something that should be brought back. This is a great car and I would love to have one now.
Why did carpet at bottom of door panels go away? I'd forgotten about that. It made American cars kinda fancy compared to Imports.
I think carpeting on the bottom of the doors may have disappeared as manufacturers started adding storage bins to the doors that would make carpet more awkward looking.
I was in high school in 1972, remember seeing a 72 Luxury LeMans (orange with white vinyl top and interior) in the dealer showroom. Really liked the car (had no idea at that time of how they were going to change for 1973) but I did not like the fender skirts at all. To me it definitely took away from the total appeal of the car). Because of that I would buy a LeMans Sport instead of the Luxury Lemans (with the skirts and different trim) if I was looking to collect this model Pontiac now. Thanks for this Pontiac story (will always be my favorite brand).
My nephew has a 79 Firebird with a big block 400 V8 which I helped him pickup. He races in street legal drags at the few 1/4 mile strips we have here. He had some decent 18 second 1/4 times with this fairly heavy bodied car that he has modified himself including the required roll cage & 3-point safety belts as well as fire suppressing system. Personally I prefer the living kind of horsepower of the Thoroughbred kind of my mothers farm that can attain 40.9 mph for 3/8 mile! No seat belts or airbags though & one must hold on tight!
For all of their forward thinking, PMD eventually became GM’s sacrificial lamb. Too damn bad! 😣
This is what happens when any company becomes beholden to the government.
Pontiac was great and GM for whatever reasons sh*t all over it in the end. My brother and I loved our 1968 Firebirds. Just goes to prove how important leadership and vision in any company is.🤔🇺🇸
I had several Pontiacs from the 70s till early 2000s. Including a burgundy luxury Lemans. Loved that car. The last one was a grand am . It soured me so much on gm I haven't had one since
Hackman’s character is driving a LeMans (commandeered from a citizen) during the iconic chase scene in The French Connection. Wikipedia says it was a ‘71.
Another great peek back into American automotive history! Thanks, Adam
The skirts made it appear fast in park....The muscle car personae has its place in history no matter the name plate. This from an era when you had a choice to check a box of options... now... do you want that one or this one.... and a Sales kid said ""you're only one to ever open the hood"... I thought.
1. he's new on the job
2. who are these people
3. I can't believe what I just heard
4. I hope he didn't burn any bridges at Best Buy.... welcome back Kev we missed you.
Remember the salesman saying something to that affect when we bought an Aztek in '01. Hard to understand. Does a guy buy a house and not look in the shed?
I've owned a '72 LeMans Luxury for about the last ten years, it's the quality one would expect from Pontiacs of the era. It was a car I could afford at the time. If I were a a buyer in 1972, I don't think I'd pay the extra expense for what is an appearance package, though the styling was really well done. Even now the Luxury model is still the most affordable LeMans coupe. What's nice for me is that it shares so much with the GTO, reproduction and replacement parts are plentiful.
السيارة الفاخرةليمانس التنانير جعلتها فريدة
من نوعها❤❤❤❤🎉والبونتياك سيارات....قوية جدا
Loved the Luxury Lemans the skirts just made it unique.
Dig the Skirtz, if I had a GTO, I would put Skirtz on it😮😂😂😂❤
Oh hell yes!
Yeah those were cool w/skirts! Loved the burnt orange color they had that year.
And none of the other A bodies came with skirts for '70-'72 - not the Chevelle nor the Cutlass nor even the Skylark. Only the A-Special Monte Carlo had available skirts - pretty sure the A-Special Grand Prix never offered them. Skylark Customs had them in at least in '67 and '68, if not one or both of the surrounding two years as well.
@@UberLummox When I was in 5th grade or so, the kid next door got a '71 Lemans Sport in that color, with a black vinyl top, saddle-colored buckets/console interior - and Honeycomb wheels! It was a 350/TH350.
I fixed Pontiacs in the early '70s. They went to a steel cam sprocket in '71. Before that, the Caddy and Chevy used the plastic cam sprocket, too. Don't know about Buick and Olds. Yes, they were all trouble. Other than that, really good engines.
I had a 77 bonneville with a 400. That car rode like a dream, and was a beast with a big solid lifter cam and a torker intake with the stock quadrajet
Had a 73 Lemans. Still miss it.
My father worked for a company that helped GM to solve the cam shaft issue. It had to do with how the raw shafts were cast. The shafts were placed in the vertical position for casting… which meant that one end of the shaft cooled slower in the mold. This impacted the porosity and temper of the material. Typically the camshaft lobes would wear on one end of the shaft.
The company my dad worked for supplied ferro-alloys for the metal casting industry. The casting material was altered with improved alloying and the issue was resolved.
Interestingly my dad had a ‘78 Chevy with a small block V8 that eventually needed a new camshaft due to this very issue.
My mother had that green 1972 Luxury LeMans and it was a fantastic car . She loved it . I loved it . Even my father loved it ! It stayed with us until I was out of college !!!
Thanks for this one, Adam.. But pausing this one at 7:10, talking about the real wood trim on the interior of the 1973 model year Grand Am, I would simply add to that point that Grand Prix for 1973 also had real wood dash, door and console trim. Quite stylish, but 1973 was the final for the dashboard wood, but it continued on the console as well.
Yes. I mentioned that
My Uncle had a 1971 Pontiac T-37 with an original 400 ci engine that looked basically identical to the 1972 Pontiac Lemans, that he called a poor man’s GTO, although the T-37 is rarer and gets appreciated today, as for Pontiac’s in general I favor the big body full size 1965-1966 Pontiac 421 2+2’s & the obviously the earlier Swiss cheese 421 super stock light weight Pontiac’s back to the late 1950’s tri power Bonniville’s that was arguably the very first muscle car, along with the full sized bankers hot rods, like the Chrysler 300’s Lincoln’s, Cadillac’s & Impala’s…8)
I like the idea of the kick panel carpeting; practical, and looks pretty stylish too.
My Aunt had a mint metallic green one with wire wheel covers and no vinyl roof. It was a pretty car. It was a coupe. 4:45 was just like it, sans the vinyl roof.
No vinyl roof = niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice
I had a '70 Lemans Sport & a '72 GTO,but I Always liked the '72 Luxury Lemans.
Whenever I owned a GM of this era, the FIRST thing I did was put on a 4bbl intake and Q-Jet and dual exhaust. Then I put in a steel timing set.
I bet you could actually feel the difference?
@@Johnnycdrums not feel but probably hear the diff. Heard they were nylon to not be as noisy. Replaced many in my youth, never heard or felt any changes.
My uncle had a dark green with a black top 1972 Luxury LeMans. It was a great car. I almost bought it from him when I had just gotten my license in 1976. My mother wanted a new car so I got her Buick instead. My father would say why don't Bud's cars rust? We lived in Maryland and the salt on roads took its toll. They didn't rust because he had a friend that owned a large body shop and towing company in Baltimore. In the spring my uncle would take his car there and they would remove all the exterior lower moldings and clean and touch up any rust. Then steam clean the under side of the car. Then spray the underneath and around the inside and outside of the wheel wells with some rust preventive stuff. The Luxury LeMans had a great profile. The 1973 Grandville was a beautiful car, especially the convertible. GM was putting 6 cylinder Chevy engines in Buick's, Olds and Pontiacs back into the late 60's. Swaping engines around brands wasn't a new thing in 1977 when the sh.. hit the fan.
In 75 I bought a 69 Tempest with the OHC Six cylinder with a manual transmission, and it was a great engine, and the car was plenty fast enough for me.
A friend who had a new Chevy shortbread truck with 350 4bbl and automatic in several races lost to my 6 cylinder OHC Tempest.
My neighbor at the dorm in college had a '79 Trans Am, and I think the shaker hood said "T/A 6.6" But he told me repeatedly that it was a 403. I think I saw the engine one day and the valve covers were painted gold; I suspect that this was indeed the 403 Oldsmobile V8 engine, as opposed to the 400 Pontiac engine that was optional....
A lot of Trans Ams had the Olds engine.
Olds shaker should read 6.6 litre not T/A 6.6
Interestingly, the GTO became an option on the Lemans for 1972, instead of calling it a separate model. In reality, it always was just package of options like all the muscle cars of that era.
History says there was probably room for a performance(ish) brand in the '70s. Sure, it wouldn't be like the '60s but turns out the Corvette, Camaro and Firebird were hugely successful throughout the '70s, peaking in 1979 with monster sales (Corvette: 53k, Firebird: 211k, Camaro 286k).
The arm rests in the LeMans were used across GM for years. Had a 68 Malibu with those arm rests.
Funny how GM fell in love with this green…..my family had the 1972 Olds Cutlass, and a relative, this Pontiac version.
Both the Olds and the Pontiac shared an odd quirk….once you turned the AC unit on, you could not turn the compressor off unless you shut the engine off!
I liked the luxury lemans since I was a kid I remembered in the 3rd grade I remembered a school teacher had one
Hi Adam, Thanks for your 72 Luxury LeMans video this evening as it brought back memories of my senior year in high school. Two women in my neighborhood owned the 2 door hardtop with the Rally II wheels. One was bright blue with no vinyl top and a black interior. The other one was lime green with a white vinyl top and white interior. I thought they were very attractive cars with the lower body chrome strip and the wrap around tail lights. The fender skirts made the car look very unique. My history teacher had just bought a 72 Luxury LeMans 2 door hardtop, all white. For some reason he left it parked at the high school that Friday and over the weekend the tires and Rally II wheels were stolen. Seeing his car jacked up on cinder blocks with its missing tires and wheels that Monday was quite shocking. We all wondered which of our fellow classmates were the thieves !
I bought a new Lemans in1973. Never thought of it as a luxury car.
Did you buy the Luxury LeMans?
Love the carpet rub strips on the lower aspect of the door cards...
My brother had a 69 firebird that had a 2bbl and single exhaust 350. He put a 4bbl and dual exhaust on it and it became a tire burner
I, too, have to disagree about the 1969 Grand Prix being a step away from sportiness. The previous Grand Prix was a full size boat, probably the same formula as the Buick Wildcat & Centurion, with the full-full size drivetrain in the full size car. I believe the Grand Ville took over that space. Delorean's Grand Prix was smaller, had the sport wheels, and the Duesenberg nomenclature, and plenty of power options...
When the (admittedly larger) 1973's intermediates came out, I remember my owner's manual paperwork listing the
-LeMans
-LeMans Sport
-Luxury LeMans
-GTO, and
-Grand Am
I never was a big fan of the shift of platforms in 69. Dad had a 68 Grand Prix and it was a SWEET car. Blue, with black vinyl top, black interior with buckets etc. IIRC it was a 428 car too... traded it in 75 on a super clean low mile... 1971 4-door Caprice Classic. :(
My first car was a '71 Pontiac Lemans 4 door. I bought it at a GSA auction in the summer of 1976 for 750$. It had been an undercover DEA vehicle and had evidence of gun mounts both on the inside of the glovebox door, and on the backside of the passenger seat. It also had what looked to be an indentation (from a bullet?) on the passenger side window trim towards the top. It only had 53,000 miles on it and was a very reliable vehicle.
Adam,I just bought a low mileage '73 Luxury LeMans,nice cars
My folks bought a new Pontiac LeMans coupe like this in 1972. Theirs was the same green with a white top. They traded in their 1964 Mercury. The Pontiac was a great car. I owned a 1968 Buick GS400 Convertible at that time and later got a 1974 Pontiac Grand Prix. Loved both cars !
Ive got a 72 skylark coupe and it always makes me think about how all divisions were moving toward luxury, buick's intermediate was meant to be the most luxurious, and i think it typically was. But it had a lot of competition, especially when the monte carlo and grand prix were new/redesigned
Growing up in the 80s and 90s the only performance pontiac that whole time was the firebird. Everything else was a fwd pos or got axed like the Fiero.
10:30 I learned only recently that the shavings from those plastic timing sprockets were known to clog the oil intake and starve the lower engine of lubrication. I remember loosing a piston rod on a '69 Cadillac only a month after the timing chain had been changed. Maybe it was too late to save that engine, but for anyone having the chain done on an old GM V8, it would make sense to have the oil pan dropped and the intake cleared.
Hey, Adam, I’ve loved your interviews with designers. It would be great to see their fantasy designs: what they would do if money were not a factor (engineering and physics still need to be factors).
I have a Road Test magazine with the 1972 Imperial, 1972 Toronado, 1972 Mercedes and 1972 Pontiac Luxury Lemans. It’s interesting to see what was available.
All wonderful cars to have right now, if we only knew back then.
We had this car while ours was getting service over the holidays,,Bright Orange 🍊 ,all white interior a loner🔥
Nothing like hearing that 4- barrels open up at 80-80 Mph💥
I remember these from when they were introduced. It was slightly odd for Pontiac at the time although it has aged well. I always liked this generation of the LeMans.
Owned a 1972 Cutlass S hardtop coupe with the 2 Barrel 350 engine. Sales stats for the model were 78,000?
My point is that Pontiac obviously would like to have had "Cutlass like" sales with their fancier '72 Lemans even though that wasn't their customer base. Their 1972 Grand Prix model J was a really nice car...drove a brown on brown back in '76.
These were amazingly durable and "nice" cars for their day. My grandmother's good friends had this same model in a dark greenish brown metallic that they drove over 175K miles with no major issues before it was traded in on for a two-tone red '79 Booneville Brougham sedan (yes, it had those seats!). And I agree, they made the right choice for the market at the time.
My favorite thing about the 69 Gran Prix SJ with the 428 was how fast the speedometer would spin.
Their 455SD from 1973-74 wasn't too shabby.
300 HP for the 455SD. Nice!
@@hawk00055 Net hp at that.
The wheel well skirt, something so simple.
Absolutely love this era GM cars. I would love to have pretty much anything GM made between 1960-1972. 1973 and later bumpers kinda killed the looks. But I'd still take a 1973-1988 GM car. So many great looking cars. Between the B-Body, A-Body, G-Body, F-Body there are so many to choose from. But any platform from that era is worth owning in my opinion
Mom had a 72, dark green with green vinyl interior. The first car I can remember (barely) riding in. Replaced by a white 77 Bonneville that had AC which was a big deal. She had to sit on a pillow because she was short 😂.
Wow that was my first car . Mine had non power assisted drum brakes . A really sporty looking steering wheel. All green 2 door with no vinyl. The grill was steel. One got pulled over and the cop asked me what is this car and I said it’s a luxury lemans