The Pontiac Safari were a line of station wagons made by Pontiac from 1955 up to 1989. The Pontiac Safari station wagon was one of the most well known station wagon car models made by General Motors and sales for the vehicle were generally positive.
The Safari marque was first used by Pontiac for the station wagon derived from the Chevrolet Nomad station wagon vehicle lineup. The name was used for the two door version of the station wagon. The Pontiac Safari was originally exhibited by General Motors as a Chevrolet Corvette Motorama 1954 model concept car. However, the car was moved to the Pontiac division of General Motors when it went into production in 1955 in the expectation that the station wagon would sell better under the Pontiac marque. The 1955 model of the Pontiac Safari, being based on the Chevrolet Nomad station wagon, shared several body components with the Chevrolet car model. The Pontiac and Chevrolet divisions of General Motors also shared tooling costs for the vehicle which featured were specially made. To differentiate the car as a Pontiac car model, the Pontiac Safari received the front end bumper, grille assembly and tail light styling which were iconic to Pontiac. The Pontiac Safari featured a high level of trim and the upholstery and detailing work of the car was simlar to that of the Star Chief top of the line car models. The Pontiac Safari was actually sold as the Pontiac Star Chief Custom Safari and it was the only car model in the Pontiac Star Chief Custom lineup. Up to 1956, the Safari marque was used only for the Pontiac Star Chief Custom car model. In 1957, Pontiac decided to apply the Safari marque to all the station wagon versions of all its car model line up. Along with the Star Chief Custom, this included the Chieftain and the Super Chief. Thus, starting from model year 1957, all of the full size station wagons made by Pontiac would carry their model line name and the name "Safari". During the late 1980s, sales for Pontiac's station wagons were beginning to slow down. This was not a unique case and all car makers were beginning to see a decline in car buyers' interest for station wagons. This corresponded with the increase in interest over SUVs which were new at the time. The Safari station wagons were ended in 1989. The name endured in the GMC Safari minivan which targeted the same demographic as the Pontiac Safari.
The Pontiac Safari was primarily conceived as a high end station wagon and the vehicle featured high level trims and features. The first version of the Pontiac Safari had sport coupe based front doors. Chromes were also abundant and were found on the tailgate, the sliding windows of the rear seat and the interiors of the car. The B pillar of the car also had a raked forward look which was very similar to the Chevrolet Nomad and which was unique for both car models in the line up of station wagons from General Motors at the time. Later models of the vehicle, specifically after 1957, were no longer unique and shared many of their components with their particular model line.
Earlier models of the Pontiac Safari have classic status which make them very expensive cars, especially if in mint condition. Later models are surprisingly useful and can serve as more sedate and classically styled alternatives to today's SUVs.
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