Pontiac Parisienne
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The Pontiac Parisienne was a full-size rear-wheel drive vehicle that was sold by Pontiac on General Motors' B platform in the US from 1983 to 1986. The Parisienne wagon continued under the Safari nameplate until 1989. In Canada, the Parisienne nameplate lasted from 1958 to 1986.
For most of its life, the Parisienne was a Canadian nameplate, sold in Pontiac's Canadian showrooms, while American Pontiac dealers sold the Catalina and Bonneville. In 1982, the Bonneville was downsized on the G-body while Pontiac's version of the B-body was dropped.
In early 1983, to gain back Pontiac customers who longed for a large rear wheel drive car, the Parisienne was imported from Canada (where the full-size model had not been dropped) and sold in the United States. Externally, it was a rebadged Chevrolet Impala (1983 to 1985 models had the Impala rear taillight panel fitted with Pontiac-spec taillight lenses, whereas the nose was borrowed from the Chevrolet Caprice fitted with a Pontiac grille). The 1985 to 1986 models resumed use of the rear-end styling from the 1980 to 1981 Bonneville.
Two Parisienne ranges were sold - a base model (similar to the former Catalina and the then-current Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale) in four-door sedan and Safari station wagon form, and a more-luxurious Brougham four-door sedan (with velour upholstery that featured loose-pillow fitted seats). No two-door models were offered.
The Pontiac Parisienne was a success, especially with customers who wanted a nicely appointed car at a reasonable price. The Parisienne still sold well when GM decided to drop the line after the 1986 model year. A front wheel drive model with the Bonneville name replaced the Parisienne; however, the wagon model (known just as "Safari") continued until 1989.
References & external links
| Pontiac road car timeline, United States market, 1960s-present - | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Mid-size | Coupe | Tempest | Grand Am | Grand Am | Grand Prix | GTO | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sedan | 6000 | Grand Prix | G8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal | Grand Prix | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full-size | Bonneville/Catalina/Star Chief/Executive | Parisienne | Bonneville | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 2-seater | Fiero | Solstice | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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