This video show a 1956 Pontiac Star Chief DeLuxe Convertible without the fender skirts, Strato-Streak V-8 engine, rear radio power antenna, as well as pushbutton radio, optional seat belts, and whitewall tires. Some 1955 and 1956 Pontiacs do equipped with optional fender skirts as the original accessory, including the 4 door Catalina hardtop for 1956.
I read a Car & Driver test of a Bonneville from around this time, that had been restored, maybe 20 years ago. They had the original window sticker and with power windows, locks, seat and AC it added up to about $5,800, which must have been a king's ransom back then.
PC No - You were probably reading about the 1957 Bonneville ,which was a low production super car in its first year - only 630 were built - (one to each dealer) - and,yes it was quite expensive,at the price that you mentioned - they are highly sought after as collectibles today....
I learned to drive in the old man's '56 Pontiac Star Chief station wagon. That thing was size of today's tiny house. The steering wheel was about six feet across. Once I did get my license, this was the only car I had for a year. Nothing like showing up for a date in a 20 foot long station wagon. I hated that car. Even worse, he traded it on for a poop brown '64 Chevy Biscayne 4 door. Bottom of the line stick shift with black walls and dog dish hubcaps. The only options were the heater, AM non-push button radio and spotlites...on both sides. The old man loved spotlites. Girls thought I was some kind of undercover cop.
@@sarjim4381 ive daily driven these for the last 7 years. The star chief has some length but overall is still not much larger when put side by side with modern cars.
3:53 This sounds like an early version of the positive-crankcase-ventilation that was mandated as a pollution control in CA in the early 1960s and is standard on nearly all cars today.
5:00 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydramatic "controlled coupling" was an oddity that GM added to its cantankerous 4 speed Hydramatic for its last 9 years of production; it used a fluid coupling as a synchronizer and sprag-clutches to complete some shifts. Seems that early versions didn't work that well; maybe the input and output didn't synchronize fast enough for some conditions and owners complained about early failures. By 1964, GM had given up on the Hydramatic and patterned its 3 speed Turbo-Hydramatic after the transmissions Ford and Borg-Warner had been building for years, but Rolls Royce continued to build Hydramatics under license until 1967 and to sell them until 1970.
@@badcompany-w6s I had a '55 in the late '70s. Can confirm! There was some minor sheetmetal "tweeking" between '55 and '56 (mainly on the front end/grille and side trim.) Same basic body for '55-'57 (shared "A" body with Chevrolet).
@@jimmyfleetwood1118 Plus just about EVERY part of the body structure too. The exterior sheet metal was real major difference. There was chassis and drive train difference (more than most would suspect,given what GM would do by the late 70s.)
This promotional film would have been effective in 1952, but by 1956 it is passe. In 1956 people were more sophisticated. Bunkie Knudsen knew this when he helped update the Pontiac design for 1957.
Yes,it's true that safety equipment had not yet been made available on the cars of that time;but,that was true of all cars made in that era.Safety equipment did not really begin to appear on cars until the 1967 model year,when it was mandated by the Federal government....
Not a single mention about safety features. Ah, 'twas a time of the rugged motorist, who sneered at the prospect of being ejected in a roll-over, or wearing a steering column in his chest, or leaving a body-shaped cavity in the dash after a head-on.
Asbestos was used in the brake linings of cars in that time period,and for many years afterward.There was no information available yet about the hazards of asbestos....
It cracks me up we hardly ever locked our cars. Now if someone is going to walk thirty feet to pay for gas the car is locked and all the windows are closed. Even in summer when it's 95 degrees out side the windows aren't cracked an inch.
The necessity for "passing power" is one of the most prominent and consistent lies employed by the auto industry since it's inception in America 125 years ago, to defeat the idea of installing speed governors on vehicles.
Here's the issue: Tens of thousands of films similar to this one have been lost forever -- destroyed -- and many others are at risk. Our company preserves these precious bits of history one film at a time. How do we afford to do that? By selling them as stock footage to documentary filmmakers and broadcasters. If we did not have a counter, we could not afford to post films like these online, and no films would be preserved. It's that simple. So we ask you to bear with the watermark and timecodes. In the past we tried many different systems including placing our timer at the bottom corner of our videos. What happened? Unscrupulous TH-cam users downloaded our vids, blew them up so the timer was not visible, and re-posted them as their own content! We had to use content control to have the videos removed and shut down these channels. It's hard enough work preserving these films and posting them, without having to spend precious time dealing with policing thievery -- and not what we devoted ourselves to do. Love our channel and want to support what we do? You can help us save and post more orphaned films! Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/PeriscopeFilm Even a really tiny contribution can make a difference.
@@PeriscopeFilm yes, I can understand that very well! And it is very nice that you are receiving these film treasures, simply wonderful! I have classic cars myself and also one of these wonderful 1956 Pontiacs! And I'm just reminiscing and it bothered me a lot to have that in the picture. I really enjoy traveling in the good old Pontiac and I think it's wonderful for my soul, a journey to a more beautiful time.Wie hier z.B.: -> th-cam.com/video/TYYE0IzOLq4/w-d-xo.html
Wow, those are some seriously ugly cars! Big chrome fish heads with wheels! The extreme over-use of chrome and steel . . . there's enough there to build three or four of today's cars. As for performance, my Leaf has way more usable power and the motor is the size of a breadbox! But I understand how some people feel nostalgic about old cars- some were really beautiful. I love the old Thunderbirds for instance!
The plastic bumpers on modern cars are far more practical; they can take a 2.5 MPH hit with no damage (the requirement up until the 1970s was 1.25, then it went to 5 until the early 1980s) and they don't rust out. But they usually look kind of cheap compared to the big chrome on those old cars. I saw a review of the 1973 Pontiac Grand Am, one of the first cars with all-plastic bumpers and the reviewer said it looked as if it were made by Hasbro.
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, That's AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that a car in 2020 has better performance from a smaller motor than a car from 64 YEARS AGO!!! Next you'll BLOW OUR MINDS with the concept that a tiny iPhone from even 2007 has MORE COMPUTING POWER than a 1982 Commodore 64!!! Gee, Stellar observation that technology ADVANCES in 64 friggin' years! I'm DAMNED sure any 1956 automobile was WORLDS better than any automobile from 1892.
Interesting mind set. A '56 Pontiac weights less then many modern cars (only 400 Lbs more than a Prius and about the same as the Leaf, per GOOGLE, by the way). Not quite enough to build 3 or 4 new cars, eh? When there was better gas, they regularly got 24 MPG, and a life span as long as anybody want's it to last. Mine has 513K miles.
@@CrowdControl123 I know. I'm not surprised. that's how technology is. Apollo was 50 years ago. Everyone loves to point out how "primitive" computers were then. But stop and think it was only 66 years from the Wright brothers first flight until the man went to the MOON. We need to stop thinking "how lame" old technology is, but rather appreciate how fast technology advances.
![ค้าง (STILL) - GEMINI [ OFFICIAL MV ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ftxx3hk5vkU/mqdefault.jpg)
![[UNCUT] เก็บ "สจ.โต้ง" เอี่ยวมาเฟีย รู้ตัวคนบงการ ก่อนสั่งลั่นไก I คนดังนั่งเคลียร์ I 13 ธ.ค.67](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/o-J_p62D40w/mqdefault.jpg)
We need to bring these cars back. American 1950s cars are the best cars
I owned 3 Pontiacs in my life, enjoyed each of them. Would love to have a 56 Pontiac convertible!
I can absolutely see myself in a Pontiac!
I'm sold. I'm headed to my local Pontiac dealer today!
Good luck with that. (they stopped making Pontiacs)
Just Terrific!!!
It was the '56 that started Pontiac on the road to becoming GM's "Performance" division. In a handful of years we get the Grand Prix and GTO.
MY GRANDPARENTS HAD A PINK/WHITE `56 sTAR cHIEF cUSTOM cATALINA 4DR. HARDTOP IDENTICAL TO THE ONE IN THE OPENING SCENE. IT EVEN HAD THE FENDER SKIRTS!
This video show a 1956 Pontiac Star Chief DeLuxe Convertible without the fender skirts, Strato-Streak V-8 engine, rear radio power antenna, as well as pushbutton radio, optional seat belts, and whitewall tires. Some 1955 and 1956 Pontiacs do equipped with optional fender skirts as the original accessory, including the 4 door Catalina hardtop for 1956.
I read a Car & Driver test of a Bonneville from around this time, that had been restored, maybe 20 years ago. They had the original window sticker and with power windows, locks, seat and AC it added up to about $5,800, which must have been a king's ransom back then.
PC No - You were probably reading about the 1957 Bonneville ,which was a low production super car in its first year - only 630 were built - (one to each dealer) - and,yes it was quite expensive,at the price that you mentioned - they are highly sought after as collectibles today....
I love my gto's
I just told my Wife - we've GOT to run out and get the new 1956 Pontiac!! 😁
I have one love it
The 1956 Pontiac really was a great car - My father had one,many years ago - loved that car - I may look for one myself....
I learned to drive in the old man's '56 Pontiac Star Chief station wagon. That thing was size of today's tiny house. The steering wheel was about six feet across. Once I did get my license, this was the only car I had for a year. Nothing like showing up for a date in a 20 foot long station wagon. I hated that car. Even worse, he traded it on for a poop brown '64 Chevy Biscayne 4 door. Bottom of the line stick shift with black walls and dog dish hubcaps. The only options were the heater, AM non-push button radio and spotlites...on both sides. The old man loved spotlites. Girls thought I was some kind of undercover cop.
Nothing like showing up for a date in a 19-foot-long '69 Vista Cruiser! ;o)
Funny you should say the '56 is that big. I park mine next to modern Subarus that are bigger.
Oh please. These cars are small.
@@SugarBearMosher an overall length of 206 inches, over 17 feet, was small? I can tell you've never driven one.
@@sarjim4381 ive daily driven these for the last 7 years. The star chief has some length but overall is still not much larger when put side by side with modern cars.
Our local GM dealership, Sandman Brothers have a like new 2 door hardtop in their showroom.
Keen and swell is what it is, by golly.
Major Dick “Gee Wally, I bet even Eddie Haskell would look nifty in one of these!”
Didn't have to roll up and lock up because we were a better people back then...
3:53 This sounds like an early version of the positive-crankcase-ventilation that was mandated as a pollution control in CA in the early 1960s and is standard on nearly all cars today.
These have a road draft tube that vents the fumes near the bottom of the oil pan. Not a PCV system, which in some form, started in the early 1960's.
Back when American cars were low and wide and the people were long and lean...
5:00 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydramatic
"controlled coupling" was an oddity that GM added to its cantankerous 4 speed Hydramatic for its last 9 years of production; it used a fluid coupling as a synchronizer and sprag-clutches to complete some shifts. Seems that early versions didn't work that well; maybe the input and output didn't synchronize fast enough for some conditions and owners complained about early failures. By 1964, GM had given up on the Hydramatic and patterned its 3 speed Turbo-Hydramatic after the transmissions Ford and Borg-Warner had been building for years, but Rolls Royce continued to build Hydramatics under license until 1967 and to sell them until 1970.
GREAT VIDEO I ONCE HAD A 56 PONTIAC
Isn't that the model Pontiac that Lucy and Ricky and Fred and Ethel drove out to California in.
@jason9022 I checked with Google. It said theirs was a 1955. This one and the 1955 look about the same.
@@badcompany-w6s I had a '55 in the late '70s. Can confirm! There was some minor sheetmetal "tweeking" between '55 and '56 (mainly on the front end/grille and side trim.) Same basic body for '55-'57 (shared "A" body with Chevrolet).
@@jamesslick4790 Shared only the roof, doors and glass with Chevy.
@@jimmyfleetwood1118 Plus just about EVERY part of the body structure too. The exterior sheet metal was real major difference. There was chassis and drive train difference (more than most would suspect,given what GM would do by the late 70s.)
@@jamesslick4790 Similar, but not interchangeable.
They sure don't make freedom like this no more
This promotional film would have been effective in 1952, but by 1956 it is passe. In 1956 people were more sophisticated.
Bunkie Knudsen knew this when he helped update the Pontiac design for 1957.
Pontiac - as smooth as a bullet down a rifle barrel ! 😂
"Straight and True".
And as fast!
Such a shame.. considering the American history of automobile , they should now be reliable and durbil and good looking
Hmmmm....what went wrong alomg the way......ah yes....mediocracy ..and lack of style.
Those Old Lead Sleds were Deathtraps!!
Lead sleds are poorly crafted, hand modified, custom cars from the '50s. And they were death traps.
Yes,it's true that safety equipment had not yet been made available on the cars of that time;but,that was true of all cars made in that era.Safety equipment did not really begin to appear on cars until the 1967 model year,when it was mandated by the Federal government....
She's a beauty that's for sure but I'll take my 67 LeMans convertible any day 🏁
Lol...and ill keep my 70 GTO convertible also...but i would love to drive the '56 for a weekend.....
@@richrojo2010 one thing's for sure. They don't make them like they used to..
The '67 LeMans is a very desirable car,for sure - but,I would gladly bet that the '56 Pontiac was a much higher quality car....
Not a single mention about safety features. Ah, 'twas a time of the rugged motorist, who sneered at the prospect of being ejected in a roll-over, or wearing a steering column in his chest, or leaving a body-shaped cavity in the dash after a head-on.
Survival of the fittest
12:35 Poor kid
yeah i'll take one
Did they use asbestos in this model?
@Norlin Kalamazoo ...BUT-could it be that the "Commie Bastards" posed as Conservatives to kill more Americans with dangerous products??
Asbestos was used in the brake linings of cars in that time period,and for many years afterward.There was no information available yet about the hazards of asbestos....
I wonder what the modern day equivalent (either American, European or otherwise) would be.?
Wow, in 56 you didnt have to lock up your car!!!!?
It cracks me up we hardly ever locked our cars. Now if someone is going to walk thirty feet to pay for gas the car is locked and all the windows are closed. Even in summer when it's 95 degrees out side the windows aren't cracked an inch.
Yes i know ,it is a shame how times change
Canadian Pontiacs, were little more than Chevrolets and not U.S Pontiacs.
I prefer Chevys...
Well, Whoever made this film is good with that, GM still gets the money!
To each their own - I personally prefer the Pontiac....
E
The necessity for "passing power" is one of the most prominent and consistent lies employed by the auto industry since it's inception in America 125 years ago, to defeat the idea of installing speed governors on vehicles.
THANX to BATH HOUSE barry for eliminating real American icon😡😡😡😡
this stupid time shooting overlay!!!
Here's the issue: Tens of thousands of films similar to this one have been lost forever -- destroyed -- and many others are at risk. Our company preserves these precious bits of history one film at a time. How do we afford to do that? By selling them as stock footage to documentary filmmakers and broadcasters. If we did not have a counter, we could not afford to post films like these online, and no films would be preserved. It's that simple. So we ask you to bear with the watermark and timecodes.
In the past we tried many different systems including placing our timer at the bottom corner of our videos. What happened? Unscrupulous TH-cam users downloaded our vids, blew them up so the timer was not visible, and re-posted them as their own content! We had to use content control to have the videos removed and shut down these channels. It's hard enough work preserving these films and posting them, without having to spend precious time dealing with policing thievery -- and not what we devoted ourselves to do.
Love our channel and want to support what we do? You can help us save and post more orphaned films! Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/PeriscopeFilm Even a really tiny contribution can make a difference.
@@PeriscopeFilm yes, I can understand that very well! And it is very nice that you are receiving these film treasures, simply wonderful! I have classic cars myself and also one of these wonderful 1956 Pontiacs! And I'm just reminiscing and it bothered me a lot to have that in the picture. I really enjoy traveling in the good old Pontiac and I think it's wonderful for my soul, a journey to a more beautiful time.Wie hier z.B.: -> th-cam.com/video/TYYE0IzOLq4/w-d-xo.html
Wow, those are some seriously ugly cars! Big chrome fish heads with wheels! The extreme over-use of chrome and steel . . . there's enough there to build three or four of today's cars. As for performance, my Leaf has way more usable power and the motor is the size of a breadbox! But I understand how some people feel nostalgic about old cars- some were really beautiful. I love the old Thunderbirds for instance!
The plastic bumpers on modern cars are far more practical; they can take a 2.5 MPH hit with no damage (the requirement up until the 1970s was 1.25, then it went to 5 until the early 1980s) and they don't rust out. But they usually look kind of cheap compared to the big chrome on those old cars. I saw a review of the 1973 Pontiac Grand Am, one of the first cars with all-plastic bumpers and the reviewer said it looked as if it were made by Hasbro.
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, That's AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that a car in 2020 has better performance from a smaller motor than a car from 64 YEARS AGO!!! Next you'll BLOW OUR MINDS with the concept that a tiny iPhone from even 2007 has MORE COMPUTING POWER than a 1982 Commodore 64!!! Gee, Stellar observation that technology ADVANCES in 64 friggin' years! I'm DAMNED sure any 1956 automobile was WORLDS better than any automobile from 1892.
Interesting mind set. A '56 Pontiac weights less then many modern cars (only 400 Lbs more than a Prius and about the same as the Leaf, per GOOGLE, by the way). Not quite enough to build 3 or 4 new cars, eh? When there was better gas, they regularly got 24 MPG, and a life span as long as anybody want's it to last. Mine has 513K miles.
@@jamesslick4790 an iPhone 12 has more computing power than all of NASA during the entire Apollo program.
@@CrowdControl123 I know. I'm not surprised. that's how technology is. Apollo was 50 years ago. Everyone loves to point out how "primitive" computers were then. But stop and think it was only 66 years from the Wright brothers first flight until the man went to the MOON. We need to stop thinking "how lame" old technology is, but rather appreciate how fast technology advances.