Pontiac Wide-Track Wheels Series ~ 1959 & 1960

▫ A Car for the New Smart Set▫

Purchase

"Come aboard a 1959 Pontiac and see why this rakish new automobile has been sailing away with the honors this year. Wide-Track Wheel design has played no small part and only Pontiac has it. Anchored, or in action, she's a trim car. Wide-Track Wheel design gives her a sleek, slender, harmonious appearance. She's balanced, not top-heavy, like conventional 'narrow gauge' cars. She a much discussed car, respected, admired and owned by a new smart set tuned to a new kind of automobile perspective."


▫ Introducing the 'Wide Track' ▫

1959 was a landmark year for GM's Pontiac division... as it marked the introduction of a new style... the 'Wide-Track' chassis. This bold styling trend employed a split grille theme, arrowhead emblem, and a new advertising slogan ~ "Wide-Track" or more precisely, "Wide-Track Wheels". The wide wheel base design was employed on three totally new series, the Bonneville, Catalina, and Star Chief. The next two years were witness to a variety of artistic and creative renderings of these automobiles in settings around the world, such as this luxury building with International flags, featuring an elegant creme '59 sedan. Purchase

▫ Bold New Styling ▫

The sleek and luxurious lines of this Wide-Track sedan could not be dampened by poor weather. The black of the umbrellas and yellows of the raincoats wonderfully frame this black '59 Bonneville. The split grille design prominently displayed in these ads remains a hallmark of Pontiac automobiles to this day. Purchase

▫ Emphasis on Luxury ▫

The Wide-Track design not only created an appealing, contemporary look, but also enhanced the performance, ride and handling of the vehicle... but style was usually emphasized over engineering in print advertising art, as demonstrated in this stunning orange ad featuring a Wide-Track outside the famed Shubert Theater. This ad is typical of the vivid and bold colors used to emphasize the modern styling and creativity behind this car, and with it the new decade of the 1960s. Purchase

▫ The Classic Convertible ▫

What car set would be complete without the convertible? Losing the top accentuates the peculiar design of the Wide-Track. The car was much lower to the ground. The wing or fin swept back along the quarter panels, which added to a more streamlined effect. This Bonneville sported the newly designed full glass curved windshield. Purchase

▫ 1960 Bonneville Vista ▫

It's a pleasure to play host in a Wide-Track Pontiac! Pontiac owners could impress their guests with the cars new roominess and luxury... This '60 Vista offered more comfortable seats, added head and leg room, and wider doors for easier entry and exit. Faultless interior appointments, fashionably styled and carefully fitted. The trim body width puts more car between the wheels for greater balance and driving precision. Purchase

▫ Spirit of Creative Design▫

Purchase

"Pontiac once again shuns the mediocre to create
the Fresh Point of View for 1960.
The prow is proud, pointedly tasteful, and exciting.
The horizontal bars of the grille suggest order.
There's a harmony in the profile,
A new-found freedom and grace, no meaningless adornment."

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