Growing up (I was born in 1963) in Canada in that era, I well remember my dad's appreciation of Pontiacs. He would trade in for a new Pontiac every 2-3 years, and he indeed ordered a 1970 Laurentian. He hated "white-knuckling" or slow overtaking when passing. So he made it a practice to always order the biggest engine commonly available, and ideally, it would be 400 ci or greater. So we had one of the 454 Laurentians like the one in the video. Ours was also green, but a 4-door hardtop and definitely had PS, PB, and Cruise Control. It had air conditioning and roll-up windows. Otherwise, it's very similar to the car in the video. I'm pretty sure it was the LS4 version of the 454. We lived in Alberta, which had (and still has) the lowest gasoline prices in Canada, which took some of the sting out of refueling the thirsty engine. Every summer, we took that car from Edmonton to Vancouver Island. The highway was two-lane then, except for short stretches of four-lane around the cities, so there were plenty of opportunities (and need) to pass large trucks and other slow-moving vehicles. My dad would tromp on the big pedal and effortlessly go past them. This never failed to bring a huge smile to his face, and he would often comment on the wisdom of ordering the big engine. He kept that Laurentian much longer than the usual 2-3 years and did not much like the 71 and later Pontiacs. Our family had switched its brand loyalty to Plymouth. This came about by my mom's 68 Roadrunner, ordered immediately after it became available. She kept the Roadrunner for 4+ years and then traded it for something more compact, a 72 340 Duster. The Duster had complete base equipment, including a 3 speed standard transmission, with only an AM radio and a 3.55 sure grip axle. The Roadrunner was pretty fast, and my Dad's 454 Laurentian was pretty close to the Roadrunner. The 340 Duster would walk away from either of them, and the Duster was the car I inherited upon getting my drivers license. With a childhood like that, it was pretty much mandatory that I became a hot rodder in adult life.

"You got your Chevrolet in my Pontiac! No, you got your Pontiac in my Chevrolet!"

Yup, here in Canada Pontiacs are 283s, 327s, 400s, 396s, 427s, 454s and heck even the 409 dual quad was in an early 60's Pontiac.

The Canadian Pontiacs were essentially Chevrolet chassis and drive train with Pontiac sheet metal sized to fit the Chevrolet chassis. IIRC American Pontiacs had the 455 PONTIAC engine. Buick had a 455 and Oldsmobile did as well. GREAT VIDEO!

Super cool. My dad taught me to drive on his '78 LTD wagon, 400-2v. He ordered it plain, too. Drove it home from the factory. Only p/s, p/b and intermittent wipers. He was so proud of that wiper option he could personally order for the first year ever. But nothing else. "Electric stuff breaks," he would say. Or, "what are you supposed to do with a dead battery and electric windows, if it starts raining!!??!!"... Lol No frills. Cool.

The Canadian cars are always fun adventures. When I was a kid, our neughbours on each side had identical green with black vinyl top Laurentians. Prior to that, my dad had a Parisienne (but it was gone by the time the neighbours got the Pontiac excitement). Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

As a Canadian, I appreciate your covering our unique cars. My father owned many, including 58, 63, 70, 71 and 72 Parisiennes. The 72 was a Grande Parisienne, which I don’t recall you mentioning. His last car was a Buick Park Avenue, which was for him aspirational. I inherited his love for Pontiacs and Buicks, having owned an Acadian, Grand Lemans, Solstice, G5, Lucerne and Lacrosse. It was sad to see Pontiac go. Love your channel.

As a Canadian and 60's Pontiac fan I love your Pontiac videos. As a kid we had Pontiacs and I fell in love with their style.

That's my former car!!! I had it from 2011 - early 2016, and got it roadworthy after it sitting for a while. I had some interest on eBay for $14K, but nothing materialized. I sold it to a local fellow who put the power steering & disc brakes on it, and the dual snorkel air cleaner. I sold him most of the parts for the upgrades. He sold it through Hemmings a couple years later to a fellow in Germany.

I'm a MoPar man down to my bones, but that is one Stunningly Beautiful Pontiac!

The lines on that blue Bonneville, beautiful design.

I miss Pontiac. We had several in the family over the last several decades. My last Pontiac was a 2001 Grand Am. It was a fun car but it was too small. I thought that was a mistake when they made a Bonneville a mid size car on the G body platform. I think that car should have been a Lemans

I noticed on the stat sheet that the only difference between those 454s were the single exhaust 345hp or dual exhaust 390hp! Amazing duals can add almost 50hp ✌💖☮

I’m from Nova Scotia. Back in 1970 the local R.C.M.P. had a Pontiac police interceptor with an LS6 450hp 454cid engine. I was friends with one of the officers who showed me the car’s engine and said it was scary fast.

One set of my grandparents would only own Fords, except in 73 my grandpa bought a new Pontiac Catalina. It was a 4dr, tan with tan interior. Soon after buying the Catalina my grandpa burn up an engine on an old VW Bug in Needles, AZ. My grandma and mom were driving to get my grandpa while a new engine was replacing the old one. They were in the desert and my grandma had just looked down at the speedometer and it was buried at 120mph. She let off the gas going over a small hill and there was a CHP so my grandma didn’t have time to hit her brakes so she passed him and immediately pulled over. Back then the speed limit was 70mph. When he got to my grandma, he said to her, “Lady, I don’t know how fast you were driving, but I was driving 80mph and you passed me like I was sitting still”. He went on to tell her that since he was driving 80 in a 70, he was only going to write her up for 10 over. So she got a ticket for 80 in a 70. On the way back home she told my grandpa that she couldn’t keep that Pontiac off of 100mph. My grandpa told her that the ticket she got, told her that indeed she could keep it off of 100mph.

As a Canadian from Ontario with family working at GM Oshawa for decades on dad's side, videos like this give me so much pride, thank you so much Adam, Merry Christmas and a happy new year🇨🇦😃🇧🇲👍❤️

One of our neighbors bought a 1970 Pontiac Executive brand new. It was a four door hardtop, yellow with a white vinyl roof. I fell in love with that car from day one. Their house was our bus stop, so every day of the school year until I started high school, I ogled that car. Since the wife was also our school secretary, sometimes if I missed the bus, I caught a ride with her to or from school. 1970 will always be my favorite full-size Pontiac. From every angle, it is so smooth.

When I was a kid in Canada, my father had that exact green 2 door 70 Laurentian. But I think it was a 350. He bought a new car every 3 years. The next one was a LeSabre 73. Because my Mom was hooked on the commercial "wouldn't you rather drive a Buick". I was 10 years old in 1970.

My 1970 Bonnevile had a 455 in it. I LOVED that car!

The late 60s Beaumonts are pretty cool, basically just a chevelle with a pontiac grille.

18-19K for a stripped out Canadian Pontiac sounds high to me, otherwise and as usual, outstanding content Adam!!!!

I had 67 Beaumont when I was a teenager. It had a 283 but I swapped in a 327 with a 6-pack. I liked the Beaumont's front grille more than the Chevelle's but I preferred the Chevelle's narrow taillights. Surprisingly the Beaumont's rear suspension trailing arms were more heavy duty than the Chevelle's. That Beaumont was a great car🙂

LOVE it! I still have that very same brochure. My second car was a 1970 Parisienne. 2dr HT, 350 4bbl 4-bolt with a TH350, 2.73 posi. Light yellow, green vinyl bench, column shift, AM radio, manual windows, tan vinyl roof. It was as if the original purchaser's goal was to build something that existed only to eat up highway miles, and that it did! Wow do I miss that car. One day I got really excited; my Grandpa gave me a mint set of Holley finned aluminum valve covers, the holes weren't even knocked out. I rushed out to the car to eyeball them, and then I remembered: I had a Chevy engine. So I traded those valve covers for a '65 Polara sedan! (Quick notes...the 2+2 was the top trim level, and these were NOT the same body as US full-sized Pontiacs; these had the Chevy wheelbase and were 3" shorter between the rear wheel opening and the door!)

My first car was a 1970 Catalina Station. As a teenager it was awesome. Fire engine red and a 455. Great memories.

I thought that thumbnail was a collage of different cars pasted together as a joke. Nope, that four eyed bird beak is an actual car someone designed and people paid money to own. From other angles it makes more sense. Fascinating video as always!

You have such a good attitude about the vehicles you didn’t buy…we should all be so easy going…enjoy what you have…let the other guy enjoy his.

The 70 big Pontiacs were (in my mind) an unsung body style. This Canadian rendering is a unique and beautiful car.

My dad bought a new 1970 Strato-chief 4 doors in gold, It was the most beautiful car he owned to my taste. It only had AM radio and probably the 6 cylinder.

As a Chevy guy that likes Pontiac and Oldsmobile (and has been in the dealer world as a technician employed by said dead brands) I have never heard of this before. And I'm quite the GM historian. Nice video.

I had one with a 350 2 bbl. Wonderful car. Finally just rusted away in central Minnesota.

Wow, you mean a country that recognizes the importance of keeping its population working and keeping the LOCAL economy healthy? What a concept!

Let them say what they want about these cars. I think they are beautiful!

I always wanted a Canadian Mercury pickup truck. It was based on a Ford truck.... Thanks, Adam for this watch, always liked the Canadian cars.

great video once again. Love that gold interior.!! My Dad was always a huge Pontiac guy here in Canada. One of his was a brand new 76 Pontiac Gran Safari Clam shell wagon with a 454! I drove it to high school for my first 2 years. Alway had a load of friends tagging alone. Love the moan - howl when the 4 barrels open under hard Excelleration LOL

That is an interesting car and definitely a special order. My driver's ed car in the summer of 1970 was a four door Pontiac but it was loaded with PS PB AC and a big V8. The instructor (basketball coach) said that his brake pedal on the right side would not stop the car if one of us floored it.

My cousin had an 1980 Pontiac from Canada and it had a Oldsmobile 330 cubic inch, with a dummy 4 barrel carburetor.

I was lucky enough to be old enough to love cars when my older neighbor Had all these as a young man and went on to be a car rental biz. Pontiac hot rods, Bently, chevy hot rods. No less 400cid. Dickey did all the weddings, proms, dates, etc. Wondorful collection and I loved being his friend. RIP Dickey collection worth millons. Dual quads no bigge, grt. mechanic and so kind a hot rodder shared memories with taking us to school first day every yr. In a hot rod drop top. Loved his drop top biscayne. You will be remembered for kindness that lasts a lifetime.

The bodies from the firewall back were the same as Catalina. The sheet metal in the front clip was shorter, as Canadian Pontiacs used the Chevy frame with its shorter wheelbase and narrower track. There was a model above Parisienne. That was the Grande Parisienne. Strato Chief was the equivalent of the Biscayne. Laurentian was equal to the Bel Air. Parisienne was equal to Impala. Grande Parisienne was the equivalent of the Caprice, but very rare.

We had a 74 Parisienne when I was a kid, and it had the 350 4-bbl in it. It was decently peppy! My grandfather had I think it was the dark green Laurentian - it was from 70 or 71. I just have a vague memory of the picture of it in my mind. Loved those Canada-specific Pontiacs! I'd love to pick me up a 69 Beaumont and fix it up some day.

What a fantastic car and history lesson. Crazy this car was on Hemmings @6 years ago for only $12k. If it’s the same car, the one on there had a 2.56 rear gear I wonder what the top speed was lol

Looking at the interior door panels, they remind me of my grandfathers 1974 Caprice.

This car was listed back in the mid 2000s for $10,000 CDN on Autotrader. The story was a Doctor in Ontario bought it to drive south in the winter to Florida. It also has a 2.54 rear end for serious highway cruising. Still a super cool car.

So nice to see this video Adam. Thanks for posting this and educating us as usual. As I stated before, I never knew my parents 283 in their 65 Laurentian was a Chevy engine until I watched your channel. This particular specimen is a real beauty of a sleeper car. Funny how sleeper cars are often green eh?...lol You are so right about how Canadians viewed Chevy's as secondary to Pontiacs. I remember a friend's dad having a beautiful 2 door 1976 Caprice, but, it wasn't a Pontiac. I grew up in Oshawa so it was nice to see paperwork with it on it. Maybe at some point you'll discuss how Mr. Durant brought Buick to Col. McLaughlin in Oshawa. Wishing you a Happy Hanukkah/Merry Christmas (which ever applies) to you and your family. Cheers..

Who knew? You sing VERY well and I have sung semi-professionally for years so I know a good voice when I hear it!

Another fascinating video. Laurentian? Mmmmmmm ok. More trivia bombness. Thank you!

I didn't see many Pontiac police cars back in the day, but this beauty has that police sleeper look.

Channel content keeps getting more and more interesting. Another thumbs up and continued subscription. Well done Adam and thank you. 💪👍😊

I like the bare bones Laurentian with the dog dish hubcaps.

This was a very interesting video, Adam. I always enjoy learning more about Canadian market cars.

Man, that green Laurentian looks great. Added points for having steelies and caps! That thing is right up my alley!

The 1965 Auto Pact reduced the need for these unique Canadian Pontiacs. My Dad bought a LeMans Sport in 1970 with what our mechanic dubbed an American 350 -- meaning a Pontiac, not Chevy V8. So, this approach was being phased out by 1970, though I'm not sure when the practice ended. And, ironically, in a few years, getting a different division GM engine in your car would become a pan-North American thing!

My father bought our family's first new car in 1968 - Pontiac Parisienne 2 door (non-post) coup with a 327 2bbl and a powerglide transmission. It was dark green, so dark it almost looked black.

My Aunt had this car,a bit lighter green,she would race my Father in his 72 Grand Prix SJ leaving Grandmas house after Christmas,Dad was always the one that got pulled over!!Canary Yellow with Mags and duals ,air shocks,

At least the body lines up right with the Chevrolet frames, unlike the wide-track bodies of earlier years. Still so strange to see one of these Chevriacs as I call them. That car has a muscular look to it, if a full size coupe in 1970 can look that way. Neat car.

The black one at ~ 1:20, - 1:45 ~ is gorgeous.

Thanks Adam. That blue color on that Pontiac at the beginning is gorgeous!

👍from🇨🇦. I didn't know till your show that Canadian gm product were so different from US GMs .

my daily is a 70 executive. love that boat

1:42 I owned a 69 Bonnie 2 door hardtop with the 454. Man did that car have road presence! It inhaled gas at an alarming rate but it meant business on the highway. I could also lay out across the enormous back seat.

Nifty car - would love to have owned something like that. I drove a friend's 1970 454 Monte Carlo a couple times and loved the effortless power and smooth ride.

Had a rough 70 parisenne in 79 lots of power.

So cool! Love it. My dad had a 68 Pontiac Laurentian with a 327 and a powerglide.

1:14 the Grandville looks like it was Frankensteined out of several different GM models.. Pontiac, Olds and Cadillac Eldorado. pretty cool

That blue Bonny! Love me some 70s Pontiacs regardless of their configuration. Interesting post. Thank you, Adam!

I thought the green Pontiac sedan in this vid was a front pic of an early 70s Ford LTD. Almost identical, hard to believe one wasn't imitating the other to compete in sales performance.

I worked at a Buick/Oldsmobile dealership in 1976. I had to pick up an old lady’s 1970 LeSabre at home for service. It too had manual steering and brakes. I was 19 and wondered how in the world this woman ever drove this thing!

Really cool car,I would love to drive it!

Ha, the licence plate gives it away. Nice to see a fellow Canadian 🇨🇦. 😃

I hope you're channel is well monetized. You contend is incredible.

At first glance, I saw my next door neighbor's 70 455 Bonneville in Palisade Green. Although he worked for gm, every time he washed it, he would complain about the new 12/12 warranty. Didn't know Pontiac outsold Chevy, especially with all Canadian Chevys that were around in Western PA. Good stuff as usual.

Ah yes, the good old "Armstrong" steering option. 😅

Really interesting video. My great uncle had an American Pontiac 1970 Bonneville Safari with the 455 back in the day. 😊It would have been interesting to have both cars side by side to see the differences.

Another reason for the Grand Ville was early 70s US ban on raising prices. Since the Grand Ville did not exist before, it could get the price increase that Pontiac wanted to put on the Bonneville.

Pretty damn cool. I would drive it. Arm rest and inside door handles look like 70's Chevelle?

That was cool to watch thank you..

The Canadian Pontiacs 65-70 are probably the easiest and cheapest respectable classic cars to work on and keep running. So much of the mechanical parts cross over in those years. And we have 65-70 Chevrolets to thank for a good parts supply. Great video.

The Canadian prairie might be the best place in the world to drive a car with a ~600-lb. engine and no power steering, weather permitting.

Gotta love the pure Canadian muscle Adam, also don't forget the 2 Pontiac Canadian subrands like Acadian and Beaumont.

Our Dad had a 1970 Bonneville with the HO 455. I can still remember how much fun it was when he would pull up beside a kid in a "hot rod" and blow them away at traffic lights.

Thank you Adam. I like the fact you talked about when Pontiac switched away from performance to luxury in the 1970's. We know they went back to performance in the 1980's. I also like that you mentioned "Grand Bonneville" too. I also liked how you explained the Parisienne and explained things as well. I have so often tried to explain it that to people. You have said it so well and in great detail. Another excellent video.

I loved that grill. If only I could have afforded one back then.

Another great video Adam, my week is complete now.

Love that car! With a 4-speed it would be perfect!

I had a 1970 2+2 Parisienne in the 80s. I wouldn't mind having that one again...

Always thought the full size pontiacs were awesome, with the huge pointed front ends. They were long, low and pointed, very cool.

How many light do you want on the front, boss? All of them.

At high school one kid had a 1970 Parisienne with a big block. He fried tires every chance he got. I had 1967 Pontiac Bonneville 2 door ht, Canadian Chevrolet Chevelle clone. Previous owner built 283. I was able peg the speedo round somewhere north of 140mph. That was nuts.

my first car at 16 was a 79 laurentian with a 305 I miss it

I sometimes wish I could option a car with no frills, big powerful dreamy ride - with no power sucking appliances under the hood and chips and computers running everything until they fail. I have never driven a Pontiac, despite being Canadian lol!

Pontiac Beaumont looking just like Chevelle 327 bowtie motor

“I guess there wasn’t much parallel parking in Canada at that time…” LOL. Just like the U.S., the majority of Canadian population is urban (back then and now). Regardless, it is amazing that folks opted for non-power steering for such heavy cars.

no power steering /brakes ,maybe the org owner lived out in farm land down side roads or open hi way drives to the big town

I believe that car was next to mine at the 1989 POCI Convention in Cheektowaga, NY. Two Verdoro Green Pontiacs, My 1968 Bonneville, and this 1970 Laurentian.

I still have my uncle's 1970 laurentain and it has the 454 when he got out of the service he was in Canada for four weeks debriefing and he bought it brand new And got it with every option available for that year, it's totally original except i had it painted and I went with fathom green instead of the original green cause it looks great, but it's done right and it looks like it was originally fathom green, i didn't just paint the exterior i did it right, the door jamb, s trunk underside anywhere it was painted i repainted it, he drove it for years until he got to sick in 2006 and he willed it to me when he passed away, before he passed away his sight was getting bad and I would take him out in it and drive him around and play 8 tracks of the Doobie Brothers and Boston and we would have a good time. It has dark brown interior and it also looks like new, the only thing I had to replace was the carpet cause the driver side had a spot that was wore from where your foot sits below the gas pedal and I kept the original carpet, i drive it all the time and it will fly. Everything works, I've been offered a lot of money for it but it's not going anywhere, if you want to do a video of it I don't mind, i live in ky, it's spotless even under the hood and trunk it looks like it's never been outside lol

OMG! The front end styling of this thing is F-U-G-L-Y!

Older Brother had a Canadian made 1968 Pontiac Fire Bird Formula 400 that had a Chevy big block 402 factory installed engine.

Not just big blocks... The 1967 Pontiac Parisienne convertible I've got has the factory Chevrolet 283 V8 with Powerglide. It actually moves along pretty good. I've also got the "hockey stick" gas pedal.

Love the color. Or colour was it?

I had a 70 Catalina dark green with green interior. I bought it from a elderly neighbor in 1983 for $1500 it had a little over 50,000 miles and near new looking interior. That car rode so nice and handled well. I drove it from Pennsylvania to Houston Texas with no problems.

My parents had one, it could never get traction, 454 and skinny tires. lol. They gave me their old 1960 Catalina with a 389 and 3, 2s. That car was one fast boat with shoe brakes. Took about ten miles to stop. lol.