Come with me now in our time-travel machine to a ranch-style home in Richmond, Va., in April 1962 where Jim (an AC Delco dealer) and his wife, Mary, are having an interesting conversation.
Mary: Jim, you've been promising to buy me a new station wagon for almost a year now, and it's time to do it, or else.
Jim: Yes, Mary, you're right. (Shoot, there goes my Super Duty project for doing a little racing.) Tell me exactly what you would like.
Mary: Well, you know I need to feel safe, both going to the grocery story and when we're out doing 80 on the freeway.
Jim: Then we'll definitely need a big, stable car with lots of features like remote control mirrors on the fenders, underhood light for emergencies, tinted glass for good vision, a complete lamp package for our evenings out, 3-speed wipers given all the rain we get here, one of these new Addco rear sway bars, a luggage rack for all your luggage, a rear screen for those "hot times" we still enjoy, and certainly seat belts for total safety.
Mary: And of course, Jim, we need to be able to promptly get on and off the freeways.
Jim: All right, for sure we'll need at least a 389 Tri-Power engine, Safe-T-Track rear, 8-lug aluminum wheels, dual exhausts, and heavy-duty springs.
Mary: Also, I simply must have all the amenities we both like and deserve.
Jim: Hmmm ... guess that means power steering, brakes, rear window, A/C, auto tranny, cruise control, and the safeguard speedometer.
Mary: And Jimmy, we must have something I can show off to all my country club friends.
Jim: I'd better order this Bonneville Safari in Ensign Blue and add some neat stuff like bucket seats, floor shifter with console and tach, a Wonder Bar radio with rear speaker, floor mats, whitewalls, and to finish it all off, side sun shades. Hey, this is going to be some Pontiac machine for both of us, but the price of $5,473.33 is sure going to take a chunk out of my paycheck.
Whether or not such a conversation ever took place, my '62 Bonneville Safari has to be among the most expensive ever sold, Super Duties not withstanding. I am the third owner, and it really was ordered by an AC Delco dealer in Virginia. Supposedly, PMD made only five bucket-seat Bonnie Safaris.
So, if you see me and my wife blasting down a Denver freeway at 110 or so, remember what kind of a fun Pontiac a bit of spousal pressure can produce.
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