Curbside Classic Capsule: 1988 Pontiac Safari

Paul Niedermeyer
by Paul Niedermeyer

Curbside Classic keeps generating spin-offs. The Outtakes were intended to be for the cars that didn’t make the cut for a full-on CC. But I (rightly) got grilled when I put the mile stone 1978 Mercury Marquis Brougham (the last of the Ford-Mercury land barges) into a CC Outtake. But I still have this problem of too many cars shot and not enough time. Ergo; a new category: CC Capsules. It’s for cars that generally qualify for CC status, but lack the compelling qualities to inspire a lengthy tome, and might be a bit on the younger side. Anyway I do this, I’m bound to disappoint somebody. So here’s our first CCC: a mightily well preserved 1988 (I think) Pontiac Safari wagon:

Like a poker player reluctant to show his cards until the right time, I have some trepidation about exposing this car now. I’m planning a full-on CC for the ground breaking 1977 Chevrolet Impala/Caprice, and this Pontiac is of course just a badge-engineered version of that. Well, the 1980 reskin, that is. So let’s try to restrain ourselves and keep our enthusiastic attention on the Pontiac, and not on its Chevy donor.

The Pontiac B-Body has quite an interesting story of its own anyway. The downsized 1977 Catalina and Bonneville didn’t sell as well as its Chevy, Olds and Buick cousins from the start. In the midst of that nasty 1981 second energy crisis, Pontiac pulled the plug and did a 1962 Plymouth/Dodge re-enactment: forsook full size cars altogether, and transformed the mid-sized LeMans into the Bonneville Model G. It had almost the same consequence as the Chrysler fiasco; and just like Dodge quickly cobbled up a full size 880 from the family parts bins, so Pontiac reached up to Canada, where the full-sized Parisienne had never been canceled.

What makes this (sort of) interesting is that the Canadian Parisienne was truly just a badge-engineered Chevy Caprice, unlike the ’77-81 US B-Body Pontiacs, which had their own unique exterior skin and a coupe. We touched on this whole Canadian Chevy/Pontiac incest history here, and at least Pontiac had the honesty to now call it the Parisienne, instead of a Bonneville. The Parisienne also ended up with a brief lifespan, from ’83 through ’86, after which it was replaced by the new FWD Bonneville.

But the new 1987 H-Body lacked wagons, so the Safari stumbled along through 1989. I’m not certain of the exact year of this wagon, because there were very few if any changes in those last years. Being true Chevys, the Parisienne and Safari wagons only had SBC V8s under the hood, a 140 hp 305 in the case of the wagon.

This particular Safari is a mighty well-kept example. And the Collectible Automobile magazine featuring Pontiacs laying on the back seat makes it clear this is not being driven by granny anymore. It’s fallen into the hands of a dedicated Ponchophile, despite its provenance.



Paul Niedermeyer
Paul Niedermeyer

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  • Hungrybear Hungrybear on Jul 28, 2013

    Love seeing these cars on the net I just bought one myself. I just broke 63K original miles on mine it was a one owner car he keep it nice a few missing trim pieces on the outside but the inside is pretty much perfect my kids love sitting in the back and looking out the back window and I love being able to roll down the back window takes me back and I love the looks and questions I get from people I love it more when I pull up playing the national lampoons theme song "Holiday Road" its hard not to laugh but I love it!!! its fun to throw my bicycles on the roof rack that throws people off to and makes them smile which I love. Great car wouldn't trade it for anything. :)

  • Goldwolfnhn Goldwolfnhn on Jul 07, 2018

    Ok time to clear some things up, First off I own a 1987 Pontiac Safari, they only came with the olds 307, but some might not realize that because it is still considered a 5 liter engines just like the chevy 305. Also there was Never a sedan version of the Safari, the Safari brand was only ever a station wagon. As to which make was the cream of the crop why not find the MSRP on chevy and buick and I have proof that my 87 Safari cost $17,003.00 with all the options it had, but then an additional 788.00 for the extra protection packages added by the dealership. Also the wood grain siding option cost 345 dollars power windows 285 power locks 245 power 6 way drivers seat 240 my wagon had 2,564 dollars in options

  • ToolGuy This might be a good option for my spouse when it becomes available -- thought about reserving one but the $500 deposit is a little too serious. Oh sorry, that was the Volvo EX30, not the Mustang. Is Volvo part of Ford? Is the Mustang an EV? I'm so confused.
  • Mikey My late wife loved Mustangs ..We alway rented one while travelling . GM blood vetoed me purchasing one . 3 years after retirement bought an 08 rag top, followed by a 15 EB Hard top, In 18 i bought a low low mileage 05 GT rag with a stick.. The car had not been properly stored. That led to rodent issues !! Electrical nightmare. Lots of bucks !! The stick wasn't kind to my aging knees.. The 05 went to a long term dedicated Mustang guy. He loves it .. Today my garage tenant is a sweet 19 Camaro RS rag 6yl Auto. I just might take it out of hibernation this weekend. The Mustang will always hold a place in my heart.. Kudos to Ford for keeping it alive . I refuse to refer to the fake one by that storied name .
  • Ajla On the Mach-E, I still don't like it but my understanding is that it helps allow Ford to continue offering a V8 in the Mustang and F-150. Considering Dodge and Ram jumped off a cliff into 6-cylinder land there's probably some credibility to that story.
  • Ajla If I was Ford I would just troll Stellantis at all times.
  • Ronin It's one thing to stay tried and true to loyal past customers; you'll ensure a stream of revenue from your installed base- maybe every several years or so.It's another to attract net-new customers, who are dazzled by so many other attractive offerings that have more cargo capacity than that high-floored 4-Runner bed, and are not so scrunched in scrunchy front seats.Like with the FJ Cruiser: don't bother to update it, thereby saving money while explaining customers like it that way, all the way into oblivion. Not recognizing some customers like to actually have right rear visibility in their SUVs.
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