Pontiac came to market in 1955 with an all-new car that offered genuine appeal to a broader and younger audience.

Chieftain 870 Four-Door Sedan

In Pontiac lore, the story is often told how in 1957, Semon E. “Bunkie” Knudsen, the division’s dynamic new general manager, reinvented Pontiac as the youth and performance brand at General Motors. (We’ve told it ourselves here.) But when we look a little closer, we can see that much of the groundwork was laid two years earlier with the 1955 Pontiac, which featured all-new styling and an up-to-date V8 engine. Up to then, the division had relied on antiquated L-head sixes and straight eights, branding Pontiac as a car for senior citizens.

In truth, the new exterior sheet metal for ’55 was baked in by GM corporate policy, as Pontiac then shared Chevrolet’s A-body package, and volume leader Chevrolet was receiving a styling makeover that year. It was the task of Paul W. Gillan, Pontiac chief designer at Pontiac from 1951 through 1958, and his assistant chief Homer LaGassey, a future GM design star, to set the Pontiac apart from its GM sibling.

Star Chief Custom Catalina 

The bright-metal Silver Streaks, the classic Chevy/Pontiac differentiator since 1935, continued, with the addition of tasteful hockey-stick side trim. (Popular pieces in the ’50s custom car craze, the stainless steel side moldings were adapted by hot rodders to most every make and model.) The most distinctive feature to set the Pontiac apart was an integrated split front bumper and grille, for which Gillan and GM were awarded a U.S. design patent. However, if you squint only a little, it’s easy to see that the roof and greenhouse are shared with Chevrolet.

While the previous wheelbase (122-in for the Chieftain, 124-in on the Star Chief) was retained, the chassis was extensively redesigned for ’55, with larger 12-in drum brakes on the front and improved geometry for the coil-independent front suspension. However, unlike Chevrolet, Pontiac employed king pins rather than ball joints up front, and continued to use them through ’57.

The major story on the hardware front in ’55, obviously, was the new Strato-Streak V8. Like Chevrolet, Pontiac arrived late to the Motor City’s overhead-valve V8 movement, but this allowed both to take advantage of the latest technical developments. (See our feature on the ’55 Pontiac V8 here.) For the ’55 rollout, the 287 cubic-inch V8 was offered in three versions: 173 hp, 180 hp, and 200 hp. While a three-speed manual transmission was standard, better than 90 percent of Pontiac buyers in ’55 chose the four-speed Hydra-Matic, a $178 extra.

Star Chief Custom Catalina

With its price points starting at around $400 more than comparable Chevrolets, there was room in the margins for extra finery. Pontiac interiors were especially well-turned out, with optional all-leather upholstery for the Star Chief Custom Catalina hardtop, while the more modest Chieftains featured vinyl and woven nylon. There was a Safari luxury-sports station wagon, too, sharing its body shell with the Chevy Nomad. At $2,962 it was the most expensive model in the ’55 lineup.

In a boom year for the auto industry overall, Pontiac sales in ’55 rose as well, to more than 550,000 cars. We can probably write that down to the draw of the Strato-Streak V8, though the sharp new styling and snazzy interiors couldn’t have hurt. Pontiac was now offering a product with broader and younger appeal, but it wasn’t taking on the mantle of GM’s youth-and-performance brand just yet. That would begin in 1957 with the appointment of Bunkie Knudsen.