3-door station wagon (1955-1957) 5-door station wagon (1958-1989)
Chronology
Successor
Chevrolet Astro/GMC Safari Pontiac Trans Sport
The Pontiac Safari is a line of station wagons that was produced by Pontiac from 1955 to 1989. Initially introduced as the Pontiac counterpart of the two-door Chevrolet Nomad, the division adopted the nameplate across its full-size wagon range in 1957.[1] Through its production, the Safari was positioned between Chevrolet full-size station wagons and below its Buick and Oldsmobile counterparts. During the mid-1960s, the Safari added simulated woodgrain trim to the exterior, becoming a feature associated with the model line.
The name "safari" is derived from the Swahili word safari, which means journey, originally from the Arabic سفر (safar) meaning a journey; the verb for "to travel" in Swahili is kusafiri.[2] As General Motors expanded into the intermediate, compact, and subcompact segments, the Safari nameplate saw a similar usage as the Estate (Buick, Chevrolet) and Cruiser (Oldsmobile) nameplates, denoting the highest-trim station wagon in each model range.
After 1989, Pontiac became the first GM division to discontinue its full-size wagons; along with model overlap between its divisional counterparts, demand for full-size wagons had been overtaken by minivans. For 1990, the Pontiac Trans Sport was introduced as the first Pontiac minivan. After 1991, Pontiac ended its use of the Safari nameplate (and production of station wagons) entirely; the GMC Safari continued through the 2005 model year.
^Gunnell, John, ed. (1995). The Standard Catalog of American Cars 1946–1975. Kraus Publications. pp. 576–619. ISBN 0-87341-204-4.
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the Grand Safari. 1971 Pontiac Grand Ville Convertible 1972 Pontiac Grand Ville Convertible 1973 Pontiac Grand Ville Convertible 1974 Pontiac Grand Ville...
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