The more subtle second
The car in these photos is by no means subtle in the Dutch street scene, but there is something subtle about it. This is the second Pontiac Grand Safari and it was a bit less exorbitantly large than its predecessor.
With a total length of no less than about 5.5 meters, this Pontiac Safari, spotted by colleague Michiel Willebrands, is a hefty boy. In that respect, it is not inferior to the current Mercedes-Maybach S-Class, for example. Yet in Grand Safari land it is a more modest specimen. This is the successor to the early 1970s Grand Safari, which shared its base with battleships such as the Buick Electra and Oldsmobile 98. Then we are talking about some of the longest passenger cars ever. The earlier ‘C-body’ Pontiac Grand Safari eventually grew to an formidable 5.88 meters in length. Swallow.
By those standards, we have a somewhat more subdued station wagon in front of us here, although even this ’77 is anything but compact in the Dutch street scene. Just look at what a slab of space follows behind the C-pillar. Spray the car black and you can easily convince people that you are driving a hearse. Not entirely surprisingly, such station wagons were sometimes used for final rides in the Netherlands.
This Grand Safari probably provides for somewhat more pleasant trips and, as it seems, has not had its last ride by a long shot. The pack mule, naturally equipped with a V8 (with no less than 6.6 liters of displacement), only came to the Netherlands in 2022 and is still with the person who started driving the American here. A special choice! Hopefully the owner will keep the car in its current condition. Nice to see one that is still relatively original.