Pontiac Sunbird Safari

Sunbird Safari
The Sunbird Safari was added to the Sunbird lineup in 1978. As with Pontiac nomenclature, this car was a station wagon. What made it different than the standard Sunbird was the fact that it shared body panels with the previous year’s Astre wagon. It even retained the dashboard and instrumentation.

The two engine choices were a 2.5L I4 or a 3.8L V6. Since it was an apparent stop-gap measure, the wagon lasted only through 1979.

Pontiac Astre Panel

Astre Panel

Also offered as part of Pontiac’s subcompact lineup was the truck-like Astre Panel. Like the basic Astre, it was only available in Canada up until 1974, then rarely available in the U.S. from 1975-1977. It was marketed as a truck and was spartan in every sense of the word. The Panel had just a driver seat but a passenger seat was an option. The seats were only offered in one color, pearl white. Door panel trims were black or green only. It also had hidden compartments under the load floor. The Astre Panel is one rare bird worth keeping.

Pontiac Astre

Astre
The Astre was a knockoff of the Chevrolet Vega. It was sold in the U.S. from 1975-1977.
However, Canadians were able to buy an Astre since 1973.

It rolled into a new generation for 1974.

Like the Chevy, you could get a coupe, hatch, a coupe-wagon, and for the final year, a panel-truck type wagon.

Powering the Astre was a 2.3L Chevy I-4 up to 1976 and a 2.5L Pontiac I-4 for 1977. Three sporty models were offered.

These were the GT, the Formula, and the L’il Wide Track. each receiving various levels of handling and appearance upgrades. The Formula was even available with a Firebird-like hood decal.