Requesting help from Beaumont experts

Diego · Veteran Member

Requesting help from Beaumont experts

CdnGMfan · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Mostly good. The L-79 was offered on the Acadian Beaumont & Canadian Chevelles in 1965 only, then on Acadians & Canadian Chevy II models for 1966 only. It was dropped from Canadian production after that.

I'll take a closer look when I get a chance and see if there is anything I can contribute. I don't "do" Facebook though.

Diego · Veteran Member

I don't think you need to "do" Facebook in order to view the page.

Anyway, I am unaware of any hi-po marketing of Beaumonts beyond the "This is the car we have to sell, and we want you to buy it," so if you think of something, I would be very appreciative. Perhaps there was nothing and it all was piggybacking on the American marketing efforts.

CdnGMfan · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Understood on the Facebook thing. smile

I don't think there was a real push on the performance models other than mentioning the highest horsepower available.

One thing I do think though, was for 1969 when the GTO officially came into the fold in Canada it merely piggybacked on the strength of the existing U.S. GTO advertising. Meanwhile the Beaumont SD396 was offered only on the base-level Beaumonts for 1969, most certainly because of the low-cost Plymouth Road Runner.

Brian · Addicted!

I will stand corrected but I believe the Acadian was not drop from the Beaumont until 1966 when it became it's own.

Yup. Acadian was on the tail pan on the trunk of 1965's also.

-- Edited by Brian on Friday 24th of July 2015 09:15:24 PM

LeeRoy · Guru

CdnGMfan wrote:
Mostly good. The L-79 was offered on the Acadian Beaumont & Canadian Chevelles in 1965 only, then on Acadians & Canadian Chevy II models for 1966 only. It was dropped from Canadian production after that.

I'll take a closer look when I get a chance and see if there is anything I can contribute. I don't "do" Facebook though.

Pretty sure the L 79 was available in 66/67 Chevelles. No proof, just going on recollection.

ak 67sd · Poncho Master!

The history of these cars coming out of necessity due to the auto pact with the U.S. Its interesting background... autopolis.wordpress.com/2013/03/13/1966-1969-gm-beaumont-when-a-chevy-is-not-really-one/

Also they did promo the 67 Beaumont sd in conjunction with Canada's Conferderation in 1967...

Other than that, just please don't call the Beaumont a Pontiac.

Cheers,
ak

CdnGMfan · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

LeeRoy wrote:
CdnGMfan wrote:
Mostly good. The L-79 was offered on the Acadian Beaumont & Canadian Chevelles in 1965 only, then on Acadians & Canadian Chevy II models for 1966 only. It was dropped from Canadian production after that.

I'll take a closer look when I get a chance and see if there is anything I can contribute. I don't "do" Facebook though.
Pretty sure the L 79 was available in 66/67 Chevelles. No proof, just going on recollection.

Yup on the 67s, but not Canadian-built ones. 66 Chevelles though, nope no matter which plant built them.

Diego · Veteran Member

Hi, folks, thanks for the replies . . . will reply in full shortly.

Lefty · Uber Guru

don't forget the 1963 Acadian Beaumont Sport Deluxe

Diego · Veteran Member

The 1963 Acadian Beaumont Sport Deluxe isn't really a high-performance car, though, correct?

The purpose is to give an overview of performance cars across the pond. It's not going to have its own chapter devoted to the intricacies of Canadian production.

Could you explain more about the promotion on the '67 SD for the Canadian Confederation (which I'm assuming was like our Bicentennial, but a different anniversary)?

2slow2know · Member

You say in 1965 the Beaumont became it's own marquee and in 64 the Beaumont was just Acadian Beaumont. The 64 was the first year the car went from compact to midsize that included the sport deluxe and custom models. 65 was a continuation of the 64. The 65 was the lowest production year due to slow sales of the new 64 and left over 64s. The Beaumont was never marketed as a high performance vehicle. Beaumont was promoted as a affordable entry level luxury car.

Diego · Veteran Member

Someone already corrected me and said the first year the mid-sizer lost the Acadian name was in 1966.

To your other point, the Beaumont Sport Deluxe 396 indeed was a high-performance machine, and I am curious if there was any push from GM to promote it in a certain way. For example, Mercury's Atlanta zone batch-ordered around 150 Cyclones, all in one of two colors, all with different engines, all rebranded "Cyclone 500." For years, some Mercury folks have been stumbling upon these cars but had no answers because the factory never made the Cyclone 500, but here was this car with "500" badges, and other people have found the same thing too! But now we know about the promotion that was centered around Atlanta with border states participating as well. Buyers won tickets to the Atlanta 500, got to meet some drivers, were feted in other ways, and then got to drive their car around the track - where all 150 were parked from 6 am till the beginning of the race in the afternoon.

*That's* marketing.

But so is having a "Performance Corner" in the dealership. Getting buyers to start a car club with other owners of a similar car. Etc.

Maybe something also was done by GM of Canada? I dunno.

bzbaz63 · Addicted!

1969 Cheetah was raced at the Mission Raceway.
The ambassador car club used Beaumont cheetahs for their
Race cars from Conroy.

Diego · Veteran Member

In a recent MCR they have a '67 Cheetah, and I was surprised to learn they did this for more than one year AND the '69s were posts!

GLHS60 · Poncho Master!

We correctly call them sedans here in Canada, G.M. Canada never used the term post.

Thanks
Randy

Diego · Veteran Member

It's a generic term....but see below.

If you want to get nit-picky, from my POV I don't consider it a sedan. The GM A-bodies all had the same roofline as the hardtops, and that doesn't scream "sedan" to me. Sometimes it's just a marketing thing!

In any case, GM called the '69 Beaumont a "thin-pillar coupe."

www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/Canada/1969%20Beaumont%20Brochure/dirindex.html

-- Edited by Diego on Monday 27th of July 2015 10:42:18 PM

GLHS60 · Poncho Master!

Diego wrote:It's a generic term....but see below.

If you want to get nit-picky, from my POV I don't consider it a sedan. The GM A-bodies all had the same roofline as the hardtops, and that doesn't scream "sedan" to me. Sometimes it's just a marketing thing!

In any case, GM called the '69 Beaumont a "thin-pillar coupe."

www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/Canada/1969%20Beaumont%20Brochure/dirindex.html

-- Edited by Diego on Monday 27th of July 2015 10:42:18 PM

Not nit-picky, the body style is a 2 door sedan. I've never seen a G.M. brochure calling a 2 or 4 door sedan a "post"

at least in Canada. The U.S. might be different.

Thanks

Randy

http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/Canada/1967%20Beaumont%20Brochure/1967%20Beaumont-08.html

-- Edited by GLHS60 on Tuesday 28th of July 2015 12:05:23 PM

Diego · Veteran Member

Well, like I indicated before, the Beaumont post coupe is called "thin-pillar coupe" in 1969.

And if you notice in the 1967 link you posted, the roofline of the '67 post coupe is different than the hardtop's, which is why it's more properly called a "sedan."

GLHS60 · Poncho Master!

My point is none of the brochures use the word "post".

Manufactures never use the term "post" but generic publications sometimes do.

Thanks
Randy

Diego · Veteran Member

Doh! I was thinking pillar when you were thinking post.

www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/Canada/1969%20Beaumont%20Brochure/1969%20Beaumont-09.html

GLHS60 · Poncho Master!

Diego wrote:
Doh! I was thinking pillar when you were thinking post.

www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/Canada/1969%20Beaumont%20Brochure/1969%20Beaumont-09.html

Post is my pet peeve!!

Not Beaumont related, but are you familiar with the Canadian only early 1968 Chevrolet full size cars with 427 engines that had red front side marker lights rather than the mandated amber??

Thanks

Randy

-- Edited by GLHS60 on Tuesday 28th of July 2015 12:16:16 PM

Diego · Veteran Member

I'm not a Chevy guy, but on the American ones, I know some people think a red overlay was used and then they changed it. One person Ive seen even thought the red was only used on L72 cars!

But I think the general consensus was that the red overlay was just an overlay that has aged, and that no running change was done to them.

But it seems like you're talking about the lens itself, right? I don't think amber was mandated in 1968 - most of the ones I've seen are white, no? Mandated in the US, though, as I don't know what Canada law was suggesting.

-- Edited by Diego on Tuesday 28th of July 2015 12:20:58 PM

GLHS60 · Poncho Master!

1968 427 RED MARKER.jpg The side marker light law was to take effect Jan, 1, 1968 and mandated amber front and red rear. The amber front was sometimes just an amber bulb in a clear lens and was used so others could determine which end of the car was the front at night. On the 1968 Chevys the engine size was always on a black background but on the Canadian only 427 cars, the 427 had a reflective red back ground. All 1968 Chevys adhered to the law even though it really didn't take effect Jan, 1, but somehow, Canadian only 427 cars had the unique red reflective back ground.

I should clarify its not actually the marker lens but the red reflective insert behind the 427 numbers, not the black as on every other engine size, including U.S. 427's. All early Canadian 427's had the red reflective background but it was eventually phased out. It has been surmised that U.S. 427 Chevys were to use the red but as they would not be in the spirit if the law they sent them to Canada to use them up! If the enclosed picture shows you might see the 427 set in red reflective. Sometimes people painted it red but its not reflective as in the Canadian cars.

Thanks
Randy

MC · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

GLHS60 wrote:
My point is none of the brochures use the word "post".

Manufactures never use the term "post" but generic publications sometimes do.

Thanks
Randy

To my memory, the term "post" has only seemed to come into common use over past 15 years or so. I recall when I first got into this hobby I never heard that term. I did often hear "hardtop" to refer to any car that had a roof, but not "post" so much.