Cheviac wrote:

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I recently got the GM docs for the 66 "SS" Canadian ragtop I picked up last September, just to be sure it wasn't a cobbled together SS. It's the only way to know for sure with the Canadian models. 

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 Now that you mention it Ken I think I saw this discussed on another forum, maybe Chevytalk? The Canadian Impala SS package in 66 WAS like the Malibu, only showed up in the option list, not in the vin.

Kevin66427 wrote:

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So.......this may be a touchy subject, but I will try and be tactful and diplomatic.  Something I have noticed in owning a Canadian Pontiac for over 30 years, is the fact that the US publications do not seem to consider that Canadian/Australian/rest of world Pontiacs as worthy of respect as the common/comparable  American models. Twice now, I was asked to submit an article/story with pictures to American publications of significant stature. The editor of the first magazine told me my pictures and story were great and interesting. I was surprised when the issue came out to find a black and white photo of my car cropped and photoshopped in a way where 100% of the background and surrounding area eliminated entirely.  My story turned into a few generic sentences.  Many other cars in the issue were in full colour with background and scenery intact and a long write-up.  They were nice cars, but so much more common and stuff you would see quite frequently.....and they were all American models.

A few months ago, I sent in the story and pictures  that I wrote up a couple of years ago when my car was a monthly feature for this Forum to another major American magazine who was running a feature on Pontiacs. You all told me you loved the story I wrote for you. The editor of the magazine thought the article was exceptional and interesting and that the car was pretty cool. I saw the online version of the article last week.  Again, no mention of the car or article.  The cars in the article were ok. Some of the stories were good too, but I just don't think they were of the caliber of what I see what you guys and gals own or have written about,  mine included. 

I am not trying to be a arrogant sore loser, but it did get me thinking......is there a bias towards our cars? 

 

I would appreciate your input and experience.....

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 Hi.... You got to get over your inferiority complex!!!  LOL..... You are neither arrogant or a sore loser. No bias toward "our" cars.

How many Yanks that you didn't get to really know, "think the Sun rises and sets on their ass!" Till you call their bluff, they will continue to try baffle you with being loud and obnoxious.

They have a problem with their cars because GM Can kept records of 90% of the cars that were imported from states. Especially Corvettes, until the last few years. (Gm seems to have "released" some of these documents)  We had all the records for Canadian cars available here 30+ years ago, they didn't. So if they saw a 64 Pontiac with a 396 in it, it was "bogus". If it was a big block , "only came with a 389", phony car.

Then they started to see "built" cars. Cars that didn't come with a 389/396/427/454, had all the options, (F41, F42, Radio delete, heater delete etc) were small block cars, now with a BB in them. They started to realize some of these cars were "possible" to be phony or built in Canada. NASCAR guys realized this in the 60'S when Junior Johnson, Smokey Yunick came to Canada to buy cars. NASCAR said it had to be an American manufactured car with a REGULAR production engine. We had the 396, they had the 389. No substitute for cubic inches and a 396 would make way more HP than a 389 all day.

They (USA) realized there was a lot of info here at Gm Can that could be valuable in documenting their cars. I think the car guys have got this in their heads, but the magazine people haven't. The number US people calling GM Can for documentation 30 years ago was very high when the Corvettes, especially BB and L88/L89's. A lot of those car went south and they could now "prove" their car was an original.

So "don't sweat it"  The guys here appreciate, (KNOW) what you said you believed in, had the proof, and stated the facts.

I could go on here for a long time but I only type with 2 fingers and this took me 20 minutes....LOL

You'll never get "tired of kicking their ASS" . Trust me, I'm over 60 and did it for years, still can't get the smile off my face

DonSSDD wrote:

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About $75 Todd.

Many owners are snobs about their brands. No reason not to be respectful as well as curious about cars you see that are unusual, which a Cdn Pontiac would be in the USA. Ever mix with the corvette or Cadillac groups?

I have cars I dont stop to see that are common to see at shows, I can admire them, but when youve seen a bunch, you stop paying attention. The stuff I havent seen before, whatever it is, I am curious to see and ask the owners about. I am respectful of the owner and the car. I spent a lot of time looking at an Aussie dodge hemi, 2 door HT, the hemi was a slant 6. Which of you guys wouldnt check that out?

The lack of respect and curiosity is a big problem in the world period imho, not just old cars.

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 The Hemi 6's here were a straight 6. We did get slant 6's in earlier cars but they weren't high performance. The triple Dellorto carb VH and VJ Valiant Charger E38 an E49 were the gun cars from Chrysler Australia. Basic info on Wiki:

Chrysler Valiant Charger - Wikipedia

The slant 6 was used up until the middle of 1970 in the VF Valiant, the VG came with the new Hemi straight 6. Summary info here:

Chrysler Valiant - Wikipedia

Sorry for teh Wiki links, but it is good brief info that is fast to read!

Saw a valiant or similar Aussie Ute probably 20 years ago in Debert, pale blue, unrestored amd in half decent shape.

That's a nice Catalina.

As a dual-passported, Toronto-born resident of what is arguably the epicenter of NASCAR country - North Carolina, and the new owner of a Beaumont (pronounced, BEW-mint by the locals), I can assure you that the car attracts positive attention and interest, from the handful of times I took her to cruise-ins before the tear down began. I've seen other Canadian Ponchos at shows ranging from GoodGuys meets, to Hot August Nights, to the Woodward Ave. Dream Cruise (someone from Chatham brings a '68 Beaumont to the Cruise each year, and stays in the same hotel we do), and have never seen or heard any condescension or criticism.

After a quarter of a century of life in the Big PX, I can assure you that we Canadians spend more time thinking about the U.S. and Americans, than they do, thinking about us. Half of them think we're like Puerto Rico, or Guam, sort of an unconsolidated, 51st state, and view stuff built by Ford, GM, or Chrysler in Canada as "domestic".

Mexico, on the other hand....