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Pontiac's Star Chief Series Bigger, Longer

Topics: Pontiac Star Chief

Pontiac's Star Chief Series Bigger, Longer

The Spartanburg Herald
4 March 1954

Sure to catch the eye of every show visitor is Pontiac's new Star Chief Custom cars. Bigger and longer than any car ever built by Pontiac, this luxurious car comes in distinctive exterior colors with upholstery in leather and nylon of matching color. This custom sedan has a distinguishing chrome plaque behind the rear windows and chrome moldings over the side windows. Over-all length: 213.7 inches.

Pontiac's new 1954 models being displayed at the Spartanburg auto show feature the entirely new Pontiac Star Chief series—bigger, longer and more luxurious than ever before.

This model is being shown in addition to the newly-styled and improved Chieftain and Special series. Also on display are engineering features, accessory and optional equipment exhibits of an educational type.

Nationwide dealership public showings in December brought the most outstanding public acceptance to Pontiac that has ever been experienced, according to General Manager and General Motors Vice President Robert M. Critchfield, who has been touring key areas viewing the market along with General Sales Manager H. E. Crawford and other executives. Pontiac's new Star Chief line—11 inches longer, with two-inch greater wheelbase, a more powerful eight-cylinder engine and some of the most sumptuous interior trim ever offered—has been especially praised by the public, says Critchfield.

All 1954 Pontiacs have been restyled with a new radiator grille, new silver streak, new DeLuxe and Custom side mouldings and many other features, both interior and exterior, including the widest selection of colors and color combinations ever offered.

Mechanically, the Pontiac stragiht eight with 7.7:1 compression ratio and Hydra-Matic has been stepped up to 127 horsepower, equipped with a new carburetor and intake manifold, a new current and voltage regulator and a new spark plug and ignition coil mounting. The new regulator, a new distributor and valves with improved durability have been added to the six cylinder engine.

An expanded line of optional accessories is offered this year, including power brakes, Comfort Control front seat with a tilt-or-raise feature, automatic electric window lifts for front doors, instrument panel safety cushion, air conditioning for eight-cylinder models and improved power steering, as well as Pontiac's famous Dual-Range Hydra-Matic transmission.

To meet buyer demand for maximum dollar value in an increasingly competitive market. Pontiac for 1954 has introduced the Star Chief series. Eleven inches longer than the Chieftain series, with a 124-inch wheelbase, the 213.7-inch Star Chief approximates in size America's biggest standard motor cars.

Four models are offered—the Custom Catalina and Custom Four-Door Sedan, DeLuxe Convertible and DeLuxe Four-Door Sedan—each immediately identifiable by three chrome stars on the rear fender fin, a chrome moulding which blends with new and larger tail lamps and a special trunk lid moulding.

The Custom Four-Door Sedan model also features an identifying decorative chrome plaque behind the rear venti-panes and chrome moulding over the side windows. Custom models are available in Biloxi Beige, Coral Red or Maize Yellow as complete body colors or in combination with Winter White, when the white is used as an upper color only.

Harmonizing color schemes are used in the Custom model interiors which combine a star pattern nylon upholstery material with top-grain ivory-colored leather or, in the case of the Catalina, all-leather upholstery may be obtained also. Door trim is augmented by chrome mouldings; headlining is of light-colored coated fabric on the Catalina and of harmonizing colored cloth in the Custom Four-Door Sedan. The deep-pile carpeting is of a complimenting shade of color.

The DeLuxe Convertible, only convertible available in the Pontiac line for 1954, is offered in a full range of regular Pontiac exterior colors with an option of green, blue, red and black in combination with ivory as an interior trim. Seat cushions and seat back upholstery are of Morrokide; a durable, pliable coated fabric with elastic properties.

The DeLuxe Four-Door Sedan is also available in the full exterior color line, with grey, blue or green interiors of nylon fabric combined with harmonizing novelty weave cloth.

In addition to the four models offered in the Star Chief Series, Pontiac for '54 offers nine other models in the Custom, DeLuxe and Special series, with eight or six-cylinder engines. These include the Custom and DeLuxe Catalina, two-door and four-door sedans and station wagons.

The Custom Catalina will be available in the same beige, red and yellow colors, combined with white if desired, that are offered for the Star Chief Series Custom models. For the others, ten basic colors are available and seven two-tone combinations, except for the Special Station Wagons, for which thirteen colors are offered.

The Silver Streak on the trunk compartment in these lines is narrower and composed of four thin chrome strips instead of five as on the Star Chief Series; there is a new rear deck handle, a new medallion on the deck lid and on the rear fenders. Interiors feature patterned nylon combined with gabardine for the DeLuxe Sedan models, while the DeLuxe Catalina uses a patterned nylon cloth combined with Morrokide, a coated fabric having elastic qualities. The Special Sedan models combine a durable novelty-weave cloth and a coated, fabric with elastic qualities.

Station Wagons are offered in the two-seat DeLuxe model, with the second seat folding flat for maximum carrying capacity, while the Special is offered in two (folding second seat) and three-seat models. Interiors have new styling using red or green combined with Morrokide on the DeLuxe Station Wagon while green and beige coated fabric is used on the Special Station Wagon.