History

The following section is an excerpt from Wikipedia's Pontiac Phoenix page on 15 February 2025, text available via the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

The Pontiac Phoenix was a compact car that was sold from 1977 to 1984 by Pontiac. There were two generations of the Phoenix, both based on popular Chevrolet models, and both using the GM X platform designation. It was named for the mythological Phoenix, which would die in a self-inflicted fire and be reborn from the ashes. The Phoenix was replaced by the Grand Am in 1985.

The rear-wheel drive Phoenix was introduced for 1977 as an upscale version of the Pontiac Ventura, and replaced the Ventura entirely for 1978. The Phoenix differed from the Ventura in only minor details such as the grille and its square headlights and yellow rear turn signals. The Phoenix was available as a 2-door coupe or a 4-door sedan, with a 3-door hatchback available beginning in 1978. There were two trim levels available, the base and LJ, with a performance-oriented SJ package as an option.

For 1980, the Phoenix was downsized and moved to the front-wheel drive X platform, and was available as a 2-door coupe or a 5-door hatchback. It was the first front-wheel drive production model from Pontiac.

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