The Pontiac Star Chief is an automobile model which was manufactured by Pontiac between 1954 and 1966. It was Pontiac's top trim package on the Pontiac Chieftain, with later generations built on longer wheelbases, and serving as the foundation platform for the Pontiac Bonneville. The car was easily identified by its chrome star trim along its sides, a feature all Star Chiefs were equipped.
Third generation (1958)
In 1958, the Bonneville was first given its own position in the Pontiac lineup as the ultimate Pontiac, and was only available as a two-door hardtop and two-door convertible. While no longer Pontiac's prestige model, the Star Chief remained a well-appointed car, and the division's finest four door hardtops and sedans. The 1958 Star Chief, as with the rest of the Pontiac lineup, received all-new bodywork and an updated chassis. The body was considerably longer and lower, and featured a new honeycomb grille design and twin headlamps. The sedans and coupé models all shared the longer 124 inch wheelbase, while the Custom Safari model remained on a chassis two inches shorter, shared with the lesser Chieftain. In spite of the new bodywork, sales of the 1958 Star Chief dropped precipitously; down by around 60% while Pontiac's overall sales dropped by more than a third.
The engine was updated from the 347 cu in (5.7 L) unit used in 1957 to a slightly bored out 370 cu in (6.1 L) version. Power only increased marginally, to 255 hp (190 kW) for the manual version, while the most powerful "PM" option was now up to 330 hp (246 kW).
Source: Wikipedia
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