Hot Wheels 1965 Pontiac Bonneville

The most common 1960 Pontiac's out there today is the GTO and Firebird.  On every occasion a replica of other Pontiac models outside of the GTO and Firebird name appears, like Grand Prix, LeMans, and Bonneville.  This Hot Wheels casting still shows an advantage of being the only 1965 Bonneville replica out there to date.

Click Here for Photo Gallery

The Bonneville was Pontiac's largest passenger car in the lineup, sharing platform with the Impala line.  By 1965 it was larger with GTO styling influenced at the front with the stacked vertical headlights, though more prominent with the exposed round housings sticking out a bit further.  Those headlights endcap the split grille with vertical bars and front plate holder in the front bumper.  Also note the hood catches the central grille point and then flares out in a triangular fashion.  Note the Pontiac logo at the front of the hood, as well at the top of the rear trunklid.  The rear has a contemporary look with horizontal taillights merged with the bar and peaked fender curves at each end.  Finally, the side profile shows the long length, along with coke-bottle rear fender kickups, bonneville front fender badges, and rear fender skirts.

Click Here for Photo Gallery

Per the usual, this was released in 2003 at a time when large Detroit cars were likely suited to the lowrider stance.  The Bonneville has that stance, and while it doesn't scrape the ground much it doesn't improve the handling either as this is one rather large car!   The interior houses front and rear bench seats, detailed door panels, seat trim, and a dashboard that while lacks fine details like control knobs it is still acceptable by today's standards.  In the real car the dashboard is similar to the 1965 GTO but with a larger layout that accepts auxiliary gauges at the center of the dash.  Under the hood is the big 400 CID Pontiac V8 that produces 340 hp. through a 3-speed automatic transmission.  The base shows off excellent details with the exhaust system, engine and transmission, and the recesses for the rear floor ducts.

Click Here for Photo Gallery

The first was a nice light blue with light flame pattern along the edges and lace wheels.  It was clean and simple while showing off the design details of the casting.  More have appeared over the years, but here's some of the highlights shown here:  The best 'clean' look goes to the Redline variation released in 2006 (?) in metallic green with 5-spoke redline wheels.  This Redline mainline segment series was the best for clean, uncluttered body lines as shown here.  For a metal base and even more metallic paint, look no further than the 2007 (?) Classics version in dark blue with simple flame design, 5-spoke wheels, metal base, and a tan interior.  The irony is that the color scheme looks familiar to the 2006 Flying Customs Target-only 1965 Pontiac GTO, in dark blue as well, right down to the tan interior!  Flat Lavendar was common on this casting as it has appeared a few times before, one of them for the 2008 Wal-mart-only Easter series with graphics that have a crackled egg finish.  Despite the neat look it was a prominent pegwarmer from what I recalled back then.  Finally is the recent find and part of the 2008 Mystery series is the bright red with side flames (best design of the bunch) with 10-spoke wheels and a white interior.

Click Here for Photo Gallery

So while not exciting at first, the details and uniqueness of this 1965 Bonneville holds a special place in the Hot Wheels line as a Pontiac outside of the usual GTO's and Firebird's.