Here are some shots my friend Rheal Larose took of a '76 Olympic edition at the recent Prescott ON car show. He told me a great story of pulling up along side one of these in '82 when he was in the Kirkland Lake area returning from a car show in his 1959 Oldsmobile. The young lady at the helm of the Poncho floored it when he got even but the likely 350/2 barrel was no contest for the Olds 392.
This particular car looks like a very nice example. I'll have to track down the owner and get more info.
-- Edited by Jonno on Tuesday 31st of August 2010 05:30:40 AM
Wow Durham to Prescott, this gentleman gets around. I never realized the carpet and dashboard are red with this package. I'm pretty sure Chevrolet had a very similar package for the Malibu. Lots of fun!
I have a hazy recollection of Olympic pick up trucks and an even more fuzzy one of the vans. How come these flashbacks aren't clearer! It is only 34 years ago!
Just went back and double checked BillGT's '75 Canada Cup edition on Kijiji, it has a black dash and carpet.
Anyone have any blue and white Quebec edition pics? How about Olympic trucks and vans?
-- Edited by Jonno on Tuesday 31st of August 2010 11:14:54 AM
-- Edited by Jonno on Tuesday 31st of August 2010 11:23:35 AM
I remember seeing those things new at the dealership. I remember the Lemans Sport Coupe, GMC Sierra Grande 1500 Wideside, and the GMC Rally Wagon 2500. I also remember the corresponding Chevrolet versions. The Olympic Edition Chevelle was available on both the Malibu Classic & base Malibu. I have only ever seen 1 base Malibu Olympic Edition; a 1-time sighting on the southbound Don Valley Parkway in Toronto in 1976 that took the Don Mills exit ramp (73SC's stomping ground; do you ever recall seeing it Ray?).
The Olympic Edition was the Canadian exclusive RPO ZE2. There were 1,017 Chevelles with that RPO.
Here's a GM Canada publicity photo, apparently on the GM Canada Oshawa property.
The overruns on the Montreal Olympic stadium were staggering. What a legacy!
-- Edited by CdnGMfan on Tuesday 31st of August 2010 09:45:00 PM
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67 Chevelle Malibu Sport Coupe, Oshawa-built 250 PG never disturbed.
In garage, 296 cid inline six & TH350...
Cam, Toronto.
I don't judge a man by how far he's fallen, but by how far back he bounces - Patton
There is one of the Malibu Olympic addition's for sale in a small town north of me in Alberta. I've seen the car at car show's and it's pretty nice, should be for $10,900.
As Neil "Shaky" Young would say " Verry Inneresting"
Thanks for the Malibu pic CDN2PLS2, it is great comparing it to the Pontiac.
Lake Ontario late in the year looks as inviting as ever as well. Likely the GM HQ building near Oshawa stands now near where that picture was taken in late '75.
Adventure Traveler Garry Sowerby in his own words:
Thursday, September 2, 2004 Oshawa , Ontario
General Motors of Canada Limited and Friends of the Second Marsh, Oshawa, Ontario
Over the last 14 years, I have certainly been here at the Canadian corporate headquarters of General Motors Corporation many times. I had always admired the view from the grand windows that look out over the Second Marsh Wildlife Area and the McLaughlin Bay Wildlife Reserve behind the building. I have known that it is a protected area but I had never walked or experienced it.
McLaughlin Bay Wildlife Reserve (MBWR) and the Second Marsh Wildlife Area together form 372 hectares of tremendous ecological importance. The area has everything -- swamp, cattail marsh, barrier beaches, open meadows, ponds and mixed woodlands and wildlife galore.
In 1990, General Motors of Canada Limited celebrated the construction of their new "green" Canadian Corporate Headquarters as well as the creation of the McLaughlin Bay Wildlife Reserve. Named after the automakers' founder, Col. Sam McLaughlin, the Reserve has become a popular attraction for lovers of nature and peaceful surroundings.
Home to almost 400 different varieties of plants, trees, shrubs and wildflowers, as well as a great number of native birds, mammals and fish, the McLaughlin Bay Wildlife Reserve features a number of walking trails, viewing platforms for photographers and birdwatchers as well as the Dogwood Trail, for use by partially-sighted or visually-impaired visitors. It is open to the public seven days a week, year-round, free of charge, and is wheel-chair accessible.
One of the goals of the McLaughlin Bay Wildlife Reserve Master Plan was to create an area where people and wildlife could co-exist in harmony, and, as I witnessed today, this has been achieved.
Our Mission Green tour was making a stop at General Motors to salute their stewardship of the MBWR. A group of government officials and executives had gathered on the back patio. We had a grandiose view beyond the marsh into the sunshine that glistened on the waters of Lake Ontario.
I realized what a special place this was, a great place to go to work. Every lunch break could be an opportunity to go for a power walk, run or leisurely stroll. What an escape this place offered from the constant decision-making rigours and hectic pace of corporate life. The therapeutic benefits of having this peaceful haven literally at the back door of ones workplace were immeasurable.
The City of Oshawa saved the neighboring Second Marsh from its near fate of becoming a harbour. The City took over ownership of the land in 1993 and since then, the Friends of the Second Marsh have planted 40,000 trees there. Thats the equivalent of removing 200 metric tonnes of CO 2. from the atmosphere.
Another exclamation point comes to mind when you realize that open, unspoiled space along the water of this magnitude is found nowhere else in the Toronto area and, in fact, in no other major urban centre in Canada.
The Mission Green team planted a tree and, before laying it into the ground, I thought, I can come back and watch this tree grow. I dont have to have an appointment with anyone at GM, I dont need to be here for a meeting. I can take 15 minutes to come off the 401 and find respite any time I want, and simply gaze at the Mission Green tree. Absolutely anyone can do the same for that matter.
After the hubbub of our presentation died down, I meandered along the paths, contemplating the contrast between this sanctuary of peace for both humans and animals and, not 200 metres, the constant commotion in the building behind me, the national headquarters of the largest automanufacturer in the world.
Out here, this is the real thing. Step out the back door into this completely unspoiled, unmanicured world, this is the great escape that so quickly puts everything in perspective and gives you the energy and determination to go back in there and make General Motors run.
Mission Green salutes General Motors of Canada for their excellence in the urban stewardship of the McLaughlin Bay Wildlife Reserve and commends the Friends of the Second Marsh for their proud protection of the Second Marsh Wildlife Area.
Also saluting Friends of the Second Marsh was the Mayor of Oshawa, John Gray, Jerry Ouellette, MPP for Oshawa, and Judi Longfield, MP for Whitby-Oshawa and Colin Carrie, MP for Oshawa
Wow, I don't remember the trucks looking like that. Must have been a heck of a masking job at the factory. Now you have me really wondering what the panel vans look like.
Ray, thanks for the great write up on The Second Bay and McLaughlin Bay Wildlife reserve. My head is getting full from all this new information!
The Olympic Edition G-Vans were white w/ side stripe similar to the Trucks and w/ red hoods I think but forget if for sure?. Both the Trucks and Malibus had special Oly hood ornaments, the Trucks were square shaped and the Malibus more rounded...not sure if the Vans had anything?. All were pretty common around Oshawa when new...production of each from GM Vintage if known would be interesting to see!.
Could be correct but I don't recall the Vans having the lower red molding or the Oly' decal at the sliding door and thought they were on the rear flanks like the trucks?.
I loved G-Vans and owned a few including a '74 Panel and '90 Beauville!.
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