I wrote a story about a very nice 1975 Grand Am that was at a July 2011 Lacombe Alberta car show. The owner mentioned me on this site as a guy who interviewed him that day and I hope that he can see my story. I have exhausted my attempts to contact him via social media including this forum via a personal message and hope that I could post a link to the story without offending members http://www.mystarcollectorcar.com/2-features/stories/1483-april-2012a-rare-1975-pontiac-grand-am-makes-a-rare-car-show-appearance.html Feel free to pull it if I have broken any rules. Thanks; Jim Sutherland
APRIL 2012:A RARE 1975 PONTIAC GRAND AM MAKES A RARE CAR SHOW APPEARANCE
We were very lucky to run into Robert Samonig at a car show with his 1975 Pontiac Grand Am because it was only Robert's second time out with the car in five years.
He bought his specialty Poncho from its original owner in 1989 and has used it sparingly since the purchase.
However Robert has occasionally taken the Grand Am on long excursions that included a long run to a 1997 Denver Pontiac meet where his Me Decade Poncho stole the show. In fact he turned down a ridiculous offer for his Grand Am at the show.
Robert owned a 1973 Grand Am when he was a kid and always liked the look of the unique Pontiac during its limited 1973-75 model run. He knew that he would own another one in the future and that day came in 1989.
Cars like this 1975 Pontiac Grand Am weaken the argument that that the best thing about 1975 wasn't the automotive styling of the era...it was The Doobie Brothers tour that summer. This was a strikingly impressive car in '75 and it's an outstanding car in 2012.
This Pontiac defines the best of the 70s and the rarity (less than 10,000 production numbers) of this Grand Am makes it an even more impressive guest at a car show.
The Grand Am is heavily optioned and includes front discs, 6 way power seats, console, rally wheels, rally gauges and a driver's side remote mirror. Those are the kind of options that made this Pontiac a driver's dream during the formative era of disco music.
Fortunately cranking the windows down at 75 miles per hour drowned out the disco invasion on the AM-FM radio.
The car has its original power train and performed flawlessly on every trip, including a 2000-mile journey that included Route 66, a mandatory road for car guys on a road trip. Robert acknowledged that every mile was an absolute pleasure in this iconic and extremely rare Pontiac Grand Am and he felt like a rock star on the road with the attention given to this big, white Poncho.
We are glad we caught up with Robert on one of the rare occasions that he and his GrandAm have spent time together on the road over the past several years because rare iron like this Pontiac is an incredibly welcome sight at any car show.
Pontiacs like this Grand Am represent a beautifully well-preserved example from an era when Detroit had begun to back away from flashy performance cars. This beauty was the exception to the rule.
I remember Jim talking to me at the show. Never really thought the car would get on the site as it's not the normal type of car that would get written about. My 15 minutes of fame lol!! I'm on vacation and out of the province, the reason I guess Jim hasn't been able to track me down.
Fortunately cranking the windows down at 75 miles per hour drowned out the disco invasion on the AM-FM radio.
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Prince Edward Island
'64 Parisienne CS "barn find" - last on the road in '86 ... Owner Protection Plan booklet, original paint, original near-mint aqua interior, original aqua GM floor mats, original 283, factory posi, and original rust.
I remember Jim talking to me at the show. Never really thought the car would get on the site as it's not the normal type of car that would get written about. My 15 minutes of fame lol!! I'm on vacation and out of the province, the reason I guess Jim hasn't been able to track me down.
Wow, I never knew your car had blue interior Robert, That is a great looking combo. It is always nice to see your car written up and featured, I think we are starting to see the Colonades transitioning from laughing stock to "Wow, they are neat and rare" afterall it does get a bit boring seeing rows and rows of the run of the mill pre 73 muscle cars at every cruise.
My 77 lemans is also grateful for the new rear bumper reflectors from his GA more door......thanks Rob.
Nice Grand Am. I get lots of wows here in NFLD Ray mostly due to the fact that there are probably only a half a dozen of these cars on the island. The salt and the open chassis rail killed the ones sold and driven here as daily drivers.
We, your fellow members, will be the judge of that
NEXT TIME YOU COME TO CALGARY, YOU SHOULD TAKE A QUICK TRIP UP THE #2 HWY TO LACOMBE. WOULD LIKE TO MEET YOU (OR BE JUDGED BY YOU) IN PERSON SOMEDAY. THERE'S ALWAYS A COLD CAN OF COKE IN THE FRIDGE.
Wow!! Thanks for all the great compliment's!! Pascal if we can meet up while your in Red Deer that would be great. I have to agree, this site is full of awesome people!!
I know of Grand Am's for sale but their 400 car's and no sunroof. Something that specific on one of these car's could be a long search. Finding a 455 car is a better chance than finding one with a sunroof. Not many came with a sunroof, although 48 GA's came into Canada with the sunroof option in '75. How many came with the 455 I'm not sure of. If I hear or see something I'll let you know.It seem's that I come across more '75's than '73's and '74's. Does the year matter?
Year doesn't matter as long as it is a 455 powered car, did the sunroof option come on every year Grand Am's ? Like myself, the 1973 is his favorite ...
The sunroof was available from '73-'75, either power or manually operated. I've seen more manual than power operated sunroof's. Part's are pretty hard to find for sunroof car's so wise to make sure the sunroof operates properly. It's common for them to leak as well, usually the channel's fill up with dirt. Sometime's they don't close properly, cables can stretch over time.
We were very lucky to run into Robert Samonig at a car show with his 1975 Pontiac Grand Am because it was only Robert's second time out with the car in five years. 
) IN PERSON SOMEDAY. THERE'S ALWAYS A COLD CAN OF COKE IN THE FRIDGE.