1986 Pontiac Parisienne Brougham: From Canada With Love

GM did some pretty confusing things in the ’80s. First off, you had the new front-wheel-drive Cadillacs in 1985, resulting in a shrunken all-new Fleetwood d’Elegance and the previous rear-wheel-drive C-body Fleetwood Brougham sharing the same showroom. Then you had Corvette skip its 30th-anniversary year in 1983 (with the exception of one lone, surviving prototype), and Oldsmobile going Cutlass crazy so that by 1988 you had a Cutlass Supreme (two actually, the all-new swoopy FWD version and the previous Supreme Coupe, now called Cutlass Supreme Classic), Cutlass Calais, and Cutlass Ciera.

And then there was Pontiac. In 1980-81, the big Pontiac lineup had remained as it had for years: Catalina, Bonneville, and Bonneville Brougham sedans and wagons, along with Catalina and Bonneville Safari station wagons.

But lo and behold, in 1982, there were no longer any full-sized Pontiacs in showrooms. This was a divisional decision, as you could still get a new ’82 Caprice Classic/Impala, Delta 88 or LeSabre at other GM dealerships. The Bonneville continued, but now it was essentially the ’81 Grand Le Mans with a new nose resembling the 1980-81 big Bonneville, a fancier interior, and “Bonneville Model G” nomenclature.

Well, it seems that Pontiac realized almost at once that that had been a bad idea. So while the now-midsize Bonneville/Bonneville Brougham continued, the Canadian, Chevy Caprice-based Parisienne was hurriedly added to the roster for 1983.

And those initial 1983-84 Parisiennes were clearly Caprice-derived. The biggest differences were the two-tone paint, Pontiac emblems, and wheel covers. Interiors were borrowed from the Caprice Classic in 1983; in ’84 the Broughams used the Olds Delta 88 Royale Brougham seats.

But for 1985, Pontiac dusted off the 1981 Bonneville rear clip, fender skirts and all, and created your author’s favorite Pontiac of the ’80s.

It still retained the Caprice’s front clip and instrument panel, but it no longer looked like a slightly different Chevy. It looked essentially like the 1980-81 Bonneville—except for the nose.

Even better, the Parisienne Brougham got the ultra-luxe seats and door panels from the ’81 Bonneville Brougham. And while they were super plush in velour, they could be had in leather, too.

I remember 30-odd years ago, my dad took me and my brother to the junkyard for fun. We loved collecting emblems and hood ornaments (back when cars still had them)—Dad would indulge us once a year or so. I always had an insanely great time. And I remember one year, there was an ’86 Parisienne Brougham (identifiable by its center brake light in the rear window). It was white with tan leather and appeared to have suffered a catastrophic engine fire. But that light beige leather interior still looked super comfy and sumptuous, even in a weedy junkyard!

I also rode in one of these when new. The treasurer of Illinois Casualty had an ’86 non-Brougham Parisienne as a company car, and she had a mild fender bender in it. My dad had a friend who did body work, and so he fixed it. I went with Dad to pick it up, and I loved riding in that car. I was probably in first grade at the time. My folks had Volvos then, and this big, smooth car was a different world!

It was a gorgeous champagne color with beige interior. It’s probably the primary reason I love these cars so much now! Well, that and Dad had a ’79 Bonneville when I was really little. That one was the first car that really made an imprinted, along with Mom’s blue ’77 245DL wagon!

For 1986, there were three Parisienne models: the $11,169 (about $32,690 today) sedan, $11,949 ($34,975) Brougham sedan, and $11,779 ($34,475) Safari station wagon. The Brougham was actually the most popular model by far, with 43,540 built. 27,078 regular sedans and 14,464 wagons were also produced for ’86.

The only real difference between 1985 and 1986 Parisiennes was the new center-mounted rear brake light, seen in the rear window in sedans and on top of the tailgate on wagons. There were also some new colors, including Claret, which is the hue worn by today’s featured Brougham. Other available Parisienne colors included Dark Chestnut Metallic, Yellow Beige, and Light Sage Metallic.

Parisiennes came with either a 130-hp 4.3-liter V-6 or a 150-165-hp (depending on the model) 5.0-liter V-8. The V-8 was standard on wagons and optional on sedans.

As the showroom brochure relayed, “Behind the wheel of a Parisienne Brougham, you can relax in the deeply padded contours of the standard 55/45 split front seat with center arm support. The richly detailed interior is tasteful, yet very functional.

“Drive Parisienne and feel the confident solid ride of the full coil suspension and full perimeter frame…Parisienne is everything you’d expect in full-sized luxury.”

Broughams included the aforementioned padded seats, flossier door panels, opera lamps on the sail panels, Brougham scripts, a rear seat center armrest, and front door courtesy lamps. Options included a padded vinyl roof, power glass sunroof, tilt wheel, power trunk, Rally II styled steel wheels, Turbo-finned aluminum wheels, and two-tone paint.

It was a very nice package, but sadly, the Parisienne did not appear in the 1987 Pontiac lineup. The G-body Bonneville and the Parisienne were essentially replaced by the H-body Bonneville, with front-wheel drive—a corporate cousin to the FWD Delta 88s and LeSabres that first appeared for 1986.

I always wished the Parisienne had continued in all its plush, boxy goodness through 1990, as its corporate sister, the Caprice, had. But it was not to be, although the Parisienne Safari wagon, its name changed to simply “Safari,” continued through 1989. The Caprice Broughams and the extra-fancy Brougham LS, with its landau padded top and optional leather thrones, were very nice cars, but I still would have loved to see the Parisienne last for a few more model years.

As for our featured car, it was at the Maple City Cruise Night in Monmouth, one of the best car shows of the year in my area. I spotted it at once and proceeded to frantically take pictures of it and gawk! And it’s good that I did, as I never saw it again! It was gorgeous in Claret with maroon interior, blinding white padded top, sport mirrors, and wire wheel covers! Brougham on!