Acadian (automobile)
Acadian is a model of automobile produced by General Motors of Canada from 1962 to 1971. The Acadian was introduced so Canadian Pontiac-Buick dealers would have a compact model to sell, since the Pontiac Tempest was unavailable in Canada. Plans originally called for the Acadian to be based on the Chevrolet Corvair, which was produced at GM's Oshawa plant; however, the concept was moved to the Chevy II platform to be introduced for 1962. The brand was also offered in Chile, with models built in Arica.
For the crossover SUV of a similar name, see GMC Acadia.Product type
History[edit]
Acadian brand (1962–1971)[edit]
To promote automobile manufacturing in Canada, the APTA (also known as the "Auto Pact") in the 1960s had provisions prohibiting sales of certain United States-made cars. General Motors responded by offering certain makes of cars manufactured in Canada primarily for the Canadian market such as Acadian, and Beaumont, which started as an offering in the Acadian line, but later became its own brand in 1966.[1] Initially, Acadians were retrimmed Chevy IIs, offered as a base model, mid-priced Invader and top-line Beaumont. The car used Pontiac styling cues, such as a split grille, but was marketed as a separate make, never as a Pontiac.[2] As with the concurrent Chevy II, Acadians were offered with four-cylinder, six-cylinder, and V8 engines. No Mark IV (big block) Acadians were ever produced in any year, unlike the sister car Chevrolet Nova SS. The choice of transmission depended upon the model and engine installed, three- and four-speed manual gearboxes or the two-speed Powerglide automatic. During its early years, the top-line Beaumont offered more brightwork than the equivalent Chevy II Nova. For 1963, a new mid-range series Acadian was introduced as the Canso, priced in between the Beaumont and Invader. It was available as two- or four-door sedan.
For 1964 and 1965, the Beaumont name was moved to a retrimmed version of the intermediate Chevrolet Chevelle, while the Canso was moved upmarket to the top-line compact model, equivalent of the Nova.[3] "Invader" became the series name for the base model. Data for the 1966 Acadian were: engines available were six-cylinder (194 cid, 8.5 compression ratio, 120 bhp rated), V8 (283 cid, 9.25 compression ratio, 195 bhp), or the L79 (327 cid, 11.00 compression ratio, 350 bhp rated), overall length of 15.25 feet (4.65 m); overall width of 5.94 ft (1.81 m); height of 4.48 ft (1.37 m); turning circle of 38.4 ft (11.7 m); front track of 4.73 ft (1.44 m), and rear track of 4.69 ft (1.43 m). Its fuel tank held 13.5 imperial gallons.[4]
From 1966, Beaumont was designated as a separate make, without the Acadian name; 1966-67 Beaumonts continued to use the Chevrolet Chevelle body with minor styling revisions, including different taillights and a Pontiac-style split grille. The interior used the instrument panel from the American Pontiac Tempest/LeMans/GTO series. Drivetrains were the same as the contemporary Chevelle with the exception of the 396 with 375 rated bhp, as were model offerings. The one exception to Chevelle/Beaumont availability was a base-model Beaumont convertible. Such a model was never available in the Chevelle line in the USA, although it was in Canada. All Acadians and Beaumonts used Chevrolet engines and drivelines. The Beaumont was discontinued after 1969, after which Canadian dealers sold the Pontiac LeMans. The Acadian continued using the Chevy II/Nova body through mid-1971, after which it was replaced by the Pontiac Ventura II. GM would not market another Canadian-exclusive brand until the launch of Passport starting for the 1988 model year.