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1970
The 1970 Grand Prix was essentially a carryover from the
immensely successful 1969 edition. Only a couple of points differed. The grille
itself now featured vertical slats, and vertical hash marks appeared on the front fenders just
behind the front wheels. New interior upholstery patterns and the reintroduction of the
bench seat rounded out the visual changes.
Under the hood, there was a new optional engine. While
the 350-horse 400 was still standard and the low-com-pression 400 2-barrel and automatic were
still a no-cost option, both 428s were history. In their place was a 455 4-barrel, with
370 hp available at 4600 rpm, and 500 axle-snapping lbs.-ft, of torque at 3100.
Unfortunately, sales plummeted by more than 40 percent.
Much of the drop can be attributed to the introduction of Chevy's and Oldsmobile's "Me
Toos," better known as the Monte Carlo and Cutlass Supreme. While the Monte Carlo was
considered a G-body and shared the GP's roofline, it did not share any other sheetmetal with
the Pontiac and utilized the 116-inch four-door A-body chassis (which was 2 inches shorter in
wheelbase than the GP's). The Cutlass Supreme also used the Grand Prix roofline with its
own lower sheet-metal and 116-inch wheelbase. Both models took a solid bite out of the
trend-setting GP's sales.
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 Another
view of this 1970 Grand Prix shows the subtle restyling from 1969, the first year the
car was based on the G-body platform. The '70 received vertical grille bars and minor
trim changes, but that was about it. Inside, it shows how luxurious even the basic
Model J trim could be. Options include air conditioning, AM/FM stereo and Turbo
400 automatic transmission.
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