Born In Canada: 1985 Pontiac Parisienne
If you live in the tropical south you might known this next car as the Chevrolet Caprice, but up in the moose filled land that Jacques Cartier called “kanata”, they are known as the Pontiac Parisienne. Sophisticated, worldly, and reeking of stinky cheese, the Parisienne is the Caprice/Impala you really want. Find this 1985 Pontiac Parisienne offered for $2,700 in Ft Myers, CO via craigslist. Tip from Dascpcu.
The Parisienne name was first used on the B-platform Pontiacs up in the great white North, but from 1983 through 1986 it was sold in the USA. The best part…they were built in Canadian assembly lines in Ontario and exported to the States, so technically you were buying an import!! Of course power was the same 305 cubic inch V8 making 150 horsepower, but the Impala rear end, Caprice front and Parisienne badges has everybody (and nobody) guessing at the same time.
See a better car for hauling home a fresh moose carcass? tips@dailyturismo.com
Well, I did not know that y'all got Parisiennes down there. We were all excited when we started getting Bonnevilles up here, probably around that same era.
While I was looking for a good avatar for this category, I came across this photo of how Canadians are born:
[img] i.imgur.com/XN6VOgJ.jpg[/img]
Oops, I did check the size of that image, but I guess I overestimated the DT real estate. Being Canadian, all I can say is "Sorry". Feel free to delete it if you wish.
Wow, that picture is awesome!!
OT: Bobinott, please ping me off line, question for you. at dailyturismo dot commie.
We did still get the Caprice – my dad had one on a 6-month lease in 1980. Not a high point after an E12 BMW 530i automatic, but as a kid I loved the big squishy rear bench and all the space….
My elderly neighbors in 1980s/1990s San Diego had a black-on-black Parisienne sedan. I never knew it originated with a Canada-only model and had no idea how to pronounce the model name at the time. Cool to learn a bit of background info and to learn that Parisienne wagons were available in the US!
Daily Turismo: culturing its staff and readers alike, bit by bit, since July 2012.
I butchered "Brougham" when I tried to look car-guy cool in front of my HS crush. She drove an old maroon Cutlass and flattered me in front of her friends by asking me how to pronounce that damn confounding collection of misplaced consonants. All ended well: she didn't know there wasn't an "F" syllable so I got off clean.
Fort Myers, where, exactly? That date palm in the neighbor's yard across the street must have been transplanted by a (insert legalized marijuana purveyor euphemism here) if that's Colorado.