Details of Cars

Pontiac Streamliner: the fastback Pontiac of the post-war years

PONTIAC

1951 Pontiac Streamliner Deluxe sedan delivery
1951 Pontiac Streamliner Deluxe sedan delivery. Photo by Greg Gjerdingen from Willmar, USA, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

The Pontiac Streamliner was a full-size car produced from 1942 to 1952. It was the higher and larger of Pontiac’s two post-war lines, a fastback with straight-eight power, and it disappeared in 1952 when the Chieftain took over the whole range.

Pontiac Streamliner at a glance

Pontiac Streamliner key facts
Maker Pontiac, General Motors
Years 1942–1952
Class full-size car
Body fastback, on the longer B-body
Engines straight-eight; six in some years
Position above the Chieftain
1949 redesign all-new body shared with the Chieftain
Wheelbase same as the Chieftain after 1949
Dropped 1952
Replaced by Chieftain as Pontiac’s only model

Based on two sources: the Streamliner article and the Chieftain article, which covers the shared 1949 redesign.

History of the Pontiac Streamliner

A car for the recovery years

The Streamliner was produced from 1942 until 1952 as a popular mid-priced car at Pontiac’s upper end, in the years of recovery from the Great Depression and immediately after the Second World War. It was the larger of Pontiac’s two lines, a fastback on the longer B-body, while the Chieftain sat on the shorter A-body with a notchback body.

1951 Pontiac Streamliner Deluxe sedan delivery, rear
The same 1951 Streamliner from the rear. Photo by Greg Gjerdingen from Willmar, USA, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

1949: the new look

The 1949 Chieftain and Streamliner were the first completely new Pontiac designs after the war; the cars before them had been 1942 models with minor revisions. The new Streamliner was now very similar to the Chieftain in dimensions, engines, trim levels and options, and for the first time since 1934 all Pontiacs shared one wheelbase. The two lines continued side by side, with the Streamliner keeping its fastback roofline.

The end of the fastback

For 1952 Pontiac discontinued the Streamliner, leaving the Chieftain as its only offering, and a station wagon was added to the Chieftain range that year after the top-of-the-line Streamliner wagon was withdrawn. The Streamliner name had no successor: from then on Pontiac’s full-size range was built around the Chieftain, the Star Chief and their derivatives.

Design and features

  • Fastback body: a sloping tail on the longer B-body.
  • Straight-eight: the engine that defined Pontiac in the 1940s.
  • Longer wheelbase: the larger of the two pre-1949 lines.
  • Shared 1949 redesign: new body and dimensions close to the Chieftain.
  • No successor: Pontiac dropped the name in 1952.

Pontiac Streamliner versions

  • Streamliner sedan and coupĂ©: the main fastback bodies.
  • Streamliner wagon: the estate, withdrawn for 1952.
  • 1949–1952 car: the post-war generation on the shared wheelbase.

The Streamliner was the larger brother of the Chieftain and sat below the later Star Chief. More Pontiacs are in the Pontiac collection.

Sources

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