Acadian (automobile)
Acadian was a make of automobile produced by General Motors of Canada from 1962 to 1971. The Acadian was introduced so that Canadian Pontiac and Buick dealers would have a compact model to sell, since the Pontiac Tempest was not available 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.
Initially, Acadians were retrimmed Chevy IIs, offered as a base model, mid-priced Invader and top-line Beaumont. In 1964 and 1965, the Beaumont name was moved to a retrimmed version of the contemporary Chevrolet Chevelle, at which time the name Canso took over for the top-line smaller model. From 1966 to 1969, the Beaumont continued, but as a standalone marque. Both Acadians and Beaumonts were sold by Pontiac dealers, but they were considered as separate makes, not Pontiac models. Acadian Beaumonts were also made in a factory in Chile.
1966-69 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 dash panel from the (U.S.) Pontiac Tempest/LeMans/GTO series. All Acadians and Beaumonts used Chevrolet powerplants.
During the late '60s, the Beaumont was also available in Puerto Rico. There was actually a Beaumont Cafeteria that was co-located with the local Beaumont dealer in San Juan.
The Acadian continued using the Chevy II/Nova body through mid-1971, after which it was replaced by the Pontiac Ventura II.
From 1976 to 1987, the Pontiac Acadian was a version of the Chevrolet Chevette sold by Canadian Pontiac-Buick dealers.