le Pontiac Strato Chief, hostie.

 

Thanks to Aidan O'Neill for the photo. Montreal-Est (probably East on one door, Est on another) is a separate municipality on the Island of Montreal. Not to be confused with the East End, which is part of the city of Montreal. The oil refineries are out there in Montreal-Est. The Canadian Pontiacs of that era were Parisienne, Laurentian, and Strato Chief. They were all Chevrolets under the sheet metal. So not Wide-Tracks, like the US Pontiacs. The wheels and tires look skinny and inboard on the big wide Canadian '59. Somehow my father got ahold of an American car, a 1959 Catalina, which has always been an iconic set of wheels for me. I think we had the only one in Montreal. Here's a  '59 Laurentian wagon.