Colonnade (pronounced kol-uh-neyd)
(1) In architecture, a series of regularly spaced columns
supporting an entablature and often one side of a roof.
(2) In design (usually as "colonnaded"), any array of upright structures which emulate the style of architectural colonnades.
(3) A series of trees planted in a long row, as on each
side of a driveway or road.
(4) The descriptor for the body style used in
the US on the General Motors (GM) “A-Body” platform 1973-1977.
1718: From the French colonnade,
from the Italian colonnato, from colonna (column), from the Latin columna (pillar), a collateral form of columen (top, summit), from the
primitive Indo-European root kel- (to
be prominent; hill). The related term is
colonnette which in architecture is a small slender column, sometimes merely decorative
but also structural, supporting a beam or lintel). In interior decorating and
furniture design, colonettes are also used, featuring in objects as diverse as
chairs, tables and mantle-clocks, the motif noted by archeologists in excavations
from Antiquity. The –ette
suffix was from the Middle English -ette,
a borrowing from the Old French -ette,
from the Latin -itta, the feminine
form of -ittus. It was used to form nouns meaning a smaller
form of something. Colonnade is a noun and colonnaded is an adjective; the
noun plural is colannades.
Colonnades at Piazza San Pietro, leading to St Peter's Basilica, Vatican City.
The noun peristyle described "a range or ranges of
columns surrounding any part or place".
It dates from the 1610s and was from the mid sixteenth century French péristyle (row of columns surrounding a
building), from the Classical Latin peristȳlum & peristȳlium, from the Ancient Greek περιστῡ́λιον (peristū́lion)
& περίστυλον (perístulon), a noun
use of the neuter form of περίστυλος (perístulos)
(surrounded by columns), the construct being περί (perí) + στῦλος (stûlos) (pillar), from the primitive Indo-European root sta- (to stand, make or be firm). In voodoo, it has the special meaning of “a
sacred roofed courtyard with a central pillar (the potomitan), used to conduct ceremonies, either alone or as an
adjunct to an enclosed temple or altar-room.
1974 Buick Century Luxus Colonnade Sedan
Under the traditional naming system used by General Motors
(GM), the code "A-body" was use for the intermediate platform, a body-on-frame
design in which the driveline and suspension were pre-assembled on a perimeter-frame
chassis to which the body subsequently was attached. The 1973-1977 GM A-Body cars were thus
structurally similar to the highly regarded 1964-1972 models but the body style
was radically different for a number of reasons, including some imposed by
legislation. One feature eliminated from the A-Body after 1973 was the hardtop, a body-style which used
frameless side-windows and no central (B) pillar. The much admired hardtop style had to be
sacrificed (though the fameless-windows were carried-over) because the new federal
legislation demanded improved roll-over protection, thus the need for B-pillars
to form a kind of integral roll-cage. This
was the era when safety and anti-pollution regulation first became stringent
and the 1973-1977 cars would be the first with the 5 mph (8 km/h) crash
bumpers, most early versions of which looked something like battering rams.
1973 Oldsmobile Colonnade Cutlass. In the 1970s, the Cutlass would become the best-selling car in the US but it's the previous generation A-Bodies (1964-1972) which are much sought.
General Motors dubbed the style “Colonnade”, an allusion
to the array of three pillars where once there had been but two. Built at the time in big numbers with
production (spread between the Chevrolet, Buick, Oldsmobile & Pontiac
divisions) exceeding seven million, the survival rate was low compared with
their more illustrious (though sometimes lethally unsafe) predecessors and because few attained “collectable” status, no industry of replacement and re-production
parts emerged to make restorations conveniently possible. While the Colonnade cars don’t mark the dawn
of the “malaise era” for which the Carter administration is remembered
(although in the “Crisis of Confidence” speech which is taken as its marker,
Jimmy Carter (b 1924, US president 1977-1981) never spoke the word “malaise”),
the hints are certainly there that worse was to come.
1977 Pontiac Can Am advertising was apparently the only time Pontiac officially used the popular "GOAT" (greatest of all time) allusion to the GTO.
One (not especially bright) highlight of the Colonnade years
came almost at the end when Pontiac released the Can Am. By 1977, Pontiac was no longer making genuinely
fast or exciting cars (and in fairness, nor were many others) but with machines
like the Firebird Trans-Am, they were certainly making stuff which looked the
part and it was this flair for keeping-up-appearances which inspired the Can Am. One model which had disappointed the Pontiac hierarchy was the LeMans which, even by Colonnade standards was an unhappy looking
thing, the sloping rear end and buff-front apparently the work of two different committees, both comprised of not especially gifted members. Fundamentally,
it couldn’t be fixed but the Detroit’s marketing people had worked before with
unpromising material and knew all about “tarting-up”.
1977 Pontiac Can Am.
The first proposal added a ducktail spoiler to the rear
which was quite effective in disguising the drooping lines and revived the “Judge” name, a muscle-car
moniker from Pontiac’s recent past, added stripes and finished the thing in a lurid
red which was close to the Judge’s signature shade. Officially, the Pontiac management were said
to be “unenthusiastic” but apparently they were appalled and knew something so
obviously fake would not be well-received.
There the project might have died but the marketing team had a second
go, adding the Firebird Trans Am’s 400 cubic inch (6.6 litre) V8, keeping the
spoiler and changing the color to stark white, complemented with red, yellow
and orange stripes, the Swiss-Guardesque combination looking better than it sounds. The interior gained additional appointments,
borrowed from the Grand Prix, one Pontiac which was selling well and the name came
from a famous racing series which in its halcyon years had been contested by
the FIA’s Group 7, unlimited displacement sports cars. The Pontiac was a long way removed from that
but at the time, so was just about everything and the project was duly approved
for a mid-season (early 1977) introduction.
The spoiler which broke the mold: The 1977 Pontiac Can Am’s rear styling reflected GM’s thoughts on styling at the time, the same motifs appearing on contemporary Holdens in Australia (the HJ-HX-HZ sedans (1974-1980) and a similar spoiler was used for the HJ-HX Monaro coupés (1974-1977).
Sales began in January and the critical response was polite, the performance noted as being about as good as could be expected at the time and the handling receiving the usual praise, one improvement of the Colonnade era which was real. In a sign of the times, only an automatic transmission was offered and, in deference to California’s more exacting anti-pollution rules, Can Ams sold there were fitted with the less powerful Oldsmobile 403 cubic inch (6.6 litre) V8 also used in high-altitude regions. Sales projections were initially a modest 2500 units but the public clearly liked the look, dealers reporting high demand so the production schedule was doubled and the first batch of just over a 1000 cars was shipped. Unfortunately, it was at this point the hand-crafted mold used to form the ducktail spoiler broke and such had been the rush to market than there was no spare. Had the distinctive molding not been such a prominent part of the Can Am’s marketing materials, perhaps it might have been possible to proceed spoiler-less but it was decided to cancel the programme. Whether or not it’s an industry myth, the story has always been that because the Can Am depended on so many parts (especially the interior) from the parts bin of the fast-selling (and highly profitable) Grand Prix, Pontiac decided they’d rather have more of them. Total Can Am production is uncertain but the most often quoted number by NRS (normally reliable sources) is 1277 and they’re now regarded with more fondness than much of the machinery from the malaise era, the rarity and flamboyance of the Colonnade lines gaining them a small but seemingly secure niche in the lower reaches of the collector market, the best-preserved examples achieving over US$50,000 at auction.
Lindsay Lohan in Falling for Christmas (Netflix, 2022). Any structure, small or large which adopts the architectural language of the colonnade (an array of vertical pillar-like structures) can be said to be colonnaded. These are doors with colonnaded windows.
In English, malaise was an unadapted loanword from the French malaise (ill ease), the construct being mal- (bad, badly) + aise (ease). It was used to describe (1) a feeling of general bodily discomfort, fatigue or unpleasantness (sometimes associated with the onset of illness), (2) an ambiguous feeling of mental or moral depression (the sense tending more to “melancholy” than “angst”) and (3) ill will or hurtful feelings for others. The US cars of the years between 1974-1984 (some say it went on a bit longer) came to be called “malaise era” cars, the name from the thoughtful but perhaps unfortunate “Crisis of Confidence” address Jimmy Carter (1924-2024; US president 1977-1981) delivered in July 1979. Carter’s years of malaise remains emblematic the America of the late 1970s (a time of stagflation, oil-shock induced energy price-rises & shortages, high interest rates and general gloom) but the details have become blurred. The use of the word “malaise” emerged from a retreat the president had convened at the Camp David retreat after concluding neither he, his advisors or the entire machinery of government could come up with solution to the nation’s many problems. Attended by notables from the clergy, academia and other realms including the governor of Arkansas, BillClinton (b 1946; US president 1993-2001), the curious event prompted one historian to describe it as “…the most remarkable exercise in presidential navel-gazing in American history…” but what did lodge in Carter’s memory was an observation by the pollster Patrick Caddell (1950–2019) that after some fifteen years of trauma including assassinations, race riots, the war in Vietnam and Watergate, the nation was experiencing a “malaise” and the president decided this notion would be the centrepiece of his address to the people.
An emblematic malaise era machine, twenty-first century viewers would be surprised to learn it was possible for a relatively small, light car with a 302 cubic inch (4.9 litre) V8 to deliver such anaemic performance. However, the Mustang II (1973-1978) was the the right car for the right car (debuting some weeks before the first oil shock) and was a great success.
The word “malaise” wasn’t included in the text of Carter’s speech but, replete with phrases like “…strikes at the very heart and soul and spirit of our national will…” & “…crisis of confidence…”, the tone was clear and almost universally the press called it the “malaise speech”. Despite what has long been the popular perception, at the time the speech was not a political disaster and was well-received, Carter’s approval ratings surging; it was only as the year unfolded he came to be damned by his own words and if any single term is now associated with his unhappy single term, it's “malaise”. As was customary for presidential addresses of this nature, the speech was nationally televised live by the three major commercial networks (ABC (American Broadcasting Company), CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System) & NBC (National Broadcasting Company)) and simultaneously broadcast by many radio stations, the total audience estimated at some 65 million (there was then no FoxNews but it's not difficult to predict what the nature of that commentary would have been). Given the coverage, it’s certain the address contributed greatly to the eventual public disillusionment with the president and may thus have been an example of videomalaise (a term from late 1990s political science which linked voters’ decreasing trust in politicians with depictions of the latter on televised news).
Available only on the Firebird (Formula or Trans-AM) in 1973 & 1974, the SD-455 was one of the few bright spots of the malaise era although it did need slightly to be detuned for commercial release, its original 310 (HP) horsepower configuration able to pass the EPA's (Environmental Protection Authority) emission tests only if a devious "cheater" device was installed (shades of Volkswagen's later "dieselgate" although Pontiac got off with nothing more than a "slap on the wrist" rather than the billions it cost the equally guilty Germans). The production version was rated at 290 HP which was still enough to make it the powerful US car of its time.
The "malaise era" cars were so named because compared with the previous generations, they were heavier, slower, thirstier and less pleasant to drive, a collection of characteristics which weren't the fault of President Carter but he had the misfortune to be in the White House at the same time. They were of course safer and less polluting but those advantages were hidden while the ugliness of the battering-ram bumper-bars, reduced power and sometimes tiresome driving characteristics were obvious. When speaking of these mostly unlamented machines, the phrase “Malaise Era” is believed to have been coined by writer Murilee Martin (the pen name of Phil Greden) who used it first in 2007 on the website Jalopnik.
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