Initially introduced as the Pontiac counterpart of the two-door Chevrolet Nomad, the division adopted the nameplate across its full-size wagon range in 1957.

In contrast with a standard two-door 860 "Colony" station wagon (also derived from the Chieftain),[5] the Safari was styled with coupe-style front doors, forward-raked B-pillars (with windows wrapping around from pillar to pillar); along with extra chrome trim (fitted to the tailgate), the rear seat windows slid open.

In line with the Nomad being derived from the top-trim Bel Air, the interior of the Safari was shared with Star Chief sedans.

[10]For 1958, GM ended production of its two-door sport wagons, as the slow-selling Nomad and Safari had both served as the most expensive cars sold by Chevrolet and Pontiac.

[16] For 1966, the Safari nameplate was dropped by Pontiac, as its B-body station wagons (Catalina and Bonneville) deleted the secondary series designation.

[17] For 1971, Pontiac revised its station wagon branding, making the Safari a stand-alone model series based on the Catalina.

Officially designated as a B-body vehicle, the Safari (and its Buick/Oldsmobile counterparts) shared the 127-inch wheelbase of the C-body "senior" sedan chassis.

For 1974, the Safari again became a secondary series designation, becoming part of the Catalina range;[19] the model line adopted the rectangular headlights introduced on full-size Pontiacs for 1975.

The system, heavy and complex, made it easier to load and unload the extremely long wagons in tight spaces — for example, the entire tailgate could open inside a closed garage or with a trailer installed.

But the design was not adopted by other manufacturers and would be eliminated when GM reduced the length of their wagons by about a foot for model year 1977, when the overriding concern became increased fuel economy.

The B-body Bonneville was replaced with the Pontiac Parisienne in the United States (adopting a design closer to the Chevrolet Caprice).

For the first time, GM marketed two distinct vehicles in North America with the same model nameplate in two different divisions (sometimes in the same dealer network).

Alongside its use by the Pontiac B-body station wagon range (including the Chieftain, Star Chief, Catalina, Executive, Bonneville, and Parisienne), Pontiac expanded the use of the Safari nameplate beyond its full-size model range for 1961 as it introduced a Tempest Safari compact station wagon.

Along with their full-size namesakes, smaller Safari wagons (from the mid-1960s onward) adopted external woodgrain trim as a distinguishing feature.

Slotted above the Catalina-based Safari, the model line was distinguished by its exterior woodgrain trim (a few examples were produced with it deleted).

The counterpart of the Buick Estate and the Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser, the first-generation Grand Safari would be the largest vehicle ever sold by Pontiac.

In an effort to reduce branding confusion, Pontiac renamed the model line as the Bonneville Safari for 1979 (effectively returning to the name of its 1970 predecessor).

The first (and currently, only) minivan sold by GMC, the Safari van continued the usage of the nameplate until the 2005 discontinuation of the model line.