The Brand That Built Great Cars and Occasionally Forgot How
Buick has spent decades as the punchline to a joke about old men and slow lanes, and like most jokes, it's not entirely wrong. Buick has also produced some genuinely excellent cars and some that embodied every tired stereotype with admirable commitment. Here's 10 that deserve more credit than they received, and 10 that gave the comedians exactly what they needed.
1. 1963 Buick Riviera
The first-generation Riviera is one of the most beautifully designed American cars ever built, and the fact that it came from Buick surprises people who only know the brand from its later years. Bill Mitchell's sharp styling drew on English coach-built cars, held up for decades, and handled well for its era.
2. 1970 Buick GSX Stage 1
The GSX Stage 1 is the muscle car Buick never gets credit for building, with a 455 cubic inch engine producing 360 horsepower and 510 pound-feet of torque. Buick underrated those numbers, as many manufacturers did, and the car has spent decades being undervalued at auction as a result.
Charles from Port Chester, New York on Wikimedia
3. 1987 Buick GNX
The GNX is the one Buick nobody argues about, built with McLaren Performance Technologies around a turbocharged 3.8-liter V6 that produced around 300 horsepower in a car weighing under 3,500 pounds. Road & Track clocked it running the quarter mile faster than a Ferrari Testarossa in period testing.
4. 1936 Buick Century
The original Century earned its name by being one of the first American production cars capable of reaching 100 miles per hour, which was extraordinary for 1936. Buick achieved it by putting a large engine into a smaller, lighter body, the same formula hot rodders would reinvent a generation later.
Tobias Nordhausen from Sondershausen, Deutschland on Wikimedia
5. 2004 Buick Century
The last of the Centurys was not glamorous, but it was reliable, roomy, comfortable on long drives, and priced for people who needed a dependable daily driver without drama. Consumer Reports liked it consistently, and the used market agreed.
Michael Gil from Calgary, AB, Canada on Wikimedia
6. 2008 Buick Enclave
When the Enclave arrived for 2008, it showed Buick understood what crossover buyers wanted before most domestic competitors did. The interior quality was impressive for the price, the ride was quiet and composed, and it seated eight adults with more comfort than most expected from a domestic brand. It reestablished Buick's credibility in a way no sedan could.
7. 1994 Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon
The Roadmaster Wagon is having a moment, and it deserves it. It was big, honest, powered by the Corvette-derived LT1 V8, and gave a full-size wagon acceleration and a sound that had no business coming out of something that could carry a refrigerator. Low-mileage examples are collectible now.
8. 2012 Buick Verano
The Verano was Buick's entry into compact luxury, and it acquitted itself better than the market acknowledged. The interior was carefully finished and noticeably quieter than most competitors, and the optional turbocharged four-cylinder gave it more performance than its appearance suggested. It disappeared in 2017 without much ceremony, which was an underserved ending.
9. 1965 Buick Wildcat
The Wildcat was Buick's personal luxury performance car before the GS and GSX arrived, and its 401 cubic inch Nailhead V8 gave it real credentials. The 1965 model had clean styling that aged well, and the convertible is one of the better-looking mid-sixties American cars from any manufacturer.
10. 2016 Buick Cascada
The Cascada was a convertible in an era when convertibles were disappearing, arriving with a well-sorted suspension, a quiet cabin with the top up, and a turbocharged engine that felt more European than expected. It was not a perfect car, but a genuinely pleasant one the used market has not yet properly valued.
Here are 10 that gave the comedians exactly what they were looking for.
1. 1980 Buick Skylark
The front-wheel-drive X-body Skylark was plagued with quality problems, and the brakes drew a federal investigation and a recall involving over 200,000 vehicles. It was underpowered, cheaply assembled, and the corner-cutting it represented damaged GM's reputation through the eighties.
Niels de Wit from Lunteren, The Netherlands on Wikimedia
2. 1997 Buick Park Avenue Ultra Supercharged
The supercharged Park Avenue had a legitimately interesting powertrain and should have been better than it was, but it delivered its power through a chassis designed to insulate you from any sensation of movement. It was a car that tried to be exciting from the outside and forgot to involve the driver.
3. 1985 Buick Electra Estate Wagon
The diesel V8 variant became one of the more notorious powertrains in American automotive history. GM's diesel conversion of the Oldsmobile 350 was mechanically unreliable, damaged the American diesel market for years, and gave Buick a reliability reputation it spent decades trying to repair.
4. 2005 Buick Terraza
The Terraza was Buick's attempt at a minivan, essentially a rebadged Chevrolet Uplander with slightly nicer trim that offered nothing justifying its price premium. It sold poorly, lasted four years, and is largely forgotten.
5. 1992 Buick LeSabre
The 1992 LeSabre was not a bad car in absolute terms, but it was the embodiment of the automotive mediocrity Buick mastered during this period. It was inoffensive and anonymous, designed with such commitment to not offending anyone that it appealed to almost no one who wasn't already a Buick buyer.
6. 2003 Buick Rendezvous
The Rendezvous arrived as crossovers were becoming the most important segment in the market, and Buick managed to produce one that failed to excel in any meaningful dimension. The interior didn't match the price, the dynamics were forgettable, and the styling dated almost immediately. It was an opportunity squandered at exactly the wrong moment.
7. 1989 Buick Reatta
The Reatta was meant to be Buick's sporty image car and the concept was sound, but the touchscreen infotainment was unreliable, the 3800 V6 was unimpressive for a car sold on driver appeal, and the styling generated curiosity without generating desire. It sold poorly and was discontinued after 1991.
Niels de Wit from Lunteren, The Netherlands on Wikimedia
8. 1977 Buick Opel Isuzu
This was a Japanese-built Isuzu sold through Buick dealers under the Opel name after Buick lost its actual Opel supply arrangement with GM's German subsidiary. It had nothing to do with Buick beyond the badge, confused customers, and embarrassed dealers.
commons.wikimedia.org on Google
9. 2018 Buick LaCrosse
The second-generation LaCrosse was a genuinely competent large sedan that arrived at precisely the moment the American market decided it was done with large sedans. It was well-built and nicely finished, but it had no real identity in a segment that was already collapsing, and Buick discontinued it in 2019 after sales made continued production impossible to justify.
10. 1974 Buick Century Luxus
The Century Luxus arrived at the height of the malaise era and aspired to nothing in particular, which was very on-brand for the period. The styling was soft, the performance was anemic by the standards of the day, and the name Luxus suggested a premium the car never delivered.
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