Remembering Kevin A. Campbell

I was saddened to learn this past Monday that a friend of mine, Kevin Campbell, passed away last week. He was one of my online Brougham compadres. We could comment or message back and forth about Cadillacs, Lincolns and Buicks easily-and frequently.

Kevin was someone I met through Facebook, on the various Cadillac and Lincoln groups, like the American Brougham Society headed by Dave Smith, and the 1970’s Great American Land Yacht group. Over the years he’d owned many different U.S. luxury cars. But he was a major Buick fan, and daily drove a 1995 Buick Roadmaster.

He also had a treasure trove of ’70s-’90s Buick, Pontiac, Olds, Lincoln and Cadillac pictures, rivaling your author’s “Vault” for total picture count. And he knew everything about B-body, C-Body and D-Body GM full-size cars.

He was an admin on several FB GM groups as well. One of the cars from his digital vault was this showroom new G-body ’83 Bonneville Brougham-with leather.

Kevin’s 1975 Buick Electra Park Avenue

His first luxury car was a 1975 Electra Park Avenue. As he told me some time ago, “Originally the exterior was dark blue w/ matching top, had been repainted & slick-topped before I acquired it.”

Not Kevin’s car, but his had an identical interior, including the center console

For those not in the know, the 1975-76 Park Avenue was, for all intents and purposes, a Buick version of the Cadillac Talisman. It had a very similar velour bomb interior of Broughamtastic proportions. So decadent, a Kia Rio would blow up from sheer overload if one was parked nearby.

But when I first got to know him, the Roadmaster was his pride and joy. He just loved to cruise in it. He also loved car shows and car cruise nights as much as I did, and posted hundreds of pictures on his home page. Two of those show cars he graciously allowed me to use for two columns. Those two, a 1977 New Yorker St. Regis coupe and a 1973 New Yorker Brougham four-door hardtop, were suitably huge and imposing.

He was a good guy. We never met, as he lived in Nova Scotia, but I’ll miss him. Godspeed, Kevin.

11 Replies to “Remembering Kevin A. Campbell”

  1. NoID

    Anyone who dailies a Roadmaster is OK in my book. The world is a little bit more worse off for the loss of this man.

    I very nearly purchased a 1996 Roadmaster Estate Limited with under 100k on the clock back in 2013 when I was searching for a new daily driver. In my mind I would put a bunch of highway miles on it while meticulously maintaining it, but the way I treated the car I actually purchased (a 2009 Mazda 5) says that was a lie, and I’m glad in hindsight that I did not make that purchase because she would have been too good for me.

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  2. Randy Martell

    Good Lord. I am just hearing this sad news now. Kevin bought my Coupe Deville back about 2005. This news breaks my heart. I pray he rests in peace.

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  3. Mary Ann MacMillan

    Thinking of you and missing our friend. Kevin was a very nice guy and will be remembered by all who knew him. I had the pleasure of being pulled over by the police for speeding while driving home in “Roadie” one night,lol…He sure loved that car and she could move,lol. We had so many good times dancing with all our friends at a local bar The Steel City and just chatting. He worked with my husband for a year or so doing construction and was just an all round nice fella. R.I.P. Kevin.

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  4. John C.

    Condolences to the Brougham Society on the loss of Mr. Campbell.

    I am glad the pictures were included of the Bonneville Model G. Both for the reason that my late brother had a very Broughamy 2 door Landau roof 83 6000LE in the same color scheme and also it showed an earlier style of Detroit management that despite having to build a different type of car still labored to give their loyal brougham buyer as much as possible of what they wanted in a car. The Bonneville is perfectly modern in size and shows how far could be gone to still appeal to an American traditionalist if it was really a priority.

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  5. Scott

    You will be missed bud. I miss the days when you had the Caddy and I was running the Monte Carlo. Seems so long ago but still feels like yesterday. Rest peacefully Kevin.

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  6. Donna

    Just seeing this now. Ive been friends with Kevin since 2003, a boyfriend at the time told me I had to meet this new fella at work as he loved cars as much as I did. The great connection was Cadillac and my boyfriend knew if I had a friend who spoke the car language, I’d leave him alone. Kevin and I instantly became brother and sister, sharing many years of adventures, car shows, hangouts, work breaks, and even roommates at one time. We shared a dream car, 1994 Cadillac Eldorado. Mine in pearle white, his of course was black. We often joked that we would win the lottery, take off for Vegas and find ourselves a pair. We never got that chance. Kevin had a huge heart, a brain that could soak up more knowledge than anyone will ever need in a lifetime. His ability to love his friends was unmatched. I am truly happy to see this article, as I was truly scared he wouldnt be remembered as his personal circle of friends was very small in real life. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart for such a beautiful tribute. Here’s to the real slim shady. Forever riding in plush sofa style seats and chrome.

    If anyone wantsls to see more photos from way back, check out his car domain page.

    http://www.cardomain.com/ride/796428/1987-cadillac-deville/

    Reply

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