Tag: Buick

60 Biarritz

Hershey 2018: Broughamtastic!

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Hershey is always a big deal to car nuts. Friends of mine have been, but not me. Well, my comfort zone, living in the Quad Cities, is a circle roughly between Des Moines, St. Louis, Chicago and Milwaukee. Within that circle, I can drive to a car show, concours, model show or whatever and still have time enough to attend, enjoy myself, have lunch or dinner, and get back home, all in the same day.

Fortunately, I have friends all over, and Dave Smith, a good friend of mine who lives in Connecticut, made the drive to Pennsylvania. As a result, he took many excellent photos. As a result, I was able to do a virtual tour from the comfort of my own home. As will you. This is, quite simply, a photo tour, short on text and long on great pictures! So sit back, scroll, and enjoy. And many thanks, Dave, you’re a gentleman and a scholar.

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Marlin

Just Right: The 1965 Intermediates

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If you’re in the market for a midsize car today, you have plenty of choices. Well, for now, as the ever present crossover is rapidly compelling the manufacturers to kill off the traditional midsize sedan. Several nameplates from which to choose–Camry, Impala, Fusion and Optima and of course Accord, to name a few. And they all come in the same flavor of competent albeit repetitive design and styling. Where’s the flair, man? Once upon a time, before safety standards, emissions and plain old public demand trumped style, a buyer could get virtually whatever their heart desired, right down to colors, options–and yes, Virginia, even a body style other than the now-ubiquitous four-door sedan. Want an aqua Skylark convertible with a white interior, V8 and four-speed? Done! How about a red Lark Wagonaire with a red interior, 350 McKinnon (nee GM) V8, power retractable roof over the cargo area, and automatic transmission? No problem. You could have those cars and everything in between–in 1965. Everything from cheapskate beige two-door post with manual everything to fully loaded sports convertible with a fire-breathing powerplant. So let’s set the way-back machine to Autumn 1964 and see what we can get.

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Retro Show: Where Were You In ’82?

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It’s time again for another visit to the Chicago Auto Show, thanks to my friend Jim Smith. You see, he’s been attending the event for fifty years. And took quite a few pictures in that time. Lucky for us! So let’s dive into a world of Broughamage and wood-sided wagons, and see what kind of new rolling stock is on display!

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1972 Buick Electra Custom Limited – The Fabled Deuce And A Quarter

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In 1972, Buick Motor Division’s top of the line series, the Electra, entered its fourteenth year. The Deuce and a Quarter, so named by its many fans due its impressive length of two hundred and twenty five inches. The luxury Buick was always a fine choice in full size cars, and even in the early 1970s it still held its head high as the car of doctors, lawyers and other professionals who wanted comfort, quality and reliability, speaking quietly of their wealth instead of shouting it with a Cadillac.

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1970 Buick Electra 225 Convertible – Black Cherry Blues

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Could 1970 have been Peak GM? That’s a divisive assertion to make, but I happen to think it may be true, despite all the goodness present in the 1965 GM lineup. Everything looked good in ’65, from Corvair to Cadillac, but 1970 was also pretty great for fans of The General. Incidentally, it was also the last year you could get a C-body convertible from the upscale General Motors brands.

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1978 Buick Regal Sport Coupe – Activate The Turbo Boost

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1977 through 1979 were pretty big years for General Motors. During those three model years, a vast diet was undertaken by the majority of their offerings, so that by decade’s end, most of the familiar gunboats you remembered had a much different, much lighter and much more purposeful look.

1976 Buick Electra Park Avenue

It all started with the biggies. The 1977 B-body and C-body full-size cars went from this…

1977 Buick Electra 225

To this. Pretty drastic, wouldn’t you say?

The new cars, while perhaps displaying less Broughamage and curtailing the trend to longer, lower, wider styling, were better handling, better on gas, and in most dimensions had more interior room than the 1976 models. All in all not bad. And the public responded with a healthy appetite for these lean yet satisfying automobiles.

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