Classic Car Profile: Buick Riviera
Photo: GPS 56
Over the years, Buick has built numerous vehicles. Some stuck around for several generations, while others disappeared into oblivion and are rarely talked about today. One Buick vehicle that had a long run, and is popular with classic car collectors today, is the Riviera.
Buick first introduced the Riviera in October 1962 for the ’63 model year. It was a completely new model for Buick, rather than being styled on an existing vehicle. The Riviera was designed to compete with the popular Ford Thunderbird and was designated a “personal luxury car.”
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The first and second-gen Riviera was a huge hit with American drivers. The model’s unique styling included a large egg-crate grille and pontoon fenders (you might know them as “wings”). Sales rose every year until the model’s third generation drastically altered its style in 1971.
Photo: Jack Snell
One of the main design changes to the third-generation Riviera was the addition of a “boat-tail” on the rear end. Buick intended the style to be reminiscent of cars and speedboats from the 1920s and 1930s, but unfortunately it did not appeal to Riviera fans and sales began to plummet. Buick shortened the tail for the 1973 Riviera, but sales did not recover as the automaker hoped they would.
Photo: Greg Gjerdingen
Despite declining sales, the Riviera kept its boat-tail design around until the next redesign in 1974 — the beginning of Riviera gen four. This version had a much more conventional look, and did not regain any sales. Over the next few generations, Buick restyled the Riviera but was never able to recapture the attention of enough buyers to make it the success it was in the 1960s.
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Buick eventually retired the Riviera in 1999 after eight generations. While the first and second generation models are still considered some of the best, the third-generation Riviera has experienced somewhat of a resurgence in the world of classic car collectors.
Sources: Los Angeles Magazine, MuscleCarClub.com
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