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I spotted an (insert obscure car name here) classic car today! (Archived)
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A two-seater version of the Regal GNX would certainly have been much more exciting than the Reatta, but I believe that RWD platform was too large for a two-seater. Besides, the GNX tooling might already have been scrapped by the time Buick decided to introduce its two-seater. Don't know, just guessing on this.
The bottom line is that Buick could have discarded the idea of building a two-seater, or do something on the order of what it did with the Reatta. Of course the execution could have been better (eg. analog gauges, supercharged 3800), but that's always the case with hindsight. I think the bigger mistake may have been that GM permitted Buick and Cadillac to both have two-seaters in their product lines. The Reatta and the Allante served similar niches. The market for luxury two-seaters couldn't accommodate both of them.
And then, as the market was shifting, they tried to hold onto some of the older designs, while coming out with the new ones anyway. It really started confusing buyers as to where, exactly, a lot of these cars fell in the hierarchy. A lot of the cues that normally tipped off buyers as to what the "better" car was were usually engines and overall length. Well, in 1987, unless you got the Estate wagon, the Regal was the longest car, at around 200-202", and the only one offered with V-8 power (307). Yet, the Regal was cheaper than the LeSabre coupe, Electra coupe, and Riviera.
And on the subject of the Riviera, I think too many people simply confused it with the Somerset Regal/Skylark, which wasn't that much smaller, had very similar looks, but was about half the price.
My grandparents had gone through a dilemma in 1984, when they wanted a car to replace their '82 Malibu, which they were really getting tired of. An old guy at their church had an early 80's Electra coupe that they really liked, so they had their mind set on an Electra. But once they found out the Electra got downsized and turned into FWD/V-6 only, Granddad was like well, let's hurry up and get a LeSabre then, before they screw THAT one up!
Evidently a lot of people felt that way, because the 1985 LeSabre ended up having one of its best sales years in ages! I think a similar thing happened with Olds and the Delta 88 versus 98.
The '85 Electra and 98 actually sold pretty well that first year, and at first look, it seemed sales were way up compared to the 1984 RWD models. However, the '85's came out early, in April of '84 I believe, so they had an extra-long run, while the '84's were cut short.
And the downsized LeSabre actually did sell pretty well, but I think a lot of it came at the expense of the 88, 98, and to a smaller degree, the Electra. For some reason, those shrunken Buicks did somewhat well, but the Oldsmobiles didn't.
But, by the time the Reatta came out, Buick was still a shell of its former early 80's self. Being a 2-seater naturally limited its market, but being a 2-seater based on a Riviera that nobody wanted probably hurt it even worse. Plus, it was stuck with the same 3.8 V-6 that went into just about everything else, so there was no prestige anymore. I think the Reatta went out after 1991, and it was 1992 that the supercharged V-6 came out, initially with 205 hp.
Maybe the supercharged engine would've helped save the Reatta, who knows? The Riviera got a restyle for 1989 that made it look more impressive, and gave it a temporary lease on life. So that probably overshadowed the Reatta. Olds did a similar thing with the Toronado for 1990, and the Eldorado/Seville went through a major transfmoration for 1992. The Toro and Riv were dropped for 1994, although the Riv would come back in 1995. I imagine that these larger bodies would not have lent themselves very well to a 2-seat version.
Then you had 2-seater exotics, wet dreams and over-compensating at all costs. Now that's entertainment!
Buick Reatta rates a grade "C" or even a "B" against all that and the MB 560 SL too? What was an "F" back then? (I'll accept Fiero as an even worse choice than Reatta - but that's still GM and Detroit.) If we don't flunk the Reatta effort then do you think we'll ever again see grade "A" results from Detroit in general and The General in particular?
Reminds me, I saw a recent BJ auction (speed channel, maybe Friday?) selling an early ZR-1 with the wide rear and the squared off tail lamps. Fast car.
It should also be considered that Buick customers, and those that might have cross shopped Buick weren't looking for a CRX/Del Sol or Miata, and the NSX was in a higher price bracket. Yes, Buick gambled and lost with the Reatta, but all I'm saying is that its attempt to attract buyers who wanted something that looked sporty, yet was luxurious, comfortable and affordable, was reasonable. Should Buick have also offered a supercharged "Sport" edition, with tighter suspension, bigger brakes, and trim differentiation? Yes.
I've never sat in a Reatta, but since they were based on the Riviera, I'd imagine they were fairly roomy and comfy. I just pulled up the specs: 57" of shoulder room, 43.1" of legroom, 36.9" of headroom. So it does seem like it was a pretty roomy car...basically a midsize turned into a 2-seater, rather than some purpose-built thing that you need a shoehorn to get into. That headroom figure's a bit tight, but I'm sure the seats were low to the floor, so it was probably like riding in my buddy's Mark V...minus the shoulder room.
How we *actually* saw the Reatta:
2-seaters are usually geared toward performance, whether they're high-buck status symbols like the Benzes, "poor man exotics" like the Corvette, or nimble little sportscars like the the Miata. Or even cheap, bare-bones transportation like the old CRX, which was still a fun car to toss around.
The Reatta seems like it was geared a bit more towards comfort and practicality, with a roomy front seat, fairly roomy trunk for its class, and so on. But, with a 38-foot turning radius, hardly a sportscar! I think my Intrepid had a 37.6 foot turning radius! But, I think people who want a comfy, luxurious cruiser also want a back seat. Perhaps Buick would have been better off trying to develop a convertible version of the Riviera? Although those Rivs were such poor sellers in that era, I don't think it would have helped.
IMHO none of them come close to the Jaguar XKE in classic styling.
Does anything? Even Jaguar can't come up with anything that looks nearly as good as the E-Type.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Is there anyone here who knows anything about Mopars? :P
Okay, from the BACK it looks like two single-piece, tall, vertical tailights and the fins were splayed out. No multiple bullets or lenses.
I tried to follow it but was nearly put to death by an impatient BMW X5 SUV, so I retreated back to the bike lane, in relative but by no means absolute safety.
That car makes me think, what was the Reatta aimed at? The Allante missed the SL by a few thousand miles...what was the Reatta chasing? A new niche?
The '60-61 DeSoto and Chrysler did have vertical taillights, but they were mounted fairly high up, and werent' nearly as full-height as a '57-58 Chrysler.
To use the terminology of these young'uns nowadays, I'd say youd'call those two "Fail" and "Epic Fail", or "Dislike" or some other hip, trendy term. But yeah, I'd say the recent 2-seater T-bird tried to hit that same demographic as the Reatta did. Aging, overweight baby boomers who wanted a 2-seater but wanted something bigger, wider, and more luxurious than your typical Miata, Solstice, etc. It's just that said aging boomers were bigger and wider by the time the T-bird came out than they where when the Reatta was around.
XLR is all about not learning a lesson. Allante took on a certain car and failed loudly. XLR repeated it.
T-Bird was too bland, IMO.
got it!
It was a 1957 Chrysler New Yorker convertible.
did not get a look at the interior, but likely in the same condition.
one of the rattier ones I have seen actually out driving around lately.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
A bunch of MGs
A bunch of TR6s
A huge old Mercedes convertible
Old 911s, each with rust bubbles in their nice paint jobs
A pair of Ferrari 308s
A plain jane BMW 2002 with an automatic
A LHD Nissan GT-R from a couple of generations ago
Yeah, unfortunately build quality and tin worm wiped a lot of the "forward look" population out years ago. The 300 is probably the one you're most likely to see at a show.
Up until pretty recently, there were a few local junkyards around here that held onto a lot of really old stuff. One of them is about 90 miles away near Culpeper, VA. Opened in 1961, and the owner rarely crushed a car, at least not until money got tight in the 1990's. He claimed to have around 10,000 cars in there. Anyway, I always thought it was interesting how, just looking at the junked cars, you could see the progression in quality, or lack of it. The '49-54 Mopars tended to be rock-solid, and often looked like they could be dragged out of there and restored. The '55-56 models didn't hold up nearly as well, but seemed about on par with anything else of the time. The '57-58 models were usually horribly rusted, but for some reason, the '59's seemed greatly improved. The '60-64 models seemed to hold up pretty well too, which surprises me, considering they were unitized.
I can't remember if I took a picture of it or not. But yeah, it was a '58 Firedome 2-door hardtop. And oddly enough, it was right next to a '51 or '52 DeSoto 2-door sedan that still looked very solid.
I haven't been down there since 1997. I'd love to go again sometime, to see what the place looks like nowadays. Looking at satellite maps though, it looks like he's gone and cleaned the place out A LOT!
If you're curious, go to www.googlemaps.com and paste in
Leon's Auto Parts, James Monroe Highway, Leon, VA and it'll put a marker on the place.
You really can't zoom in enough to tell what kind of cars are in there, but I can actually see that the '69 Bonneville convertible I snagged a bumper/grille off of is gone. Or, at least, moved.
I'm sure alot of that stuff simply became too far gone after awhile. For instance, the '53 DeSoto that my granddad got parts off of in 1978 was still there the last time I was there in '97. That car was actually kind of a sad story. It was one of the first cars that the junkyard got, in 1961 or so, and there was nothing wrong with it, just nobody wanted it anymore so it got junked. It was parked up in the front part of the junkyard, but then when they expanded, they actually drove it to its final resting place! I think it's sad to think of a perfectly useable car just going to waste like that, but I guess if nobody wants it, what can you do?
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
My granddad had bought a wrecked '53 Firedome from his brother in law in 1978, for something like $100. Got the parts he needed from the junkyard DeSoto for about $80, and put them on. But then, he just let the car sit, and began to lose interest in it. Once I was getting close to driving age, I started showing an interest in it, but he sold it for $600, just before my 16th birthday.
The guy who bought it tried to jump start it with a 12 volt, fried something, and then just pushed it to the edge of the woods in his back yard. And there it still sits. He lives close to my Mom and stepdad in southern MD, and I remember you used to be able to see the car from the road in the wintertime, at least, but then he put up a fence, or evergreens, or something. But it still shows up on Google Maps!
It's the light, seafoam green car in the woods, off to the right in this pic. And judging from the pic, it looks like this guy had a few other projects he got fed up with and pushed off into the woods!
Our '53 was pretty solid when Granddad sold it in 1986, although it was mis-matched with the dark greenish blue fender and hood on a seafoam body. I hate to think of what 25 years of sitting in the woods has done to it. :sick:
Nope, mine was a light green Firedome 4-door. It had the fluid drive transmission, and was quite sluggish, despite having a Hemi. This was in the St Louis area....
Could very well be. As I said, mine was a '53. That year they actually had two "Fluid Drive" tranny's. One with and one without a torque converter, as I recall.
You're correct about the two versions of Fluid Drive. I wonder which one was better and/or faster.