1990s Buicks (Regal,Skylark, Ultra,etc)

[fan-of-fans]

My grandfather used to have 1994 Buick Regal. It was a pretty IMO teal blue/green with tan interior. He seemed to really like that car. It was his 2nd car at the time but he seemed to like driving it more on long trips.

He used to have a 1996 Buick Century, that one bought new. Somehow even as a kid I wasn’t a big fan of that body style, it seemed just outdated even to me as a kid. But granted, that was the last year of an older platform car.

Later he bought a 2005 LaCrosse new possibly a trade in of the Regal, I liked that one pretty well, later it reminded me somewhat of the Impala to come, which I really liked.

At one point he also had a 1992 Skylark. I never found that one very comfortable. The rear seat felt like sitting on cardboard. Granted it was a base model, but it felt very UN Buick to me, especially having manual windows and door locks. It seemed more worthy of the Chevy or Pontiac badge to me than Buick. He didn’t keep that one long, I think he bought it from an older relative who was no longer driving. The intention was for that to be my first car but parents weren’t keen on that so didn’t happen. It was in great shape for its age at the time though, think it wasn’t ever driven much at all.

One of my uncles had a 1995 LeSabre, dark green on tan. It seemed like he owned that car for years but guess it wasn’t all that long. Eventually they got a 2003 ish LeSabre but it didn’t have a long life-got invoked in a multi car pileup. After that my uncle only bought Toyotas and one Dodge Grand Caravan.

 

[human]

I'm on my third Buick at the moment, a 2013 LaCrosse hybrid, which I really love, even if it's a bit underpowered. It's sorta hybrid four-banger that uses the hybrid system to add about 15hp to what the otherwise anemic gas engine. Good mileage, but lackluster performance. My mom has one almost identical to it that is to be mine whenever she decides to give up driving. She's 88. I previously had a 1984 Century, which was probably the least favorite car I've ever owned. It was very spartan, bench seat with no armrest, no passenger side mirror (I added one the day after I got it), and an AM radio, which I quickly upgraded. Still, it was an awful, uncomfortable car. Before that,I had a 1977 Skylark coupe, which was essentially a re-badged Nova with a Buick v6 under the hood. It had belonged to my great aunt.

What I've had a bunch of is 1990s Oldsmobiles. I presently have a 1995 Cutlass Supreme convertible as my second car, and have previously had a '91 Cutlass Supreme coupe, two Auroras, and three LSS's, which was a luxury touring package on the Eighty-Eight--stiffer suspension borrowed from the Bonneville, bucket seats, leather, and pretty much every electronic doo-dad available for that platform. They were a super value as a used car because nobody knew what they were.

 

[fan-of-fans]

Sounds like the 84 Century was the same body style as my grandfather’s 96. Come to think of it another uncle owned a 92 Century in dark blue on blue interior.

There’s often the Oldsmobile version of it parked at a house I pass sometimes and it’s a pretty green-blue like color and in nice condition too.

I remember a coworker at my old job had a Lacrosse like that, this was back in 2012 so it was brand new then, dark blue. I thought it was a beautiful car, and still think that generation of LaCrosse is a terrific looking car today and quite modern looking still.

I glanced at one a bit when I was looking at cars, but didn’t get too far with it. Probably should have.

Two other sedans I really liked back in the early 2010s were the new Hyundai Sonata and Optima, I thought those were some real lookers, especially in sporty SX trim with the black panoramic roof. A friend had a base Optima back then, and had a few since.

Buick LaCrosse offered panoramic roof as well, if I recall correctly.

 

[human]

Yeah, they made that body style Century and the Olds Cutlass Ciera for about 15 years. Chevy also had a version of it called the Celebrity, but they discontinued that in the late '80s, to Oldsmobile's benefit. A lot of large fleet purchasers, including the State of North Carolina, had specs written to favor the Celebrity, and when it was no longer available, the Ciera fit the bill; that is, until the specs were rewritten to favor the Ford Taurus.

My oldest nephew had two Sonatas and really liked them. I had a girlfriend a few years ago, who had a 2013 Optima, basically the same car, and one morning, she fell asleep at the wheel going to work, ran a red light and hit an 18-wheeler. The car was totally demolished on the outside, but surprisingly intact on the inside. She walked away with a just a few bumps and bruises, much to the amazement to the people at the tow yard when we went to get her belongings out of the car a few days later. They looked at her like she'd just returned from the dead. The tow truck driver knew she'd been taken to the ER by ambulance as a precaution, but didn't know anything about her condition. A police officer showed her video footage of the accident, captured by a traffic cam, and my girlfriend swore she saw the form of an angel in the clouds above the accident scene.

Yes, the LaCrosse did have a panoramic roof option. My mom's has one, but mine doesn't. Those cars also shared the same platform as the Cadillac XTS and the last generation of the Chevy Impala. The LaCrosse seemed to be another of those GM models that flew under the radar, and on the used market, they sometimes go for less than a comparable Impala.

 

[suckolux]

I had a 93 Park Avenue and a 2000, currently a 05 LeSabre. My family and myself many Buicks from probably the 40s on

 

[justjunque]

I've owned a few Buicks, including my sort of "coming of age" car. Not my first car, but the one that holds the majority of my crazy teenage, car related memories. That was a blue 1971 Skylark coupe.
My only 1990s Buick was a 1994 Roadmaster sedan that I was supposed to have kept until I shed my mortal coil. Unfortunately, situations beyond my control got in the way, and I ended up letting it sit and deteriorate. I ended up selling it for a few hundred dollars to someone who claimed he was going to fix it up. I have no idea what ever became of it.
In its day, it was a beauty. Dark Jadestone Metallic with grey velour interior. And the very powerful and torquey LT1 engine.
We still have two Buicks, although not in driveable condition.
A rusted hulk of a blue 1981 Regal coupe, and a black 1987 Regal Turbo T with the WE4 package. (Looks almost exactly like a Grand National) That one could be driveable with a little work, but we're not currently able to afford it. So, it sits in the garage.

 

[gottahaveahoove]

My aunt replaced her Lincoln Town Car (2nd)

with a Buick.  I drove it a lot...liked it.


 


My late father was an "Olds" guy. LOVED them.  After one was totaled in a near-fatal accident, he bought his next one over the phone. Then, he took a bus to the dealer and drove it home.

 

[human]

Oldsmobuicks...

I remember getting a good laugh watching one of Chevy Chase's "Fletch" movies back in the day, when he had a line of voiceover narration about driving a "rented Oldsmobuick", but it was based on a fair amount of truth. From the '70s on, and maybe even before then, Oldsmobiles and Buicks were essentially the same car with different trim. My dad used to have a 1989 Olds Eighty-Eight, on which the interior sail panels on either side of the rear window were faded and deteriorated. I went to a junk yard and found a set out of the same vintage Buick LeSabre and they were a perfect fit.

Dad was a district sales manager for Oldsmobile, and sometime in the '80s, GM did some corporate restructuring, putting Buick, Oldsmobile, and Cadillac into the same internal division. Likewise, Chevrolet, Pontiac, and GMC were together as a division, which is why Pontiac dealers also frequently had GMC to offer symmetrical product lines with Chevrolet.

 

[wstonehockertv]

My aunts have been known to lease Buicks.

 

[suckolux]

Cleaned up this morning, store run!

 

[justjunque]

Wow, David. That looks immaculate!
I'm not used to seeing those without their rocker panels completely rotted away. I'm guessing your climate probably helps with that. Our winters are brutal on sheet metal.

 

[human]

Yeah, road salt is brutal on cars in the northeast and midwest. I had a housemate years ago, who was from Rochester, N.Y. He and his brother would buy used cars here in North Carolina, 10-15 years old, the age at which most cars are done for up in Rochester, and flip them up there for a tidy profit. This was well before eBay.

 

[suckolux]

Thanks Barry,CA not much rust here though we have only had it a year, garage queen before us elderly people.

 

[justjunque]

Found a picture of my 1994 Roadmaster, when it was just starting to look weathered. It was such a beautiful car when I was able to keep it maintained.

 

[human]

Love that Gran Prix next to it.

 

[justjunque]

Thanks, Edgar.
Take a trip to lovely Massachusetts, and it can be yours!

 

[wstonehockertv]

Buick nowadays has nothing of interest.

 

[human]

wstonehockertv wrote: Buick nowadays has nothing of interest.

I reply: Sadly, I have to agree with you, at least in terms of the North American market. Their offerings for the Asia-Pacific market are a different story entirely. I'd love to have a 2025 LaCrosse, but they're not available on this side of the planet. The only reason Buick still exists at all is that it is a prestige brand in China, and to justify its existence there, it needs at least a token presence in the North American market. When the Feds bailed GM out in 2010, they wanted GM to axe Buick along with Pontiac, Saturn, and Hummer. Ironically, at the time of Pontiac's demise, it was outselling Buick in North America, and Buick's domestic sales numbers were well below where Oldsmobile's had been a decade earlier when GM decided to pull the plug on that brand.

 

[wstonehockertv]

If I was in charge of GM, I'd kill GMC and merge Buick, Cadillac, and Oldsmobile as one luxury brand: Olds-Dil-Luick. Chevrolet can do all the heavy lifting from Pontiac, Saturn, Saab, Geo, Hummer, Daewoo, Isuzu, and Suzuki.