Buick Riviera Classic Cars for Sale

The Buick Riviera is a luxury car produced by Buick, a division of General Motors (GM), from 1963 to 1999. It was GM's first entry into the prestige car market, and when it was launched the Riviera was highly praised by the automotive press. Early models remained close to the original form, however later generations varied substantially during the Riviera's thirty-year, eight generation, lifespan. In total 1,127,261 cars were produced, in eight generations of the Buick Riviera.

The History of the Buick Riviera

The Buick Riviera was launched in 1963, Buick had first used the name Riviera in 1949, on a luxury car known as the Buick Roadmaster Riviera, however the actual authentic Buick Riviera was first produced in 1963, it was a prestige luxury car, built on Buick's famous cruciform chassis, it had a luxurious interior with two doors. Buick offered a choice of two V8 engines 6,6 litres (405 cu in) or 7,0 litres (425 cu in), twin turbine automatic transmission and power brakes. It was 208 inches long, 76 inches wide and 53 inches tall. The body had the so called 'coke bottle styling' with the middle of the body having a tucked in feature. The Gran Sport or GS version was added in 1965 to challenge the Ford Thunderbird.

Buick Riviera developments over the years

The second generation model produced from 1966 shared its platform with the Oldsmobile Toronado and the Cadillac Eldorado. Buick retained the classic rear wheel drive until 1979 when they switched to the more commonly used front wheel drive. In 1975 Buick dropped the distinctive forward jutting front end and also introduced, what was later to become mandatory, high level brake lights. Over the years the choice of engines has changed dramatically, mainly due to oil shortage and environmental considerations, from a whopping 7.5 litre (455 cu in) V8 in the third generation models it gradually reduced over the years to a more conservative 3.8 litre (231 cu in) V6 engine in the later models. The eighth and final generation of the Buick Riviera bore little resemblance to the original, but surprisingly the actual physical dimensions are almost identical. Production ended in 1999, but occasionally GM still uses the Buick Riviera name for concept cars.