1994 Buick on 2040-cars

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Junkyard Gem: 1993 Buick Roadmaster Sedan

In 1931, GM's Buick Division introduced an eight-cylinder engine in its stolid rear-wheel-drive sedan models, and Americans could buy big, comfortable Buick four-doors with straight-eights and — starting in the 1954 model year — V8s driving the rear wheels for more than a half-century after that. Then, the last rear-wheel-drive LeSabre left the assembly line in 1985, and it seemed that an era had ended forever. But wait! For the 1992 model year, Buick revived the Roadmaster name and applied it to an old-timey giant sedan with a V8 engine sending power to the proper wheels. Production of the Roadmaster sedan continued through 1996, and I've found one of those throwback Buicks in a Denver self-service car graveyard. Yes, in an America full of front-wheel-drive cars contaminated by European or — even worse — Japanese influences, The General brought back the spirit of the 1931 Buick sedan. Sure, it was really a near-identical twin to the "whale-body" Chevy Caprice, complete with Chevrolet small-block V8 engine, but that didn't matter. This was the kind of Buick that our prosperous great-grandparents bought in 1932 and 1948 and 1957. And the appeal of the great big eight-cylinder Buick sedan wasn't just limited to the United States. When the film adaptation of the great Marguerite Duras novel, L'Amant, was made, only a 1932 Buick 90 sedan would have made sense for the wheels of the wealthy Saigon heir. A big reason Buick is such an important brand in China right now is the legacy left by the memorable Buick machinery that owned the roads of 1930s China. These days, most of the 1992-1996 Roadmasters you'll see will be the station wagons, but we mustn't forget the sedans. Looking at the interior of this car is like a flashback to the 1960s, when stately Buick sedans had squishy seats you'd just disappear into when you climbed in. Cool-sounding names for ordinary features had gone out of style decades earlier, but not for the Roadmaster! Dynaride was a rear suspension that used air shocks and a compressor to keep the ride height level regardless of load. The last model year for a genuine Buick V8 engine was 1980, though you could make the case that the Rover V8 (made until 2006) was really a Buick all along. The engine in this car is pure Chevrolet: a 5.7-liter small-block V8 rated at 180 horsepower. Buick was a big Olympics sponsor at this time, while Oldsmobile handled golf. Still, the Buick-buying demographic of 1993 tended to approve of golf.

Junkyard Gem: 1973 Buick LeSabre Custom Hardtop Sedan

The steps on Alfred Sloan's "Ladder of Success," in which you'd start your career by buying a Chevrolet and then move up through the GM marques as your wealth increased, stayed rigidly fixed from the 1930s into the late 1960s. By the early 1970s, though, "prestige creep" among The General's divisions had set in, with lower-zoot marques leapfrogging their betters with ballooning price tags and snob appeal; a fully-loaded Chevy Caprice could cost more than an Olds 98, a Pontiac Bonneville could out-snoot a Buick LeSabre, and the LeSabre itself came to threaten mighty Cadillac at the top of the GM pyramid. Here's a fully depreciated '73 LeSabre Custom Hardtop Sedan, once the picture of Malaise Era opulence but now brought down to earth in a San Jose self-service car graveyard. The high-rollingest of all LeSabres in 1973 was the Custom (though shoppers for full-sized 1973 Buicks really wishing to rub the noses of their lessers in their success could opt for the even pricier Centurion or Electra 225), and that's what I found among the Achievas and Cateras of this yard's GM section. Wasps now nest in the rust holes caused by rainwater seeping beneath the padded vinyl roof, but this car once told the world, "I've made it!" It went without saying that your big, comfy Detroit luxury sedan had a big, comfy front bench seat; let those frivolous rakehells in their Rivieras have their bucket seats. Believe it or not, a three-on-the-tree column-shift manual transmission was still standard equipment on the lower-level Buick Century in 1973, but all LeSabre buyers enjoyed two-pedal luxury that year. Some junkyard shopper grabbed the massive 455-cubic-inch (7.5-liter) V8 — rated at 225 horsepower, due to Nixon's stricter emissions standards and the switch from gross to net horsepower ratings — before I got here. I'm guessing this car got driven into the ground by the early 2000s (there's a 2001 calendar inside) and then spent the next couple of decades bleaching in the harsh South Bay sun before arriving here. So good, shoppers bought them sight unseen!

eBay Find Of The Day: 1946 Tucker Torpedo Prototype II hides a secret Riviera

The Tucker Torpedo is one of the great what-if stories of automotive history. Preston Tucker hoped to revolutionize the industry with a car unlike any other on the road at the time. However, due to a variety of problems, he only managed build 51 vehicles before closing shop. Over time, they have become highly sought-after; In 2012, one sold for $2.65 million at auction.
That brings us to this Tucker "replica" that you see above because it might be one of the ugliest monstrosities ever put together. However, we might extend some leniency to the creator, as the vehicle isn't actually trying to replicate the classic look of the 1948 Tucker Torpedo. Instead, it is attempting to reproduce an earlier prototype from 1946 that actually features that weird, trident nose. According to the seller, his uncle built the car as a labor of love and supposedly used actual plans from Tucker as inspiration.
Underneath all of the crazy changes is a 1971 Buick Riviera powered by a 455-cubic-inch (7.5-liter) Buick V8. Some of the replica's odder modifications include the front fenders that turn with the wheels and the fin running down the back. All three headlights work, but the one in the middle is only for the high beams. Oddly, the small hinged sections on the roof are meant to open to avoid hitting your head when getting in or out. Maybe the seller's uncle was a very tall guy?