1969 Buick Electra 225 Custom Hardtop 4-door 7.0l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Junkyard Gem: 1986 Buick Riviera

The Buick Riviera personal luxury coupe attained monstrous proportions by the middle 1970s, scaling in at well over 4,500 pounds by 1976. After spending 1977 and 1978 as sibling to the Chevy Caprice, the Riviera then moved to the front-wheel-drive platform used by the Cadillac Eldorado and Oldsmobile Toronado, staying there through the 1985 model year. The Riviera world became a lot more interesting for the 1986 model year, when a smaller and more sophisticated generation hit showrooms with curvier lines and electronic gadgetry straight out of science fiction. Today's Junkyard Gem is one of those cars, found in a self-service boneyard in Phoenix, Arizona. What makes this car such a fascinating bit of automotive history is this dash-mounted touchscreen interface, known as the Graphic Control Center. The 1986 Riviera was the first GM vehicle to get the GCC, which means it was the first production car in history with a factory-installed touchscreen display. This system became available in the Buick Reatta and the Oldsmobile Toronado a few years later.  The GCC used a cathode-ray tube screen sourced from an ATM manufacturer, which ran on 120VAC power and required an inverter and dangerous high-voltage wiring inside the dash. It was used to operate the HVAC, the radio and the trip computer, as well as to display operating and diagnostic information. The system used numerous bulky components in addition to the dash screen; I've extracted a couple of complete sets of GCC components over the years and plan to build them into a junkyard-parts boombox. As it turned out, the senior-citizen-heavy demographic of Buick shoppers didn't feel great enthusiasm for the GCC and there wasn't a huge sales payoff for this revolutionary technology. That didn't stop GM from introducing the first mass-produced cars with head-up displays a couple of years later. The running gear wasn't quite as sophisticated as the GCC. The 1986-1993 Rivieras got old-fashioned 3.8-liter Buick V6s under their hoods; the one in this car was rated at 140 horsepower and 200 pound-feet. If you wanted a manual transmission in your '86 Rivvie, you were out of luck. A four-speed automatic was mandatory equipment. Note the unusual face-loading cassette deck in front of the shifter; the AM/FM radio was a remote-controlled unit living inside the center console. The MSRP for this car was $19,831, or about $55,691 in 2023 dollars.

NHTSA, IIHS, and 20 automakers to make auto braking standard by 2022

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and virtually every automaker in the US domestic market have announced a pact to make automatic emergency braking standard by 2022. Here's the full rundown of companies involved: BMW, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar Land Rover, Kia, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru, Tesla, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Volvo (not to mention the brands that fall under each automaker's respective umbrella). Like we reported yesterday, AEB will be as ubiquitous in the future as traction and stability control are today. But the thing to note here is that this is not a governmental mandate. It's truly an agreement between automakers and the government, a fact that NHTSA claims will lead to widespread adoption three years sooner than a formal rule. That fact in itself should prevent up to 28,000 crashes and 12,000 injuries. The agreement will come into effect in two waves. For the majority of vehicles on the road – those with gross vehicle weights below 8,500 pounds – AEB will need to be standard equipment by September 1, 2022. Vehicles between 8,501 and 10,000 pounds will have an extra three years to offer AEB. "It's an exciting time for vehicle safety. By proactively making emergency braking systems standard equipment on their vehicles, these 20 automakers will help prevent thousands of crashes and save lives," said Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx said in an official statement. "It's a win for safety and a win for consumers." Read on for the official press release from NHTSA. Related Video: U.S. DOT and IIHS announce historic commitment of 20 automakers to make automatic emergency braking standard on new vehicles McLEAN, Va. – The U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety announced today a historic commitment by 20 automakers representing more than 99 percent of the U.S. auto market to make automatic emergency braking a standard feature on virtually all new cars no later than NHTSA's 2022 reporting year, which begins Sept 1, 2022. Automakers making the commitment are Audi, BMW, FCA US LLC, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar Land Rover, Kia, Maserati, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi Motors, Nissan, Porsche, Subaru, Tesla Motors Inc., Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo Car USA.

GM veteran Bryan Nesbitt tapped to head Buick design

General Motors styling veteran Bryan Nesbitt (pictured above) took over a new role on Monday as executive director of global Buick design and global architectures. Andrew Smith, who previously did that job and also coordinated the look for Cadillac, has remained in charge of the pen at Caddy with this shift. Nesbitt rose to prominence when he designed the Chrysler PT Cruiser, according to Automotive News. He joined GM in 2001 and has been there ever since in multiple high-level roles. In 2007, he was appointed vice president of design for North America and was later briefly general manager of Cadillac in 2009-2010. Nesbitt took over as the vice president of GM's international operations design in China in 2011. This shuffle also moves Ken Parkinson, currently styling boss for Chevrolet trucks, to China as design vice president there. In addition, John Cafaro becomes the person in charge of the look for Chevy globally, rather than previously splitting that role between cars and trucks with Parkinson. GM Global Design Leadership Changes – effective June 1, 2015. Bryan Nesbitt, Design Vice President, GM China will repatriate to North America and assume the position of Executive Director, Global Buick and Global Architectures. He will be located in Warren, MI. Bryan will be the design Champion for Buick in the US and China. Ken Parkinson, Executive Director, Global Chevrolet Trucks and Global Architecture will assume the position of Design Vice President, GM China. He will be based in Shanghai, China. Andrew Smith, Executive Director, Global Cadillac and Buick Design will assume the position of Executive Director, Global Cadillac. He will continue to be the design Champion for the Cadillac brand. In addition, he will continue to lead the Global Color & Trim team. He will be based in Warren, Michigan. John Cafaro, Executive Director, Global Chevrolet Cars will assume the position of Executive Director, Global Chevrolet. He will be the design Champion for Chevrolet. In addition, John will lead the exterior components and accessories team. He will continue to be based in Warren, MI. The roles and responsibilities of Helen Emsley, Mark Adams, Carlos Barba, Clay Dean, Michael Simcoe, and Teckla Rhoades remain the same. Related Video: The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience.