Buick muscle car revival

I was thinking the other day, with this revival of the muscle cars going on with the charger, challenger, camaro and so on. Wouldnt it be kind of cool if Buick would bring back some of their muscle. I could imagine a GS, and GSX, maybe a nice new Riviera..... I know Buick is going after the luxury market big time but it might be fun if they threw there hat into the muscle market. Who knows maybe they have something in the works? It might help with sales to younger crouds??? But maybe its better to leave a classic a classic? What do other people think?

YEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAA, a '54 Century...that would do the job. :cool:

Nice photography website you have Jamie.

Here is the Prototype 2010 Regal GS - hopefully going after the younger upwardly mobile market

Just because it says GS doesn't make it a muscle car. I'm sorry, but 4 Doors just DOESN'T do it for me. Name 1 "Muscle" car from the 60's- early 70's that had 4 doors-- I certainly can't!!

Buick blew it in the most recent past-- 94- 97 Skylark--- made a GS model in 2 and 4 dr-- what was the motor??? A Chevy 3.1!!!! Base Skylark came with the lovely head gasket eating Quad-4. I have one of the last 2 dr Skylark coupes with the 3.1 While it does get & go, think what that last hurrah for the Skylark would have been if they made that last gen Skylark GS available with a supercharged 3800!!!!!

Can you say FWD GN!!!!! Another GM mistake--- Killing off the 3800 because it was "old school"- pushrod motor-- not the latest & greatest DOHC. My 98 Riviera gets better hwy mileage than the LaCrosse and Lucerne with their "better modern" engine. Sometimes the old saying, "If it ain't broke-- Don't fix it" applies.

Someone should also enlighten the Powers in their ivory towers to read the history of GM. That Buick was the Foundation GM was built on---- Chevy is not necessarily the Greatest thing since "apple pie". Just like the "cry babies" at Chevy stole the thunder from Enclave, because they didn't have a competing model and couldn't handle the thought of Buick having a better SUV/Crossover than them.

Not trying to ruffle feathers here-- Just my thoughts!! Some of them!!!

Ditto:)

During the Sixties and early Seventies, there were certainly a number of oddballs that left the assembly line - all you had to do was spend some time looking over the option sheet....many did. I stood next to a 1971 Ford Torino Squire (station wagon) with a 429CJ (Cobra Jet) engine, Ram Air induction and four-speed manual just last fall. No joke - the owner even has the build sheet and Marti Report certifying its existence. I also received word of a four-door Wildcat (forget the year) with a four-speed manual. One other notable that I am aware of is a 1968 Ford LTD Brougham four-door with a 428, four-speed and bench seat - one of nine built. There are plenty more examples out there that I am forgetting about, including a one-of-one four-door Ford from 1957 (yes, muscle cars existed back then - think NASCAR homologation rules). Granted, these are not the norm, but four-door muscle cars were built.

As far as a new Buick GS or GSX, they had a shot if the GM brass would have allowed such radical thinking. It would not have taken much effort to put a new fascia on the (then new) GTO. Or use one of the Cadillac two-door platforms. It could/would be good on so many levels. But then again, consider that the retro cars that are selling well (Mustang/Challenger/Camaro) trace their heritage back to the days of the original pony car...something Buick never had to begin with.

I've have had the pleasure of driving the Chrysler 300 (Hemi), Pontiac G8 (400+ hp) and Chevy Impala SS - all in four-door form - and if you give them a chance, you'd be very surprised with the performance and handling. How's 80 MPH in mere seconds sound before hitting fourth gear, with a six-speed gearbox at your fingertips? Unless you live in the desert, you run out of road before getting the chance to use all the power.

In short, I'd like to see the new Regal GS (if they actually build it) before passing judgement.

"4DSC" decals used to be on Nissan Maximas . . . 4 Door Sports Car.

BMWs used to be "sports sedans", for the 4-doors. That term came from Europe, although Chevy Impala 4-door hardtops used to be "sport sedans" in the sales literature. What about "sports wagon"?

By observation, having "two too many doors" doesn't seem to bother younger generations, or older people whose knees don't work as they used to to get into the back seat of anything. Having the B-pillar farther back on the 2-doors do make then easier to change lanes in, due to being able to see vehicles in the "blind spot" easier.

Before emissions issues got to be what they became to be, mixing and matching engines/transmissions/body styles COULD be done if your ordering dealer knew how to do it AND knew the car would be sold. Hence, 4-speed station wagons and such could be ordered.

Remember too that muscle car engines usually started as "luxury car" engines with some extra hot-rodding and better exhaust systems.

Sometimes, it seems we can get a little too caught-up in words and phrases "as we know them", rather than realize that definitions can be modified somewhat by later generations. Like the Mopar enthusiast who pulled up to get gas, as a friend of a young man also getting gas pulled up in his import car with an aftermarket "wing" on it . . . "What do you think of my 'wing car'?" In Mopar-speak, "wing car" means 1969 Dodge Daytonas and 1970 Plymouth Superbirds, so you can imagine how the Mopar guy cringed when he heard "wing car" to describe an import with "a wing" on the deck lid!

Personally, I don't consider ANY newer engine that doesn't have 400+ lbs/ft of torque to be "muscular", yet they can have plenty of horsepower up in the higher rpms. If the newer engines had enough torque, then they wouldn't need 8-speed or 6-speed automatics other than to have really deeeeppppppp OD gears.

When I watched the video of the new Regal, the designer called the side contour "Sweep Spear styling" . . . I cringed at that!

The new Regal looks like it ought to be pretty neat. A good alternative to a BMW, possibly, now that Pontiac is gone, much less the more powerful Lexus models. Lexus might not be synonimous with "muscle car", but they have some pretty fast, tire-smoking sedans.

Regards,

NTX5467

In the days of laws requiring manditory use of car seats small children and being in the back seat due to front air bags, a four-door sporty car isn't unreasonable.

You're just not going to be able to sell a restyled 1970 GS or GSX in two-door configuration to families with small children.

Joe

In the days of laws requiring manditory use of car seats small children and being in the back seat due to front air bags, a four-door sporty car isn't unreasonable.

You're just not going to be able to sell a restyled 1970 GS or GSX in two-door configuration to families with small children.

Joe

I agree that four doors does not a muscle car make. I do not see Mustangs, Camaros, and Challengers having 4 doors, and it does not seem to be hurting their sales. I least I hope to never see them in 4 doors.