HurstGN

Brian, The one in the weeds is (best I can tell) a 60 cadillac. I'd be interested in where that car is at also. If the bottoms of the car are still there, it may be a nice restoration project. If you don't want to post publicly where it is, could you email me privately? Jeff, I may be interested. My preference is a 65 Flxible based on Electra or Wildcat sheetmetal. Well, I know of only a handfull of those ever built, and the only one I can track down, the guy wants too much for it if he were to consider selling. Hence my interest in some of the more plentiful Caddy's. I really like the one in the weeds. Restored that would make a real nice show piece.

Any pictures? If you can't post them, you can email them to me direct. Where is the car located?

John, Give me a couple days...with finalizing the Regional, fire at work, unprevoked helicopter attacks, and other stuff, I'm a little busy...but I'll get pics up real soon.

http://www.t6p.com

Well, we were a little shy on numbers that we were aiming for at our Regional, so for the sake of blame, we're going to blame it on the weather. You may wonder why I bring up this point. Well, due to the lower than expected numbers, the National Pike Chapter has some extra "goodie bags". These soft briefcases were a huge hit among those that attended the regional. We sold some of the extra bags we had to those that attended. We're now offering them to anyone interested in a steal of a deal at $21 each, delivered to your door. "How do I get one?" you ask. Just send a check or money order for $21 to: National Pike Chapter Attn Dan McCann 6571 Zupancic Drive Pittsburgh, PA 15236 For 5 or more bags, email us at NatPikeBCA@4OnlyGoodStuff.com and we'll quote you a price on reduced shipping charges. This offer good while supplies last.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> August 30, 2004 According to Buick Advertising Director Randall Tallerico, the newest round of Buick advertising will feature the division's newest vehicles - LaCrosse and Terraza - and move toward a new product-focused theme. "Buick's campaign with Harley Earl established a foundation from which to build," said Tallerico. "Our advertising drew consumers in and encouraged them to take a new look at Buick. People are talking about Buick again, and now is the time to make good on promises with new vehicles." According to Tallerico, a new tagline replaces "The Spirit of American Style." </div></div> Mr. Tallerico and the rest of the powers that be at Buick. May I point out to you that you're expending alot of energy to get people to talk about Buick again, and leaving behind what could be the crown jewel for a 2000-era Buick. As you may well know, the Blackhawk was in attendance at our 2004 Great Lakes Regional. The Blackhawk was made in 2000 and is now a 4 year old vehicle. Those that are not lucky enough to attend larger Buick functions have probably never seen the Blackhawk before, nor are they aware that it even exists. Those of us who have seen it and followed it's life, to this day, dream of owning such a car. But we're Buick die-hards. We're obviously biased in our affection for the Blackhawk. Well, here are some observations from our recent Great Lakes Regional. These observations were made in a 15 minute time period: <ul style="list-style-type: disc">[*] Guests were arriving at the hotel to attend a wedding reception that was being held in one of the hotels ballrooms. As a family walked from their car to the hotel entrance, the Blackhawk passed in front of them headed for the trailer for the trip home. All the family members heads turned to watch it drive by, including the wife. After it passed, the wife and kids proceeded towards the hotel. The husband with camera in hand turned to me to ask what kind of car that was. I told him it was the Buick Blackhawk, and it was a one-off show car. It was quite a rare sight to see it and the husband remarked "I guess I should have gotten a picture of it then". I told him "Yes, it's not scheduled for production and you may never see it again." The husband looked at the wife about 5 feet away. The wife said not a word but stood with an approving "go ahead" look, and the husband was off running after the Blackhawk down the parking lot to get a picture of the car. He was closely followed by several other husbands with cameras in hand that didn't even look to their wives for approval to head off after the car. [*] The Blackhawk drove by the entrance of the hotel, right outside the windows of an exclusive jewelry store that is in the hotel. The owner of the store heard the car first, then saw it thru the window. The owner of the store came outside to ask a few questions of my co-director. "What kind of car is that?" "That's the Buick Blackhawk." "Buick makes that car?!?" (with disbelief...he must not have gotten the message from the Harley Earl commercials) "Well, Buick made that one, but Buick doesn't make that car." "Where can I buy one? At a Buick dealer?" "No, Buick only made one, that one. They don't offer that car for sale. It's a show car." "I can't buy that car?" "No, there's only one, and that's it there. It's not a model for sale." "Oh. I would buy that car tomorrow morning when the dealer opens. I like that car." Yes, the jewelry store owner only saw the car for maybe a minute at most, and he wanted to know what dealer carried the Blackhawk so he could go buy one. Us Buick die-hards see this time and time again when the Blackhawk makes an appearance somewhere that the general public can see the car. Think about this; the Blackhawk has the look of a 1939 Buick turned hot rod. Isn't that the kind of revival that is driving cars like the Prowler, the PT Cruiser, the new Mustang, the Thunderbird, the VW Beetle? Manufacturers are rolling out new cars with some "retro" styling and these cars are popular. They're easy to sell because they sell themselves. This is what the public wants. They want Harley Earl to design them a new Buick that has sexy curves and style like the cars Harley Earl designed years ago. That's why the commercials were run. Now give the people what they want. Give them the Blackhawk.

Thanks Dave and Joe...it was an incredible amount of work, but the idea was to deliver a show and watch the smiles headed home afterwards. I'm glad we hid the glitches well. Ask Dan to count how many things deviated from the original plan...he'll be busy counting till the National next year.

Well, I'm back on-line again after a week. It has been one very busy week. From what we've heard, everyone enjoyed themselves at the Regional despite the weather. We're lucky the funnel clouds and hail were all north, south, east, or west of us...we just had torrential downpours at times. Thursday: Folks started getting settled in and acquainted with the facilities. Despite a moderate rain, we had 10 cars attend the drive-in. Just before the movies started, the rain stopped and we had a good time. Friday: Harold arrived with the big transport. We got the transport situated and everyone headed off for the picnic at North Park. Several of us, myself included missed the picnic, but I heard it went well from those returning. The weather reared it's ugly head for the last time and torrential rain forced the cancellation of the Car Cruise Friday evening. I was disappointed at the cancelation, but there was no other option. Driving at that point was hazardous. I wondered if we could throw together a quick activity to pass the time...not necessary. As Buick owners will do, everyone decided to grab a bite to eat, a drink and tell stories, and a few white lies, and enjoy each others company. What a great group of people. Saturday: At 5:30 am our "doughnut committee" heads out in the rain in their Wildcat to go get 15 dozen Krispy Kremes for the car show. The counter person asked if they were going to a car cruise with the Wildcat. "Of Course we are" was the reply. The counter attendant looked surprised. Well, the doughnuts arrived and the rain departed. Most everyone (except us working the show) got their cars cleaned up and ready to go. we had a AWESOME collection of cars for the show. Some of my friends came out to see the show. They all commnted that they've never seen this many Buicks in one show, and the quality of the cars was incredible. I second their observations. After the car show, we had the Hot Wheels races, the car show voting was counted and we prepared for the awards banquet. Mr. Murphy would show his face big-time here. We were unable to print pictures of the winning cars for the award plaques, and we were unable to get 125 of our photos up on the big 9' x 12' video screen during the banquet and awards presentation. All in all, with some bad weather and things going wrong, we were able to deal with most all of the problems and deliver a Regional. We lost our thunder of a nice multimedia video presentation of awards, we apologize for that. All indications are the show was well received, the goodie bags were top notch, the program guide was top notch, and the prizes and giveaways were well received. So we attained our goal of lots of smiling faces on the Buick owners. That could only be achieved with the patience and attendance of a first class group of Buick owners, and a first class set of of sponsors. The National Pike Chapter thanks everyone involved (participants, sponsors, workers, and volunteers) in our Regional, especially Buick Motor Division. The Buick display topped off an incredible show field. Thanks everyone for a great Regional!

We're working hard on last minute details for the Regional. I've just confirmed arrangements with Buick Motor Division...Buick is sending 4 vehicles for display at the Regional. The 4 vehicles are: <ul style="list-style-type: disc">[*]1908 Buick Model 10[*]1939 Roadmaster Phaeton[*]1949 Woody Wagon[*]2000 Blackhawk concept/show car The National Pike Chapter would like to thank Buick for participating with such a great collection of show vehicles.

I don't hav exact numbers, but our Assistant Director Dan informs me the hotel lot is filling up nicely.

Adam, I planned on going, till some co-worker dropped a baby and went on leave...result: vacation cancelled. For those going, if anyone is shooting video, I'd like to get a copy. It really sucks to miss the Premier Buick Racing event happening right in my back yard.

UPDATE The Sloan Museum is sending the Buick Store to the Regional. See Kristen in the Cranberry room at the host hotel for your Buick Store shopping.

Check your calendars everyone!!! The 2004 Great Lakes Regional is right around the corner, August 19-21. Due to many late requests for info, we've extended the mail-in registration deadline to August 7th. All registrations after August 7th will be processed as an on-site registration at the higher $35 rate. We've mailed a copy of the registration form to all chapter directors, as listed in the Bugle. If you need a form, ask your chapter director, or visit the web site and print the PDF from the Regional page. So get your registrations in...and we'll see you in da 'Burgh in a couple weeks!

Bob, You may want to pose your question on the Professional Car forum. http://professionalcar.org/forums/ Somebody there may know the new owner.

Several years ago, Carlisle Productions invited me to put my 82 Grand National on display for their "100 Year Anniversary" of the automobile. I was to be in Phoenixville PA the following week for another show and didn't want to drive the car back and forth across PA for the shows. Joe at Phoenixville Buick offered to store my car for the week, in the showroom. When we returned to put the car in the second show, graciously hosted by Joe as well, Joe told us he could have sold the car 10 times during the week. My car was in good hands for the week and it helped draw in a few customers to Joe's dealership. Maybe more dealers should consider placing a classic in the window once in a while to stir things up a bit. In my case, it was mutually beneficial to Joe and I.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> It will give us "old Guys" an extra chance to kick tires and <span style="font-weight: bold">lie</span>! </div></div> A HA! So ice cream really wasn't a nickel way back when!

The National Pike Chapter of Southwestern PA held it's monthly meeting last night at Hoss's Steakhouse in Bridgeville PA. The primary topic of the evening was the 2004 Great Lakes Regional. By a unanimous vote of the members present, the following activity change has been made: <span style="font-weight: bold"> Due to a lack of response, the Gateway Clipper Cruise has been cancelled. </span> It is highly regrettable that this activity has to be cancelled, but the lack of response in registering for the cruise forces the club to make this decision. The National Pike Chapter does not have the monetary means to make the additional required reservation payment for the cruise. The general membership also feels it is highly unlikely that at this time that we will get an additional 90 cruise registrations. <span style="font-weight: bold">Refund of reservation monies</span> All participants that registered for the Gateway Clipper Cruise will receive a full refund of the Gateway Clipper reservation fees. A check will be in your registration packet for the refund. If you require the refund earlier, please contact us at BCARegional2004@aol.com <span style="font-weight: bold">*** Replacement Activity ***</span> By unanimous vote, the National Pike Chapter is holding a Picnic at a nearby park for all registered participants that wish to attend. This activity will be <span style="font-weight: bold"> free </span> of charge and the Chapter hopes more people will participate than had registered for the Gateway Clipper Cruise. This picnic is to allow all the participants to have time together to get acquainted, swap Buick stories, make new friends, and for some of the performance minded, bench racing. As more details become available, they will be posted here as well as our 2004 Great Lakes Regional website. Changes will be announced on the 2004 Great Lakes Regional website later tonight. The National Pike Chapter apologizes for any dissappointment this change may cause, but due to the financial responsibilities of this event, this decision had to be made.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> this event is open to all 1960 and older Buick's </div></div> Is there a reason for excluding Buicks newer than 1960? I personally can't make the event, but if I were close enough, I'd not be attending due to the year restriction. All my cars are too new.

Just a friendly reminder time is drawing near for the 2004 Great Lakes Regional. We're actively pursuing having a special Buick display with maybe a concept car or two, or a few new 2005's before they're in the dealerships, or possibly both. Keep watching for more news as time draws nearer.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> I'll slip my flack jacket off for a few minutes and rest. </div></div> Look Ned! He's slipped his flack jacket off, and now he's coming right for us!! {bang}{bang}{bang} Whew, I think we got him! A little South Park humor to break up the day....

I've had mine a few days now. I was speaking to another BCA member yesterday about this very topic. This issue of the Bugle IMHO is the best one I've seen since joining the club. The articles are plentiful, and well written. I can only hope future issues are as good as this issue. Kudos to all who contributed to this issue. A first class job.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> pusher or puller fans, power steering and disk brakes </div></div> Personally, I can see where these items would be desireable on a driven award car. For instance...older vehicles weren't meant for driving some of the longer distances that are required to drive to a National meet, and at the highway speeds encountered today. Keeping that in mind, I can imagine a few cars requiring the pusher/puller fans to be able to run cool enough on the highway to make the trip. While power steering may not be absolutely necessary, an older member may not have the stamina nor endurance to drive a non-power steering vehicle to a National meet. And as far as disc brakes go, well, driving a 25+ year old vehicle among the rest of the new cars with ABS and traction control, not to mention big rigs on the road...I could see disc brakes being a safety consideration. We have a club member with a vehicle that he cannot drive due to the fact his old drum brakes take several blocks to stop his vehicle. I'm just adding my .02 to the discussion as I feel these items are not done purely for cosmetics like chrome wheels and hubcaps...these mods are mainly done for safety. Maybe one day my cars will qualify for a driven award too...but not anytime soon.

Gents, A gentleman with a shop near me approached me regarding his new acquisition...a 1960 LeSabre. He's looking for any good web sites where he can locate info on the car, as well as parts for the car. It's a 34K mile all original car that needs little...but he'd like to find the little that it needs. So if you have some good sources you're willing to share publicly, please do. If you'd like to share in private, e-mail me and I'll pass the info along to him privately. Thanks!

Brian, Thanks for keeping me in mind on this. I found this several weeks ago, and have been in contact with the owner. Unfortunately, by all indications I get, I don't think we'll be coming to a meeting of the minds anytime soon, which is unfortunate for me, and the Buick. Still keeping my eyes open.

I doubt the FBI would get involved at this level, only because these scams have so many warning flags that a prudent person would not be taken. In dealings with the FBI, the cases they seem to target are the scams where the victim has NO warning flags at all...just bam, you're screwed. No recourse of action.