1990 Buick Reatta Select 60

[Rtfspecial]

I just purchased  a 1990 Buick Reatta Select 60 which was originally purchased from Tucson AZ. I am looking for a complete portfolio that is missing, the hood badge, as well as the certificate that came with the car.  Just thought someone out there might know or have one of these items?

rtfspecial

 

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[Barney Eaton]

Hood badge.......my guess is you think it should have a "Select Sixty Dealer" badge.......there is no documentation at tells us these were on the 1990 cars.

The earlies knowledge of these badges came from a lady in Knoxville TN telling us about her 1988 black coupe and it had the S60 badge.   Conversations with Ed Mertz (Buick Genereal Manager at the time the Reattas were built) tells us they did the badge for the 1988 S60 Dealers because production had just started at the end of 1987 and the demand was higher than the start build could handle.   The S60 meeting was in March 1988 and management did not want to disrupt the assembly for a "special" model so the S60 badge was all they got.   Mertz said the cars were not shipped with the badge because the badges were not available when the cars were built (some of the late ones may have received the badge at Lansing)  

Fast forward to a dealership that received one of the 1988 black S60 cars......without the emblem/badge the only way to identify a 1988 S60 is the X22 code on the Service Parts label.   The dealer is not a collector and he has a customer for the car, it sellls and then the badge arrives.....he has the choice of calling the customer and telling them to come in and they will install the badge or (most likely) he puts it in his desk drawer and everyone lives happily everafter.

(Side note....while there were 60 dealers that received the recogintion, not all ordered the car, best records show that only 55 were built  in1988)

 

1989 Select Sixty Dealers were awarded the 1990 white convertible (also note they were not given the car but were the only dealers that could order it)

The 1990 S60 convertibles were unique with the white seats trimmed in red and they had the 1991 style wheels in white....so this was a distinctive car....it did not need a badge.

 

What we believe may have happened....the dealer above that was a S60 Dealer and received the 1988 car was also a 1989 S60 Dealer and when that car came in he remembered the badge in the drawer, maybe he was going to use the car as his personal demonstrator for a few months, or put it on the showroom floor (1990 Reattas were not flying off the lots) so he had is people put the badge 1988 badge on the 1990 convertible.   There were 65 S60 convertibles built for 60 dealers and again not all the dealers ordered the car..

Based on everything we know, S60 cars that have been documented, I feel confident to say the 1990 S60 had the same hood emblem as all other 1990 Reattas.

There are probably less than a handfull that have a S60 badge and since 26 years have passed, it is unlikely that we will ever get the true story of how those cars got the badge.......

 

I have copies of the letter sent to the S60 dealer......it was a form letter with the dealership name and the vin number of the car added,  with todays technology 

a good original could be copied and altered........I can tell you what dealer received your car if I have the vin number. 

 

[NCReatta]

I have it on good authority from dealers, engineers and other people very involved with the Reatta project that the 1990 Select 60 hood emblems were shipped seperate from the cars just like the '88 emblems. In reality, they had plenty to play with in excess. In the words of Tony Alberto, chief Reatta engineer "do you think GM could buy just 60 of anything?"

 

Most dealers kept the emblems once the car was sold for the trophy case. 

 

I've bought inventory from several dealers in the past couple years. A couple Select 60 dealers included. One was a repeat for both years they offered the Reatta, one was a new recipient for 1990. Both had the Select 60 emblems, and the first dealer (repeat) had two of them. 

 

I have one Select 60 hood emblem left for sale (I had 4). I also have several NOS portfolios, and can also get you a reproduction certificate of authenticity. 

Give me a call and we'll put a deal together.

[Barney Eaton]

There is something wrong with the logic of what you are being told.

.." Tony Alberto, chief Reatta engineer "do you think GM could buy just 60 of anything?"

 I have no disagreement with this...they would buy extras in the event some were damaged and as replacement spares.   But we have no idea of what that quantity was, it could not be used on anything but a Reattal..

Why would they ship the 1990 convertibles with a standard badge/emblem and "...  the 1990 Select 60 hood emblems were shipped separate from the cars just like the '88 emblems."

It seems logical to me that they would put the special S60 badge on the car as they were built, since they supposedly had plenty available.  Also consider the risk of damaging the paint removing the standard emblem and replacing it with the S60 emblem.  It adds additional cost to ship the parts separate from the car.....if they intended the emblem for the 1990 convertible (1) it would have been put on the car in Lansing, (2) if not put on the car, at least put in the glove box or trunk with the Owners Portfolio and not have the added time and expense of sending them out to the dealers separately.

I am not convinced,  and it seems the major promoters of this story are the people with emblems to sell.

The Select Sixty that was in the GM collection did not have the S60 emblem.

 

If you judging Reattas and there was a 1990 Select Sixty convertible to be judged,....would it be correct with or without the S60 emblem?

Edited August 31, 2016 by Barney Eaton (see edit history)

[NCReatta]

The explanation I was given was that if you were a Select 60 dealer, you received the badge even if you didn't order your special car. Again, it's an award, and the badge was part of that.  As you said, some dealers didn't take advantage of their ability to order the car, or dumped it immidiately in a dealer trade.

 

I'm just going off what I've heard directly from the horse's mouth. No speculation or pensively puffing my pipe pondering what may have happened. I've heard the same story from multiple individuals. So I would be inclined to believe it's true.

 

The way I see it, the car is a Select 60 Reatta. The badge says Select 60 Reatta. Why shouldn't they go together? 

 

If I were judging cars, I would consider both correct. Just like both could be considered correct for an '88 Select 60.

 

Edited August 31, 2016 by NCReatta (see edit history)

[Barney Eaton]

Guess use scared off Mr. Rtfspecial