why so many plain jane survivors?

[wildcatsrule]

I keep wondering whatever happened to the loaded Buicks that were produced in the late 60's-especially Wildcats. In my ongoing search for my dream car(s)('68 Wildcat custom convertible and custom coupe),I most often find cars that are devoid of options. From time to time, cars will have A/C, but no power options-seats, windows, etc. I find it amusing that ads continually list power steering and brakes as options! It is not unusual to find well equipped Riviera's and Electra 225's from this era, and even the occasional loaded LeSabre. Why does it seem that the Wildcats that have survived are mostly plain janes? This seems true of other years besides the '68. Didn't anyone think it was worth saving the loaded examples? Does anyone have any theories? David

[palbuick]

I have found that cars from certain area are plane janes, with very few options. In the farm lands, poorer areas, when someone ordered a new car the cost of the options were very expensive, and they just wanted transportation.

In a junk yard in Nortern Wisconsin many years age Ifound a 70 Wildcat 2 dr ht. with a factory 3 speed on the column, not even a radio, parked next to it was an electra convt with steering & brakes & AM radio. Close in to the bigger cities you start finding cars with more options. My Wildcat came from Atlanta area, and has every option except 2 items. Usually the Wildcat were the lowest of all production models, Either you had it or didn't $$$$$$$$. Any one else have any ideas.

Jim Schilf / palbuici@aol.com

[Guest Shaffer]

I have seen a lot of rather plain Electras of the early 70s. I have even seen a 71 Electra without A/C. Seen some without power windows, power locks, power seats and even without tilt wheel. I have seen a lot more plain ones than I thought was around. Although my old 1972 Electra 225 Custom was loaded with A/C, (still worked and was ice cold w/original freon!!) power windows, locks, 6-way seat, cruise, tilt, am/fm 8-track, gear shift wiper control, speed alert, cornering lights, bumper gaurds - it still lacked a few options, such as light monitors, rear window defog/defrost, auto climate control and power trunk release. It may be that many thought the plain-Janes was more rare, therefore, they was kept more often. Seems like most of the late 60s Electras was very well well-equipped, but seems like more of the early 70s was more often seen with less options on some models. However, I am sure the majority was very high optioned, since this car was the next line down from the Cadillac. Most of the early 70s Electras I have seen are high optioned, but again, I have seen more that was plain than I thought. There is a 67 LeSabre here locally, with 52K actual - green, green, green, and it is low optioned, but still a very nice car.

[Guest brh]

I own one of these plain jane's. 1965 Skylark. It has very little in options. Heres how she survived. My grandparents gave me the car after 9 years and 34000miles. It was original right down to the tires. Luckly I had the sense to appreciate this car and keep it in excellent condition. The car has never been abused and always garaged it still has the original paint. My grandparents didn't make a lot of money and didn't use the car that much. I'll bet there have been similar situations where the car has gotten a 9-10year head start on staying presevered. Just my story and I'm sticking to it.

[Centurion]

Wildcatsrule, I concur with palbuick's comments, and will add a few thoughts of my own.

Car buyers in the rural communities were not only less likely to purchase the expensive options, but also tended to trade their cars less frequently than in the urban areas. I grew up during the 1960's in a small Eastern Oregon community with a very successful Buick dealership. Many new Buicks were sold to repeat customers, but the cars tended to be quite basic in terms of options. My parents, for example, purchased a new '65 Wildcat 2-door hardtop off the showroom floor. This was the "Deluxe" model rather than the more expensive "Custom", and had only power steering, power brakes, Super Turbine and Sonomatic AM radio as options. My parents were so conservative that, rather than purchasing the new red carpet savers and handy mats to match the car's interior, they transplanted the old brown ones from the '61 LeSabre they were trading in.

In rural areas with colder winters, most people had garages, and many would opt to use their old pickup trucks for winter shopping trips to town. The Buicks sat in the garages, and, generally speaking, remained with the original owner for many years. My perception is that the affluent urban buyers traded cars more frequently, and those more highly-optioned Buicks transitioned into the "used car" market at an earlier age. Not surprisingly, these cars met their "demise" long before those cars sitting in the barn in the middle of Kansas.

When my family took trips to the "big city" of Portland, Oregon, I was always thrilled to see the far fancier Buicks with more options than we ever saw in the hometown. I, too, have often wondered whatever happened to all of those beautiful, loaded cars. Even when I've attended the Buick shows in the Portland area, I see very few of the kinds of well-equipped '60's Buicks that I remember as a kid and which were sold in great volume by dealers like Braley & Graham Buick, Wallace Buick and Armstrong Buick.

Interestingly, when I sought a '65 Wildcat 2-door hardtop in 1989, I traveled to Louisville, Kentucky to purchase a loaded Wildcat Custom with factory A/C, cruise control, tilt wheel, power windows, power seat, power antenna, cornering lamps, chrome road wheels, vinyl roof, 425 engine and 3.23 positraction. Regrettably, the car needed some restoration that I was unable to afford, and I needed to sell the car in 1996. While I would love to find another Wildcat -- my favorite series of this era -- I figure it's unlikely I'll find a quality example with the array of options that this one had.

[Guest]

Certainly no way to know for certain but it seems to me that there would be two major contributing factors to a higher percent of "plain jane" cars surviving. 1) they are not as comfortable to drive long distances so mileage is lower (especially on summer vacations with no air conditioning) hence no reason to replace or repair and 2) lots of options = lots of stuff to wear out/break down - once it breaks down and the cost to repair is considerable it used to be time to get another car so a lot of the castaways went to boneyards and were crushed.

Make sense to anyone else?

Gene

[Centurion]

Gene, I think you might be onto something, especially with your second item. I was reminded of comments I heard routinely back in the '60's that options like power windows were "just one more thing to go wrong with the car". In fact, Cadillacs had some reputation -- whether justified or not -- for being more troublesome because of the large number of power accessories.

Another thought . . . If the theory is correct that the more highly-optioned cars tended to be delivered in the more urban areas, then those cars may have been more often involved in accidents or thefts. Auto insurance rates are higher in the urban areas for a reason.

For those of you who live in areas of the country where roads are salted during periods of snow, is "salting" more common on the city streets than on the highways and in the small towns? Might be that the "urban" cars were earlier victims of "rust out".

It would be interesting to know the percentage of '68 Wildcats, for example, that were originally delivered with some of the more expensive options. Certainly, the many power assists we take for granted nowadays on even the entry-level cars were not so commonly seen back in the '60's. If we could really roll back the clock to look at the cars when they were delivered, we might discover that the majority of the cars were pretty basic option-wise. If so, then the greater number of "plain jane" survivors would not seem to be disproportionately high.

[Guest]

I was looking for a loaded Wildcat also. I found mine in Ohio originally from North Carolina.Virtually a twin to Jims old Black 70 he had.Right down to the bucket interior floor shift automatic.

We came from a one horse town where people wanted just inexpensive transportation.With our winters up north air conditioning,power options,stereo radios were just wasted monies.Most vehicles had PS/PB posi rear.Very low maintenance reliability was what was desired. I remember my father saying

all the gadgets in the world doesn't make it better just costlier.

[Guest Dans 77 Limited]

Yes Urban areas do get salted more than Rural areas. I drive a salt truck for the City of Pittsburgh and each driver is given a specific route to drive and we often drive these routes over & over again until our shift ends , A very good friend of mine lives in Erie Pennsylvania which typically recieves much more snow than Pittsburgh and according to him they use very little salt they just plow & drive so road salt may well be a factor

Dan [color:\\"blue\\"] [color:\\"blue\\"] [color:\\"blue\\"]

[NTX5467]

There are some other considerations related to customer demographics and such. In the middle '60s, the more affluent society was poised to move from mundane Fords, Chevrolets, Plymouths, and other lower market level cars into the middle line luxury Mercurys, Pontiacs, Buicks, Oldsmobiles, Dodges, and Chryslers. A loaded Caprice was in the same price territory as the LeSabre, Delta88, and Bonneville just as the Plymouth VIP and Dodge Monaco was in Chrysler Newport territory. Similar with the LeSabre and Wildcat also.

So, basically the same money would buy a basic Wildcat or a more loaded LeSabre. I suspect that people in love with the swoopier version of Buick's swoopy lines in the middle '60s would rather opt for a less optioned Wildcat than an everyday LeSabre (like most other people had), especially if they liked hardtops. Similarly, I suspect a loaded Wildcat would be close to Electra territory so that whole orientation started over again.

As I recall back then, it was more important to drive the nicer Buicks, Chryslers, and Mercuries (regardless of option level, especially if they had automatic transmissions, A/C, and such) than worry about whether or not it "had every option in the book". As was stated, the extra stuff was suspected of causing trouble and did not affect the basic usefullness of the vehicle. If, for example, you needed power seats, you could get that separate and tilt/telescope steering wheels were complimentary options when available. As the bulk of these cars (especially away from the north) were air conditioned, power windows really were not needed. FM radios were only useful near a metro area too.

And then there were the dealers who would advertise a stipper vehicle price in the paper or on television (and had to have product to support those ads) so that could be another orientation for "low content" vehicles. Then too, some of the older buyers just didn't want all of that "stuff" on their car as they didn't use it anyway--right down to the radio. Then, at model year's end, the low optioned cars had to be sold so they were sold to people who "got a real deal" on that Buick with a manual transmission (not a 4-speed).

Lots of variables involved. Some due to financial demographics of the areas, some due to dealer marketing concerns, and some due to what the factory was trying to promote. If Buick, for example, was close to getting a sales edge on a competitor, they might urge the dealers to order more lower option cars they could sell less expensively and the factory advertising would then support the "few dollars a month more . . ." orientation in their national/regional advertising. Still nice cars by any measure, just not "gut loaded" and much pricier as a result.

Being that many "more senior" people were loyal Buick buyers and had the house with a garage to keep their cars in, these more value conscious people probably didn't trade as often but still kept their cars nice and kept them serviced. Whereas, I suspect the more highly optioned vehicles were much more prone to be bought, traded-in, "used", trashed, salvaged, etc. much earlier in their lives.

I know things didn't happen that way in all instances, but I suspect that might have been a more common trend.

Enjoy!

NTX5467

[old-tank]

These cars without options lost alot of value quickly and had a lower trade-in and resale value so the owner kept them.

Just my thougts.

Willie

[riv2x4]

Not to throw a wet towel on all of you but about 2 years ago I pulled a 69 Electra out of the South side of Chicago with 8,000 original miles on it. It has air, windows and a power seat. It also had a map lighted rear view mirror. It was an Archival award winner at Kokomo. The original buyer had a set of Seiberling tires installed at the time of delivery. I have them as well as a complete registration, repair and emission history. It is not loaded by any means. A vinyl interior on a 4 door hardtop, not a custom either. Not that much diffrent from many my own Grandfather had when I was much younger. Not a Caddy but a Buick. Not more, not less, just a Buick, when owning a new Buick meant something special. I also have a 76 Seville with 9500 original miles. These cars are out there if you look hard enough.

Larry

[NTX5467]

I will agree that there are many interesting vehicles out there--still. Sometimes, it takes "radar" to find them, but that's half of the fun in finding them. Sometimes they are in garages of their original owners, other times in a barn, and other times on out of the way used car lots (these vehicles are "dead iron" on a later model used car lot or vastly over priced on those lots) or filling stations aprons. Sometimes, they also turn up in the "bargain ads"-type newspapers. Many will dismiss them as a "nice old car" as others with our orientation will calmly try to make a deal for this "nice old car" that trips our triggers.

Several years ago, one of our members was in GA visiting his father. He picked up the local paper and looked at the car ads. In there was a '71 Buick sedan, listed as a model that didn't exist in that model year, yet he called to inquire. He even went over to see the widowed female owner, but didn't really get interested in it until he got back home. He then flew back down there and bought the car.

It was a 30,000 mile original (full size 4-door hardtop) car--right down to the hose clamps--and had only had a water pump put on under warranty. A slick polish and detail, new tires, and a few other similar items and it was a "new" car again. Even the soft trim that usually was deteriorated was still pristine as it had spent it's non-driving life in the garage. It had seen weekly use to go to the grocery store (driven by the house keeper with the owner riding along) so it was still fully operational.

Another member purchased a really nice '70 Skylark Custom 2-dr hardtop. Unusual in the aspect that it had a "350-2" air cleaner top when it had a "350-4" carburetor under it. Perhaps the original owner didn't want that "hot rod" motor so the sales person obliged by swapping the air cleaner lids? Seems like it was spec'd out with bucket seats too--a really nice car with "normal" options.

Many times, these things turn up when you least espect them, so always keep some money back and a hole in the garage for something of that nature when they make an unplanned appearance.

Enjoy!

NTX5467

[Guest my3buicks]

For someone wanting a plain jane survivor, available is a mint 66 Wildcat 4 door Sedan with 5800 miles on it! Let me know if you would like more info.

[Guest Shaffer]

I think it is interesting how cars was equipped back then. I have seen plain-jane Electras of the early 70s, to loaded Impalas of the early 70s. I have seen a 71 Chevrolet Impala, with the optional vinyl top, fenderskirts, power windows, power locks, cruise, tilt, am/fm 8-track, auto climate control A/C, power seat, while in comparison, I have seen a 71 Electra with NO A/C, NO power seat, NO power windows, NO power locks, NO cruise, NO tilt, NO vinyl top, NO 8-track. It was a very plain car. I have even seen a 71 Bel-Air (lower line Chevrolet) with A/C and was even better equipped than the 71 Electra. Also, in comparison, I seen a fully loaded 1971 Caprice with a 3-speed on the column. Special ordered of course, as auto was standard on the 71-newer full size Chevrolets with V8. Then I have seen the popular LOADED early 70s Electras. Also, seen a 1973 Cadillac Calais coupe (lowest level Cadillac) while it had A/C and all power, the interior was rather plain. The loaded Caprice looked like Cadillac and the Cadillac looked like a Chevrolet if that makes sense. I once seen a 1972 Pontiac Grand Ville 4dr (top of the line Pontiac of the era) with the luxury interior option, that looked even more upscale than the 72 Electra Limited. It had every option available. It had heavy woodgrain accented interior trim, cut-pile carpet like the Electra and very plush cloth seats very similar to the Electra Limited. A little of of the topic, but I like to post the interesting way the older cars was equipped.

[NTX5467]

In the early '70s, Chevrolet was trying for more of a "Cadillac look" than in prior years with the Caprice. According to John DeLorean's book, Cadillac didn't like that at all back then and claimed it hurt their sales, yet the working man who could only afford a Chevy liked them a lot and Caprice sales soared during those years. When the Caprice came out in mid-year '65, they also added automatic climate control that had not been in Chevies up until that point as well as the new 396 V-8 and TurboHydramatic 400 transmission. Even "Motor Trend" proclaimed it trimed as nicely as a Cadillac in their road test in '65, but considering the differences in weight and wheelbase and length, the Cadillac would be the nicer car to travel in--even though both were good.

In those earlier times, options usually were not tied to an option package or specific model as they have been in more current times. Manual transmissions were typically standard, except few people ordered them over the more upscale automatics. If it was "in the book" and didn't affect emisssions certifications, you could probably get it ordered like you wanted (even if the factory rep had to approve it).

Similar with exterior color/interior trim combinations. While there were many "accepted" exterior/interior color combinations, there were some listed as "not recommended" but you could get one of those too if you the factory rep knew the customer wanted it that way and was a valid sold order deal.

My aunt worked for a CPA in deepest West Texas. They had a customer that got a new Olds every few years and special ordered it with a rubber floor mat instead of the standard (for that model) carpet. He maintained it was easier to keep the sand out of the floor that way. I don't know if the dealer made the swap when they received the car or if they got the factory people to substitute the rubber mat from a cheaper car on the assembly line as some sort of fleet option, but I remember her talking about that "special order" deal.

From a more practical and saleable standpoint, if a dealer ordered a car for stock and ordered only a power seat without the complimentary power windows and/or power door locks, he had better know his clientel would like it that way as few other dealers might consider dealer trading for it if they had a vehicle he might sell to one of his customers. Same with tilt wheel and cruise control or power steering/power brakes/air conditioning.

If the factory marketing people were trying to build sales interest, they could well make 3-speed manual transmissions standard on everything so they could have a lower "standard equipment vehicle" price point. Even the Chevy Corvette was not immune to that situation. In those days, the gear ratio spreads were similar between the 3-speed automatics and the similar manual transmissions while the manuals would have a mpg or two advantage. Still, when people saw that car it was still a big Buick and that's all that really mattered to them.

Everyone these days talks about how "bad" it is to have overlapping product lines. Naturally, they're looking at duplicated effort between the sales divisions and how it affects their operating overhead, but when each of the divisions was their own operating unit they had the flexibility to exploit their "line item option" approach to the fullest and offer the widest variety of total build combinations in the world (instead of the more "cut and dried" import approach). That was one thing that made the cars from the '50s-middle '70s so interesting.

The Cadillac Calais was a more "entry price level" Cadillac from the middle '60s. Not only a way to get "step up" customers from Olds and Buick, but also to put more sales on the book against Lincoln as Cadillac ruled that market back then. It may have had "less opulent" appointements than the DeVilles, but it was still a Cadillac that was more affordable than the traditional DeVilles too. Kind of like Cadillac playing the same game as the lower level divisions were, except in reverse.

Enjoy!

NTX5467

[Philippe Racicot]

Plain jane Wildcats are quite common in my area too. I have seen very few that were sold new here equipped with a/c. Here in Canada we often see 70's Electras and Rivieras without a/c and even 80's Regals and Le Sabres... In bigger cities it was more common to see loaded cars. I have recently seen in Montreal a loaded 68 Chevrolet Caprice. It had a small 307, no hidden headlights and small hubcaps but had most power options and comfortron automatic a/c. In more rural areas It seems that people cared more about looks than comfort. Chrome wheels, vinyl tops and cornering lights were often found in cars that had no power options. In some small cities with no Cadillac dealers a few people ordered well equipped Electras but not Wildcats. Two years ago I seen two unusually equipped 68 Wildcats. The first one, a custom 2 door, had almost every option exept chrome rims, power vents, speed alert, bucket seats and...a/c. That means it had Power locks,trunk, windows, 6 way seat, antenna, cruise, tilt, stereo, rear defrost, disc brakes, level control, 4 note horn, cornering lights and 3.07 limited slip. (limited slip axles are quite common here, even in 4 door cars like my former 68 Wildcat that also had 3.42 gears). The second car was a base 4 dr Hardtop with only six options: power steering and brakes, automatic transmission, tinted glass, power windows and locks! That means that the car had no clock, radio delete plate and of course no a/c! I guess that it was rare that people ordered a car with door locks and no radio!

[rocketraider]

You can sure look at a 1970 big Chevy vs what came before it and see a marked Cadillac influence. Within GM, only Chevy by virtue of sheer size and Ed Cole could have got away with stepping on Cadillac's toes. The others got their fingers smashed regularly when they tried it.

Re automatic climate control, that may or may not have been an improvement. We're currently troubleshooting one that has managed to stick in De-Ice on a 66 Bonneville Brougham. A good friend who retired as an Olds Zone service manager once told me that nearly half their zone level service work from 1966-73 involved trying to get Comfortrons to work.

[wildcatsrule]

Thanks everybody- I have enjoyed reading all the opinions expressed on this topic. The car consumers of days gone by certainly viewed loaded cars differently than today's buyers. Now we equate a loaded car as being more comfortable, more desireable as a used car and potentially more valuable. Gene, I too have heard the sentiment that options are just "more stuff to fix." Jim, I hadn't made the connection between the urban/rural buyers-very interesting. I also agree, NTX5467, that the desicion to opt for a less well equipped, yet more expensive model was also a factor in plain jane purchases. Tony, I have also seen the plain jane syndrome regarding the early '70's Electras. In fact, I once owned a '71 Electra coupe that had A/C and nothing else. A couple of years ago at Nationals in Columbus I saw a '71 Electra coupe for sale that was really nice, yet was not very well equipped.

Let me give you all a background of where my love affair with the '68 Wildcat began. Towards the end of the '68 model year-in August, 1968, I went with my parents to our local Buick dealership in suburban Detroit, where my parents purchased a '68 Wildcat 4 door sedan. This was the least expensive Wildcat model, yet this car was loaded. It had power windows, 6-way power seat, A/C, rear defrost, clock, courtesy light and cloth upholstery. I was 8 years old at the time-oh, I wish I could remember what I saw sitting on that lot! Anyway, when I turned 16, my parents gave me this car and I had some restoration work done on it-Michigan road salt-it's a bad thing! While I had this car, I bought a second '68 Wildcat 4 dr. Hardtop for $550. The motor in this car had lifter problems, and I sold it. My first car I traded in on a small car when the gas crisis of the late '70's hit-and I have regretted it ever since. I still have dreams about "Bessie"-my teal blue 4 dr. In the interim, I have owned many other cars-lots of Buicks-the aforementioned '71 Electra, a '67 LeSabre convertible(loaded, no A/C), a 76 and an '85 Riviera.

I have looked at many '68 Wildcats for sale for several years and decided that I wanted a custom convertible and custom coupe-my favorite two body styles of this model. Since my first love was so well equipped, that became the standard by which I have judged other cars. I want power windows, 6 way power seat and A/C in my dream cars. I know that many convertible owners opted for no A/C, figuring that to cool off they would just be dropping the top anyway. But what has surprised me in my quest is that the convertible, which was the most expensive Wildcat model produced, was so often made with few options. To my way of thinking, if you are going to invest in the top of the line model, why not go for all the toppings on your sundae, so to speak? The other thing I have found, which I do not understand, is how many people have removed the fender skirts from these cars and altered the wheel wells, so that they no longer have the attaching hardware. People have even tried to retro fit moldings around the rear wheel wells, making the cars look like the LeSabre. I think the fender skirts make the car!

Fast forward to the year 2000, when I went to look at a '68 Wildcat for sale in Ohio. Although it was a 4 dr. hardtop-not what I was looking for-it only had 15,000 original miles on it! Original paint, pinstripes, headlights, upholstery, headlights, spare never down, etc. It is a custom, so it has the fancier cloth interior- but again, plain option wise-AM radio, tilt wheel, rear defrost, clock, courtesy light, vinyl top and that's it! I decided to buy it anyway for my 40th birthday- I figured it would help me with my "Wildcat cravings" until I could find the elusive dream convertible and coupe. I have enjoyed it- it is an unusual color-dark charcoal metallic-and I am pleased that it was so original-nobody had messed with it. It is not flawless, but damn nice considering it's age. I have recently added ralleyes and new tires, which dresses it up considerably. So anyway, that's my novel- and the search continues- someday I'll complete my '68 Wildcat fleet! Thanks again everyone! David "Wildcats Rule"

[NTX5467]

Thanks for the comments!

I know that sometimes we don't always find what we are looking for in used cars. Just as you have the desire for '68 Wildcats, when I went looking for similar '68 Chrysler 300s, they weren't around and I did find a nice '67 Chrysler Newport 2-door hardtop that was spec'd similar to the 300s with bucket seats and center cushion and the optional 383 4bbl V-8 (that was standard on the 300s). Seat trim is identical to the 300s, but with different dash and door trim. It has the "basic group" options (PS,PB,A/C, AM Radio & rear speaker, whitewalls and wheel covers, clock, and undercoat). I added some 14x6.5" station wagon wheels and P245/70R-14 BFG whitewall Advantage TAs and also found a '68 Chrysler FM Multiplex setup a few years ago. I found some nice New Yorkers too, but the 300 was and sitll is "it" as far as I was concerned. Therefore, I feel that I understand your desires.

When I came across my '68 LeSabre Custom Convertible (hence, "5467"), it was a deal I couldn't refuse. 350 4bbl, Turbo 400, PS, PB, A/C. I later found a GM muiltiplex FM radio from an earlier model that fit the dash so that's in there now too. It's the repainted blue/grey metallic with blue vinyl interior. It's not perfect by any means, but became quite enjoyable to drive when I got the Delco gas shocks put on there a few years ago. It is residing in covered storage now and is not depreciating either. It is one car that any additional money spent to make it back right will be fully returned in additional value--which I like. Although they were not "correct" for anything other than a Wildcat, I do have a set of the 15" chrome wheels for it somewhere. It currently has some bi-spinner GM wire wheel covers on it and it also came with a set of later model GM wire wheels too.

The 350 4bbl has enough power do to most anything and still get good fuel economy. A much nicer running engine than the much loved Chevy small block, for sure.

I concur that that '68 Wildcat (and the related LeSabre) were the high points of Buick's swoopy styling of the later '60s. It really came off well on the '68 Wildcat 2-door hardtops with the fastback roof styling (and, of course, the convertibles). Those lines really flowed together much better than on the similar Pontiacs.

Enjoy!

NTX5467

[Centurion]

Wildcatsrule, I had one more item I wanted to share on this subject, and it seems even more relevant now that we know the story of your loaded '68 Wildcat sedan.

My aunt and uncle ordered a new '68 Wildcat sedan as a replacement for their much-loved '61 Invicta. This aunt and uncle were very respected and successful cattle ranchers whose operation would have been valued in the millions of dollars even back in 1968. They would never have dreamed of buying anything as ostentatious as a Cadillac, and their conservative approach to finances ruled out even an Electra 225. These folks had entered their adult years during the Great Depression, and it is amazing how that experience had shaped their outlook on life and spending money. In my community, driving a Buick meant that you had "made it" but were not spending your money foolishly on something fancier.

I saw the Wildcat the day it was delivered. It was beautiful, but very simple and conservative in terms of its options. Finished in silver, the car had only the usual power steering, power brakes, automatic and AM radio. The one other concession to luxury was the 6-way power seat, which my uncle -- a 6-ft., 5-in. cowboy who was even taller in his cowboy boots -- required for his comfort. Air conditioning was deemed too expensive, but this omission was later regretted, so an after-market unit was installed by the dealership.

My uncle said that they had opted for the sedan rather than the four-door hardtop because he thought that the cars with the center-post and full window frames would be less likely to squeak and rattle after years of driving on the unpaved country roads to the ranch.

Within a few weeks of delivery, I noted that the fender skirts had been removed. My uncle commented to my Dad and me that he felt that these would cause the rear tires to "heat up" too much during summer use, and he feared that the snow would fill the rear wheel area during the winter. I assume that the skirts were carefully tucked away and went with the Wildcat when traded on a new '72 Centurion.

I thought that you might find this story to be of interest, since my aunt and uncle may have typified some of the Wildcat buyers who purchased the low option cars. In many cases, the decision to avoid the pricey options reflected a clear and deliberate choice by the buyer rather than an inability to afford the more loaded versions. It makes one realize how much the mindset of the car-buying public has changed during the last 35 years!

[Guest]

Math is the answer. More plane Janes were bought than loaded cars. Hence more plane janes are still around. It is basic. More Chevys were built than Buicks. The same number ratio exists on these cars today

[NTX5467]

I highly concur with those observations. People who grew up in those harder times of their earlier lives carried their orientations with them in later life--just as my parents (and grand parents who lived through those earlier Great Depression Era times) would never vote for a Republican. Growing up on the farm back then or being involved in agricultural pursuits as they were, was not the easiest thing in the world to get through back then.

We knew a couple that taught school with my parents. They lived in the country and saved their "vouchers" back then and basically lived on what they grew on the farm during those hard times. When times got better and they cashed their vouchers in, they were reasonably wealthy compared to other folks back then.

They usually bought a new Chevy every 3 years. Their "ritual" was to head out on Saturday morning and go to a different dealership each Saturday to shop for a new car. I have no doubt that they tried to wring the last cent out of that deal. A few times, they ended up buying the new one the same place they bought the prior one, but usually they ended up buying it somewhere else. There were even a few times they didn't trade that year as they "just couldn't deal" and that led to the 4 year car that had to be traded the next year. I don't recall them ever special ordering a vehicle, but buying off of the lot.

In retrospect, that was one form of their entertainment. They might spend several Saturdays shopping and driving over the coutryside to smaller dealers away from the bigger cities. Got them out of the house, for sure. By the time they made their "best deal", if you figured in the cost of fuel and such they could have done just as well with a local dealership--but that wouldn't have been as much fun.

The car stayed in the detached garage all of the time and it was well serviced. Their trade-ins certainly were prime items for the dealer's used car lot. They could have afforded a Pontiac or Buick, no doubt, but they didn't want to advertise their wealth as they lived in a somewhat rural area, so it was nice Chevrolet BelAirs and later Caprices.

The comment about sedans being "tighter" than hardtops was typically accurate back then. Afterall, the glass was better supported in the sedans too. I hadn't heard about the tire overheating issue though, but the snow issue could be valid.

Enjoy!

NTX5467