Adambravo Posted July 3, 2023 Share Posted July 3, 2023 Has anyone else had a chance to read the article in the latest review which quotes from the Society Of Automotive Engineers technical paper on the original ‘63 Riviera? There were a couple of weird inconsistencies which caught my eye… 1. There was a discussion upfront that indicated GM market research identified an opportunity for Buick to come to market with a luxury sport vehicle. However, this seems to contradict all of the historical information which indicates Riviera was originally designed for Cadillac, who turned it down, and then it was offered to Buick, Olds, and Pontiac—and Buick had the best pitch. 2. There was a considerable amount of time spent discussing the design of the instrument panel, apparently neglecting to mention it was virtually identical to that offered in all the other full-size Buicks, with the exception of adding a center console. Otherwise, there was some interesting information in there, including the design of the doors with frameless glass, and the climate control hardware. Good to know a little more about the history of my car… 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XframeFX Posted July 3, 2023 Share Posted July 3, 2023 3 hours ago, Adambravo said: quotes from the Society Of Automotive Engineers technical paper on the original ‘63 Riviera? The latest I have is May/June Riview. Is there a newer issue? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adambravo Posted July 4, 2023 Author Share Posted July 4, 2023 Jul/Aug (with a sweet black ‘64 on the cover)… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted July 4, 2023 Share Posted July 4, 2023 Remember, it has to cross the Canadian border. Customs, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NTX5467 Posted July 5, 2023 Share Posted July 5, 2023 As a point of interest, when did the similar fwd Toronado and Eldorado get their business cases pitched, in relation to when the Riviera business case was presented? Was the Riviera a rwd car for cost savings and ease of production integration? Just curious. NTX5467 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted July 6, 2023 Share Posted July 6, 2023 (edited) My understanding was that Cadillac dropped the idea of a LaSalle revival less than 20 years after they dropped it due to competition against their Model 62. Oldsmobile was already well along on the FWD design. Olds was also using a lot of design ques from the Cord on their FWD model that would not may worked with the Bentley inspired Riviera design.Pontiac had just shed its old man flavor and didn't need a conservative design. Buick was in a good default position because so many parts were already on the shelf. With its 117 inch wheelbase it is kind of an A body on a shortened full sized chassis. Except the door skins unbolt to adjust the frameless side windows. Edited July 6, 2023 by 60FlatTop (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NTX5467 Posted July 18, 2023 Share Posted July 18, 2023 One other thing I remember reading was that Ford had worked their Thunderbird into such an aspirational model, "personal luxury", that GM probably needed a way to invade that market. So Riviera as we know it happened. Chrysler then positioned their 300 models as their response, BUT plainly stated "No junior editions as it dilutes the brand too much", paraphrased. Yet the Cordoba sold like '64 Mustangs initially did, helping keep the company alive. As to the Thunderbird competition of Riviera, Buick was the perfect brand for that product. Not "young and edgy" like Pontiac. Not "too expensive" like Cadillac. Not "new tech" like Oldsmobile. Just normal tech doing great things with a very stylish body, as Buicks had always been "high style" vehicles. Seems like I read somewhere, in the late 1960s, after the Toronado was introduced, that Olds was trying to do a fwd Cutlass model, but it was not working out well. Then they made a fwd larger car and things worked much better. John Beltz was claimed to have loved the fwd Toro as he liked to go snow skiing in the mountains, where the size and power of the Toronado could be put to great use. Might have been interesting to see where Oldsmobile could have gone if he had not passed away at a younger age. Just some thoughts, NTX5467 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeJS Posted July 18, 2023 Share Posted July 18, 2023 On 7/3/2023 at 7:03 PM, RivNut said: Remember, it has to cross the Canadian border. Customs, etc. Not to mention it simply being in the (ahem) capable hand of both United States Postal Storage and Canada Post and Storage... But lo and behold, July/August Riview was released today from their storage holding facilities here in Edmonton, AB... woot woot! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTX-SLPR Posted July 26, 2023 Share Posted July 26, 2023 Can we download the whole paper somewhere? It looks like it has a lot of the suspension dimensions I've been searching for but I can't find it in the members only section. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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