55 Special versus new Corvette

[Guest imported_Bob 55 Special]

Had a good laugh the other night.

My VP at work announced he had just put 1,200 miles on his new Corvette in 6 months. I told him I did that over a long weekend with my 55 Buick Special. Then I proceeded tell a gathering group about the how well the car ran and what a great time my family and I had at the National in Plano. Everyone was really excited about the Buick and the conversation really never got back to the VP's Corvette.

Who needs a Corvette! I'll take my Buick any day! And of course all the wonderful Buick folks we have been meeting!

[Centurion]

Bob, thanks for the great story!

I agree completely with your point-of-view. Everytime I'm rolling along the Interstate in my '59 Electra and pass a driver in his spiffy new Lexus or Mercedes-Benz, I'm thankful that I'm driving a car that is genuinely distinctive. Those guys might feel pretty smug because they're driving a large, V8-powered, rear wheel drive sedan that's something pretty special. Well, I'm also driving a large, V8-powered, rear wheel drive sedan that is truly one-of-a-kind out there on Interstate 5. Their cars have the most advanced automatic transmissions on the market, but I have the miracle of infinite-pitch Triple Turbine (a.k.a. "Flight Pitch").

I'm confident that my driving experience is at least as gratifying as theirs -- although in a very different way. And I have the added benefit of receiving continuous "thumbs up" from the other drivers. I reckon that driving an old Buick makes me somehow more approachable than most drivers; no one assumes that I'm a snooty yuppie. Everyone is eager to stop and talk with me when I pull in for gas or park at the store.

Give me an old Buick and an open road, and I'll be a happy guy.

[JohnD1956]

Wow, you got a big set of em all right. Of course your Buick is much more special than the VP's Corvette, but lets face it, this was the VP man... You should have let him have his way and brag about his vette...Unless you are planning to jump ship anyway.

Actually, I'm just kidding, but...S A good friend of mine took his Skylark to his towns first ever annual famly picnic. They were having a show for any resident who wanted to bring a car. So a bunch of Vette owners show up and only three other cars. Part of the festivities was a parade of all the cars in the show. So what happens? The vette owners protested. They didn't want to ride with non-vettes... What a bunch of stuffed shirts. I'd take your 55 anyday of the week over that borevette.

[Fr. Buick]

I'm sure there are a few nice Vette guys, but the old joke is still a good one...

Do you know the difference between a Vette and a cactus?

The catcus has the pricks on the outside.

Happy wrenching,

Doug Cook

[John Frank]

Who says that liking Buicks and Corvettes are mutually exclusive?

I have a 64 LeSabre convertible I am restoring. I have a 65 GS in decent shape that gets driven occassionally and will be restored once the LeSabre is done. I have a 2002 Park Avenue that I use when I will have more than just one person with me.

I also have a 2003 50th Anniversary Corvette that I drive every day and just took delivery of a 2004 ZO6 because there are super deals on new 2004 vettes right now because the 2005 is a new design.

There is nothing like the handling of the C5 vette. Perfectly balanced you just sort of think of how you want the vette to track and it does so. I've owned lots of cars, sports cars, luxury cars, RVs, off roads, even had a Ferrari for a couple of years. I have never enjoyed driving anything as much as I enjoy driving the C5 Corvette. Every moment in that car is a delight.

Having said that, I must say Buicks from the 30-70s are something special. They have a class and style all their own. They represent the best of the US for their time. When all other GM products were much alike, Buick remained unique.

WhenI go to the local car show people admire the Buicks and take pictures of them. But the car those same people want to take a ride in is the Corvette. The 1998-2004 C5 Corvette is universally considered to be the best series vette ever, even succeeding the 63-67 Stingray. It will be interesting to see if next year's C6, which will be lighter and even more powerful, takes that legend even further. Haven't decided whether to get one or not, I usually shy away from the first year of a new model.

What a shame that GM "merged" Buick into their overall product line rather than leaving them the one GM independent. It would have been interesting seeing what they would have done in the future given their great track record in the past.