The Century nameplate adhered to Buick’s mid-size cars from 1973 to 2005. In this postcard we look at the last two iterations.
Buick is a brand I think of as approximating to a combination of Rover, Lancia and Volvo but with a distinct veneer of the Ghia-character of European Fords. I hope that evokes the idea of the middle-market with comfort-orientated accoutrements. If we Continue reading “Savannah Postcard (2)”
If you’re feeling sinister…
One sure fire way of upsetting your customers is to halt production of an established favourite. Buick caused a national outcry when they axed the Grand National. When the Riviera was retired, the overtures were quieter perhaps but no less felt. GM rolled out concepts from time to time, and potential customers took notice until the realisation dawned that this was more a case of theatrics over genuine articles – another false dawn.
Are we perhaps being a little harsh here? Given the chance to design something from scratch, any designer worth their salt would Continue reading “Blackhawk Down”
How will you have those eggs, mister?
To the European autophile, American cars often lose their flavour should (or if) they land on soil at least three thousand miles from home. As a 1980s wet behind the ears teenager, all American cars were big, loud, had screeching tyres and could fly (dependent upon TV show) yet possessed an otherworldly draw for this spotty oik.
No-one, not even the deep archives that DTW has become can Continue reading “Recipe For Obscure Omelette”
Much like discontinued brands, some rather old models of existing car lines can be hard to place: what is a Buick Wildcat in new money?
This car seems to be a second series, from 1965 to 1970. That still isn’t enough. Hermeneutics comes into the picture here because we want to Continue reading “Three Steps After Sunday”
The role of the bumper can be inferred easily from the name.
Originally they were mere metal bars attached to the front of the car, and were visually separate from the wings and grille they were intended to protect. Let’s take a quick look at how they changed over time from a piece of steel to complex plastic assemblies merged seamlessly to Continue reading “Theme: Evolution – From Iron Bars To Plastic Assemblies”
Driven To Write 