![Gran Turismo 5 demo coming to PSN on Dec 17, GT Academy returns [w/VIDEO]](http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/12/370z-gt-academy_143x85.jpg)
RR of the Day - 1995 Buick Riviera
Flickr member cmanmt got us all excited when he submitted pix of his 1995 Buick Riviera. These are pretty, luxurious and quick. 1995 was the first year of this bodystyle, and it set the media atwitter when it debuted. GM went out on a limb with the the 1995 Riviera's styling. The previous-generation Riv had started life as a stubby little thing, and while it eventually got more graceful hindquarters, it was still pretty conservatively styled. It was a car that featured the "over 50" set in its advertising, so you know who the target demo for that one was. For the 9th (and sadly final) generation of the Riviera, caution was thrown to the wind. These were big cars, long, with lines that polarized people in to love it or hate it camps. The shape is definitely swoopy, and the style was seemingly inspired by Bill Mitchell's fine work for the General. The looks have certainly aged well, so these Rivs still turn heads out on the road today. The lucky ones that got the supercharged 3800 could turn out some quick sprints, too.
More after the jump.
cmanmt has done extensive upkeep to this mint-looking example of a cruising machine for a badmuthashutchamouth. The great thing about the Riviera is that it's got all that swaggering American styling on top of GM's excellent G platform. The G platform was extremely sturdy and was originally developed for the Oldsmobile Aurora. The Riviera was a less expensive Aurora that was more on the "personal luxury" tip. When GM does lux, they do it old school - big plush seats, power everything, loads of sound deadening, you know, your Father's Oldsmobile. With the huffer sitting atop the already-torquey 3800, there's 220-plus horsepower at the command of your right foot. If you're really creative, the G platform lives on as the Buick Lucerne with V8 power. Hmmm. Honestly though, with a Riv, it's not about brute force, it's about STYLE. Sure, it won't embarass itself when it needs to hustle, but just park it and look at it. Dig that crease that runs front to rear at the top of the fenders, through the doors and blends into the rear quarters. Style in the 90's was sometimes a misnomer, but the last generation of Riv's doesn't fall into that category.
How to submit to RR of the Day:
Create a Flickr account if you don't already have one. Search for and join the group called 'Autoblog RR of the Day'. Upload up to three photos of your ride to your own account at a size no larger than 450 pixels wide if possible and include as much information about it and yourself as possible. Even if your ride is sweet, it will not be chosen if there's not a lot of info accompanying it. Click on each photo and just above the picture it will say "Send to group". Click that and select the Autoblog group. You're done, that's it!
Get a WordPress.com Blog
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Chris 4:59PM (2/13/2008)
Great car! I have a very similar 1997 Riviera. I would like to contact the owner of this car to ask him some questions about maintenance/repairs etc. Can you contact me at chrisgreenla@gmail.com? Thanks.
Reply
jamey 10:33AM (12/07/2006)
Wow that is my exact car...I knew I should have created a fliker for it. drat oh well.
And to help throw off the Buick stereotype Im a college freshman who chose the my riviera over any civic or truck for several reasons including looks price and the sleeper affect (what cop is gonna think theres some kid in that buick?)
all my friends groan when they first find out thier about to ride in a buick. now i have several friends looking into getting thier own.
this will definatly get my vote.
Reply
LSVT 10:39AM (12/07/2006)
WoooHoo Cman, this looks like the epitaph the Riv eh?
Reply
Thor 11:01AM (12/07/2006)
The only nice thing I can say about Buicks is that they are far more RELIABLE than people think they are. One survey said they are 70% UNDER-estimated in that area.
Some of them even have half-decent exterior styling.
But everything else, the soft, retiree suspensions, the god-awful interiors, the poor quality of the materials, the accursed fake wood.
And to think that people pay over $30k for that JUNK! (such as a Park avenue!)
Have these people never driven an Accord? They could get one at HALF the price and, like me, they would still be driving it today with no troubles whatsoever.
(I still drive my 44 mpg 1992 Civic HAtch and my 32-37 mpg highway Accord 2-door 5-speed 1990, in addition to the Magnificent 7 (BMW 740iL 1998, a total steal buy at $10.5k in Oct 2005)
Reply
Tim UF 10:52AM (12/07/2006)
I've always liked the style of these cars. nice flowing lines.
What kind of performance numbers are these capable of?
Reply
Doogs 10:56AM (12/07/2006)
That car is singlehandedly more interesting than Buick's entire current lineup.
I'd be curious to see what they could do with a modern interpretation.
Reply
TheOne442 11:33AM (12/07/2006)
Great Car!
Reply
Fazzster 11:00AM (12/07/2006)
I don't have anything good to say about this car so I will not say anything.
Reply
Bill 11:09AM (12/07/2006)
Funny coincidence about the Maserati 1 post up the page. I saw one of those on the road just two days ago, and initially thought it was a Buick.
The Riviera is interesting. I knew a guy who had one, just like the one above, and rode in it a couple times. It sort of reminded me of my 77 Regal- big on the outside, but not all that roomy inside. There's a reason that big coupes done sell anymore, they're a waste of space relative to what you get.
I did like the last generation Eldorado ETC though. That was kind of cool, took a slightly used one for a test drive once, loved it, but decided it just wasn't very practical for me and my station in life at the time.
Reply
Hank 11:10AM (12/07/2006)
How about we start seeing interior shots of RR's???
Reply
cmanmt 11:14AM (12/07/2006)
Wow, thanks guys for all the comments, good and bad. And thanks Autoblog. As for interior shots; I have some of those, but not very good ones. That's why I did not submit them. But if you'd like to take a look...
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h246/MTChevroletMan/A4.jpg
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h246/MTChevroletMan/A5.jpg
Reply
Mike 11:26AM (12/07/2006)
from Wikipedia
"There was no 1994 Riviera, but a restyled, larger model returned for 1995, now with the option of a supercharged version of the 3800 V6 rated at 225 SAE HP. The new Rivieras were built in Lake Orion, Michigan. The very first 1995 Riviera rolled off the assembly line on May 23, 1994.
1996 brought an increase in hp on the supercharged versions to 240 SAE HP and 280 lb-ft (380 N·m) of torque. 1997 saw revisions to the suspension which lightened the car and gave it more nimble handling. The supercharged engine became standard. For 1998, GM's OnStar service was added as an option, and a few interior changes were made.
1999 was the last model year for the Riviera, a very short one, production ceasing on November 25, 1998. The final 200 cars had special silver paint and trim and were denoted "Silver Arrow" models, a designation which harkened back to several Silver Arrow show cars that had been built off Riviera bodies by Bill Mitchell."
240hp and 280 tq from a v6 in 1996... cool! cmanmt, what are you getting for gas mileage?
Reply
noodles 11:46AM (12/07/2006)
The Rivi was a fanstastic car and very underated when it was around. I had for a demo for a while and it was true grand tourer. Nice style and interesting interior. It's a shame it sold so poorly.
Reply
Peter Gozinya 11:41AM (12/07/2006)
I think this was a good style. A modern version of this with updated materials and richer accents (like the current Lucerne) but with a similar outrageous design on the interior would actually pretty cool. Of course, the modern version would be rear (or all) wheel drive and have at least 320-340 hp from a Northstar V8.
Reply
C\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'est Raoul 12:40PM (12/07/2006)
This is quite an ovni. I like it. This one, and the sport coupé from the same generation are probably the only 2 cool Buicks.
Reply
Chuck Yoder 11:50AM (12/07/2006)
I love my '97 Rivy!
Reply
NEBTEK2002 11:45AM (12/07/2006)
Gee, Thor, my daughter, who gave up on the same-series Honda Accord that you gush over after she had to have half her front suspension dropped just to get at the alternator now owns a 1998 Olds 88.
Her reaction to your calling Honda interiors better than GM's was that you're obviously off your meds.
And, she asks if you ever use that wimpy AC in the summer or heat in the winter, both of which make huge amounts of noise relative to the puny air output.
BTW, she and I looked at a lot of godawful
Japanese interiors when we were shoppping for a car she could afford for $3K in cash.
Even such universally-hated-by-this-site cars like Cavalier and Lumina had upholstery that held up better over the years than the Japanese stuff.
Reply
Lithous 11:59AM (12/07/2006)
Thor (who I picture doing the voice of Patrick from Sponge Bob show)...
"The only nice thing I can say about Buicks is that they are far more RELIABLE than people think they are. One survey said they are 70% UNDER-estimated in that area."
The funny thing is that Buicks came off the same assembly lines with the same parts as many other GM vehicles. I love how they get dinged for badge engineering when the bad is involved but we forget about badge engineering when a handful of Buicks are considered reliable. That means there are other GM cars just as reliable made at the same time.
"Have these people never driven an Accord? They could get one at HALF the price and, like me, they would still be driving it today with no troubles whatsoever."
LMAO. Is that a fact (written as a fact). Nice red X on the engine...
http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/Reliability.aspx?year=1990&make=Honda&model=Accord
http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/Reliability.aspx?year=1992&make=Honda&model=Civic
Both have red X engines!!!!!!!!
"(I still drive my 44 mpg 1992 Civic HAtch and my 32-37 mpg highway Accord 2-door 5-speed 1990, in addition to the Magnificent 7 (BMW 740iL 1998, a total steal buy at $10.5k in Oct 2005)"
Good to see that Honda has gone down in fuel economy. Maybe it is because they were thin light death traps and a family would be much safer in the Buick that you don't understand why anyone would buy, Ace. Now that Honda makes a safer car it has taken away from them contributing to Moore's Law. Why hasn't Honda's fuel economy on their Civic gotten better and better over the year but instead it looks worse from what you are telling us.
Reply
Donpellareno 12:04PM (12/07/2006)
I have one now. Power everything, sunroof, heated seats-the works. Sure it's not a rocket on the streets but when I was in highschool I thought this was the coolest looking car on the streets at the time. Even though the car is out of production, I still think this styling can compete with whats out there now - and guess what, I'm 27, I love this Buick and I'm surely not over 40. GM or someone should get back into building big luxury coupes that the average person can afford. The only big coupe thats out there now with style and pizass is the Mercedes Benz CL-class and that will cost you an arm and your mothers kidney. Truly, if Buick want to get back out there with a hard hitter they should got out on a limb and ressurect the large coupe as the Velite or Riviera, RWD and fill it with the works. Two packages, (forget the cx and those other packeges) consider a base package and a high performance package with a powerful and competitive engine and call it the Grand National package (this marketing plays on heritage and performance)for all the Grand National lovers considering probably only one coupe can fit onder this roof because of the cost. Think about Buick. There is no large luxuary coupe in this price range. If it's done right, and done right the first time, it could set off a trend.
Reply
AutoFan 12:22PM (12/07/2006)
These were pretty interesting and would have been great at a 7/8 scale, but the Lexus SC400 is far and away the most beautifully styled coupe of the 90s.
Reply