Correct please. Please correct phone number. Please enter letter, number or punctuation symbols. Buick Riviera - Wikipedia. The Buick Riviera is a personal luxury car produced by Buick from 1. GM's first entry into that prestige niche, the Riviera was highly praised by automotive journalists upon its high- profile debut. While early models stayed close to the original form, subsequent generations varied substantially over the Riviera's thirty- year lifespan. In all, 1,1. 27,2. Unlike its contemporary GM E platform stablemates, the Oldsmobile Toronado and Cadillac Eldorado, the Riviera only became front wheel drive starting in 1. The Riviera name has been given to concept cars displayed at auto shows in 2. Origins. It first entered the Buick line in 1. The Buick Roadmaster Riviera coupe (along with the Cadillac Coupe de Ville and Oldsmobile 9. Holiday coupe) constituted the first mass production use of this body style, which was to become extremely popular over the next 3. Buick added a two- door Riviera hardtop to the Super the following year, the Special in 1. Century upon its return, after a 1. From 1. 95. 1 to 1. Riviera designation was given to the existing long wheelbase versions of the four- door Buick Roadmaster and Super sedans. In 1. 95. 3, with the move from the Fireballstraight- eight to the more compact Nailhead. V8 engine, the Roadmaster and Super four- door Riviera sedans became the same length. In the middle of the 1. Buick and Oldsmobile introduced the world's first mass- produced four- door hardtops, with Buick offering it only on the Century and Special models, and the Riviera designation was also applied to these body styles. Four- door Riviera hardtops were added to the Roadmaster and Super lines at the beginning of the following model year. However, since it was a body style designation and not a model, the Riviera name does not usually appear on the car. In 1. 95. 9, Buick became much more selective in applying the Riviera name. From then until 1. Cadillac (the Oldsmobile 9. Electra 2. 25. The last usage of the term Riviera to describe to describe a luxury trim level was 1. Electra 2. 25 Riviera four- door hardtop, the same year the E- body model two- door hardtop coupe Riviera made its debut. Debut as a personal luxury car. To fill this gap, an experimental Cadillac design (the XP- 7. Its angular styling was reportedly inspired by GM styling chief Bill Mitchell's visit to London during the period, when he was struck by the sight of an elegant, custom- bodied Rolls Royce. Whether you picture exciting casinos, dazzling entertainment, or pampering fit for a king when you think of Las Vegas accommodations, this section provides complete. The Buick Riviera is a personal luxury car produced by Buick from 1963 to 1999. GM's first entry into that prestige niche, the Riviera was highly praised by. The design itself was penned by stylist Ned Nickles. However, Cadillac management was not particularly interested in such a vehicle and in 1. Buick, desperate to revive its flagging sales, enlisted the aid of the Mc. Cann- Erickson advertising agency to create its presentation.
Buick won, and the finished design was adapted to a shortened version of Buick's cruciform frame. The design was substantially the same as the original, although the hidden headlights. It was introduced as a concept car in 1. Buick Riviera Silver Arrow. It rode a cruciform frame similar to the standard Buick frame, but shorter and narrower, with a 2. Its wheelbase of 1. Buick Le. Sabre, but slightly longer than a contemporary Thunderbird. At 3,9. 98 lb (1,8. It shared the standard Buick V8 engines, with a displacement of either 4. L) or 4. 25 cu in (6. Power brakes were standard, using Buick's massive . Power steering was standard equipment, with an overall steering ratio of 2. The Riviera's suspension uses Buick's standard design, with double wishbones front and a live axle located by trailing arms and a lateral track bar, but the roll centers were raised to reduce body lean. Although its coil springs were actually slightly softer than other Buicks, the Riviera's lighter weight made its ride somewhat firmer. While still biased towards understeer, contemporary testers considered it one of the most driveable American cars, with an excellent balance of comfort and agility. Rather than the . Buick announced in December 1. W) 4. 25 cu in (7. Nailhead as an option. Total production was deliberately limited to 4. Buick sold 4. 40,0. With the same power as the larger Buicks and less weight, the Riviera had sparkling all- around performance: Motor Trend found it capable of running 0. Fuel economy was a meager 1. US gallon (1. 7. 8 L/1. Front leg room was 4. Upholstery choices included all- vinyl, cloth and vinyl, or optional leather. A deluxe interior option included real walnut inserts on the doors and below the rear side windows. Popular extra- cost options included a tilt steering wheel, power windows, power driver's seat, air conditioning, a remote- controlled side view mirror, and white sidewall tires. The Riviera continued with minimal trim changes for 1. Dynaflow- based twin turbine for the new three- speed Super Turbine 4. The Super Turbine 4. Turbo Hydra- Matic by other GM divisions, but in the Buick version (also used in the 1. Electra 2. 25) had a variable pitch torque converter like the old twin turbine Dynaflow had. The 1. 96. 4 version used a two speed . This was the first year that the Stylized . Under the hood, the 4. W) 4. 25 cu in (7. V8. A 'Super Wildcat' version was optionally available, with dual Carter AFB four- barrel carburetors, rated at 3. W). Changes for 1. The stock dual exhaust pipes were increased from 2. The 4. 01 cu in (6. V8 returned as the standard Riviera engine and the Super Turbine 4. Externally, the headlamps were concealed behind clamshell doors in the leading edges of each fender, as in the original design. Further back, the non- functional side scoops between the doors and rear wheel arches were removed, and the taillights were moved from the body into the rear bumper. All in all, the Riviera was extremely well received and considered a great success, giving the Thunderbird its first real competition. The 1. 96. 3. Jaguar founder and designer Sir William Lyons said that Mitchell had done . It retained its cruciform frame, powertrain, and brakes, but it wore a longer, wider, more curvaceous body that modernized the . This generation shared its platform with the Oldsmobile Toronado, and, a year later, with the Cadillac Eldorado. A notable styling point was the absence of vent windows, a feature GM had introduced with a flourish in the 1. Headlamps remained concealed, but they now pivoted up above the grille when not in use. Unlike the Toronado and Eldorado, the Riviera retained a conventional rear wheel drive layout. It was now some 2. The Gran Sport package remained available as an option. Optionally available was a Strato- bench seat with armrest or Strato bucket seats with either a short consolette or a full- length operating console with a . Both the buckets and Strato- bench seat were available with a reclining seat option for the passenger's side. Sales for 1. 96. 6 rebounded to 4. The most significant change for 1. Buick's entirely new V8 of 4. L) displacement, 3. W) and 4. 75 lb. The new engine, with greater power and torque on hand, represented a significant performance improvement. Gasoline mileage improved slightly with the new engine, though it remained gas- thirsty compared to modern cars. Powerful disc brakes with Bendix four- piston calipers became optional for the front wheels but most Riviera continued to be ordered with Buick's aluminum brake drums which were almost as good. Cosmetically, changes were few, and were limited to the addition of a wide, full- width, center- mounted horizontal chrome grille bar that stretched over the headlight doors and outboard parking lights. Sales eased to 4. The Riviera had full instrumentation. Of course Rivieras complied on all counts and featured the full range of safety features. Hidden wiper arms were also new. Federally mandated side marker lights were of an inverted trapezoidal shape on the lower leading edges of the front fenders. Rear marker lights were circular. The interior was restyled and, unlike the 1. Shoulder belts for front outboard occupants were made standard on all cars built from January 1, 1. There were very few mechanical changes in 1. Sales set another new record in 1. For 1. 96. 9, minor styling changes took place. Grilles changed from the crosshatch pattern seen in '6. Front marker lights became far shorter, and square in shape. Inside, front outboard passengers got new headrests. The ignition switch was moved from the instrument panel to the steering column, and it now locked the steering wheel and selector lever when the key was removed (This feature became mandatory for the 1. Chrome side trim was revised, as well. At the rear, the reverse lights were move from the rear bumper into the '6. Riviera's new 3- section tail light lenses. Sales for 1. 96. 9 improved again, to 5. A new front suspension system was used. Exposed quad headlamps were nearly flush- mounted, while the new front bumper wrapped around and over the new vertical bar grille, set between the headlamp pods. A newly optional side trim feature accented the large coupe's flowing lines. Skirted rear wheels became standard, with exposed wheels an option. At the rear, a new rear bumper/taillight motif was seen. The engine was upgraded to 4. L), the largest engine Buick offered to date, rated at 3. W) gross, 2. 45 hp (1. W) net, and over 5. Despite the fact that '7. Riviera proved more successful than the first, with 2. Third generation (1. Performance remained reasonably brisk, with a 0. One noteworthy advance was Buick's Max Trac, a traction control system that prevented wheelspin during acceleration on slippery surfaces. The 1. 97. 2 Riviera was little changed, with the 4. W) or 2. 50 hp (1. W) with the Gran Sport, although the actual drop in net power was only 5 hp (3. W). Sales remained moribund at 3. Sluggish sales of the third generation Riviera led GM to believe that the boattail deck lid was too radical for most customers' tastes, so in 1. The design change however only led to a marginal increase in sales, with 3. Fourth generation (1. This turned the car from a hardtop coupe into a pillared coupe, as it featured wide B pillars and fixed quarter opera windows.
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