Why am I often asked if I’m feeling okay, or what my “problem” is? This often happens seemingly apropos of nothing. I’m not going to pretend like I don’t know why, but I want to hear you say it. Listen. I do not have “resting angry face”, or any variation of that phrase. This is simply how I look, exactly as I did the day I rolled off the assembly line at the Buick City factory complex in Flint, Michigan. I don’t have an attitude problem and nothing’s the matter, which may change if the issue is pressed further. Who am I kidding? I’m used to this line of questioning.
My model name, Invicta, is Latin for “undefeated”. This is somewhat ironic, given that it lasted for only five model years between 1959 and ’63. I think my name sounds powerful and distinctive, at least moreso than “LeSabre” with its pretentious “Le” prefix and capital letter “S”. There is nothing remotely French about that car. We were assembled on the line together, so I would know. And so I have a Latin name! Big deal. Ever been to Mass? Or looked at a dollar bill? Thank you. You can tell me from my LeSabre sibling most quickly and easily by my front fender badges and the shiny trim on my wheel cutouts. We both had three portholes, while bigger, longer Electra 225 got four.
I managed to be the least popular Buick convertible in 1960, being outsold by even the big shot, soft-top Electra. I’m one of only 5,236 produced, against 13,588 LeSabre convertibles and 6,746 Electras. My $3,620 base price ($33,500 in 2021) almost evenly split the difference between the respective costs of the lesser, open-air LeSabre at $3,145 ($29,100) and the Electra at $4,192 ($38,800), all before options. The middle child rarely gets any extra breaks or attention. So what? I’m just that much more special. And no one can argue with the beauty of my factory Titian Red finish.
I’ve still got my standard 401 cubic inch “Wildcat” V8 with 325 horsepower under the hood. I have plenty of scoot for a 4,400-pound car, and I can still get to sixty miles per hour in about ten seconds. I suppose if you see this face coming up behind you, you’d better not be playing around on your phone when the light changes. Hey, wait… I suppose that comment isn’t doing anything to change stereotypes based on my appearance. Just pay attention. Maybe there are benefits to having been born looking like this, in that people may not indulge in as much nonsense around me. Really, I am a nice Buick. Don’t let my facial expression throw you.
Edgewater, Chicago, Illinois.
Sunday, August 27, 2017
Brochure photos were sourced from www.oldcarbrochures.com.
If those were turn signals down there in the bumper, it’s great that they were, hopefully, visible from the side as well. I don’t think that caught on in popularity until later in the decade, and even then it was predominantly on higher end cars.
My 1974 Dodge had front side marker lights, but only illuminated with external lights on, they were not connected with the turn signals.
Nice shots Joseph. Good Buick, good boy (girl).
Here one is in action… https://youtu.be/r3kQlzOi27M?t=14
Yes!! Classic song and video from the Go-Go’s! Thank you for linking this – this connection didn’t even cross my mind when I was writing this. I think the car in the video might be the LeSabre, based on a few stills. Of course, I could be wrong.
I was sure the ’60 Buick was chosen because the Go-Go’s were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this past weekend and there would be some tie-in!
Wow – I usually draft my essays three weeks in advance of their run-date. This reinforces my belief that there are no coincidences!
There can never be too many sunshine / jangly-guitar pop songs. 🙂
It must have broken a lot of hearts in GM design when the 1959 Buick flopped. They put a lot into it and touted it as the look. It nearly killed Buick.
The 59 Buick sold very well. The problem was getting steel to build them
The ‘59 Buick was a sales flop. After rising to the number three position in sales in 1955 and 1956, it plummeted to seventh in 1959. Pontiac, Olds and even Rambler did better.
It was merely 50 years ahead of it’s time in the angry look department. Now all the cool cars/suvs look grumpy!
This is true.
Hey there Invicta, you are welcome to come visit me any time. Give me a little notice and I can have your favorite high octane quaff on hand – many don’t care, but I know you have some standards when it comes to what you will consume. And I will lay in plenty, so don’t worry about having to just sip. It will hit the nail in the head.
There is nothing wrong with a face that means business at rest – it’s your older brother I worry about – his 1959 face was kind of scary. And I agree with you – LeSabre’s name is just pretentious. But you are stuck as a middle child and there is nothing you can do about it.
I think the 60 may be my favorite Buick after 1952 (from which it is a completely different thing). It toned down some of the harsher details from the 59 and was the best looking car on that body, bar none.
As a kid, I passed a 1959 (or it might have been a 1960) in a driveway on the way to school every day. I thought it a very cool looking car, especially with the winged rear. It was always facing inward on a down-sloping driveway, so was that much more menacing with the wings high in the air.
That said, we had friends who owned a 1956, and I think that was my favourite Buick of that era. I got a few rides in that as a kid.
Or if you prefer a ‘59:
https://www.kindigit.com/gallery/59-buick-invicta/
Dave
This Invicta definitely looks like it could inflict bodily injury!
It’s interesting how perspectives change. 60 years ago parked in that same spot it would have stood out but for good reasons. The flashy colour and convertible top would have caught your eye in a sea of Belair and Custom sedans.
Now it just looks about as comfortable as your Grandma at a nudist colony.
I like this, either as a convertible or bubble.
Morning becomes Invicta.
Well, I have a thing for cars that have faces with personality. These Buicks, and 61 Plymouths too. It’s all in the eyes.
Indeed which is better looking: the ’59 Buicks or the resculpted ’60 Buicks. Even when new I could not decide, other than either year was infinitely superior visually than the garish jukebox on wheels ’58 Buicks!
Compared to all the other GM ’59-’60 cars the Buicks were my favorites. To bad my dad bought a stripper, 4 dr, 6 banger, 3 on the tree Chevy Biscayne! Not even a AM radio, but with dog dish hubcaps. At least it was two-toned so it had COLOR like the vast majority of vehicles in the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s!! 🙂 In addition the interior even tho plain was COLOR keyed to the exterior. That beats the blACK interior that my ’21 Civic has, but at least Honda uses a light grey headliner and pillar coloring. . DFO
My dad bought the same cars as your dad, except he splurged on a heater!
This reminds me of one of my favorite old videos, showing the endurance test Buick did on the 1960 Invicta: 10,000 miles in 5,000 minutes, complete with fighter-plane style refueling during the drive. The only disappointment is what seems to be a single recording of the sound of the car passing by the camera on the Daytona oval track, repeated several times.
What a grimace of a face…. those eyebrows were obviously designed for the slanted headlights on the ’59 but look all wrong here. The grille itself looks fine and up to date for a 1960s car, while the rear actually looks a bit busier than the ’59 car.
You may not have the most charming of faces, but you do have a great name.
I think that Buick’s new names for 1959 (Invicta, LeSabre and Electra) were wonderful… especially since the mid-50s Buick model names such as Special and Super just seemed so dull and uninspired.
I think the retiring of the Invicta name was a wasted opportunity. It would still sound great today, even if was applied to an SUV or crossover… if said vehicle looked like it meant business.
Great story. Lots of 60 Chrysler design cues in there. But the roof line on the hard top is just perfection.
Wow, what a great find! That is one sexy convertible. I don’t care that it has a mean face, in fact that makes it all the more alluring.
I actually have the same problem, apparently my neutral face makes people occassionally ask me if I’m ok, like I’m upset. I have to consciously keep a slightly positive face on but sometimes I neglect to. I hope I look as cool as this Invicta when that happens.
Trivia: I believe that in the true story of The French Connection as told in the book, the heroin smuggling car played by a Mark III in the movie was a 1960 Buick Invicta sedan. Maybe the car really is mean.
Anything with a Nailhead is all right by me. 🙂
Mid-century Buicks had some great names, like Invicta, Centurion, etc. And, I think the name fits the face, in the case of the 1959-60 Invictas. These Buicks are my favorite of all the 1959-60 GM family (well, except maybe for the ’59 Pontiac, with its wide track and split grill).
It’s a shame that Buick did nothing to stop its customer base from growing so elderly. As this Invicta demonstrates, it was at one time possible to imagine a successful young(ish) man to aspire to Buick ownership.
Great points, William. As to your second paragraph, it would be interesting to contemplate the approximate few model years when it had started to become obvious that Buick’s focus had shifted toward mature buyers.
This middle child Buick having a stern look may not be all bad. Many of the middle children I have known tend to have rather well developed diplomacy skills (likely out of necessity?) so that determined look may simply emphasize their goals.
Regardless, this is a good catch. It is not often one is so lucky to capture a car that looks nearly like the one in the brochure.
That was a large total number of convertibles sold compared to a decade later. Has there been a CC on the decline of the convertible?
Invicta was the name of a British high end performance car manufactured in the early part of the Twentieth Century. I think that the choice was influenced by the desire to make an association with that Marque. The Buick Invicta replaced the Century, Buick’s hottest car. Invicta begat Wild Cat, which begat Centurion. All of these models were the fastest full size Buicks. Then we got the “T” type.
I had no idea – these are good points and tie-ins. I actually miss the “T-Type” days of Buick. Some of them seemed genuinely cool.
I talked my dad into a T Type when he got an ’87 Electra. It had the same 150 hp, but the wider tires gave it a better stance, the wheels were handsome, and the firmer suspension kept his driving from making people carsick. Intentionally or not, the throttle was wired to make it difficult to takeoff gently, so we still got sore necks (I think he had that adjusted, eventually). My then boss had gotten a soft and bouncy Olds 98 for the company, and his driving was similar and a topic of discussion amongst us unlucky passengers, which led me to the T.
For shame, Mr Dennis – why, there’s a quite wonderful full post on the English Invictas by our T87 from 5 March, 2019, on this very site!
The simply gorgeous low-chassis s-types from about 1932 or so are today amongst the true exotica stuff, worth several million each, which would give any owner of an Invicta a happy face indeed.
Oddly enough, I have never thought of these as looking as if they’re out-of-sorts, but more a bit exotic, or slightly haughty in the eyebrows. But then, I like the long-running Peugeot face from Pinninfarina, with the similar effect. (Pug 505 illustrated)
If you’re going to drive into Flint on a summer’s day, try one of these surely…..