(first posted 4/12/2017) Despite Buick’s marketing materials using words like “technology” and “future”, and featuring an attractive, young and blonde female runner on multiple pages, I’m willing to bet the average age of a ’91 Skylark buyer was over 65.
In fact, the type of driver that comes to mind when seeing one of these Skylarks in image or in person (the latter of which is very uncommon in recent memory) is that it of a little old lady whose primary need for a car is to get to church and run local errands, rarely driving more than a few thousand miles per year and at speeds of over 35 miles per hour.
Given the condition of this car, I think it’s safe to say that my assumption could well indeed be true. However, I should note that I saw this Skylark out on a Saturday night. I was meeting a date and it was cold, so I didn’t stop for more pictures. That said, I guess even the little old ladies like to go out and have fun once in a while, and I couldn’t support it more.
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Brendan Saur wrote: “Despite Buick’s marketing materials using words like “technology” and “future”, and featuring an attractive, young and blonde female runner on multiple pages, I’m willing to bet the average age of a ’91 Skylark buyer was over 65.”
And a largely urban clientele in all age groups also gravitated toward Buick. Those brochure captures bring back memories!
Did Buicks not sell well in rural areas?
I’d think a “real” rural guy would go with a GMC if he wanted Buick class but still needed “rural” cred ?
Living near and frequenting rural areas, I can assure you that when “cars” were popular, Buicks sold very well in rural areas. Both Buick and Oldsmobile were considered a way to drive an upscale car without the supposed pretention of driving a Cadillac or Lincoln.
Just last night on the Bonneville blog I was waxing nostalgic about Buicks. I had forgotten how many I had back in the day. A Cadillac definitely would be the talk of the town, and not in a good way. My mother refused to drive one..even a Buick was too much..she drove Olds as her mother and siblings did.
My statement was based on who I saw behind the wheels of Buicks, at least here in CT
I’m confused. Do you mean you saw lots of Buicks in urban areas in CT? Or you saw city-folk in suits and ties driving Buicks?
When Buick was #3 or #4 in the 50s, it was the coasts and the cities that bought the extra Buicks.
Think of Buicks like our Ford Fairlanes or Holden Statesman, in country areas there’s only a small section of the community in the position to own this type of vehicle. Especially so from the 80’s and earlier.
I have been a Buick guy since I was a young dude, Sure the “demo” skews older, but not every Buick guy is 65+ (although I’m approaching now! ?). As for Urban, Yeah at least here in Pittsburgh, that still holds up today. Newer Buicks are still common in Pittsburgh’s urban neighborhoods. (actually sedans general do well still in the city generally, the further into the ‘burbs, mostly “CUVs”.)
Me too, I’ve had two, the last when I was in my mid-30’s. Neither bought new, both in great condition, not beaters.
The Enclave was Buick’s last, (ok, most recent?) gasp in regard to being desirable to a relatively younger, upscale demographic, we had three in our neighborhood all bought new belonging to late 30’s, very early 40’s owners with multiple kids. One was replaced by a BMW X5, another a Lexus GX470, and the last one still has hers. Zero other Buicks around here though.
Yes, the Enclave has been the only modern Buick to make it into my family oriented neighborhood. The owners have been around 45 years of age.
Buick, as well as Cadillac and probably Oldsmobile, had a problem in that their customer base was aging. Buick probably still has that problem, which may explain their idiotic advertising. After I had my used 71 Riviera, I liked the automatic climate control, which Buick offered on their upper end models, while Olds dropped it on the downsized 77s.
Automatic climate control seems to be available on nearly everything now.
The vinyl on the rear quarter window looks aftermarket/dealer installed…. Then I see it in the brochure! Yeesh! I could live with it on the roof, Not on that window. Either way, I remember how these looked like “baby” Park Avenues and thought “how cute” If one is upgrading from a Cavalier, why not? Better than silly spending on a similar style Seville!??
I wouldn’t want that quarter panel treatment darkening the interior of my ride! What were they trying to accomplish – simulating how hard it is to see out the aft-end of a typical 2010s or later car? LOL
There’s a burgundy Skylark in my town with the same roof…I didn’t know until now that that was a factory option! Yeesh! It actually makes the Fifth Avenue look good in comparison!
Speaking of Fifth Avenue, the grille as seen clearly on the Buick brochure is something I don’t remember from that era. Looking at it, it screams “upmarketed K-car nameplate” to me.
I want to laugh at this car. A little Skylark playing dress-up to look like a Park Avenue or a Town Car. How cuuuute!
Then my mind went right where James Slick’s went – this looks way too much like a contemporary Seville. Perhaps Nana was a mighty shrewd buyer, getting a new car plus having enough left over to go out on the town when she wants to. I think I would have picked the dress-up Buick too.
Take this Seville, move the now-thicker C-pillar back several inches, and add 6 more inches to the rear end and it would have looked so much better.
Chrysler used the same blanked quarter window trick with its LeBaron and Fifth Avenue models but they worked much better because the C-pillars were centered over the rear wheel and the cars had better proportions.
While the pillar location works better, I always thought the small remaining rear door glass area looked odd on these.
To really fix it, just increase both wheelbase and width by several inches and then open up that blind quarter just a touch. I think this treatment solves every issue with this styling concept. 🙂
While I’d rather spend time in an R body New Yorker than Chrysler’s later effort with this theme, I struggled a bit with was this just a little bit too weird in the big picture? Besides, GM was still selling really good stuff in this category in 1979. Even the giant Continental Town Car was still around.
The small glass area of the rear door glass is an odd proportion.
The one car that I think pulled off the vinyl on the door thing was the M body. The rear door glass area still had a nice proportion, and it was certainly the right car at the right time in the market for Chrysler.
It’s the beautiful New Yorker, circa 1983……………
Cadillac would ape the R body New Yorker in 1988 with the “Premier Roof” option on the Brougham. I thought it was odd to pay extra to make your new Cadillac look like a decade old Chrysler, But it did have a normal frame around the glass, ( The Gen 2 Seville had the R body weirdness on the rear doors already!).
I do think the “M” body pulled off the look the best.
IMO, the Fifth Avenue and LeBaron vinyl tops looked better not because of where the C-pillars were centered, but because the door cutouts were square (okay, trapezoidal) instead of the rounded edge on the Skylark.
Wait – was that the Seville? I thought it was the Skylark.
It would still look better (if less disambiguated from a plainer Aries-Reliant) without the vinyl top.
I would not have believed this was a factory edition if you didn’t show the brochures. It looks for all the world like one of those awful dealer-installed glitz packages.
Agreed. It was a little disconcerting at the time to see cheesy aftermarket stuff move backwards in the pipeline to the OEM level.
Came to post this exact same thing. Yuck.
No doubt this was “egregious brougham” when the market had moved on years earlier. Still, I sort of hate to take this away from Grandma. If she wanted to park one of these outside her condo, who am I to stop her?
Much more imposing than the final generation… goodness those things were ugly, especially in teal.
I liked that teal color….. the first 40 times I saw it. After seeing it 100s of times more, I never want to see it again.
Driving Granny’s Skylark wouldn’t make me suffer too much. Especially if it got me dates.
If I recall correctly, the buff book articles about the new, revamped Skylark featured a car painted either red or that teal color. I don’t remember seeing that many on the road in teal.
Sorry. Should have made myself more clear. It wasn’t just the Skylark, Geeber. That color was everywhere on a lot of makes during the time frame. And in LA where I was living at the time. It got tedious real fast. Like the “chrome yellow” that was so popular for awhile, a fad.
I don’t think even given the dreary color choices we have today that I’d be happy to see teal come back as a paint offering.
Never could figure out how the red accent color fit in with the teal on those 92 & up Skylarks. And then paired with silver lower body. Like mixing plaids and florals: WTF ?
I remember Ford Escorts, Mustangs and Tauruses in teal, along with an occasional W-body Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme and GM F-body.
I believe that Honda also offered it on the Civic coupes for a few years in the early 1990s.
The early 80s Skylark looked like the contemporary Electras, albeit on a very small scale, so it’s only natural the styling should continue in that vein.
The generation pictured here, and the one that followed it, pretty much leaves you with the idea that Buick couldn’t style a small car.
A vinyl roof, with thick roof pillar coverage, and wire wheel covers, all it needs is whitewall tires, too bad they are so difficult to find nowadays.
Howard: my little brother managed to find them for his 86 Olds Calais [formerly mine, then my parent’s ]. In 13″.
Styled OEM aluminum wheels that probably came with white walls originally.
I have no idea how. There’s no telling how sick and twisted for cars he is or for how long. Dead ringer for Jeffrey Dahmer as well.
One of my avatars shows a new 86 Calais with WWs and the same wheels.
One stock clip on the “Golden Girls” has a tan ’86ish Calais in the driveway, with someone opening the driver door. Maybe they all shared the Olds?
I remember that. I think it was Rose’s.
Many young kids here drive either brand new or older Buicks, I wonder why. Maybe because it’s affluent part in Midwest
Just what “brand new Buicks” are these “many young kids” driving? I have something of a hard time believing your statement. But then I know you’re not biased, right? 🙂
I see a few adults around 40-ish in new Encores, which is now Buick’s #1 selling product. But usually middle age drivers, keeping with flow of traffic.
The days of seeing “blue hairs only” going slow in beige Centurys is passed.
One of my childhood friend’s first car of his own was a newish Buick Lacrosse… he got it from his grandmother the summer he graduated high school after she gave up driving.
I don’t remember all that many old ladies driving the N-body cars back in the day. They were more into the Century’s, Regal’s and LeSabres. The N body Buicks were seen more with the secretary and off to college crowd when I was growing up. Perhaps it varied according to location.
I nearly brought one of these last year, but the test ride (the owner wouldn’t let me drive it) dissuaded me. It was the top tier model, loaded with the V-6.
I actually get mad thinking about this car, since it encapsulates how terribly GM had deteriorated through self-inflicted wounds by 1990. For decades, Buick had been a respectable “upper middle” brand with legions of loyal owners. Key to that success was Buick staying relatively current on styling trends, maintaining quality and resale value, thus ensuring a good reputation. But GM threw it all away.
The market for upscale brands was growing in the 1980s, with Europeans and Japanese enticing increasing numbers of affluent American buyers with stylish, up-to-date products that offered good performance and economy. Buick, on the other hand, was peddling stale left-overs and making them even less fashionable than they already were by adding tacky trim. By 1990, the vinyl roof was totally out-of-style, made worse by the vinyl-covered quarter windows aping a look Chrysler had first used a decade earlier. The Skylark itself was a 6-year-old design that had been subpar when new and hadn’t aged well. The whole Buick line-up for 1990 was either old, or mediocre, or both, at a time when the onslaught of modern, desirable imports was shifting into high gear. No wonder the Buick brand was mainly relegated to retirement home duty–only misty associations with great days gone by could entice anyone to bring home one of these. And the collapse from comfortable, quiet status symbol to automotive also-ran for the Geritol set happened in less than a decade. So very sad.
What else ya gonna buy now if you don’t want a Chevy? Pontiac and Olds are gone. Chevy went through a period of cars that seemed to be aimed at folks who absolutely gave up on cars with personality. Plus if you buy local in our town, you have to be “just so” to deal with the GM dealer. They are awful to many people, myself included. Have many tales of customers being told they didn’t have enough money to buy whatever they were looking at. Service dept only wants to do warranty work. Try asking for information on servicing a 2001 Olds. Only one guy there that can remember that far back. Terrible dealership.
I didn’t realize the Skylark went through this generation. I would have assumed it to be a Century or something. I probabl;y wouldn’t have looked twice at it. So boring…?
“What else ya gonna buy now if you don’t want a Chevy?”
GMC
True, GMC is basically a Buick truck line.(Denali being the less “in your face” Escalade).
Call me an old woman then because I like this car. Cleanly styled and compact. Not a family cruiser really, but more of an effective 4 door briefcase that I can throw stuff into the backseat without worry as I head to work.
I prefer the all steel roof as the vinyl roof sullies the clean lines on this car. On the Fifth Avenue it’s ok but lipstick on this bird makes it look terrible, imo.
I liked these when they came out. I’ve always had “older man’s tastes”, appreciating classical design cues, such as extra brightwork, white wall tires, stand-up hood ornaments, vinyl roofs, opera windows, and….. COACH LAMPS (my fav!). I so miss these style features on todays “form follows function” bland blobs. Mind you, many cars today now have overly creased sharp edges, just for the purpose of looking like a concept car (2016 Honda Civic, I’m looking at you.)
Only 20somethings who got new N body Skylarks, that I knew of, got them since they “knew a guy” at Buick dealer, or “dad works at one”*. Local Buick dealers had ad with young woman saying “my father always busy Buicks, so I got a Skylark.
Example: My cousin [when out of college] got an ’86 Skylark, since a neighbor worked at Buick dealer. Got a “family discount”, though to get a ‘fun car’, got the only one they had with a stick, but only available on the “Iron Duke”.
He liked it so much, he traded it in on a 1988 Celica GT in 18 months. He was sick of how “slow” the ‘lark was.
*Another reason he got the Skylark was a female friend from school got one, but got the “Dad discount”.
These Skylarks were rare birds around there. Lots of 20-somethings – particularly young women – did go for the Pontiac Grand Am of this generation. Some young people with small children bought the Oldsmobile Calais. But I can’t remember anyone buying a Skylark.
Grand Am did own the younger market and did better retail. Should have clarified Buick’s ads were aiming at college age group, but I knew of two. 😉
By ’89-’91, most ‘larks were parked at airport rental lots. Along with Calais and Corsicas. The ’92 restyle became another Rental Queen, with fleet only sales for ’98 MY.
“I’m willing to bet the average age of a ’91 Skylark buyer was over 65.”
Now they are 81. Current 65 y/o buyers are mostly in CUV’s.
There is a mint red Skylark parked at my Dad’s senior living complex.
These days, very true. It’s only the very old who were never bitten by the SUV/CUV bug that will always stick with their sedans. It helps that the ride and entry height of sedans isn’t as low as it used to.
I kind of like these Skylarks, but with vinyl roof delete… I actually much prefer the Somerset/Skylark coupe.. I think they’re a sharp little car, especially in T-Type trim and with the amber turn signals on that rear taillight bar…
I actually entertained the idea of buying a Somerset last year that popped up for sale locally… but it had the vinyl roof treatment (with actually comes off better looking on the coupe)… I decided to pass on it.. I ended up getting an 88 Calais International instead…
That looks a lot better than the sedan, Sonic R.
Little bro just sent me a Craig’s List ad for an 89 Calais: Iron Duke/ Tech 4 and….. 5 speed manual. 195,000 miles. AC retrofit to R 134 A. Scabby paint [the then new EPA mandated water based stuff, surface rust from the AZ sun]. Looks like a heap, but the interior looks brand new.
Someone maintained this car, mechanically.
I’m tempted. $1500 to get the whole N Body experience again. sarc/not sarc
$1500 is like 5 car payments. If it keeps you off the lot for a year, you’re ahead!
Oh I forgot, Buick N body did nameplate “musical chairs”
85: Somerset Regal, 2 door only avail.
86: Skylark 4 door; Somerset 2 door
87+: All Skylarks
Those Skylarks are a very sad reminder of the many inferior products GM was spitting out of their factories back then. Chrysler and Ford were no exception either. Sad, sad, sad…
This was GM’s era of slap stick comedy of automobile design!
What a great find, Brendan! I was just thinking to myself about when the last time I had seen any Skylark of this vintage (in any condition).
Of course, where I grew up (Flint, Michigan – former Buick World HQ), there were always a disproportionately high percentage of Buicks running around.
Your title made me laugh and think of those “Foxy Grandma On Board” custom, front license plates. ??
Cool find Brendan! I never knew this “luxury model” existed. By 1990 I had lost interest in these cars so I really didn’t notice them anymore. I do remember seeing a lot of them with that roof treatment. It is the grille I never noticed!!
Once again, by the time these were perfected and reliable GM discontinued them. Typical!
I almost forgot – a good friend of my Moms bought one of the first Somersets in 1985. It was silver with red cloth seats. I thought the dashboard was so futuristic – and then I looked and looked again – no A/C! She special ordered it like that as she said A/C gave her a headache!
As Kadeko noted above (in 2017) the grille on these looks more Mopar K-Car than Buick Division. Don’t remember ever seeing one of these Skylarks (or maybe I did and just assumed it was something else).
To me this is just one more example of how GM mixed and matched “styling” elements among its divisions in the late 70’s and through the 80’s, with no real regard for differentiation or the history of any particular brand.
These cars were the Cocker Spaniels of the GM fleet. Suitable for folks without kids and who liked to dress up those porch geese in little seasonal fashions.
It’s reached the point in our town where one can’t generalize about Buick drivers anymore. You may see a grandma, or a granddaughter or grandson. At least for an ‘80’s or ‘90’s model. New Buicks? Tourists in rentals. And there are still about a half dozen rear wheel drive Buicks: a few Riv’s and a handful of B/C/G bodies. I’d guess those are enthusiasts.
Honestly the ad makes me mad. “Standard power front discs”. Really?! Were there any cars in 1986 that didn’t have discs up front?
“Full carpeting”?!
Bought one new in 1989, red, with red interior 4-door with the Quad4 motor, automatic and wire wheel covers. Took it to Germany while stationed there. Upgraded the tires before shipping it over. Pegged the 85mph speedometer on the Autobahns with ease. However fast I was running, this Skylark had no issues with either keeping up on the Autobahn or driving through some of the twisties and mountains in Germany for over two years. And surprisingly, the locals loved the looks of the car.
When Buick was #3 or #4 in the 50s, it was the coasts and the cities that bought the extra Buicks.
I did know a female [22 y/o] College grad who got a Skylark in 1986, friend of my cousin, but she got it from family connections. And, my cousin himself, [when 23] got an ’86 Skylark 2 door with a manual trans, with Iron Duke. Liked it so much, was traded in for a 1988 Celica.