(first posted 12/20/2018) Believe it or not, this is my second post at CC on a J-Body Buick Skyhawk spotted in my neighborhood within the past five years or so, and also my second featuring this particular backdrop. What made this scene so noteworthy when I had snapped this picture was that this small Buick would have been close to thirty years old at that time, as it sported the original nose cone featured on the first, 1982 – ’86 models.
Bearing the Buick tri-shield, this car would have been considered a more premium subcompact, even if it was dynamically inferior to some (most) of its German and Japanese rivals when new. This setting, in front of local fast-food spot Sam’s Chicken & Ribs, got me thinking about the parallels between little joints like Sam’s that dot my neighborhood in abundance, and my recollections of secondhand Skyhawks, themselves.
I’ve just used the word “abundance”, and for a long time ending around fifteen to twenty years ago, many of these Skyhawks were on the road as used cars. They were the third-most popular J-cars when new, after the Chevy Cavalier and Pontiac Sunbird, and ahead of the Olds Firenza and Cadillac Cimarron. Sam’s has long been a go-to for me after the occasional night of weekend revelry with friends, and the fries there are just the perfect combination of thick, salty, greasy deliciousness. Having said that, eating (wolfing) those fries is diametrically opposed to my otherwise healthy mindset when it comes to eating, so Sam’s has rarely been my first choice for eating out on weekends, great-tasting though it is.
Along these same lines, I wonder how many car buyers relegated to the secondhand market went onto used car lots chanting to themselves, “I’ve just gotta have a Skyhawk.” I’m sure they were okay as used cars, and their styling had held up nicely even without any noticeable exterior changes even as late as four years in, but outside of the relatively rare T-Type, Sport/Hatch and S/E variants, I imagine most used Skyhawks ended up finding new homes simply because their buyers needed to drive something, and the price was right. Like the fries at Sam’s, used Skyhawks were cheap, abundant, effective, and good enough. One could do much worse, in either example.
The word “price” brings me to my last point. Many of these cars were listed in the classified ads in the Flint Journal newspaper when I was looking for a different used car to replace the ’84 Ford Tempo my parents bequeathed to me (that I didn’t want). I remember many of them being priced very, let’s say, competitively at the time. Workaday examples of most J-Cars seemed to hold their residual value as well as a paper cup holds water after fifteen minutes on a hot day. (Wait… did I just write a Jason Shafer-esque metaphor? I must spend way too much time on CC.)
I suppose that’s part of what makes eating at Sam’s (and at places like Sam’s) such a great proposition: if I’m going to eat greasy, delicious fast food that’s not helping me maintain my fitness goals, at least it’s inexpensive, and so even if my metabolism is cursing at me the next morning, my wallet is thanking me. Sometimes, there’s something to be said for feeling good about going with the most cost-effective option.
Edgewater, Chicago, Illinois.
Monday, October 27, 2014.
“J” cars have gotten quite scarce, even here in rust free Az, Likely the heat and sun effect on the soft parts and paint have been a factor. Oddly, would love to find the Pontiac version of this coupe.
Back in 1996 a neighbor had a burnt orange Pontiac J2000 coupe. Rare even then in my area of NJ. Thought it was really neat but it was a total junker for her. Haven’t seen one since.
46 mpg highway?! Maybe going downhill in neutral!
I bought an ’83 Pontiac 2000 coupe, with a five speed manual. It had the single OHC 1.8 l Opel derived four banger, with throttle body injection. I got 39 mpg highway, and 31 mpg city. The EPA ratings for the car were unattainable by me.
Burnt Umber!
Though I am no fan of any J-car, I do think the Skyhawk was arguably the best of the “first batch” of the subpar little cars. The vaguely Camaro-esque front end looked clean and modern (and rather surprising on a Buick). The interior was very Buick-like, but the top trims were quite nice for the class and seemed like a good contemporary take on upscale interiors. In fact I’d argue that the Limited trim on the Buick was nicer than the Cimarron interior.
Interestingly, Buick did pretty well with its first tranche of FWD small cars–the X-Body Skylark was a best seller, and proved that customers were ready for Buick virtues in a smaller package. The Skyhawk kinda, sorta continued that trend.
“….and proved that customers were ready for Buick virtues in a smaller package.”
Customers MIGHT have been ready, but GM/Buick never had much success with small cars after the 1st FWD Skylark and this generation of Skyhawk.
The Skyhawk seems like one of the first examples of GM corporate really bungling up the Sloan ladder that had been the crux of GM’s success for so long.
The problem was Cadillac dealers clamoring for a small, BMW-competitor. GM saw dollar signs and offered up the disastrous, thinly-disguised Cimarron, relegating the Buick down a notch.
Imagine, instead, if GM had simply optioned the Skyhawk up into Cimarron territory. Seems like they could have more easily sold the public on a Buick as a luxury Cavalier than a Cadillac.
And Cadillac could have got an X-car instead. Wait, that would probably have killed them stone-dead. An A-car, then…..
It’s interesting that Buick sold more X- and J- cars than did sister division Oldsmobile, even though Buick was higher on the Sloan brand ladder, and Oldsmobile as a whole regularly outsold Buick.
One would think that buyers would not associate Buick with smaller cars.
I wonder if part of the reason was that a fair number of older women bought Buicks even in those days, and they liked the idea of a small, nicely trimmed, easy-to-park car that still bore the Buick badge.
It’s an interesting point. Young women were one of the primary reasons the original Mustang was such a hit. A large percentage of Mustangs had the six-cylinder/automatic powertrain which went to young women much more concerned with an easy to drive, sporty-looking car than one with V8-level performance.
Older women seem to be a market demographic that’s often completely overlooked or ignored. Maybe there just aren’t that many of them that buy cars to warrant any kind of concentrated effort. The failed 1955-56 Dodge La Femme comes to mind.
OTOH, it’s worth noting that Chrysler didn’t really put a lot of effort into marketing the La Femme package, either. Maybe if they had, sales would have been good enough to continue looking at the older female auto consumer and other manufacturers would have done the same.
I’ve never been a dan of that front end. It doesn’t seem to fit with the rest of the car’s buttoned-down appearance. It looks oddly grafted on in the feature pic.
I think it would work on something other than a Buick. But then, Buick didn’t seem to know what it was in those days.
You know when I saw that shot of the Skyhawk, the lyrics for Genesis’s Man on the corner popped into my head. It seems fitting for this car:
“See the lonely man there on the corner,
What he’s waiting for, I don’t know,
But he waits everyday now.
He’s just waiting for something to show.”
This fits, Leon!
I remember driving a Pontiac J2000 in about 1982 or so as a rental. It was a snowy day and the thing slid all over the place. It might have been me however being unfamiliar with the driving dynamics; or it might have been that rental cars rarely if ever get fitted with snow tires. It might also have been due to a few beverages consumed that night, of which I ought to have known better.
A friend owned one of these in fastback form in a really bright shade of red. It was a manual and he reported 40 mpg on the highway.
Here’s a question I have for those who paid attention at the time, did these J cars ever command a brand premium on the used market when they were only a few years old(under 5 years)? Or did they all instantly level out into generic “J-car” where a Skyhawk or Cimmaron wouldn’t command any noticable premium over an equalivelent condition Cavalier in that time? (as was the case as far back as I can remember, and with the Sunfires/Cavaliers of my childhood).
I always imagined even the most shystery of used car salesmen had a rough time pitching the Sloanian brand hierarchy between J-car brands to cheap transportation seeking customers back then.
By the mid 80’s, all J cars were just ‘compacts’ for entry buyers, just pick which brand/grille you liked the most. Cimmaron and Firenza flopped, and faded away.
Skyhawks seemed to sell fairly well for a few years, but fell off by 1988-89, and A & N body cars got more “Buick for a Chevy price” shoppers. Buick moved up into ‘mid lux’, by 1990’s.
That’s the other thing I meant to ask but I think you basically answered it. Were they all priced closely new as well?
Haven’t seen a Skyhawk in maybe a decade or so.
Pre 2000’s J cars are pretty much gone around here. But, I seem to see more of the last ones [2002-05], with the extra plastic on rear bumpers, than 2005-09 Cobalts. The GM ignition recall seemed to regulate many Cobalts/Ions to junk yards. Maybe BHPH lots didn’t want the hassle/liability?
Now that I think about it, the Cobalts have basically disappeared from around here, too. But there were still a fair number of ancient J-cars trundling along until fairly recently.
While I appreciate some aspects of the J-Cars, this is my least favorite one. Even as a kid I thought the front clip didn’t match the rest of the car. I don’t care for quad lights when they aren’t touching one another. They just look off to me. The profile with the alloys looks okay, but still the back and front look like different cars. Of course I appreciate seeing any old car because it is one less CUV-thingy in its place. I prefer many things over a CUV. A giraffe in a hat is one thing. A half-eaten cheeseburger, a broken Rubiks Cube, a vat of BHT, and a Buick Skyhawk I like more than CUVs.
I was in HS when the J-car was launched–with much fanfare.
I liked Pontiacs. I wanted to like the J-car.
But it was over before it started. Overpriced (priced like an Accord) and Overweight (it weighed as much, if not more than, an X-car 5-door hatchback, which had more room).
It was underpowered and undercontented.
I conceded they were not lemons. Over team, GM cheapened them even more and dropped the price, and their sales increased (killing the X-car helped). The wagon variant was clever, if slow and burdened with all the aforementioned liabilities.
The arrogance of General Motors try to sell to these underdeveloped cars at such high prices is truly astounding!
I’m pleased to report things are better now. GM’s products are no longer underdeveloped. They may lack in some areas, but they lead in others. Overall, I think GM’s cars are competitive and more.
However, they remain overpriced for what they are. Buick’s Lacrosse got good marks in Consumer Reports; the Impala, great marks. But the Lacrosse is priced like a BMW (and the Impala is too, if you get the V6 with leather and toys that CR raved about).
That’s a little rich. The sales numbers show it. And the plants making these cars won’t be doing so next year. Very sad.
This seemed like such a good idea in 1982 when fuel prices were high and the economy was bad. This was kind of like a modern-day 62 Buick Special with its V6. There was nothing really Buick-y about that car either, but it fleshed out the line. This car was the natural next step, and at least had a very nice level of interior trim to go with the generic mechanicals.
And I can imagine that Flint was lousy with these as used cars. I don’t recall seeing nearly as many in Indianapolis, even though we had a big GM presence in the area at the time. The lower brands seemed to be more common around here. Buick customers were buying Centuries by the boatload, though.
The Oldsmobile Firenza was the real rare bird. One didn’t see many of them even when they were new.
You saw Jennifer Spencer ( the late Sondra Locke) driving an Olds Firenza in Clint Eastwood’s “Sudden Impact”.
These weren’t bad-looking by any stretch, but of the debut J-cars I found the J2000/Sunbird most appealing. However, when the refreshed Skyhawk design debuted in ’86, the hidden-lamp version became the best-looking “J” by far. At least in my humble opinion! Nice spot on finding one of any type though–it’s been a long time since I’ve laid eyes on a Skyhawk.
Maybe because they didn’t last that long?
In 1984 my sister bought a Sunbird as I think the only car they ever bought new. Later that same year (after his 1978 Caprice Wagon was in an accident) my Father bought the same model (just a different color).
Though my sister was lucky in that her car lasted a reasonable amount of time, my Father’s car ended up being the worst car he ever had (in his opinion, of course). They bought it new and with less than 1000 miles on it the timing belt went. Despite it going for regular maintenance it needed a replacement engine by the time it had 50k miles on it…they gave it to my youngest sister to take to college, and she had numerous problems with it, from the headlight switch to leaky power steering hoses…then the engine threw a rod through the block, all within 84k miles (and with an engine that had been replaced at 50K miles, the 2nd engine only had 34k on it.
Maybe my Father’s car was a fluke, like I mentioned, my sister’s Sunbird was better, but not much of a sample size. But of course it turned off a generation of buyers (my sister never did buy another GM, she’s gone now, but turned to Japanese cars at that point)…my Father though did go back to GM, and had 2 Impalas as his last cars, he’s gone too now. To me these were part of the deadly sin of making cars that the buyer would have felt foolish buying (at least within a few years) and of course nobody wants to feel that way..so GM’s market share really started going south within a few years of this.
All the J cars are gone from Atlanta, except for the very late models. The cavaliers and sunfires seem to have outlasted the Cobalts and Ions as well.
Part of the reason for the brand engineering GM caught so much flak for was because there was no way to foretell which of a particular brand would sell well. In 1979, the J car was thought to be the large family car of the future after the X car and so each brand got one. The Cavalier did well, the J2000 did well, the Skyhawk did less so and the Firenza the least. But the Pontiac version of the X car sold poorly and then the Monte Carlo and Grand Prix never did as well as the Cutlass/Regal.
The skyhawk/Firenza were much more nicely trimmed inside than the average Cavalier. The base prices were not that much different, but the interior materials used were better and if you wanted options, you really had to go to the Buick/Olds level. An upmarket Cavalier might have A/C, Automatic, and radio, but the Buick/olds versions would have tilt/cruise, the cassette player, rear window defogger, alloy wheels, and a few other possibilities, plus the Buick/Olds dealers often offered better customer service. Used prices weren’t that much different among the various brands.
@ geeber, these were in fact the perfect car for the older wife who wanted a Buick but didn’t need the Electra wagon any more or was now a widow and George always had buicks so she still wanted a Buick but felt more comfortable in something smaller. I don’t know why that didn’t work out for the Firenza, perhaps more younger people were buying Oldsmobiles and went for the Cutlass over the Firenza (which wouldn’t have been all that far off in price once comparably optioned).
Everyone, thanks for reading and for the thoughtful perspectives left in the comments! For the record, I don’t recall having seen *either* Skyhawk I’ve written about in the neighborhood in at least a few years.
Living close to Loyola University’s North Shore campus, I can imagine this might be due to either car / both cars being owned by students at the time I photographed them.
Joe, I’m as pleased as punch you gave me a shout-out.
These were always rare on the ground in the places I frequented back in the day. Nice to see one still doing its thing, even if that was almost five years ago.
I had an ’84 Skyhawk wagon which cracked its block in around ’86 (replaced under extended warranty). Like a lot of GM FWD cars of the time, it tended to eat front brakes rapidly, and also the front tires if you didn’t rotate them. Notwithstanding, I found it to be a comfortable and capable little wagon.
I never understood why GM didn’t use the Olds/Buick dash for the Cimarron. If you got the full gauge package, you had a nice set of gauges in four round dials with an overall look that was already a little BMW-esque.
The Skyhawk’s nose is one of the most gorgeous if compared to the earlier versions of all J-Cars. In Brazil there are still many J-cars running everywhere, although his 1.8 and 2.0 are terrible gas guzzling, they are unbreakable.
Gustavo, that is an attractive looking car. The front reminds me of the Acura Integra. In my opinion, that front integrates with the rest of the car very well and would have been the best-looking J-car had it been available in the U.S. Maybe it didn’t meet front end safety requirements or something. Even the wheels look good on it.
It really reminds the Integra, in person it is also very seemed to the ’94 Accord. Probably that’s the longest nose a J-car ever had, it use to scratch speed bumps all the time. That’s version is from 1991-96, a refresh to compete with the local VW Quantum which got in Brazil the same long nose of the Audi 100.
Huge Buick homer, huge Chicago homer, so this pushes all the right buttons.
Plus I can always tell a Joseph Dennis photo before even reading the title or byline.
Thanks for this one!
I took these in Mt. Vernon ILL today. The owner said it was a 86. The interior looked mint in Blue Cloth.
Rear