(first posted 12/13/2011) What were the sabre tooth cat or dinosaurs really like? We’ll never know what it was like to actually encounter one in the wild. We can re-create them up to a point, and our youthful imaginations can fill in the rest, but it’s never going to be quite the same. Kind of like the Wildcat: a near-mythical creature that’s difficult to fully grasp unless one actually bought one, and just who was that exactly? Who would have actually bought what amounted to a Buick Electra with a veneer of sportiness? I’d ask the man who owned one, but I’m afraid he’s probably extinct too.
The whole premise of the up-scale full-sized sporty car was a fleeting premise indeed. That is, by the time it finally came into being. The original 1953 Wildcat was one of so many GM Motorama wet dream-mobiles. Every division trotted out seemingly endless variations on the format that started with the grandaddy of them all, the Buick Y-Job: “sporty” two-passenger roadsters. That was obviously the car of the future, even if the front end looked like it belonged on a six-passenger sedan.
Since the mid-fifties were the peak reproductive years that spawned the baby boomers, it stands to reason that two-passenger roadsters would be the ideal for a dream car. Dream on indeed, while schlepping the kids to the pool in an elderly Plymouth all-steel wagon.
When GM finally built its first roadster, the Corvette, it quickly realized that the gap between dream and reality was a lot bigger than imagined; and they almost pulled the plug. If Buick was going to really build a Wildcat, it was going to have to be a lot more in the realm of wishful thinking than a genuine dream car.
And so it came, in 1962, along with that host of similar soon-to be extinct stablemates: the Olds Starfire and Pontiac Grand Prix. Well, the GP cleverly evolved into something rather different, but its role was taken over even more briefly by the oddly-named Pontiac 2+2. If ever a car should have been named 3+3, that was it.
And here he is, our mythical Wildcat owner, shown buying flowers for his long suffering wife. Fortunately, his newest able secretary is along to help him make all the right choices.
The 1962 through 1964 Wildcats shared the LeSabre’s 123″ wheelbase, and were of course a higher performance and higher trim version of that bedrock of upper-middle class accountant-mobile. Buick’s “nailhead” V8s in 401 and 425 cubic made sure that it lived up to some semblance of its name.
But in 1965, the Wildcat adopted the 126″ C-body wheelbase of the Electra 225. I know that the black 3-Series convertible isn’t quite lined up in the back with the Buick, but this picture does give some degree of idea what a big car this was: 220 inches, to be precise.
The GM divisions played all sorts of funny little games with their B and C bodies. Pontiac stretched the ass-end on their long-wheelbase Star Chief and Bonneville, as pointed out so painfully here. But as best as I can tell, Buick added its extra three inches in the front end, unless my eyes are playing tricks on me. I’m pretty sure though. Either way, the Wildcat was hardly lithe.
The 1964 GM A-Body intermediates upset the apple cart when it came to performance cars, so making the ’65 Wildcat even longer and heavier was hardly an issue. It sold well enough, and the profit margins were as big as it was. What’s not to like?
Buick’s styling in 1965 was fairly restrained, given the new Coke-bottle corporate theme. But Buick’s strong horizontal themes rather diminished that somewhat, and the hips just weren’t as big. Muted, understated; just what Buick buyers were happy enough to snap up. The only ambitious aspect was the grille, a remarkable three-dimensional affair, with lots of texture.
Exemplifying the taming down of GM’s big sporty cars were the interiors. Whereas the Wildcat and its ilk were practically defined by the first-time introduction of buckets and consoles on big cars, that period was brief. Within a few years, that was strictly optional. 3+3 seating was back.
Plenty of room in the rear, obviously. Just don’t take it out on the freeway with the top down, if anyone’s riding there, unless they’re into category 5 hurricane-force winds.
Yes, as kids growing up in the sixties, the Wildcat was almost real, yet not quite. We knew they existed, and occasionally saw them, and certainly fantasized over them. But it was never our parents or their friends that drove Wildcats. Must have lived in the wrong neighborhood. But here’s the living proof that someone did.
Within a few years, the Wildcat was gone, replaced in 1971 by the Centurion. Which reflected a brief muddle on Buick’s part, as that was probably an even scarcer car than the Wildcat. And much more vague in its purpose. The gap between the LeSabre and Electra was soon shrunk anyway.
So what are we left with? Memories of time spent behind one, tooling down I-80 much faster than its chassis, tires and brakes were really designed for. Yes, the Wildcat had some fangs under that long hood. The new 430 cubic inch engine was as fine as any of its kind, and GM finally put a “normal” automatic behind it. How fast would a Wildcat go, flat out? Probably mighty close to 130. Care to find out for yourself?
It’s ironic that GM’s cars finally got some decent handling and brakes just as engine power was going down the toilet. But then evolution isn’t always symmetrical, and sometimes results in freaks of nature, evolutionary dead-ends, whose days are short lived.
I think the Wildcat’s biggest issue is that, unlike the Grand Prix and Starfire, it didn’t stay a “sporting body only” specialty car when it replaced all but the Invicta Wagon in 1963. And it didn’t have the same top down halo effect as other name debasement like Impala.
Although, I have to say, the Wildcat is less visually bulky than the same year Grand Prix, especially when that car is festooned with fender skirts.
Yes, these cars look sleeker and smaller in person than you’d expect. Maybe the camera adds 500 lbs!
I think the Buicks did the 1965 Hip bloom the best. The Pontiacs, being the pioneers of the hips were a bit too buxom, Chevrolet still tried to tack on too many doodads and chrome on their 1965 cars, and Oldsmobiles, especially the B-body the Hood looks a bit too long. Although I’m still a sucker for The Starfire Coupe roof….
Although I think I’d take a LeSabre with the most powerful 300 V8 for it’s slightly tidier dimensions over a Wildcat.
I would rather have the Wildcat !
There aren’t as many of them out there, the 401 Nailhead is all the engine I need. I’ve always wanted the odd car instead of the one everyone else has.
Also there are no seatbelts or any sign of them.
I noticed that right away with these pics. In person the car definitely comes across as smaller, almost A-body sized. They were as big as the Bel Air, I guess, but the sleeker styling made them seem a lot smaller than they really were.
Growing up, one of my dad’s co-workers had a ’64 Wildcat that could keep up with Dad’s beloved hot rod ’48 Ford pickup, so Wildcat was sort of a revered name. BTW, it’s not hard to see the appeal — hot rod performance in a big, cushy, cruiser. What’s not to love?
There wasn’t a Wildcat made I would kick out of my driveway today, but the ’64 was definitely the pinnacle, IMO.
Also unlike the GP and Starfire, the Wildcat was the only one that included a four-door in the lineup.
I recall being fascinated by that very fact as a child, though in hindsight it was almost certainly a costly marketing error. I never understood why, but back then wagons and 4 doors were considered “uncool”. But then, so was I. No surprise then I always thought wagons and 4 doors were as cool as anything else.
I happened upon a 4-door ’66 Wildcat parked curbside a few years back, and wasn’t sure to make of it, as I hadn’t thought it was available with 4 doors. But, sure enough, it was legit.
Yup it is !!!
Here’s my 1965 !
The W-shaped, or “three-dimensional,” fronts and rears of GM’s 1965 full-size cars are quite interesting to look at today. There is more detail on the front of that Wildcat than there is on an entire Toyota Camry!
+1
I wonder if these hood Ws inspired the Mazda Rx-4
Wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case. For many years, Japanese automakers imitated American styling.
I suppose it’s possible the in-house designers had seen pictures of the ’65-’66 GM B- and C-bodies and decided it was a good theme, although I figured the second-generation Luce/RX-4 was more intended to split the difference between the blunt-nose Capella/616/RX-2 and the Savanna/RX-3, with its protruding center grille. (Also, as designed, only the fastback coupes originally had the pointy nose — the Series 1 Luce/RX-4 sedans and wagons had flat noses.)
Go- or no-go, this car is still cool, like so many others of that era. After the 1967 models, however, I down-sized in my tastes, preferring the Cutlasses, GTOs, Chevelles, Torinos, ‘Cudas, Camaros, Novas, Darts, etc.
Big just got too big, and in 1971, they blew up even bigger! By that time, I was strictly a compact – i.e: Nova, Gremlin, Dart guy.
Looking at the back seat interior photo and seeing the rear window crank handle – it’s funny how we take power windows for granted on “cheap” cars, and this was an upscale ride!
I’ve always thought the ’65-’66 Buicks, particularly the Wildcat, were very attractive cars. Too big for my tastes, but they look good, and the amount of differentiation from the contemporary Pontiac and Olds models (which also look good) is kind of an object lesson in the right way to do body sharing.
As for the rationale, well… Buick had gotten a lot of mileage in the early fifties out of a curious approach to the B-/C-body split, offering Roadmaster and Super in both B- and C-body versions and what I assume was a “get a really big car for the same money as last year’s slightly less really big car” strategy. So, maybe somebody figured the same trick would boost sales of the Wildcat.
Furthermore, the full-size bucket-seat sporty cars had to some extent been a hasty attempt to snare some Thunderbird business (compare the list prices and sales of the T-Bird and cars like the Olds Ninety-Eight and Buick Invicta and you’ll see why there was concern). By 1965, the Riviera was pretty well established as Buick’s specialty car, so they may also have felt there was less need to try to position the Wildcat as a quasi-sporty model, particularly with the advent of the A-body Skylark Gran Sport for 1965 (although it never did nearly as well as the GTO).
Trivia time.
(Some) Wildcats were built in Canada.
Naturally, John Diefenbaker owned one.
Probably slightly OT but Chevy crew cabs from the 80s actually had 3+3 badging on the C pillar.
Yes, I remember that, I also remember crew cabs with no back seat had “Bonus Cab” badges.
The 1969-70 Wildcats were tame, trimmed nearly like LeSabres. The Centurions were a ‘what is that again?’ named cars, changed to LeSabre Custom eventually. The ‘sporty’ big cars got squeezed out by the ‘broughams’ and the mid sizers by the 70’s.
It’s interesting that, by 1969, GM’s big cars had abandoned all pretense of sportiness. The Impala Super Sport version was de-emphasized by Chevrolet (and gone for 1970), and the full-size Pontiacs, Oldsmobiles and Buicks were anything but sporty. Fastback rooflines were completely gone. The performance and “youth” market had clearly shifted to the intermediates.
Meanwhile, Ford offered handsome “tunnel back” fastbacks in the full-size Ford and Mercury lines, but they were gone for 1971. If I recall correctly, they weren’t as popular as the “formal roof” versions.
I think that by 1970, big and sporty was a sales loser. GM probably caught this first, and continued to emphasize the hot mid size cars. Ford was backing away (although the Maurauder and the XL were still there) and good old laggard Chrysler was still selling the 300 Hurst. I think that the LTD showed the way and brougham-lust was the way of the future.
Interesting to note then Plymouth continued to offer the sporty Sport Fury GT for one final lap for 1971.
It’s unfortunate that the market for fullsize sporty/muscle cars was dead by 1970, because that’s one thing that Chrysler did very well. Between the Chrysler 300, Dodge Monaco and Plymouth Sport Fury they had the whole field covered.
While there was the Sport Fury GT and 300 Hurst, there wasn’t any Polara or Monaco R/T or otherwise sporty full-size Dodge, was there? Very strange, considering that Dodge was Chrysler’s main performance car division.
Polara R/T, well now I am having trouble picturing that. I remember big dull and bloated. It could have used some help to be sure.
Definitely engine donors…
Aside from the sporty aspect, the generation that comprised the main target market for Buick and Olds at that point had never been particularly keen on fastbacks, anyway — witness the postwar decline of GM’s “sedanet” fastback theme.
I like this car. But then, I have a thing for big sporty-ish convertibles. I have a hard time deciding whether I like these or the 67-68 better. The front end of this car is almost jewel-like.
It was cars like this that made the ad slogan “Wouldn’t You Really Rather Have A Buick?” a real question. One quick drive between this and a 65 Impala and I think that we would all pick the Wildcat.
Damn……… the two gauge pods in the dash look awfully low, even for cars of that era.
My first thought was that that dashboard would look at home in a pickup truck. It doesn’t look very stylish nor particularly well laid-out.
The low gages remind me of a Kenworth truck. You can tell that it most likely looked good on paper and was approved for production untested. Once in production the first comment about it was “uh oh”.
Well I have a 65 Wildcat and the gauges are what drew me to that car.
Mine is the 4 door ht.
My uncle bought a new Wildcat coupe in ’65 or ’66. It was that dull non-metallic beige you normally saw on the base Special. I think he got a good deal on it. The coupe did look better than the convert you have pictured, but the whole idea of a “sporty” huge car was lost on me. My father (the engineer) had a ’66 Toronado, so both brothers were into that style of car after years of station wagons.
“And here he is, our mythical Wildcat owner, shown buying flowers for his long suffering wife. Fortunately, his newest able secretary is along to help him make all the right choices.”
Well played, Paul. And we can assume Mr. WASPington slipped a five-spot to Guido the Florist so he’d keep his trap shut.
Ah, a vehicle close to my heart. My father had a blue ’66 4-door hardtop, bought used privately in 1967 from someone he knew who bought a new ’67. He drove it until ’77, when I was six and the car was too rusty to keep driving.
He loved that car. Had the smaller “Wildcat 445” engine in it, single 4bbl carb, got 18 mpg. When my parents were married they drove it from Wisconsin to Disneyland, and it went up the hills with no trouble at all. I imagine that’s why people liked them. I don’t think that more traditional buyers were sold yet on the quality of midsize cars, and a Wildcat like this was probably a much faster and nicer car than the LeSabre. I don’t think the Wildcat was the dodo bird, anyway – the sporty full size car died out for a long while, but I think the opposite is true today – a big car these days is expected to be sporty, not Brougham. The Lucerne/DTS were the last of the fussy-styling big cars and they’re dead now. Today’s 300, Lacrosse, Taurus are the spiritual descendants of this Wildcat. Even the chrome fender trim on this ’65 reminds me of the fender vents on a new Taurus.
My only real memory of the Wildcat was when I was about 18 months old, riding in the front seat, mom driving and my aunt in the back to go shopping, and I decided to let myself out of the car while we were doing 25 down a city street. They just barely caught me before I fell out. Guess that’s why they make kids ride in car seats nowadays……
It’s big bad and beautiful and I love it. As a graduate of Miller City High School (HOME OF THE WILDCATS) I always wanted one of these in high school for a dose of instant cool.
My late Uncle Joe had a light blue ’67 Wildcat that I think he bought new but when I saw it, it was stored in their barn out back and it was still in decent shape, just not driven and I think it even still ran too.
These were nice looking cars, especially the 67-68’s.
All I can really comment here is that my parents were the type to drive Wildcats. My father bought my mother a beautiful new ’63 convertible for Valentines day in February of 1963. It was bright red with a white interior and top. I learned to drive on that one. They sold it in 1969 and bought another new Wildcat, this one was a coupe in yellow. And yes, Wildcats were ridiculous if compared to today’s well engineered rides. But that was then and this is now and now, I would be happy to have either one of them on hand for a nice weekend drive with no particular place to go. My all time favorite Wildcat is the ’67 coupe so this has been a good week for me on Curbside Classics.
If I were more of a Buick fan, this car would probably appeal to me. It’s almost the same length as a 1966 Chrysler. This one is similarly trimmed to my Newport convertible: bench seats with fold-down armrest in front, column-shift automatic, manual crank windows. My convertible is a Newport, but was optioned-up with the 383 4 bbl. that was standard in the 300. Whoever ordered these cars new appears to have wanted a fullsize convertible with some performance, without spending any extra money on other options.
Possibly the original buyers of these cars were actually women. When I was shopping for my convertible, I considered buying a 4-door hardtop instead because convertibles are much more expensive for a car in similar condition. My wife insisted that I buy a ‘vert though. Before we had kids, she had more seat time in my convertible than I did! Every summer she would go on day trips with her friends in it. If we go somewhere together in the ‘vert, she usually drives.
Look at the size of that trunk.
It would hold a veritable tribe of squawking vile spawn so that Ma and Pa could ride in comfort and peace.
Dang, that’s my first car! Well, actually mine was a four-door, same gold (ish) color but with a white top. Cloth interior. Bought from an older guy in my neighborhood for the princely sum of $350 with about 60K on the clock. Had the 425ci, IIRC and I can still recall the locomotive-like torque of the thing. Definitely would go much faster than was safe for the four balding snow tires it was shod with when I got it.
Unfortunately, rust-through around the windshield meant that it rained inside almost as hard as out, not to mention the decided scent of mildew from the permanently damp upolstery, but for the year or two I had it, that beast performed the sort of heroics only one’s first car, with recollections filtered through 30-odd intervening years, could perform.
I think 1965 was Bill Mitchell’s year. A friend of ours has a ’65 Wildcat 2-door hardtop that he takes to shows now and then. White with black interior, with Buick road wheels and blackwalls. I think the hardtop, with its semi-fastback styling, may edge out the convertible for looks.
My dad had a 65 Wildcat convertible back in the late 60’s as one of a series of cars during his obsessive car-trading days. Red with white top and interior, bucket seats and console the size of a water ski, Buick road wheels. I thought it was the most beautiful car I had ever seen. I think it had the 425 4bbl, might have been the 2x4bbl but I doubt it. To hear him tell it, it would definitely peg the 120mph speedo.
Ah, maybe someday! But only after I find a mint white 63 Riviera with red leather interior…
I have a 65 Wildcat that I am looking to sell. Red w/ black leather, 4 door hardtop.
pryorrobertson@comcast.net if interested.
The 1965 Wildcat is one of my favorites, and I crave one. The problem is, when I look at this Curbside Classic, I am seeing a 1966 Wildcat. Do some homework and you will see that I am right. Bryce or not.
My Partner has a 66 Wildcat convert for sale…
looking to buy a Buick wildcat what kind of price
Mine’s a Estate car, 36,000 original miles.
She’s near perfect 401 Nailhead purrs like a kitten.
Totally Unmolested !
It would be around 15 K to get me to release her !!!
Well you would be mistaken. She’s a 65 just like mine only mine’s maroon.
I also have a 66 Skylark 4 door ht. That one’s for sale.
That’s where your mistaken.
Here is my 1965 Wildcat
I always thought the 65 and 66 Wildcats were the prettiest ones. Its interesting that the feature car has wind up windows and optional cornering lights. Cornering lights were all over the place in Buick and Cadillac land in the 60s and 70s. There was a Wildcat GS for 66 model year. Ive seen a few of them. I think they all had the 425 in them.
My 65 has the 401 Nailhead with 445 ft pounds of torque
I’ve always liked the 1963 Wildcat, the 1964 Wildcat, the 1967 Wildcat, the 1968 Wildcat, the 1969, and 1970 Wildcat.
The 1960s Wildcats were nice cars, but somewhat misnamed – they were more soft, overfed tabbies rather than wild beasts. Perhaps the car should be named Buick Garfield.
I think the car is very attractive especially the grill. I wonder if the name was a little off. Can you really imagine the guy in the ad buying the flowers really telling his wife or his coworkers that he just bought a Wildcat, does not seem to match the image he is projecting. He is not quite a Centurian either, maybe Park Avenue GS?
A 1967 Wildcat with a 6 speed conversion 3.73 gears, bilstein shocks, poly bushings and disc brakes would be beast mode as a daily driver. After owning a C body I could definitely go for one of these guys. Such as good looking car.
good lawd
My brother just bought one last week as a matter of fact. I am looking forward to hearing that nail head 425 lope and give her a run. I will get some better pictures these are some he took for me.
Another one
Inside
Backseat!
Think of the thirst this must have!!
My 430 powered Electra gets 8-10 mpg in the city and 15-17 on the freeway.
I have biggish exhaust with flowmasters and the sound is difficult to stay away from 🙂
The man in the background in the flower shop seems to be thinking, ” I wish my daughter Angelina would not be so friendly with the customers.”
I think the Wildcat was supposed to capture the buyer that wanted a Riviera but couldn’t justify buying such an impractical image car. These cars with the 425 were definitely roadburners make no mistake about that. Even the coupe had a big backseat and huge trunk. The interior with the buckets and console would be best, and you could load these down with options. But even if you cheaped out a bit, the outside looked the same as the deluxe version. Cars like these were so much more prestigious, you didn’t have some feeble small block or whimpy six under the hood your motor was top of the line. Actually Buick had pretty much the best brakes of GM cars, aluminum finned drums up front with finned cast iron drums out back. Everyone knew that you only floored it on the straight a ways!
OK, I’m glad some others can’t figure out what the Centurion was supposed to represent. I thought maybe it was just me. Neither the name nor the way they were equipped really said “sports car.” Basically they were LeSabres with missing ventiports and mandatory vinyl interiors. At least I have never seen a Centurion not decked out in yards of vinyl, usually brown. No buckets or console available. And hardly ever any power accessories inside. The net visual effect is a decontented LeSabre.
Buick made one more half hearted attempt at this market in 1977-79 with the LeSabre Sports Coupe. The downsized B-Body coupe in Buick trim is a great design and when equipped with the road wheels the overall look is quite good. But the interior was a total letdown. No buckets or floor shift were available and the dash was identical to Grandpa’s sedan. Pontiac and Olds both offered buckets and consoles, as well as accessory gauge packages. In fact, Pontiac and Olds offered the sporty interiors into the early 80’s after all the coupe bodies got the formal roof restyle.
Back in 1968, my dad was in the market for a new family car. Our neighbor, Bob, had just ordered a brand new ’68 Wildcat and a week after he took delivery, he was offered a position with his company in England, so needless to say, he took the position, and my dad brought the Wildcat from him.
Unfortunately, it was base model 4 door sedan. It was not totally loaded, but did have the biggest engine, hydramatic transmission, A/C, am radio with power antenna, blower type rear defogger, courtesy lights, vinyl roof and a power bench seat.
The car was a goldish green color with a black vinyl interior and black vinyl roof. Too bad it wasn’t the custom model hardtop, cause that would have been really nice.
When dad took ownership, he immediately put on a set of Buick mag wheels, and had the car pin stripped. What a difference that made.
Anyway, I was a youngster at the time and I recall how modern the dash board was with it’s really cool rotary dials for the controls, and many square shapes for the vents, spedo, clock, etc. Even though it was a base model, the interior was very nice and made very well.
We owned that car for many years, and took it on many a vacation and day trip. Dad always enjoyed driving the Wildcat, claiming it was one of the most powerful and best performing cars he ever had, and he had many of them.
In 1977, Dad sold the car to a family friend, and he brought a band new LeSabre sport coupe. This one he ordered, so all the right boxes where checked. Unfortunately, it was no where as powerful as the 68 Wildcat.
67& 68 Wildcats are a little over the top. The 3 inches added ahead of the cowl over the LeSabre and the awful faux side exhaust trim don’t help. IMO Buick did the best with the mandated green house for 67. Very clean looking body on my 67 LeSabre..
I briefly owned a 1964 Wildcat convertible in the early 70s. I liked it OK but I’ll take the 61 & 62 Starfire over it any day. The Starfire had better performance and looks.
My 66 4 door ht Skylark
All the hard work is done, she’s ready for paint.
I have all new weather stripping, carpet an headliner ready to install.
Wildcat 340, 2 speed auto runs perfect
Was gold with a black vinyl top, now all in primer with the door jambs painted in
Turquoise, that’s the color I chose an the top I choose black.
tharndon57@gmail.com
I am looking for a ’65 Wildcat 2dr that had a 425, 4 speed, no power steering, no power brakes. It was originally red with a silver interior. If you know where I can find it, please contact me at lfp39@msn.com. Louie
I am looking for a ’65 Wildcat 2dr that has a 425, no power steering, no power brakes. It was originally red with silver interior. If you know where I can find it, please contact me at (208) 455-9722. Louie
There was a certain generation of men, including my father, who bought cars by the pound. In the mid-60s, if you offered him a choice between a stripped-out Biscayne and a tarted-up Buick or Olds intermediate, he would have chosen the Biscayne.
This car is for men like that, but who had money.
The Wild Cat was a predecessor of the sedan of the future, the sport sedan of the ’80’s and ’90’s. The high powered sport sedan. Similar to the Mercedes, BMW, Jaguar, Seville STS, Acura Legend, etc. The earlier four door models, both sedan and hardtop could be equipped with optional buckets and console as well as the 425 engine. Typical of Detroit, the cars were de-contented until they weren’t much different than a regular Le Sabre, except for the exterior trim. I’ve seen some very plain four door sedan Wild Cats from the early ’60’s, just two plain bench seats,without any luxury and convenience features, just the base four barrel 401 V8. You had to build them back up with the option sheet. Remember how the Pontiac STE 6000 of the ’90s was originally launched as a fully integrated package? Then it had to be watered down to be able to cut the price to squeeze out a few more sales, leading to a loss of identity, character, and prestige of the model. It’s usually the early models of the series that are the most distinctive.
Now it’s Chrysler that is building the spiritual descendants of the Wild Cat, with the 300 and Charger.
One thing about the full-size cars for every GM division is that they still represented the biggest investment of engineering and production resources compared to other GM models.
The mid-size A-bodies were variations on a common chassis. The full-size cars all had their own. There were dramatic differences between a Buick and a Chevy chassis, for example, and a Buick still felt like you were getting what you were paying for. The A-bodies boasted each division’s engines, but otherwise were mechanically interchangeable.
Fact is, the full-size muscle cars fell victim to their size and weight. Pontiac tried to differentiate them by offering the 421 V8 only in the big cars while the early GTO’s made do with a 389.
The intermediates carried the flag for muscle, especially when not every GM division had a pony car. Buick buyers who wanted to go fast went for a Skylark GS, maybe a Riviera, definitely not a Wildcat.