(first posted 7/24/2013) This car hurts my head. Anyone who has read CC for any length of time knows what my left brain thinks about this car. This car (and the entire 1971-76 B and C body clan) is a juddering, shuddering mass of wallowing excess and badly attached cheap trim pieces. Its lack of performance out of 455 cubic inches is surpassed only by fuel usage that nears the need for monitoring in gallons per hour. In short? My left brain hates the damnable things. But then there is my right brain. Every once in awhile, one of these comes along in the right body style, the right color and the right condition, and my right brain just lights up with glee and even passion. Here we have such a car. Wait right here – I’m going to go take some aspirin.
Oh good, you’re still here. Well anyway, prepare for a terrible mishmash of muddled thinking about this car, because that’s all I have here, besides a big headache. Pure brougham-porn that both delights and disgusts. So, we might as well get started.
1976 marked a changed mindset from the bunker mentality that had gripped us for the first half of that decade. The period from 1970-75 was notable for Vietnam, Watergate, the Arab Oil Embargo, and the supposedly impossible combination of inflation and recession. Add to this the horrid new GM full sized cars foisted upon us for 1971 that seemed to be a downgrade in almost every way from the solid and substantial versions we had lived with from time immemorial.
1976 was a fascinating year. Maybe it was fascinating just because I was in high school, and almost everything is fascinating when you’re in high school. The economy was taking off, everyone was celebrating the American Bicentennial and halter tops were in. Did I say I was in high school? So, it was time to party. I mean Par-Tay!. People of my parents’ demographic started shaking off the torpor of the early ’70s and splurging on loud outfits and big cars. And somehow, the miserable POS big cars from GM became familiar things that now didn’t seem so bad. It wasn’t just big GM cars that were all around us, either. We were suddenly awash in Chrysler Cordobas and New Yorkers, Mercury Grand Marquis-es, Olds Ninety Eights and Buick Electras.
My right brain misses the Electra. It had been around for literally my entire life by 1976, having replaced the Roadmaster for 1959. From that point forward, it had been the top Buick forever since. But name devaluation game was starting even then, as the Electra started to collect plug-ins like Limited and Park Avenue.
My left brain is quite sure that there have been more outrageously wasteful two door cars than this one, but it is having trouble thinking of one at the moment. Still, there is something about the looks of this car that makes my right brain declare this car as my favorite GM mega-coupe. Right brain is happy to sacrifice practicality for style and proportion, and this is something that the big ’76 Electra deuce-door has to the max. This is a whole lotta, lotta car – but carries its bulk with style and even elegance. There is something about the styling of this car that simply screams “BUICK!” And my right brain means this in the very best sense. Left brain at least grudgingly admits that if you are going to build a Buick, it should look like a Buick. Let’s give left brain a pat on the back, it is really trying to get into the spirit of things here.
Last summer, I was out driving when I caught view of this car out of the corner of my eye. It was on the eve of the Brickyard 400 stock car race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and the car was parked at a hotel. The Wisconsin plates seemed to indicate that someone made a very long trip in supreme comfort. I stood there for what seemed like forever, completely under the control of my right brain. I was simply salivating over this car. This horrible, horrible car, as my left brain kept trying to get across while right brain kept a hand over its neighbor’s mouth. I walked around it and around it again, snapping pictures, then just staring. My car-mentor Howard would no doubt be turning over in his grave if he could see what was going on in the right side of my head. He hated these things even more than I did (and do). Yet, here I was. This car was abso-freaking-lutely beautiful. So long and low and wide. It was like a dream. Did we really used to drive these things to the grocery store for a 2-pack of Twinkies?
I had a job in the ’70s where I got to (had to?) drive one of these. It was a base Electra sedan in silver with a black vinyl roof and blue cloth interior, so I didn’t get the full Luxus-dipping. At the time, I didn’t like it as well as the big Lincolns or Chryslers that I got to drive from time to time. But I could see how someone could like it. In fact, I preferred it to the ’76 Cadillac Fleetwood that was also in the fleet.
This one? My right brain could so do this. “For the love of all that is Holy, why?”, asks my left brain. My right brain tries to come back with something about oozing down the road surrounded by a velour bordello, but left brain doesn’t understand. Finally, I hit upon something that might stick with Lefty: “So when someone sees my Crown Victoria or my son’s ’89 Grand Marquis and remarks about what a big car it is, I can stop what I am doing, throw open the garage door, wrestle them into the front seat and say ‘No you big dumb idiot, THIS is a big car!'” I know, it is crude and overly self-satisfying, but it’s the best I can do for my left brain.
I guess the other thing I can hit Lefty with is that the Buick 455 and the Turbo HydraMatic attached to its tail end should go down as one of the best of that long line of great American powertrains that would, without drama or fuss, churn out maximus amounts of trouble-free torque so long as its Valdez-sized tank was kept full. And who says that GM was oblivious to the fuel mileage of these cars. After all, they thoughtfully fitted these with a 2.56:1 axle and a speed alert system to keep the revs down and a fuel usage meter so that you could better monitor the extent of the big Buick’s drinking problem.
As it turned out, 1976 would be the peak year of that grand ’70s party because for 1977, GM would be the first of the Big Three to sober up and downsize the biggest ships of the fleet. I guess the left brains at GM got together and stormed the palace in a coup. From that point on, the music began to mellow out and the craziness would start to die down, with left and right brains living more or less in harmony for the next several years.
I guess it is time to close out this session of cranial contortions. After spending time writing about this car, the inside of my skull must look like the aftermath of a fight scene in a Bruce Lee movie. Maybe what I need is a nice, quiet ride in the back of this big, black, beautiful Buick. Oh crap, that was my right brain talking, and my left brain just gave it a big kick. I had better call this finished and go tend to my poor, abused head. I have heard about this beverage that comes from Scotland – maybe that will help.
I had a 72 Electra and a 76 lesabre. Both had the 455. The 72 would get up and run. You could accelerate up a really steep hill like it want there and it was comfortable. I liked that big boat. The 76 lesabre didn’t have the power or the comfort of the 72 and used more gas too. Didn’t keep the 76 long. The 72 I miss. But I dou t I will get another one. If I get another 70s car will be a 77 or 78 Lincoln or a 70 Cadillac or an imperial.
At one time probably between the 1970s through 1980s, Buicks were considered Medical Professions (Doctors/Surgeons) Car. The Buicks that slogan unofficially were referred to were probably the Le Sabre and Electra 225s. To Doctors, these were probably the next best things to Cadillacs because they had much more of the creature comforts and luxury at a fraction of a cost especially a fully loaded 1976 Buick Electra 2 Door Coupe vs. a 1976 Cadillac Coupe De Ville with only the standard equipment without the add on options per say.
My first new car, the original 1975 Buick Electra Limited Park Avenue. List price was $6900. 234″ length on 127″ wheelbase. 455 CID V8.
70s Buicks were always so over-the-top gaudy and pimp moreso than Cadillacs and that’s why I love them.
Love the styling of this car including the “living room sofa” comfort and quiet.. Would take it over a bland, bone-rattling, chrome-less, new “luxury” sedan any day. These cars were made to cruise on the highways. Buy a ’76 Buick and….Make America Great Again!
I had a neighbor with a ’76 Buick Electra when I was a little boy. The deep sound of the engine and exhaust and the cool rear bumper lights fascinated me. I kept my eye out for one of these until I rescued one from a demolition derby buyer in 2000. That was nearly 40,000 miles ago. It doesn’t float; it has a nice ride to it. Parking it isn’t hard, either. The engine and drive train have been trouble-free, and the leather seats are holding up very well. The only rattle I hear is from the center arm rest from time to time, so the complaints from others about poor overall construction simply aren’t panning out. The only body issue has been rust bubbles behind the rear window on one side and trim issues, as mentioned, such as crummy plastic and rubber trim pieces (rear quarter windows; plastic faux wood on the inside of the doors; filler panels on rear bumper). Just about any American car back then had plastic and rubber issues. The engine averages 13 – 15 mpg, which is just as good or better than several of the modern SUV’s and pickup trucks that are on the roads here in Indiana. In fact, I liked the ’76 so well that I bought a 1975 LeSabre Custom Convertible out of a barn, too. Both have been good, reliable cars with comfortable rides.
That is one nice-looking piece of ’70s Buick machinery. I’d drive it to the grocery store and snag some Twinkies!
Looking at the photo with the ‘lock’ on the steering wheel it appears the door lock itself is in the ^up^ position. I thought those door locks went further down than that. Or maybe the driver’s side door is indeed unlocked!
I was never that fond of those big GM cars, but my wife learned how to drive on her dad’s ’73 Coupe deVille. He was a foreman at a Paper Mill. Piled five kids into that thing when they went on a family outing- no problem with room. Kept the car until ’87, and I thought he was going to cry the day he sold it. For all the crappy build quality, that beast ran almost 300,000 relatively trouble free miles. Towards the end, it burned oil, the transmission slipped, and the Climate Control didn’t… but the body and interior were in amazing shape (obviously he cared for it). The Banana Boat, as we affectionately called it.
Thank You for reposting this, this is why I love this site. What a great post and responses for this beastly thing of a car. Shut up left brain I would totally love it to own this ……thing. My collection of coal continues today as I bring my newest jewel home …a 1990 (roach of the road but hey it was free) Toyota Corolla.
I have been away for a while as life intervenes, but still drop in from time to time. It still amazes me the cars I find out here on the far north west coast, I have got to start taking a camera with me. Example: A mid 70’s B210 with tape graphics and all passed me on the freeway (I5) just as I was taking my exit… No it was under it’s own power and not on a tow truck. When I see it again I may chase it down for pictures.
My best friend’s dad bought a ‘76 Electra Limeted coupe new, “back in the day.” Beautiful car in gold metallic with buckskin vinyl top and gold velour interior. I had the pleasure to travel in it several times… smooth ride, quiet as a bank vault.
As an only child, my friend often got dibs on the AM/FM 8-track. On one of their first family trips together, his dad freaked out when Space Intro by Steve Miller started playing. He thought a wheel bearing had failed and one of the wheels was getting ready to fall off!
I don’t remember any issues with the car. It was always garaged and saw mostly occasional use. It remained in the family for about 8 or 9 years until it was traded in on a new B body Oldsmobile coupe.
This topic being about classic Buick I recently bought beautiful A body 72 Buick Skylark coupe emerald green exterior color with black vinyl bench interior 350 4B, Factory AMFM radio, Factory AC, rally wheels 1 owner since new has 55K original miles with all documentation wondow sticker and manuals.
Love these 71-76 C Bodies. Im not a GM fanboy…but these are stylish giants. Just love them. I know about the cheapo plastic and cracking armrests, the panel gaps and double-slam doors first hand…but once you look past what they could have been as new cars and look at what they are: as one first time, awed passenger in my Ninety Eight said “this is the American Dream on wheels”. And, I might add, the last unadulterated manifestation of that dream before compromises of many kinds became necessary. A 19 foot coupe with a smooth engine and transmission that eats highways and potholes, cruises all day at 75 mph, has your living room couch furnishing, and can tow a huge trailer if you want it to do so.
I would love a garage with this in dark green, my Olds, and a Fleetwood Brougham in triple navy. And I am glad I took the plunge and bought one. Still love the 77+ models, but sometimes, when you give that big block a push and hustle these beasties up steep hill, you realize that sometimes, more really is more.
Gratuitous 98 pic.
As the owner of a all original 78,000 mile 74 Impala Sport Coupe and as I had a aunt with a 76 4dr Electra until the mid 90’s, I LOVE THESE CARS. Space effiency and fuel mileage be damned! Wish I had 20 of ’em.
The Doonesbury comic strip made a statement about the Electra in the year of the fuel crisis 1974.
And the way the car is drawn is screaming “Ford Granada” at me…
My wife’s granddad had a ’76 “Duece-and-a-Quarter” back when she and I were dating during college. She had it at school for a while, so I’d get to drive it from time to time. It was a four door, but the same color combo as the one in this article. Her family called it, appropriately, the “Queen Mary”.
Driving it was like piloting the Queen Mary in heavy seas, so bad was the “dutch roll” of the wallowy ride. The steering could best be described as “disconnected.” Any translation of movement of the steering wheel to the front tires was purely coincidental. It reminded me of the kiddie car ride at the old amusement park where the “steering” wheels simply spun without doing anything. The big smog-choked 455 got off the line okay, sort of, then fell into 3-pack-a-day wheezer mode. Forget trying to pass a semi on a busy two-lane highway. The interior was a cheesy brown bordello. Plenty o’ room in the back seat, though, for…well, you can guess…
What an awful piece of crap that 225 was. I despised that car (except the back seat).
Nice car although I prefer the 1971-72 Electra’s because of the roof design, the smaller & smoother bumpers and the engines weren’t fully smogged like they were from 1973 onward, if I were to buy a full sized luxury car in 1976 I would get the Mercury Grand Marquis or Marquis Brougham.
Yes Minstrel, I like my 76 Grand Marquis just fine.
Just incredible. An economy gauge on a 2 ton 455 powered car. Still, I suppose every drop counts if you’re only getting 12 mpg max.
Actually, you can pull 14 or even 15 in these on the highway. The notion of these getting 6 blocks to the gallon is just hyperbole.
The notion of these getting 6 blocks to the gallon is just hyperbole.>/i>
Not really. Driving in the city is a different story.
We had 1973 Chevrolet Kingwood with 454 with prodigious appetite for volatile remainders of dinosaurs.
Really prodigious.
So prodigious that the petrol station attendants weeped in joy when seeing us for another round of drinks.
Terribly prodigious that my father’s employer signed the death warrant for the Kingwood and demanded its less thirsty replacement.
Just sayin’
I’m not saying 10 or 11 to the gallon is good by any means in fact, its awful, but it’s a lot better than 7 or 8 on 50s cars…also with respect to your ’73, by ’75 and ’76 I believe the cars had different, taller ratios, and were a little more fuel efficient…I have never managed to get mine down to single digit mileage. Always at least 10 and that was driving in NYC and then stop and go traffic on the L.I.E. I have a 26 or so gallon tank so I usually get 275-325 miles between fill ups (of 93 octane, it diesels on anything less)
Speaking of fuel types, Orrin, when I go to fill up my ’64 Falcon here in middle GA there’s this 1 gas station in town that sells Non-Ethanol/90 Octane fuel. Every other local gas station I know of has the 10% Ethanol blend for the 87,89 and 93 octane fuel they’re selling. My chiropractor told me a couple of months ago there was more than one station around town that sells a no-ethanol fuel blend but he couldn’t tell me which stations they were. So who knows . . . ? He may well have heard that second-hand from another patient who also heard it from someone else. I just know of the one station. Of course, the Non-Ethanol fuel is more expensive because it has to be stored in separate tanks and the trucks that carry it can’t also carry the ubiquitous 10% Eth-blend. → That’s what I was told, anyway, at the Community Superette where I buy my non-ethanol fuel. I think Cheapo Falcon prefers the non-ethanol so I keep paying the extra $dosh$ involved in buying it.
Here’s a link to the California Mileage Guide for 1976 –
On page 9 it reports that the mileage for a 455 Electra is
11 City
16 Highway
13 City/Highway
https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyNET.exe/9100MVWR.txt?ZyActionD=ZyDocument&Client=EPA&Index=Prior%20to%201976%7CHardcopy%20Publications&Docs=&Query=Buyers%20guide&Time=&EndTime=&SearchMethod=2&TocRestrict=n&Toc=&TocEntry=&QField=&QFieldYear=&QFieldMonth=&QFieldDay=&UseQField=&IntQFieldOp=0&ExtQFieldOp=0&XmlQuery=&File=D%3A%5CZYFILES%5CINDEX%20DATA%5C70THRU75%5CTXT%5C00000013%5C9100MVWR.txt&User=ANONYMOUS&Password=anonymous&SortMethod=h%7C-&MaximumDocuments=15&FuzzyDegree=0&ImageQuality=r85g8/r85g8/x150y150g16/i425&Display=h%7Cp%7Cf&DefSeekPage=x&SearchBack=ZyActionL&Back=ZyActionS&BackDesc=Results%20page&MaximumPages=1&ZyEntry=8
I get between 10.5 and 11.5 in “local” driving with the similar Olds 98/Olds 455 combo…EPA estimate on that was, I believe, 13/17, but a 1976 Popular Mechanics Owners Report came back with 12.1/15.7, which is more on target.
https://books.google.com/books?id=3uEDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA82&dq=1976+Oldsmobile+Ninety+Eight&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjvv_LpqtLWAhVhw1QKHU6jBi0Q6AEILjAB#v=onepage&q&f=true
Nice well maintained Buick Electra although I prefer the 1971-72 Electra’s because of the smaller & smoother bumper’s, better looking roofline and the engine’s not being fully smogged and polluted with Emission Control Devices
Forgive me for re-sending this message twice, I’ve just cleaned out my computer and thought I wasn’t able to get this message posted because I wasn’t logged on, I apologize for posting this message twice.
My mom bought a 4 door Buick Park Avenue limited in 1991. It was 15 years old she paid $900 for it. It was a great car for us at the time. Later after her second divorce she sold it for $400. I cried when the car left us. They are impractical huge inefficient and useless by today’s standards. But it does bring back a lot of good memories.
I’ll take another 4 door hard top in cream with a tan top and matching velour interior power everything with the 455 and 3 speed auto. The memories are worth it for a keepsake. The 9 mpg on a good day…. not so much for daily use
At 60 cents a gallon back in ’76 I suppose a fill up was more affordable. A friend had a ’76 Delta 88 with one of those econo-meters. I could see his eyes dart to that thing when pulling away from every stop light, tensing up until it reached the green. That was just with a 350 I believe. Ahh the excess of the ’70s.
Excellent piece, enjoyable read, JP. Thanks
Moparlee, there’s this thing called inflation. 60 cents in 1976 equals $2.62 today. That’s more than gas is going for in the US. So it was more expensive to fill up that Buick in 1976 than it would be today.
Agree that this is a ridiculous car, but that is a great rear end in the last picture, looks very clean and could only come from the US
The rear bumper is well integrated and all the styling elements on the back end work for me and are up to the standards of the 60s designs, not keen on the half vinyl roof or the front headlights, the round quads on the Chevy pictured look far better.
I did have a 75 Cad Eldorado once and the power output of those rectangular lights was pathetic, did the US have laws restricting power output? We did so in the UK but the headlamps on my 69 Jag were laser beams in comparison
Ridiculous in the UK for sure, not so for the US of A where it’s 3000 miles wide.
Just try SF to NYC some time, we have, in total comfort in a ’75 Sedan De Ville.
Fangio was once asked by John Bond what car he’d want for a cross-country drive, fully expecting him to pick a Ferrari grand touring model… Fangio relied: “a Cadillac, most certainly”.
For the birth of our first child, I took my wife to the hospital in a VW Beetle, and picked her up in the ’72 Estate Wagon I acquired for that purpose. I figured it would be easier to bring what we needed for the baby in a wagon. Mistake. In that Buick, we could easily bring everything we had for the baby (as opposed to just what we needed) and maybe the Beetle too.
According to the registration, it weighed 5,300 pounds. It ran on ambulance tires. I lived one mile from my office. If I drove it to work and home for lunch every day in cold weather the choke never came off, and it got two mpg! Best mileage I ever got in it was 13. I achieved that over the highway between NY and Washington with the speed buzzer set at 55, windows up and a/c off.
It was good looking, spacious and comfortable. It didn’t accelerate or handle really well. All by itself, my one wagon was probably responsible for at least one gasoline crisis. It wasn’t reliable either. I owned it, and one other GM car in the 70’s. As a result, I’ve never bought, or even considered buying another GM car in all the years since.
Wow so many people putting down these big beautiful boats. i gotta say my mother had a series of impalas 64 through 69 and they were the most reliable cars on the road. she had a thing for the Electra 225 and i have to admit i really liked these cars. as do many people today as some of you have mentioned thats why Escalades, Yukons and the king of the family hauler…Suburban still sell really well. in fact they are now selling better than your luxury imports. in many ways America will always have a “bigger is better” mentality thats what i grew up with. It would be nice if people has respect for these cars that some of us and i’m sure many here’s parents drove and loved. i myself had a number of these big landcruisers and can say that there is nothing like floating down the road in sheer oppulance and top line comfort that most new cars can’t begin to match. i myself owned many, 72 eldorado,73 coupe de ville, 72 lincoln town car and coupe,72 imperial, 79 caprice…etc. these cars will always have a place in my heart and memories. for those of you that can’t understand the significance these cars had and have to our lifestyles and way of living………………sorry you missed out!!!!
Yes there were ’76 Electras with the Buick 350, albeit very rare. There was recently a burgundy one for sale in South Carolina, a no-option 2 door with 14,700 original miles and very well documented. Assembly line condition still with the original tires with deep cracks between the tread. Seat pattern was plain, looked like would be in a LeSabre
I absolutely LOVE these beasts, as a 4-door hardtop, but the 2-door gives me mixed emotions. When they did away with the hardtop style with roll-down windows, it lost some of its magic for me. And, the way the front and rear halves of the car join at the B-pillar always bugged me. Still, a beautiful car.
I always liked the ’71-76 Electra. To me, it struck a nice balance between the more conservative feel of the Ninety-Eight, and the more over-the-top opulence of the DeVille.
Love it. I had a 2 door Olds 98 version a couple years newer, with a 403 V8 that as a kid I thought would be a monster LOL
It was pretty sedate but a honey to pilot.
The 1974-76 Electra is right at the top of my personal list of cars that look WAY better in their four-door versions than as coupes. A few sedans have been posted higher up in the comments that show this.
I had a ’74 sedan as my daily driver from 1992-96 and loved it. While no economy champ, mine got between 12-25 MPG. That was a lot better than the ’77 Town Car I had owned previously, which would not do better than 9.5 no matter how you drove it.
BTW, these are a few inches longer than Cadillac Coupe/Sedan deVilles of the same vintage. The extra inches are in the rear overhang. An Electra has a noticeably roomier trunk than a Sedan deVille.
Quite a juxtaposition. On the left side of the brain – er car – the little white Honda? Fit sits economically. Smartly styled, complete logic at hand. Eager to deliver groceries, kids to school, or to commute to the office. Can carry just a few passengers. On the right side, the huge Lakefront bus awaits. Massive, able to carry many passengers, all the while having a fossil fuel buffet.
I’ll bet the Buick (bus) has carried not many more passengers than the Honda, while enjoying much more at the buffet!
Beauty shots!
My name is Chip.
I love fender skirts, tilt/telescope steering wheels, cornering lights and the thermometer mirrors.
My favorite car is the 1974 Cadillac Fleetwood Talisman because brougham couldn’t be better than these!!
Whew!!! I feel better!
Well, until I get that email that throws me out of CC and bans me from further comments!!!!
I’m attracted and repulsed by this Buick at the same time. I really like its styling, but its size is a complete turn off for me. I often hear the comment that Buicks were old money vehicles, owned by wealthy people who did not like to flaunt their money and this vehicle perfectly personifies that image. Now I look at what Buick sells, nondescript suv’s and cuv’s. How the mighty have fallen.
Buick made the best-looking ’71-76 GM biggie, though I’d prefer the earlier front end. And the whole thing run through a Shrink-Ray, to, maybe, 80% of this size? That oughta fit in today’s parking spaces OK .
This article is a Curbside Classic classic!
”1976 was a fascinating year” : I lived in Montréal at the time and everyone wanted to ride in this Olympic pick-up edition (…even Nadia has one), Buick had to wait until ’84 to be the proud representative of the Olympus with its Century
I don’t know why I like big cars so much. Must have started when my father got that 1970 Olds 98 with the 455. The power was intoxicating.
Usually my left brain has firm control on all aspects of my life. In fact there are only two situations were my right brain asserts itself. One is with late 60’s and early 70’s land yachts. Two, is women with dark haired, dark almond shaped eyes. Actually swap one with two. So while my C Body Dodge is a large car I love my A Body far more.