Unsuccessful cars are a bit like bad TV shows. Everyone remembers the runaway hits, (Hill Street Blues), but how many people get all choked up when reminiscing about Cop Rock? Same creators and a lot of the same themes and storylines, but a very different result. The failures are soon forgotten and everybody just blanks out that part of their remembrance and moves on. Today’s CC is like that, in its own way. In its short run, the 1977/78 Riviera aspired to be the Ne Plus Ultra of personal luxury, Buick style. Today, it’s seen more clearly for what it was: a GM placeholder that only borrowed the hard won mantle of an iconic nameplate.
We’ve often revisited the economic and social earthquakes that had made the car business a tough way to make a living in the second half of 1970’s. The decline of the muscle car, the first oil crisis and raging recession, followed by rampant inflation made long term planning a fool’s errand during the malaise era.
Car companies are like supertankers – lots of inertia going forward, but really tough to steer. When the word came down during the first oil shock that GM was putting all its makes on a crash diet, it proved a surprising technical challenge. It was almost too easy to add weight – just listen to the focus groups and marketing surveys and make it longer and wider. But slimming down required a totally different approach.
Cars couldn’t just shed parts to reach their target weight. They had to have different DNA from concept to showroom floor. Thus when GM led the downsizing trend in 1977, there were mixed results across all car lines. Some models (Caprice, LeSabre) handled the transition with aplomb. Others (Monte Carlo, Cutlass in ’78) looked like a child’s drawing of their former selves.
It was a period of adjustment to a world without cheap oil and car designers were looking for something, anything, that would bridge the gap between old and new and still turn a profit. The designers at GM’s Buick division had an almost impossible mandate: whip up a two year only gap plugger that would buy valuable time for the division to complete the downsizing of the Riviera and move the car to a front wheel drive configuration. A tall task, to be sure.
It was decided at GM HQ that the Riv would join the Oldsmobile Toronado and Cadillac Eldorado in its new E body FWD platform planned for ’79. That left two selling seasons to kill before the new cars would be ready and Buick management scoured the lineup for a body shell that could plausibly pass for “personal luxury” in its 2 door guise. The Skylark and Regal were out; they would have been such obvious badge jobs that the division would be risking the future of a car that did profitable business even given its relatively modest (23,000 annual units) volume. Likewise the Electra. The 225 was the “big” (though recently downsized) Buick. The whole ”personal” luxury theme would be lost with a tarted up deuce and a quarter, so the B-body LeSabre two door (below) would have to be the donor car.
The 77-78 Riv ended up a very changed vehicle from the controversial, but well received notchback evolution of the “boattail” car that preceded it (below). The’75/76 was big and thirsty, but it had some of the classic styling cues that distinguished it from the obese Thunderbirds and too generic Cordobas of its day. To my eyes, it had character, and I could discern the theme that the designers were trying for, but it had to grow on you. It had done a steady 20,000 or so retail units a year during most of its life cycle, but the enormous tooling and engineering costs of the crash downsizing program called for a higher return on investment to sustain the car’s place in the lineup.
As was usually the case with a new Riviera generation, sales got a bump in the first model year from loyal Riviera buyers (by about 6,000 units) and then dropped off again as the sales force had to win “conquest” sales from rival makes. Prices reflected the intractable inflation of the malaise era, with the MSRP of the Riv up about 10% over the notchback/ boattail. The base car stickered at $7,357.
Those conquest sales were tougher to come by because the new personal luxury coupe in one end of the showroom looked too much like the accountants’ dream car at the other. Buick stylists had made some tweaks to the square cut lines of the LeSabre to soften the curves and give the Riv a more formal bearing.
The rear quarter opera windows were in the kicked up, “coke bottle” genre and, as was the case with previous Rivieras, there were no portholes out front. The wheelbase was fractionally less than the LeSabre and overall weight was down dramatically (by about 650 pounds) compared to the boattail. The grille treatment was almost bolt upright on the Riv (and evocative of the “toothy” grill of 49-52 if you used your imagination). The LeSabre had a more diagonal, slanted look forward of the front bulkhead.
Another factor that probably affected sales was the constant leaking of concept sketches, renderings and spy photos of the radical new front drivers that GM had planned. Some buyers also kept a wary eye on the economy, as rising inflation pushed up interest rates on new car purchases. Combine that with rising sticker prices, and the phrase “sticker shock” became a part of the late ’70 vernacular.
The big difference between the LeSabre and the its linemate was the wider choice of engine sizes: Buyers of the former could choose a V-6 and three V-8’s . For the upmarket Riv, it was a 350 V-8 from Buick, or an Olds 350 or an Olds 403. One premium option that set the Riviera apart from its donor car was available four wheel disc brakes. GM’s Turbo-Hydramatic three-speed drove the rear wheels for all.
The cabin was in keeping with the times, featuring crushed velour seats , a “burled walnut look” dash and power everything. This was near luxury territory, circa 1977.
The new look was cleaner and by no means unattractive, but the overall package was just too close to the LeSabre to make the car a true blue new model. It was just too obvious that they shared the same innards. This kind of mistake has been a hardy perennial at GM since…Well, forever.
The short model cycle and the passage of time have made these downsized Rivieras uncommon in the here and now, although you regularly see them at estate sales. If you spot a two tone silver/black factory paint job, you’re looking at a Buick LXXV anniversary edition. These cars, (to me anyway), make excellent budget collector cars because mechanical parts are a breeze, they were solidly built with quality probably a cut above the norm for what was a tumultuous and confusing time in the auto business.
The final factor on collectability is harder to quantify: These tended to be bought by the well to do and older well to do buyer. They are much more likely to have led pampered lives than the workaday LeSabres and Electras. I’ve seen half a dozen for sale on Craigslist with less than 100K on the clock that are all done at $4,500, but you will see the occasional dreamer list a clean car for $12,000. That’s insane money for a tarted up LeSabre.
The legacy of this generation Riviera is a mixed one. The E body car that replaced the placeholder Riv was a smash for Buick in ’79. (It even won the Motor Trend Car Of The Year award). Sales marched smartly upward also, more than doubling to over 52,000 units.
The FWD platform gave the Riv a new lease on life, but that lease expired when the Riv was dropped after the last 1999 model rolled off the line. Shifting consumer tastes and GM’s cynical body sharing programs had diluted the meaning of “personal luxury” as we now understand the term.
Reminds me of Gary Grant in the movie Father Goose where he goes “but that is not a snake.” I want to say “but that is not a Riviera.”
Interesting to mention Cary Grant in the context of the E-body Riviera. For some reason, the Riviera convertible seems like the sort of car where it wouldn’t be unusual to see being driven by Cary Grant, even during his final years.
I’d completely forgotten these, in my mind the Riviera goes straight from the boat tail to the FWD cars. I ‘d have bought a well optioned LeSabre instead of one of these anyway, since I prefer the styling. Realistically I wouldn’t have been anywhere near a Buick dealer in 1978.
The ‘Lesabreviera’??
The ’75/76 was clearly a kludge and went over like a lead balloon. The ’77/78 was also a bodge job and way too obvious that it was a gussied up LeSabre. A friend had a silver & black ’77… ugh! The ’79 solved the problem admirably. The 4th pic is of a post ’79 thus not the actual LeSabre of the time of the Rivs in question, quite different in some ways, lightened, more aero, and generally cheesier & flimsier. My Dad bought a new ’85 Collector Edition, it was crap, unlike the ’77 to ’79 B & C bodies.
If I’m picking a Buick from this era, my choice would be a base LeSabre 2-door sedan. Tough to find even a photo of one of these online, but these are just so much better looking when stripped of all their brougham-y excesses — a pure, clean and very un-1978 design.
That is nice…handsome!
It’s also far more attractive than the 1980 formal-roof reskin.
Note thinner B pillar and larger rear glass than on the upmarket-trim LeSabres.
GM, because they had deep pockets at the time downsized their cars charging more because they were new. The old bigger is better hurt this government trend to downsize. Hard to believe that at one time GM had little debt. Here once again the government is telling auto makers what to do. Didn’t end well last time.
My personal experience was the 1980s to early 90s was a good time to loose interest in cars. Most of that time I was living in NYC and went from what had been a new 1976 Eldo conv. to a new 1986 two door hatch Dodge Colt. Didn’t buy another new car until 1994, and in my middle age, when Dad bought me a new car when I dropped out of my career in NYC and started grad school in VA full time. One last thing to worry about he said as I went back to full time studies, but also it made it possible to visit him in NC more often.
I never regained my interest in cars until the mid-90s. So I don’t think I missed out with autos during the late 70s to mid 90s. Maybe two cars during that time caught my attention, on the NJ Turnpike but not enough to purchase. Toyota Supra 1986-93, Subaru SVX 1992-97.
the controversial, but well received notchback evolution of the “boattail” car that preceded it (below). The’75/76 was big and thirsty, but it had some of the classic styling cues that distinguished it from the obese Thunderbirds and too generic Cordobas of its day. To my eyes, it had character, and I could discern the theme that the designers were trying for, but it had to grow on you. It had done a steady 20,000 or so retail units a year
So I have a bone to pick with a few of these statements; a steady 20,000 a year is a third of what the boattails moved, which hovered at roughly 30,000 a year, so I don’t think the statement well received can be applied…. Well received for those happy to see the boat tail go away I’m sure, but it sure didn’t help sales.
I’d also say where the Cordobas were following the Monte Carlo and Grand Prix formula generic is absolutely the opposite way I’d describe them, especially in comparison to the 74-76 Riviera which is completely backwards to me. The Boat tail had two key flaws; it was too big, and it’s front clip looks basically like a Lesabre (especially by 73), so in 1974 when they put a conventional colonnade style roofline on it it lost THE key defining flavor the basic body had. 74-76s most distinct feature was introducing Wayne Kady’s beloved bustleback but it’s very very subdued to the point of blink and you’ll miss it unlike the later Seville, and beyond that it’s right up there with the 72-76 Tbird in being a generic shell of its former self.
The 77-78 actually isn’t much less of an effort than the 74-76, it hides it’s Lesabre roots about equally with different front end styling and a different roofline/rear end treatment, but it is actually an improvement IMO. The biggest dislike I have with the 77-78 is the mandatory vinyl landau top which cheapens it and makes it look like more of a badge job of the Lesabre than it actually is, as there was a practice manufactures used with these tops to hide fiberglass plugs to change window shapes during the 70s
I had a 1978 with 403 6.6-liter V-8 with 78000 miles back in the late 90’s. Beautiful wheels but it only got about 9-10 miles per gallon. Loved the red velour seats. Bought it from a friend of mine. Too many electrical problems. Sold it after owning it about 3 years.
Thank you for this article. I have fond memories of this generation Riviera.
The 77-78 Riviera was an elegant luxury car in its day, sufficiently differentiated from the LeSabre and Electra. They looked especially good in the exclusive Riviera two tone color schemes, and made fine road cars for long trips. They were also surprisingly nimble with their shorter wheelbase. While perhaps not the greatest generation of Riviera, they’re certainly under appreciated today.
This generation of Riviera was really just a 2 year place-holder until the all new ’79 was introduced. Although not as successful, the ’77 Riviera was very much like the ’77 Thunderbird in concept as it was a dolled up re-badge of an existing 2 door coupe sharing a lot of sheetmetal.
The true boat tail Riviera was 1971, 1972 and 1973. I never considered the 1974, 1975 or 1976 to be a boat tail. They were almost generic in comparison to the iconic prior boat tail Rivieras. Typical mid ’70s GM bloat.
The 1977 and 1978 were mostly forgettable in an ocean of downsized GM B and C bodies.. Instrument layout and controls weren’t great either in that era. US cars with good road manners were still years away, with the exceptions of Corvette, Camaro Z 28 and Pontiac Firebird Trans Am of the GM stable.
It truly was a “malaise” era.
I did like the short lived mid 90s Riviera, which was based on the Oldsmobile Aurora platform. The nameplate was retired just a few years later.
An unanswered question is why did they downsize the Riv in ’77 but not the Eldo and Toro? I guess they wanted to keep them FWD to avoid confusing their customer base, but the money thrown at the 2 year Riv seems wasted. They could have just tarted up the big one a la Eldo Biarritz and gone for some of the last-gasp big coupe buyers flocking to the Mark V.
To me, it’s the drooping tail that looks too much like the LeSabre.
There wasn’t really a pressing need to downsize the E bodies until their 79 successor was ready, the Riviera only got downsized because it ultimately shared its frame and running gear with the B body and it wasn’t really logical to keep that in production for one slow selling model for two years
Really the two alternative realities that might have been better is just simply take the Riviera off the market for 77&78, and let the 79 make an even bigger splash as a comeback. Buick didn’t seem to really need the Riviera in these years to keep the brand afloat. The other alternative is keep the 76 body in production through 78 but use the UPP/Olds engine and FWD floor pan of the Eldo/Toro in it. I doubt that would have cost any more to throw together than the 77-78 did.
Stopgap RWD Toro/Eldorados just makes no sense, that’s two more bodies to retool and GM was already envisioning the future of almost all their cars being FWD, so going backwards on the two models that pioneered the layout for the company would be a marketing nightmare. Once again with Eldorado/Toronado being premium luxury cars there wasn’t really any rush to downsize them unlike the B body that were bought by everyday buyers disillusioned by the bloat and thirstiness of the 71-76s, it was better to just ride out the two years until there was a replacement, which simply wasn’t really an option for the Riv.
I recall the mid-’70s Toro and Eldo were selling better or were more profitable than the Riviera as well.
It’s a big 20/20 hindsight issue. I agree that a 2 year pause for a proper big-splash Riv redo could’ve been the way to go, but I also recall during that era just about any top-to-mid level band was being flogged mercilessly by their management and record companies to constantly record and tour so they were not forgotten in the public eye. On that note, there may also have been a thought that if they didn’t have a Riviera– even a half-realized placeholder– the customer base might forget about it.
XR7, I like your idea of moving the ’76 Riv to the big FWD platform for ’77/78. Was thinking along those lines too, and one thing I noticed was the O/C cars had longer front overhangs than the Riv. I don’t know if that was simply styling, or needed to package the UPP assembly. If latter, the ’77 might have looked more like this mod, which I think would have helped with proportions. And they could have taken the opportunity to redo the front, maybe narrowing it and hiding the headlights.
Here’s some body side sharpening and front fender tapering and narrowing that picks up the rear’s reduction in bulk. Mitchell’s Pontiac Phantom Concept frontal theme would have added mystery to the car, but that idea car probably came together too late. Point of all this is to show that the ’75/76 Riviera body had appearance opportunity. And FWD would have added a new technical element and paved a path to the ’79 FWD car.
I remember well how the Riviera had fallen from grace during the mid to late Seventies.
The 77-78 generation certainly landed with a thud in the marketplace. As mentioned in the article the 79 Riviera was a big hit and really looked terrific compared to some of its competition.
These Rivieras were fairly popular, where I lived. I recall seeing them regularly. Certainly benefiting, from all of the popularity and goodwill, around General Motors first ambitious downsizing project.
I liked them. A huge improvement, over the immediate previous dark years in the Riviera’s legacy. I’d suggest, they had more individuality, than the E-Body trio that followed.
The trio really needed more differentiation in their roof lines. They did a decent job with the rest of the cars, but the near-vertical backlight and giant C pillar were dominant features. One of them could have kept an opera window at least.
Just an “expensive, Lesabre”.Likely had more “electrical stuff”, to quit working.
Even though it wasn’t a very substantial change from the B-body, I’d bet Buick didn’t make back their development money, but they probably knew they wouldn’t and just took the loss rather than letting the badge lay fallow for 2 years. Just a cost of doing business.