(first posted 10/7/2013) A while back, I was quite thrilled to run into the Olds Ciera Rubies and Gold Edition. But given Buick’s traditional role in the GM pecking order, it was not about to be upstaged by “The Innovation Division”. The A-Body special edition wars were on, and the ultimate expression was the extremely rare Turquoise and Gold Edition of the Buick Brougham de Baroque. Imagine my thrill at finding one of the only thirteen ever made.
Some might be tempted to diss GM for losing sight of the true priorities in the key mid-size sedan market, building the same car for fifteen years while Toyota and Honda were unleashing new generations of Camcords every four. But GM was marching to its own drummer back in those days, and the Brougham de Baroque was one of the finest expressions of that.
Yes, that motto really meant something back then. Build a car long enough, and you might just end up with a car that doesn’t Baroque down. Since the A-Body was looking a bit old fashioned by the early nineties, Buick decided it might as well play up its classic qualities.
Thus was born the Brougham de Baroque, which put GM’s vaunted design studio talent to a test they never expected when they were doodling jet-fighter inspired sports cars in their younger days.
But times change, and many of them had spent the best years of their careers during the Great Brougham Epoch, designing and applying exquisite decorations like these on the dash of the 1971 Eldorado. But now they had a chance to take their finely-honed skills to a whole new level, in a true culmination of their careers.
The energy in the Buick Advanced Studio hadn’t been this palpable since it took the lead on the new 1959 models. No expense was spared; even the front bumpers were treated to a full complement of rococo bumper guards, from a special advanced material that could be repeatedly be crushed in parking encounters and still bounce back to their cherubic selves.
One of the most unusual features of the Brougham de Baroque was that it eschewed the use of the inevitable vinyl roof. But then the Baroque era really predated that, and it gave the designers more scope for their creativity. Sadly, this car didn’t have the ceiling fresco option.
And a few details have gone missing, despite GM’s use of the finest space-age adhesives. Restoration of these cars can be quite challenging.
Note the fine genuine gold-leaf pin stripe on the window. It also doubled as an excellent aerial for the sound system,
which automatically played Pachelbel’s Canon as soon as the doors were opened. In fact, that’s all it ever played, on an endless loop. Who could ever get tired of that?
So why are these cars so rare? The pricing of the Brougham de Baroque was a hurdle, with the base model starting at $87,599. And the Turquoise and Gold Edition jumped that up to $103,999. Obviously, there was a bit of extra time involved on making these cars, and a special slow-speed assembly line had to be built for them. And genuine gold leaf doesn’t exactly come cheap. Well, in relative terms, it was about as cheap in the 90’s as it got in modern history. And given the current price of gold, these cars are worth at least three times what they were new. Which of course makes parking them in public a bit of a risk. But if you’ve got one of thirteen mostly-intact Brougham de Baroques, might as well flaunt it, especially in such a blingy place like Eugene.
I like this. So many Broughams are overdone. Finally, one with a little restraint.
At least it doesn’t have a vinyl roof.
If we ever do some sort of CC fundraising like they do with public TV, I can envision a fabulous premium once a desired target is hit: For a week, PN will drive a 71 LTD, I will drive a 64 Biscayne with a Powerglide and you can drive this! 🙂
You should see the Gaudi edition………..
Great “mockumentary”. I can’t imagine what a pain it is to wash that car. I’d assume it would get even dirtier than normal cars due to all the crevices.
Like Victorian furniture and knicknacks, it’s a status symbol to be able to pay enough people to keep it clean.
Is it the Liberace Special Edition,so tasteful!
I knew this car reminded me of something else, a Buddhist hearse:
That can be done MUCH cheaper and simpler.
(Photo: Dick Koster Uitvaartverzorging)
Judging by the position of the rear wheel, I would venture to say that this example also has the rare extended wheelbase option.
It almost looks like the axle is becoming detached from the control arms.
Good catch. I was so mesmerized by all the rare body-trim options (what the Germans call Kitsch und Krapp) that I didn’t even notice it was one of the LWB models.
Several aisles of a Hobby Lobby store somewhere in Washington State were left picked clean after this project. The Buick’s hometown is probably also still suffering a shortage of gold spraypaint.
Kudos on the 5mph impact-absorbing cherubim, however.
“Sadly, this car didn’t have the ceiling fresco option.”
No, but Google does have pix of what they looked like…
Be still my heart!
I have been frequenting CC for nearly two years now and writing about cars here for about eighteen months. With all the cars that have been found and covered, this one is even more awe inspiring and inspirational than the Marmon JPC found. This makes that little green number I have in the hopper pale in comparison.
Look at that shot with the mirror mounted radio aerial; you can clearly see the gold and turquoise theme continued onto the seat upholstery. You can even see where the craftsmen at GM pin-striped the window.
I would wager this is about the only time the coachwork from the 1920’s and 1930’s has ever been topped.
Most excellent find, Herr Niedermeyer!
I wonder if these will ever experience a Renaissance?
I think the style is also known as “Louis-Farouk” after the late French and Eygptian monarchs. http://www.flickr.com/photos/askamel/1456096422/. http://www.flickr.com/photos/askamel/443521450/
You did not mention the famous recall involving these. Originally, the windshield wiper arms were gold-plated as well. However, there was such a rash of thefts of those easily removable wiper arms that the NHTSA issued a safety recall after one owner crashed due to not being able to see in the rain. It was decided that stock wiper arms would be too plebian for such a special car, so each wiper arm was specially finished in the custom turquoise paint, by the same 9 step dip and spray process used for the bodies.
Isn’t one of these with the gold wipers still attached reputed to be warehoused in the basement of the Smithsonian?
“Isn’t one of these with the gold wipers still attached reputed to be warehoused in the basement of the Smithsonian?”
Well, that’s where the provenance gets murky. The one with the gold wipers actually went first to the Petersen Museum, and recently went to auction after the announcement that the Petersen is divesting itself of some of its permanent collection.
The high bidder WAS the Smithsonian, but with funding frozen (due to the government shutdown) the next bidder – believed to be either a Chinese or Middle Eastern entity – is poised to be in line to match the wining bid and snatch this iconic treasure from our great nation.
It’s THIS – NOT partisan bickering – that is causing gridlock in Congress over government funding. On one side is a group that doesn’t want to anger countries with which we have a significant financial interest, and on the other side, a group that is reeling over the possible loss of this piece of history.
Trust me, folks…I couldn’t possibly make this stuff up.
You have to admit, this is a far better execution of the art-car meme than most.
Often times it’s just random junk glued to the exterior of the car, at least this one has an actual theme and a fairly well-thought out plan to display the idea…
Good find, Paul.
“Aww, that’s cute,” said the Dekotora truck.
Has anyone taken Klokau’s pulse recently? I would think that this is the apotheosis of his personal esthetic and that he has simply blessed out.
I really don’t care for those garish whitewalls.
I know this car! Its Washington owner was looking for a new owner earlier this year and the temptation was overwhelming! Its given name is Roccoco A-Go-Go. I’m happy to see it has found a new home in Eugene.
It still has Washington plates, so maybe it was in town for a visit? Glad I caught it.
I see it still has Washington plates – maybe the owner’s just visiting Eugene.
On another related subject, I wouldn’t ever suggest playing Pachelbel’s Canon on any vehicle sound system unless there was an interlock system to prevent its use while the car was moving – I am sure that no more soporific piece of music exists.
My grandparents’ bathroom looks tasteful by comparison, and the walls were even the same shade of turquoise.
The house I grew up in was built in 1932, and my mother still lives there. We were the third owners. The single full bath, upstairs, has beautiful ceramic tile on the walls, and an even nicer “basket weave” tiled floor. Unfortunately, the colors used were (and still are) lavender and peach! The sink, bathtub, and toilet were all lavender as well.
I’d take that over most modern plumbing fixtures which are available in any color you like as long as it’s white.
Oh, now, don’t let’s be quite so reductive, eh? Why, there’s a whole range of options when picking plumbing fixtures! Ice white, cloud white, pearl white, off white, bisque white…
“If it isn’t baroque, don’t fix it – I always say.” – Cogsworth, “Beauty and the Beast”
It’s not original. It’s a disgrace that the current owner can’t respect the integrity of the designer’s intentions. Sure, narrow, low profile tires of the correct vintage may be hard to find nowadays, but the plebeian wheels currently fitted to the vehicle are a worse choice than concrete blocks. What a shame. (Photo of stock wheel from BAD, the Buick Archive of Design.)
Didn’t Coker make a replacement for these tires?
They did, but GM actually put a stop to it. Can you believe that? They lost the petition to have those already made destroyed, however.
The litigation alone was said to have cost both companies millions.
Urg. I’m not going to start drinking coffee again (took me over a decade’s worth of trying to quit) but I’m tempted; I went trying to find info on this lawsuit you describe. »headdesk«
Haaa
Years ago, a second grade class tried to recreate one of these using gold spray painted pasta shells and Elmer’s paste. The project was never completed, as one of the students was caught eating the paste.
Louis XIV just rolled over…
I wonder how much added wind drag all those ornaments bring up
A-body special.
Um…wow.
I hate to have to be the one to point it out, but this car has had some paint work done to it…GM never painted the rubber molding around the windows.
On a different note, The Brougham Society keeps me pretty busy these days, but I’m afraid that this one is not going to make an appearance there, (because of the repaint).
This reminds me of a Vocabulary word I had to learn the meaning of in the tenth grade…
Gaudy-“Bright and showy, but lacking in good taste”.
I could’ve sworn the dateline on this post was 01Apr2022.
…ahem…
If not, I think it should have been!
This is what my mind pictures when someone mentions “Art cars”.
Art? ART? Someone just glued a bunch of crap on a car that wasn’t worth what it should be.
Well, alright, how would you define art? How would you define an art car?
In art, naked, often-winged, male children are called putti (singular: putto).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Putto
“in Baroque art the putto came to represent the omnipresence of
GodGM”That Buick is okay for a commuter, but this is how I roll on the weekends!
I honestly like it.
I really want one like that, sure it’s goofy but it’s like a midsized chariot, how cool is that?
There were early funeral cars that had this look. This one’s from Spain:
Mama’s got a glue gun,
Buick never sleeps at night.