Vintage Car Life Review: 1968 Buick Riviera – “Lots Of Sound, Well-Styled Automobile”

 

The Buick Riviera got a facelift for 1968, arguably a step in the wrong direction for one of GM’s most handsome cars. Car Life tested the new model in November 1967, and found it quite appealing even though the chassis tuning of their non-GS test car wasn’t their cup of tea.

I have to admit at the outset that the Riviera begins to lose my interest past the 1967 model year. The 1963–1965 car is a classic for a reason, and the 1966–1967 Riviera is exceptionally handsome, but I can’t help feeling that the 1968–1969 models were beginning to fall victim to the eternal Detroit problem of change for the sake of change (even before the Riviera ran headlong into the wall of mixed feelings that is the 1971 “boat-tail” car)

 

Still, I think Car Life‘s intro summed up the situation well:

ENJOYMENT OF A Buick Riviera starts long before the ignition key is turned. It starts even before one enters the car. In fact, it starts with that first good look. The 1966–1968 Riviera is a beautiful car. Seldom has any car achieved such widespread acceptance of styling. The 1968 Riviera features a new grille which many believe is a step in the wrong direction. The clean, lithe look of 1966–1967 Rivieras is cluttered somewhat by the new front end treatment. Still, the 1968 Riviera is very attractive, and continues to display the basic contours which have been lauded in automotive publications throughout the world.

I can’t really argue with any of that. Is this car as attractive as its immediate predecessors? I’d say not, but considered on its own right and in comparison to other 1968 cars, it still looks awfully good.

 

The dashboard was fully redesigned for 1968 to comply with the new federal motor vehicle safety standards. (The “Dr. Haddon” mentioned in the text was William Haddon Jr., M.D., first head of what is now the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.) Riviera also got new seats. Car Life was generally pleased with these:

Driving position and driver comfort are exceptionally good in the 1968 Riviera, as compared with other domestic passenger cars. The traditional GM wheel-in-the-chest driving position has been altered to a point at which Riviera drivers should be quite comfortable, and should be able to maneuver the automobile without ball-jointed elbows. CAR LIFE’S test car was equipped with a 4-way power-adjustable driver’s seat. Though seatback angle was slightly more vertical than CL testers prefer, general seat contour and cushioning were excellent.

 

 

The editors were also keen on the new horseshoe shifter included on cars with bucket seats and a center console. However, a growing number of Riviera buyers now opted for the front bench seat.

CL did have some reservations about the new reclining passenger seat:

The right front seat incorporated a reclining seatback which was very peculiar in operation. The seatback pivot point was well above the intersection point between seatback and seat cushion. This caused the lower edge of the seatback to move forward and upward in titling rearward, to bear heavily against the reclining occupant’s lumbar area. A lower seatback pivot point would provide much greater comfort in the reclined position, admittedly at the expense of a small amount of rear seat knee room.

 

Mechanically, the 1968 Riviera had changed little from the previous year. Car Life noted:

Chassis alterations for 1968 are confined to rear suspension modifications. The 1968 Riviera features a lowered Panhard rod and relocated rear suspension trailing arms. Essentially, the new rear suspension geometry provides a lower roll center and longer effective trailing arm for less wheelbase change through jounce and rebound. These changes are intended to provide less understeer during hard cornering, and to improve ride comfort over large bumps.

The AMA specifications also indicate that the front springs were stiffened by about 10 percent for 1968, presumably to counterbalance the lower roll axis. I assume this is the reason why, as CL subsequently complained, there was no actual reduction in the Riv’s massive understeer.

 

Many if not all earlier magazine tests of the second-generation Riviera had been of the GS model, which had a stiffer suspension. I think this might have been Car Life‘s first full test of the standard suspension, which was not to their tastes at all:

The test car did ride smoothly and quietly. Small bumps, tar strips, etc., were traversed in almost complete silence, without harshness. Large undulations, however, were not so pleasantly accommodated by the Riviera. Buick claims to have increased shock absorber control for 1968, but the test Riviera did little to exhibit this increase. A very soft, vertical oscillation was dominant over rolling roads. To the Riviera’s credit, this up and down jounce and rebound caused no difficulty in maintenance of directional control. Comfort provided by this sort of soft, flexible suspension is questionable.

AMERICAN MANUFACTURERS long have maintained that an automobile cannot be suspended too softly, at least if ride quality is of prime concern. This definitely is not true, and the 1968 Riviera is a case in point. Lack of harshness is commendable. Almost complete absence of road noise over smooth roads is remarkable. However, minimal control of large-amplitude oscillations and almost total dissimilarity between vehicle motion and road contour are neither comfortable nor desirable. Driver control suffers, and occupants are subjected to a floating sensation that can cause motion sickness. It would seem that adequate shock absorber control of large-amplitude motion is within the capability of an engineering staff that produces an otherwise excellent automobile.

If the 1968 Riviera has been modified to reduce understeer, the test car kept this fact a secret. Its abundance of understeer was only slightly masked by power steering. The Riviera exhibited a large degree of roll, even in moderately hard cornering, although occupants were not bothered by the roll angle. The Riviera is not a race car, and in violent maneuvering around light bends the car felt clumsy and unmanageable. To the Riviera’s credit, however, handling remains completely predictable. Driven reasonably, on the large-radius highway curves for which the Riviera is most suitable, handling is quite acceptable, safe and very forgiving of poor driving technique.

Car Life noted that their test car was a very early production example that had been thrashed in engineering tests, so it had a number of unresolved powertrain maladies: abrupt power loss, which they thought felt like vapor lock; a reluctance to pull above about 60 mph; and erratic shifting, accompanied by noticeable slippage on the 2–3 shift. I assume that contributed to their lackluster acceleration figures, although 0 to 60 mph in 10.7 seconds and the quarter mile in 16.5 seconds (at 79.5 mph) wasn’t bad for this class. The figures Motor Trend recorded with a 1969 Riviera in their “Luxury With a Flair” comparison — 0 to 60 in 9.2 seconds, the quarter mile in 16.1 seconds with a much-improved 87.5 mph trap speed — were probably more representative of a mechanically healthy 1968–1969 Riviera.

 

The CL test car was nonetheless very pleasant in more relaxed driving:

At the other end of the scale, puttering around in city traffic was smooth, silent and completely enjoyable. The space-capsule concept of automotive design was evident in the Riviera. A Riviera driver need not be aware of his mechanical environment. No trace of drivetrain vibration could be detected. Buick engineers have gone to great lengths to insure against drive-line shudder and high-speed vibration, as evidenced by the incorporation of double-Cardan, constant-velocity universal joints in the propeller shaft.

As most CC readers are likely aware, the second-generation Riviera shared its E-body shell with the front-wheel-drive Oldsmobile Toronado and 1967–1970 Cadillac Eldorado, which were semi-unitized, with a partial frame that ended ahead of the rear axle. The Riviera, which was rear-wheel-drive, retained the controversial GM X-frame, which was a true self-supporting frame.

 

Car Life noted that this combination made the Riviera feel commendably stout:

A LARGE PART of the feeling of effortless performance and silence of the Riviera undoubtedly is attributable to the strong cruciform chassis structure. The Riviera’s combination of substantial body structure with a very rigid frame provides a high degree of total vehicle integrity. This became obvious in driving over a stretch of broken pavement. In comparison with other domestic passenger cars, the Riviera felt like the proverbial rock. Shake and body flexing were pleasantly absent. A feeling of complete solidity was apparent, creating an impression of durability and strength. Rivieras should remain free from rattles longer than the majority of other cars, another sound reason for buying this automobile.

 

In 1967, the new Buick 430 cu. in. (7,041 cc) V-8 had replaced the last of the old Nailhead V-8s, now boasting 360 gross horsepower with a single four-barrel carburetor. The previously dual-carburetor setup was no longer available with the 430, which despite its gross rating didn’t seem to be quite as powerful as the 425 cu. in. (6,970 cc) engine it replaced.

 

The spec panel on the above page says that the test car had a 3.42 axle, which was likely an editorial error. In 1968 and 1969, the standard Riviera had a 3.07 axle (which would be consistent with the 26.5 mph/1,000 rpm Car Life listed in top gear), with the 3.42 axle available only on the GS. The higher numerical axle wasn’t a factory option for standard cars, although I suppose one could have persuaded a dealer to make the swap.

Also notable is that the 1968 Riviera still had fixed-rate power steering. Variable-rate steering would be added for 1969, a welcome change.

 

Buick still used its big 12-inch finned aluminum drums in 1968, but front disc brakes had become optional in 1967. These were very rare on the Riviera — only 5.9 percent of 1968 production had discs — but the Car Life test car was so equipped. Surprisingly, the editors found that while the discs provided a slightly better deceleration rate, stopping ability was still only adequate (23 feet/sec./sec.) and fade was somewhat heavier than their previous drum-braked Riviera. However, the Riviera had “almost perfect” directional stability in panic stops, with rear lockup easy to modulate — by no means assured with early disc/drum systems.

Car Life‘s test car had a curb weight of well over 4,500 lb (4,550 lb according to the spec panel, 4,560 lb according to the main text). I’ve always tended to assume that 1968 Riviera was a lot heavier than the ’66, but the AMA specs show a difference in shipping weights of only 26 lb, which isn’t significant in cars this size.

 

The Car Life editors mused:

Occasionally, when writing a road test, the question “what good is it?” is posed. In the case of the 1968 Riviera, this question is readily answered. The 1968 Riviera is a businessman’s express, a logical extension of the luxurious pseudo-sporting theme favored by Detroit product planners. Interior room is comparable to intermediate-sized passenger cars, but comfort and appointments are in the luxury car class. … The 1968 Riviera is a perfect automobile for transportation of 4 passengers for long distances over high-speed thoroughfares. During the test, a persistent thought kept recurring. The Riviera is what Ponycars might be, when they grow up. Or, taken from another viewpoint, the Riviera is what Ponycar buyers can look forward to when their bank accounts permit purchase of a higher priced automobile.

That oversize pony car vibe had done a lot to endear the Riviera to car magazine reviewers who would otherwise have dismissed it as disagreeably large, but the reality was that most contemporary buyers in this class were not terribly interested in actual sportiness, and even the “pseudo-sporting” concept was rapidly losing ground to stylish isolation and ever more gargantuan exterior dimensions. Buick held out longer than most, but the trend was already clear by the time this car went on sale. Judging by the 1968 brochure — an unintentionally hilarious collection of positive affirmations for the affluent and middle-aged — Buick expected the Riviera to appeal to a somewhat older crowd.

 

CL noted that list prices were not available at press time, but the base price of the 1968 Riviera ended up being $4,615, up $146 from 1967. As Car Life noted, most cars were optioned to well over $6,000: 89.1 percent of 1968 Rivieras had air conditioning (often with automatic climate control), 84.2 percent had power windows, 76.4 percent had a vinyl top, and 68.5 percent had power seats.

The Buick Riviera has long been a favorite with CL staffers, largely because the car is a superb combination of styling, performance, ride, comfort and solidity. As they are more handling-oriented than the average consumer, the GS handling package option would be specified by staff members. However, the standard suspension can do an acceptable job.

While GS cars are the most desirable to modern collectors (much like the chromed steel road wheels, which are now found on far more Rivieras than ever left the factory with them), that option was fairly rare. Only 5,337 Rivieras had the $132 GS package in 1968.

The 1968 Riviera is a good-looking car. More than that, it is a smooth, quiet transporter that features all of the modern conveniences intended to make long-distance driving as pleasant as possible. … This is a lot of money for lots of sound, well-styled automobile.

Buick built 49,284 Rivieras for 1968, neither the best nor the worst in this segment. However, the survival rate seems to be high, and while prices aren’t stratospheric, interest has remained strong. I’d still rather have a ’66 or a ’67, but I wouldn’t cry if someone gave me a nice ’68, and it seems that a lot of people still appreciate these cars for the same reasons Car Life did when they were new.

 

Related Reading

Vintage Road & Track Review: 1966 Buick Riviera Gran Sport – Lighter and Faster Than The FWD Toronado (by Paul N)
Curbside Classic: 1966 Buick Riviera – The Ultimate Bill Mitchell-Mobile? (by Paul N)
CC Outtake: 1967 Buick Riviera GS – Stunning (by Don Andreina)
Curbside Classic: 1968 Buick Riviera – Riding The Curve (by Perry Shoar)
Vintage Comparison Test: 1969 Buick Riviera, Ford Thunderbird, Mercury Marauder X-100, Oldsmobile Toronado, Pontiac Grand Prix – The Personal Luxury Wars Heat Up (by GN)
Curbside Classic: 1969 Buick Riviera – A Discourse About Awkwardness, Pragmatism, Family Dynamics, and Buicks (by Jason Shafer)
In Motion Classic: 1969 Buick Riviera – Rivvy In The City (by Joseph Dennis)