1959 Buicks in the showroom.
1959s in the showroom.
1959 & 1960 Buicks in the showroom.
1961 Buicks in the showroom.
Vintage Dealers: 1959-1961 Buicks In The Showroom
– Posted on September 26, 2024
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Curbside Classics Archives
The 1960 Buicks looks so much better than the 59. The 1961 looks even better
Big time!
Someone had to have been really drunk to approve the canted headlights.
It’s not even an improvement over the horrible ’58 front.
I think this short-lived fad began with the 1958 Lincoln. Buick had it for 1959, and Chrysler followed in 1961. None of them look exactly good but, of the three, Buick pulled it off the best. But, yeah, no surprise canted headlights were only used for a very brief period.
I actually kind of like it but, then, I’m also attracted to the 1961 Plymouth for precisely the same reason. These cars are so bizarre, they have something of a ‘so bad, they’re good’, like the Ed Wood movies of the auto world.
Totally agree. The ‘61 GM B bodies were just the best. A bit trimmer, more athletic, and that fabulous bubble top 2 door hardtop. Bill Mitchell had fully emerged from Harley Earl’s shadow and hit a home run.
Often when I see these article pop up on here about old dealership photos, I eagerly scroll through to see if the old dealer I worked for will be there. It was (is still but under a new location and name) located in Dubuque, Iowa and sold Buick, Cadillac, GMC and Honda. Maybe someday.
When I started selling in 1988, I quickly learned that placing those beautiful new cars on the showroom floor was only done by “certain” people and there was a kind of art to doing it. A nice floor display makes a huge difference. Many years later, I ran the sales department in a Chrysler (Dodge and Jeep) store in a small rural town. Before I went there, the lot always looks terrible and the showroom, although small, was a mess. Shortly after I started, locals began to stop in who had never been in there before much less purchased a Chrysler product. They were stopping to compliment the way the dealership was looking and how the vehicles were so nicely lined up outside. It was nice to get those compliments, but even nicer when I started to sell Chrysler products to people who’d never considered them before.
My Grandfather was a Buick loyalist his whole life, he normally traded on a two year cycle but was put off by the 58 59 60 excess and went from a 57 to a 61 the recession might have had a little to do with it, but he was never pinched financially as a GE executive. He loved the Electra 225 when it appeared and never bought any other model after.
I really liked the ’59 when it was new, even had a big advertising poster on the wall of my bedroom. Now they look horrible!
I think the 1961 photo may be of some sort of sales training event. Everyone is looking at the new Special
That photo is of a dealership grand opening. It was taken inside of Wiethop Buick in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Below is a photo of the building’s exterior on the same day.
While it was a grand opening, it was really a change of ownership – a Buick dealership had existed there for quite some time (Clark Buick, and before that Buchanan Buick).
Location is 201 S. Sprigg St. in Cape Girardeau.
Local “radio station” was there that day!
I like the wagon in the 3rd photo. How would one know if this was a LeSabre or an Invicta? Either I guess would be pretty rare nowadays given how few were made of either (I’m reading about 7500 LeSabres and 5000 Invictas in 1960).
On a totally unrelated note, I’m always surprised at how much wood paneling shows up in these showrooms. Ugh…I almost always hated paneling and it’s one design/decorating trend that I am glad to see sent to the fireplace of history.
The wagon kind of jumped out at me, too .
-Nate
I love the lady behind the wheel in photo no. 2. “When. can. we leave.”
GM did a good job hiding the fact that all brands shared body panels at the door & roofline, firewall & floorpan.
The glass was shared, too. Let’s not forget that the boys at GM were caught on the back-foot by Chrysler who had the ‘Forward Look’. Overnight, all their previous plans for Harley Earl’s podgy styling were shelved, in favour of thin, sleek styling.
The 1959 Buick’s style came from the 1956 Buick Centurion. The canted headlights and rear fins. Very good looking car at that time. My dad bought one. He got the Electra. One thing that confused Buick owners was how to line up the 4 body styles to the 3 for the 1959 year. Roadmaster, Super, Century and Special. It is also known that they would have sold more 59s if there was more steel available. By the way, my dad wasn’t drunk.
My father was 23 when he bought his first new car, the 1959 LeSabre 2 door. Blue. It lasted until it was repossessed in 1962, having had his fourth child, another on the way, outgrew living in the family’s two bedroom house, and had more bills than he could pay.
He always loved it. We have dozens of colored slides of it. It was his dream cars.
So, perhaps one had to be a young man to become enraptured by what I had often thought of as a 1959 TransAm, overwrought styling that appealed to the wild side?
The canted headlights & “swept-wing” fenders were supposed to mimic 4-engine jetliners. I remember reading in an auto magazine from that period (Motor Age? Motor Trend?) that a little girl was frightened by the front end appearance of a dark ’59 Buick when it was rolled out in her direction, at an early dealer (& family) showing of those new cars. Subsequently, much of the later ’59 Buick advertising featured little girls looking at the car with admiration, or playing nearby; “proving” that there was nothing to be afraid of. (they WERE kinda scary looking tho!)
Neighbors had a gray one of these as the fam car.A “66 Belvedere” replaced it in late “67”.
I like how the ’59 and ’60 in photo #3 are being photobombed by the ’58 outside.
I agree with Duane. The ‘59 was the least attractive of these three years. If I had been a Buick dealer in those days I would have longed for the 1954-1956 period when Buick was in some of it’s best years.
This is a photo of the Buick/Oldsmobile dealership that I worked at. The owner of the dealership is posing with two new cars. This was Cunningham Buick/Oldsmobile in Burlington, Wisconsin. They had an excellent reputation for great service. Unfortunately they went out of business in 2003. The man in the picture was actually hit by a car and killed in front of the dealership while crossing the street in 1969.
Growing up in the mid to late 60’s my parents had one car the entire time. 1961 Buick Invicta convertible. White on white with a medium to dark blue interior. Remember that car more than any other. Remember being a pre-teen and watching it loudly drive down the street after 2 20ish looking guys bought it off dad. Hadn’t run in years. Think they worked on it a day or two and got it running. Always wondered if it was still around or just history like my childhood
I’ve had two 58 Specials, currently still have one I picked up Aug of 1983, had a 59 Lesabre wagon and 4dr flat top, also a 60 Electra, 60 Invicta and 60 Lesabre. I remember seeing all these old cars on the road when I was 7 years old and I could tell what they were just by the look. I also had a 57 SuperChief I wish I still had along with my 60 Pioneer. the new cars on the road today all look the same.
I always thought the 59 buick would have been a better choice for the movie Christine. Definitely a mean looking front end.