For today, I wanted to share this gallery of Buicks on the road. Being a popular semi-premium make, vintage photos of Buicks are not rare, but obviously not that common either. A good reason to showcase these old images, most dating from the 1950s.
Throughout the ’50s, Buicks were quite the aspirational product. The brand solidly hovered between the 3rd and 4th place in domestic sales during most of the decade. Only a worrisome drop at decade’s end would put that standing in peril. But Buick was to overcome that dip soon enough.
So let’s take a look a this bunch of Buicks, each looking rather jaunty and ready to roll. The gallery finishes with two photos of the same car, making a cross-country trip.
Living the good life in America .
-Nate
DUDE – the only way that first photo could have been improved is if the car door was closed. That is such a sweet photo!
LOVE THESE! Thanks
Great photos of beautiful cars! Those were the days…Thank you for sharing
My grandparents had a ’56 Roadmaster sedan. It looked so much taller and stodgier than these hardtops, partly because it was all black (black and red interior), that I can see why people put up with rattling windows on the hardtops.
I wonder if the first pic was taken on the old US Rt 1 somewhere in the Keys?
Let me add one:
(Ektachrome color slide from 1978 by George Thomas)
My Dad and other family, friends and neighbors drove many of these ’50s Buicks, and I rode in and loved all of them. They were the last decade of Buicks that had that certain something that set them apart from other cars (particularly, Oldsmobiles!). Thanks for this wonderful compilation. It took me back to my grammar school days for a brief moment.
The second photo, with the lady and her ’50 on the country lane would make a great picture to hang on the wall.
I agree – that’s an outstanding picture!
I got my driver’s license piloting dad’s power steering-less ’51 Roadmaster. My arms still hurt from trying to park it. But, it was virtually indestructible despite my attempts to wind out the dynaslow’s LO range to 70 mph. He later had a ’55 Super, &, I, being hooked on toothy grills had a ’57 Special hardtop coupe with the rare three-on-the-tree.
Is that city picture of New York with the brownstone row houses in the background or maybe Chicago?
All of the people, places, times and Buicks in the photos make for a great memories of when those beautiful behemoths roamed the road.Thanks
Love the brownstones in the 3rd photo. Looks like the era from the first Godfather movie.
Number 9 photo looks like a snow slide waiting to happen!
Q: What’s the only thing that can knock a Roadmaster off the road?
A: Another Roadmaster.
Sorry, I couldn’t resist.
The penultimate Buick has a huge screen mounted on the front of it. Doesn’t look like an area with lots of bugs–maybe protection for gravel or ice chunks?
This is the 1950 Special my Dad gave me on my 21st Birthday in 1979.
Unfortunately, it was in my brother’s barn for a clutch job a couple years later when the barn went up in flames.
SWEET ! .
I love coral colored cars .
-Nate
Nate,
Actually, in this picture the car is painted with 1977 Corvette Buckskin Tan.
It was originally black lacquer. Dad did some body work on it and had painted this color to hold it until he could finish the rest of the work – tin worm had got to the floor boards real bad.
Unfortunately, the fire destroyed the car before we could get it restored.
If I didn’t have a fairly strict “no two the same” policy in my garage, this would be sorely tempting. Someone over on the AACA forums posted this very rare 1951 Super Sedanet that’s for sale on Hemmings for $19,900 (at a dealer). What a beauty!
Here’s another picture.
That Super Sedanet is glorious .
-Nate
Ron, That could have been my parents’ new wedding & honeymoon car that they took to Niagara Falls in July, 1950. One problem. Theirs was a Dynaflow. I’m sorry for your loss.
Never tire of looking at Buicks. Thanks!
Robert, my Dad bought this one because it was the same model he had when he met my mother in 1956 His first one hgad the Dynaflow.
Thus one he bought off the estate of the original owner in 1971. Car was as barebones as you could get. The only option was the under seat heater
In 1973 I was in Bakersfield Cal. I met my wife of 49 years there and her dad had a 1957 Buick Special with only 35000 miles on it and factory a/c with the unit in the front floor of the car. It was 2 tone green and we used to date in it. He offered it to us for free but not being able financially to get it to NC with us we had to turn it down. Would be nice to have it today.Gotta love old cars and Buick was in its “hay day” when these photos were taken.