Back when GM was a purveyor of cool-looking machines, the argument could be made that some of its children were better dressed than others. And that’s something that could be seen through the decades; Pontiac in the ’60s, Oldsmobile in the ’70s, and so on. I know it’s all a matter of likes and preferences, but most can probably choose one or two brands from each period.
All that said, Buick was certainly at a styling peak during most of the 1950s. A sign that the brand had much favour with GM’s styling VP Harley Earl. Under his tenure, the models carried a sophisticated blend of dashing looks and mild hot-rodding/sporty influences. All sharply put together to great effect.
So let’s take a look at some Buicks from the period thanks to these vintage images. This is the second such gallery we have featured, and while Buicks were not the most numerous of makes back then (as it was natural for an upscale brand), its numbers on vintage photos are somewhat notable. Looking at period images, it feels like camera owners couldn’t help themselves when one came into view. A sign of their allure?
That second-to-last photo seems to be from Colombia?
If that is in Columbia, the owner was probably very wealthy. Can’t imagine what the import tax plus delivery would have been. Already an expensive car in the US.
Expand the photo, the license plate has Columbia across the bottom
It’s not just any old Buick; it’s the very pricey, limited production Skylark, with unique bodywork and genuine wire wheels.
Extreme income stratification has always been rampant in South America.
Well done! This reminds me of the time when a Buick was a Buick. Today, they all look like forgettable little pigs on stilts. I guess the Chinese connection/sales are the only real reason for this marque’s continuance.
rpol35: I couldn’t agree more. Buick is modest but large and in charge sedans. Not a bunch (of 4) rebadged Chevy crossovers that are now taking on the Lexus and Toyota ugly front end look.
My how the mighty Buick has fallen.
Buick was pretty special back in the 1950s. It meant success and modernity. It began losing that image as GM standardized their divisions into variations of the same car.
These are nice photos of a long lost age. Sad we no longer have Americans supporting the domestic vehicle industry.
Buick also was a tremendous value in an era of rising incomes. The 1955 Buick Special with the nailhead V8 was a few dollars more than a Chevy Bel Air V8, and much more car in fact and image. It’s the sweet spot that Pontiac hit with the Catalina a few times in the Sixties, and it’s the plan that Chevy used to topple Ford in the Twenties.
The most popular vehicles in America are trucks manufactured in the NAFTA territory, mostly with traditional American brands. The most popular traditional gas sedans in America are manufactured in Ohio and Kentucky. The market for electric cars in America is dominated by an American company that manufactures its cars in America.
Vehicles imported to the USA from outside NAFTA mostly are fringe products: very cheap vehicles that actual US new car buyers mostly don’t want; products that are very popular elsewhere but not of mass interest in the US; luxury and specialty models that are sold all over the world from one or two plants.
Good points. But of Buick’s three or four remaining models sold in the US think two are made in China.
Buick exists in the US today because of China. It is a massively popular brand there. China is the country doing us a favor by enjoying the brand that is so formative in our motoring history. The remaining US Buicks are low volume vanity products so Chinese Buick lovers continue to think of Buick as a Great American Tradition. Buick was the GM brand that China remembered and wanted when the Chinese public could buy cars.
Your comment would have been correct some years ago, but not anymore. Buick’s sales in China are cratering (along with all Western brands). In 2023, Buick sold 500k units in China, down from 1.2 M in 2017.
Buick serves a useful role in the US, as an alternative to Chevy and most importantly, as a passenger car brand for GMC dealers. Buick sales in the US had a big 60% bump in 2023 from 2022.
Buick sales in the US today are small numbers in a generally redundant sales network. Big percentage changes in small numbers are still even smaller numbers, either up or down.
In 1986, Pontiac, Olds, and Buick sold about 2.7 million cars, and those dealers sold some GMC trucks. Today, what’s left of that dealer network sells less than a million vehicles. Buick is less than a quarter of today’s much smaller network.
Hey, I LIKE Buicks. My last car was a candy apple red LeSabre. I only replaced it because it’s so old and typical owners are so poor that you can’t buy OEM quality repair parts and parts often aren’t available locally. I like the new Buicks a lot, but I like the Mazdas even more.
#4 is an interesting mechanism. Swinging bridge? The two guys seem to be ready to operate it with those ship-type wheels as soon as the traffic in this direction clears?
Note the gas holder in the background.
In the 1950, 60 and beyond Buick’s were often referred to as MD’s favorite cars , just enough class without being a Cadillac owner 💥💥💥
SWEET ! .
I’m a Bowtie Guy but nothing tops the looks of these .
-Nate
Star Dust Photo:
The bill board makes mention that the show is for Adults Only.
What ever was displayed would be pale in comparison to what’s on TV today.
I was curious about that too. Lido de Paris is a still-extant cabaret and from what I can tell, nothing you’d need to keep kids from seeing.
There’s still something kids “can’t see”?
Sweepspears and fully exposed rear wheels –hallmarks of Buick during this era. Also we know from CC that Buick was number three behind Chevy and Ford in 1954- 56.
The car in the first photo and possibly the 6th are painted a very desirable paint color Titian red. This metallic color was the paint of choice for hot rods and customs in the 50s. Unfortunately it faded in the sun so it was discontinued and GM tried to replace it with Honduras Maroon which was a great color but not as good.
That white convertible in the mountains appears to be a 1953 Skylark.
Note the sweepspear, wire wheels, open rear wheel well and no “portholes”
My favorite 50’s Buick. Next favorite is the 1956 Roadmaster Riviera convertible.
I thought Riviera was the name Buick used for its 50s hardtops, like Olds and Holiday.
Right you are. Until the 1963 separate model, Riviera was the name given to all Buick hardtops.
Beginning in 1950, the Riviera name was applied to some Roadmaster pillared sedans. Presumably Buick didn’t want its best sedans to be presented as inferior in status to its coupes.
Buicks were always a brand you wanted to ow.n/drive. But that was when GM were designing cars that people wanted to buy. It’s been a long time since that was the case. Today, they are uninspiring but still priced as if they were desirable. Ditto, Cadillac.
If it’s obvious to the consumer, how come it isn’t to GM?
Beautiful pictures-for the most part I really liked the styling of Buicks in the 1950’s and ’60’s; for the most part they were quite attractive and understated vehicles. I always considered them old money cars owned by people who were financially well off but who did not care to flaunt their wealth.
Now Buick produces nothing but nondescript SUV’s, CUV’s and crossovers-how the mighty have fallen.
My dad had big Buicks from ’68 until a tree smashed his 2000 LeSabre in 2018. He got $75 for it because I’d cancelled the collision insurance to save money (it was rarely driven). An appropriate end to our Buick connection. His parents had them most of the years from 1918 to 1964, when widowed Grandma switched to 3 black Cadillacs in a row (I’m on my second black, fourth used Cadillac, so I guess that imprinted).
In colombia picture, looks like a bald eagle in the tree above & slightly a little left of the kid’s head.
Buicks had style and class back then. My favorites are the first and last photos of the ’54 Buick hardtop coupes. I would love to have one in my driveway
A very nice 1954 Buick Century in the first photo. Curious that the number of portholes on the Century alternated between three and four, depending on the year.
As a kid a neighbor drove carpool in her ‘52 Buick Special. I can still recall the soft moan of the Dynaflow backed straight eight as she pulled up the hill of her driveway. Like an old motorboat pulling away from the dock.
Had a neighbor, up the hill away’s; his “51 Chevy coupe” made a particular “rumble” , as it motored down the hill.
Was “garaged, maintained”, attractive. In “1967”, a handsome , green, “Fury iii” sdn replaced it.
Remember the “mopar” sported that “a/c by Chrysler airtemp”, window sticker.
The 1954 2 door hardtop in picture #6 is my favorite. ’54s have always been my NO 1 Buick. I really like the color combination
I love CPJ’s last comment. Sounds of cars we knew in the ‘fifties–which included a fair sampling of pre-war cars still on the road—would make a great specialist sound-track recording (much of it possibly sourced from old movies ?). The automatic transmission introduced a whole new variety of motor and exhaust noises . . .
One of my uncle Johnny “JB” Bartlett’s 1955 Buick parts cars, parked at the end of a line of them alongside his driveway in the early ’80s. This is a Century 2dr hardtop, 322 Nailhead V8. I own this car today, and this is what it looks like now.