Leaderboard

Actually... ? ? the GNX, current Mustang and Camaro are all 2-door sedans because they have quarter windows. The term 'coupe' is derived from 'close coupled', and in modern automobiles, that means no quarter glass. 2013 Corvette is an example. so was the Viper. Not many cars fit the technical definition. I know- it reads as crazy to the casual observer, but it's rooted in automotive architecture / construction. Layfolk call anything with 2-doors a 'coupe' and anything with 4 a 'sedan'.

It's a badass car and I respect you and YKX both. Could we please just groove on cool cars, and not worry about semantics? Personally, kind of out of love with a lot of 80's cars...but still have a soft spot for the GNX or the 442 of the era, Monte SS, etc. It becomes a little bit like guys bitching about small differences in speakers in the audio world or small differences in handling in the motorcycle world. Buy/Ride/Drive/listen to what you like... Good vibes to you in North Carolina and YKX in Jersey. Regards, Horse. Greatest car of the eighties can be defined in an infinite number of ways. One could argue for isntance the Chryco Minivans were the greatest because of what a game changer they were. "Greatest car of the eighties" is sort of like "greatest rock and roll drummer" or "greatest flavor of ice cream" Although I will buy Jennie's ice cream for you or surreal if you are ever in Columbus. Chris Ohhh...and good vibes to our Brother from Montreal. As soon as us crazy Americans can cross the border, want to come up and visit, maybe this fall.

In another time and place, I coulda been a Buick man. Some beautiful beastly 70s Big Buicks.. ..and some sweet '80s Buicks.

The GMC Hummer EV Pickup Will Weigh 9,046 Pounds The GMC Hummer EV Pickup Will Weigh 9,046 Pounds: Report | The Drive That's roughly 800 pounds more than a dually Chevy Silverado with 4WD.

One more.....for TC Bob and R. Hall...70's love. A nasty old Buick for Drew and Balthazar, for those who like these old beasts... Pontiac!

Grooving on cool cars... I am to the age that when I look at her front and back, its a vintage car and not a woman. Always liked the 56 Nomad.

There were better handling cars, but there weren’t better accelerating cars. While I think the exterior and the powertrain are bad-ass (and you can make this a completely livable 11-sec car for what was $500 in ‘00), I do not like the interior at all and the one ride I had in a GN confirmed that it does rattle like hell... tho that car was then was probably 15 yrs old.

Just for comparison new Oshkosh Light Combat Tactical All-Terrain Vehicle that has mine and bullet resistive armor weights 10266 lbs. Original HMMWV weights 5200lbs

Don't think I'd classify the Grand National or GNX as a 'performance sedan'...more of a performance coupe or muscle car. Remember, the Regal it was based on was a personal luxury coupe. Anyway, it was one of the fastest cars of the 80s and a unique last hurrah for RWD Buick performance cars..

We were just getting settled in a long-overdue, Cadillac-led automotive weight reduction health program... everyone was making progress, shedding pounds, feeling more lithe & supple than in years... but NOW- it's 7-layer fudge cake for everyone!! 9000 lb curb weights.... ?

Lotto winning/bucket list car. More style on that than should be allowed on a car,

You are correct and my response was for that exact reason. The defensive BS and lofty standards of one person should not diminish what was said in admiration of a classic ride. Seriously, follow your own advice. You're the one who had to $h! on David because he made a COMMON SENSE statement about a car that was (flaws and all) ahead of the curve back then. He also never said it was the greatest car of the 80s so that's you putting words into others mouths again. That, in and of itself, is an exaggeration. Again, follow your own advice and move on.

@surreal1272 whatever. Now you make up things because "they make common sense" I put a quote from Car and Driver magazine regarding the car, you don't like it - move along. It was one of the greatest sedans of the period, it was the fastest in the straight line, but it was one trick pony. Saying that it was the greatest car of the eighties is exaggeration, simple as that.

Where is the Asian performance auto's at this time of the GNX? Where is Mercedes Benz, BMW, Audi or VW? Who says Americans cannot build top performance sedans? ?

From an era where so much greatness was created! 1 of the 547 built '87 Buick GNX's just sold for $205,000. Kicker is, that's actually the second-highest price paid for one. In 1987, only the Porsche 911 Turbo could barely squeeze past a GNX in a 0-60 run, by 1/10th of a second. https://www.foxnews.com/auto/rare-1987-buick-gnx-muscle-car-sold-for-205000

Hmmm, GN was all Buick, but ASC/McLaren Performance were involved with upgrading the GN into the GNX. That's how they were all dyno'd; that didn't happen at Flint Assembly.

Dont forget an insanely expensive, bland and dumpy 4-door... 100 000 dollars IN the mid-1980s I just felt left out of the slugfest that I too, wanted to fight for something, so I took a shot against the GNX. But in reality, I LOVE the GNX. I only merely like the AMG Hammer. Id take the GNX hands DOWN, all day, every day, and every night over the Hammer. But I DO like LOVE that the Hammer has a big (for mid 1980s) V8 under the hood. EDIT: I wanted to address this to @balthazar, but @surreal1272 didnt waste any time to...address that little thing called price. I was answering a call that @David was phoning in. He called, I answered. I hung up. OK...I may have slightly hinted that maybe a turbo, dinky V6 might not BE a N/A V8...but hey!!! 1987 Olds442 307 CI V8 Deal with it!!!

And for only 4 times the cost while still being slower. There was also never more than 30 of those because they were essentially one off conversions by AMG, and at a time when AMG was not fully under the Mercedes umbrella (ownership wise) so they are basically just another tuner company like Callaway and Hennessy. At least the Buick was all GM and all stock with no tuner help. Mercedes didn't have a real interest in hi-po sedans at that time anyway, which is why it took AMG to juice up that E-300.

^ Interesting that 1 turbo replaced 3 camshafts, 2 cylinders and 110 CI - (every GNX was dyno-tested at ASC and averaged 350 HP.). Tho it's numbers are respectable (if slower), the MB is a bland, dumpy 4-door.

honda del sol I think. Not sure if the spray foam is factory or an owner ‘repair’ that’s also degrading along with the sheet metal.

Not everyone has a dream car, more of it just hits the right look, feel, etc. Kinda like how my family and others I hear all the time talk about a favorite color, favorite actor, actress, concert, band, etc. I honestly never have felt that way about anything, just love technology advances for the time period and how they intrigue me. American Cars was the Monte Carlo SS Aero Buick GNX Nissan Skyline 33, 34 Suburban's Trucks Colors, I like them all, never had a favorite or a dream color. Actors being the closest I could say I am a fan of is Arnold due to his body building as I was a 12yr old, 6ft tall mess when my dad took me to the gym and asked a coach how to get me coordinated. As such, body building and power lifting became a big part of my life as did everything Arnold. Actresses, never had a single favorite, can clearly point to a wide variety of lovely woman. Asian woman I know I can point to two TV shows that got me hooked. Shogun (TV Mini-Series 1980) - IMDb Tai-Pan (1986) - IMDb Otherwise, no wet dream, dream auto, dream color, dream home, etc. Multi-Cultural colors of the world are my thing!

GNX was as much sedan as the Mustang or Camaro. Yes, it was one of the fastest in the eighties in a straight line. The 13 Quickest Cars of the 1980s (caranddriver.com) It was maybe a great factory muscle car, but all they did is put a great engine in a very average car. You can buy today for $30k base Mustang GT, put for under $10k supercharger and few minor thing and it will have over 800hp easily. In a straight line it will be faster than Shelby GT350 and maybe even GT500 or many other factory cars. Does it make it a better or a great car? Maybe great value for $$ per HP but I don't think it makes it a great car. The only reason you guys are drooling over GNX because it was a "dream" car from your childhood. Which is fine, a lot of "dream" cars from that period were not very good, including much more expensive cars than the Buick.

@Robert Hall Even ARNOLD knew the Buick was the ride to be in for 1986 Raw Deal

I DID NOT say Greatest car of the eighties, I said QUOTE: Handling is a personal preference, Interior is a personal preference, some loved the Lazy Boy recliner approach, others preferred the racer approach and even more liked a compromise between the two. Yet there was also nothing stopping people from adding on GM performance parts to the suspension to give it the road carving capability with the straight line performance. All of which people do with both Asian and European auto's. Still for the 80's, the GNX was a TOP PERFORMANCE SEDAN!!! I find nothing that could compete with it from any of the other brands at the time and we all know this.

GTO, the Mustang. yes. Ready to start gunning down high school kids and haunting Davids nightmares I am sure. Glad it will be rebuilt.

You didn’t fix anything. Common sense would tell you that by “performance auto”, he was referring to sedans. Name the sedans (in the same class and provide range as the GNX) from the companies HE mentioned that were so much better overall that it diminishes what he was saying about the GNX. I know you have lofty standards and love to point that out but it is ridiculous to take something he said (as a generalization) and just post some instant defensiveness that has nothing to do with anything.

And not one person who wants or has a GNX gives two s**** about the handling and not for nothing, but outside of true sports cars like the Vette and 911, there wasn’t another sedan (which is clearly what David was referring to) that could touch it. The Germans and Japanese didn’t have a damn thing that compared with the GNX. It was the rare bright spot in an otherwise horrible decade for cars, especially domestics.

Tested: 1987 Buick GNX Exercises Brute Force (caranddriver.com) "The GNX, with 55 more horses and an additional 25 pounds of mass, rockets to 60 in 4.7 seconds and squirts through the quarter-mile in 13.5 seconds at 102 mph. In zero-to-60 performance, the only car available in the U.S. that matches the Buick is the Callaway Twin-Turbo Corvette, and the only one that beats it is the Porsche 911 Turbo, at 4.6 seconds. Although the GNX's performance in the drag-race mode is measurably improved, the new suspension pieces do little to help the old sled's handling. At 0.80 g, it has respectable skidpad grip, but no more than the Grand National we tested last year. In the real world, when the road deviates from straight ahead or its surface becomes rougher than a pool table, the GNX rattles and bounces like bolts in a blender. Clearly, the engine and the chassis are in separate leagues. What we have here is a great powerhouse of a motor looking for a nice place to live." Great straight line muscle car but that's about it. There were better cars at the day. BTW converting its 1987 price to today's money, it costs about $70k.

^ They weren't around long, but I remember seeing them. EDIT :: Had to check first but apparently my recollection was correct; there was no 'Rallye III' for some reason. Pontiac was amazingly prolific with the styled rims.

Got the August issue of Collectible Automobile in the mail today, was reading an article about the ‘78-80 Grand Prix, and came up this photo—caption says for 1979, the Rally IV wheel option replaced the Rally II wheel option. First I’ve ever heard of or seen these wheels…

At the heart of every red blooded man! A PERFECT GENERIFICATION of Cars!

Seems gm has an official recycler for all left over material and battery packs that need to be properly recycled. Ultium battery cells from GM electric vehicles have an official recycler: Canada's Li-Cycle (greencarreports.com)

Recently rescued '58 Fury! ?

The Riviera '66 and '67 to me, was on equal footing as the '66-'67 Toro. Well, the Toronado edged it just a tad to be a more sensual design. But both were awesome! So much so, that I prefer these 2nd gen Rivieras over the 1st gens. But yeah, Buick's refreshing styling direction from '68 onward DID surpass Oldsmobile's. I agree with you Balthy.

Olds’ could’ve run the ‘66 design unchanged thru 1970, it was so advanced. IMO they should have. The Riviera surpassed the Toro in ‘68-69.

They neutered it by 1968. They squared off the look in 1969. But went back to the bladed front end in 1970 like you posted. @ykX The 1st gen Toronado was a looker. Any year. But in my opinion, the 1st year was THE masterpiece and Oldsmobile/GM just kept on messin' it up year after year after what they had created in 1966!

Watched over the weekend movie Wander on Amazon Prime. The movie is a bit weird but actors are great. They had 1970 Olds Toronado, which I think looked pretty cool.

That's weird.

Even though I know it was not this car in the Horror movie Christine, Every time I see it, it reminds me of that movie.

Here I fixed for you. David was talking about German and Asian performance auto. He didn't specify straight line or handling or whatever, so I interpreter this as a package. There were plenty of performance cars at the era that while were slower in a straight line were better in every other way.