BuickEight

If you're worried about image and being "hip", then get the Chevy. If you appreciate refinement more, then get the Buick. The Buick will still have a tighter feel when it has 100,000 or 200,000 miles. The Buick is built on the MUCH tighter G-body, the Chevy is built on the old W-body. And remember, a Buick is going to be built more like a Cadillac, and a Chevy is going to be built more like a...well, a Chevy! :( I bought a new Grand Prix in '99, and there is no way in hell I'd ever buy another Pontiac or a Chevy. I'll be going BACK to buying Buick because they still feel well built well past 100,000 miles and more. My Pontiac has almost 90k, and it feels like a real piece of shit.

Al Gore had a Mercury Sable and an Olds Alero during the 2000 election. Rove has a Jaguar, and the indicted Scotter Libby drives an older Saab convertible. Wisconsin senator Russ Feingold drives a Park Avenue Ultra. Wisconsin(my state) governor Doyle(D) also has a Park Avenue. I'm not sure what any of the other politicians drive. And studies don't mean jack shit! I'm a liberal, as is my whole family, and we all drive Domestic. Old people are usually liberal too, and they drive their Buicks. I'll admit that liberals in California probably drive mostly imports, but California is a different story. And lastly, I worked at a dealer that sold Mercedes, BMW and Porsche. All those greedy rich bastards were republicans. So, stop watching so much Faux News.

Sounds like my 90,000 mile '99 Grand Prix. Everything just rattles and squeaks. I think GM really cut a lot of corners when they built this generation of W-body cars. I had a '90 Regal GS that was WAY better built than my GP and the then new '98 Regal GS I got a ride in. This is why I was so happy with the Lacrosse when I rented one a year ago. Everything was so quiet, solid, and just overall well built. I'll be buying one for sure. And your comment about the old Mercedes is so true, especially the old S-class. But, unfortunately that hasn't been true ever since the '96 E-class. I worked at a MB dealer and I can say that those cars and up are absolute pure junk. A late '90's E-class with 90,000 miles seriously feels like it's going to fall apart into a million little pieces. I'll take a '91 S-class with 200k any day over that.

Talk to some guys with Grand Nationals that still race their cars. Cars that have over 200,000 miles and no rebuild. :rolleyes: Buick is the king of forced induction, and I think they know what they are doing. They've been turbocharging since 1978 and supercharging since 1991. Keep in mind that a lot of GTP owners out there are seriously modifying their cars. Many of these people go too far and blow their motors and transmissions. And then they probably tell everybody that the s/c 3800's aren't reliable.

If you keep talking like that, nobody will ever believe what you say in the future. I happen to own a '99 Pontiac GTP with the supercharged 3800. I bought the car new and now have almost 90,000 trouble-free miles. When the warranty ran out at 36k, I put a smaller supercharger pulley on for even more power. People who have superchargers go bad are probably too stupid and lazy to know you have to check the oil in s/c assembly itself. And people like you probably don't know that the internals of the s/c 3800 are beefier than that of the regular 3800. If anything, I'd say the s/c 3800 is MORE reliable because it's built stronger and doesn't have the plastic intake problems. Oh, my parents happen to have a Riviera with the same s/c series2 3800 that now has almost 170,000 trouble-free miles.

Where the HELL do you get the idea that the s/c 3800 isn't nearly as reliable as a stock 3800? Why do you talk out of your ass? :rolleyes:

The difference in color is also proof that it's real wood. I think it's the same way on my parents Riv. Perhaps they put more clear on the console piece to handle more abuse from keys, coins, and all the other crap that'll get tossed on there. I've actually used rubbing compound to remove scratches in real wood trim, so the heavy clear is a good thing.

I've been in the body shop business for ten years. I've worked at a Buick dealer for a few years right when these new Rivieras came out in 1995. These cars were the shit when they first came out...very radical! The "prestige package" never included the aftermarket wood kit--it was added by the dealer. The same for the chrome wheels on your car. The standard wood IS real buddy! Take a saw and cut it open. :o It's probably coated in so much clear that it looks fake when removed. The wheels on your car are in fact very rare, but that's because 80 percent of all Rivieras were supercharged. As I'm sure you know, the supercharged Rivs had their own wheel design. The wheels on the s/c model were never offered as chrome either, but I have seen several done by a company in California. When my parents bought their '97 Riv, I looked into getting theirs chrome plated. They guy that did all of our alloy wheel repairs said he remembered chrome plating Riviera wheels, but they had alot of problems with them and didn't recommend doing it. He advised just getting the factory Riv/Park Ave chromes. And yes, they do start with a regular alloy wheel and chrome it. I'm not sure though if they strip the paint off. They probably just sand it down.

The wood dash kit and your chrome wheels were aftermarket. Buick never offered a wood option other than the standard console trim and radio bezel. Those two pieces are actually real wood. The wheels on your car were chromed by an aftermarket company...most likely in California. They never did do a good job, and to this day wheel repair companies don't recommend doing it. The chrome wheels that Buick did offer on the Riv, and later Park Ave, were actually the old Reatta wheels. Also, the sunroof was not standard. They are really good cars that last a long time. My parents have a '97 pearl white/burgandy Riv that now has almost 170,000 trouble-free miles. The only thing ever replaced was some kind of fuel pressure thingy.

Are you drunk? :blink:

My parents have a '97 Riviera that now has almost 170,000 all-original miles. I'm really impressed as to how solid the car still feels after all these years. The huge and heavy doors still close like they are new. The entire car and materials have held up incredibly well. They also had a '94 Park Ave that they put 250,000 on, but that car felt all loose at that point and the doors sounded like shit when closed. The G-platform is a good one for sure.

Will Buick fans have a reason to be happy? :unsure:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2001-PARK-A...bayphotohosting

Here are some pictures I took back in '88. Not too many old people cars there! I wish I took more of the Wildcat, but what did I know at the time, I was only twelve. ok...I give up on the pictures

razoredge, I have a 2-page brochure on the Wildcat. The 3.8 is in fact a dual overhead cam with 24 valves. It made 230hp and 245 lbs torque. The car weighed 2,910 lbs. Full time four-wheel drive and anti-lock brakes on this 1985 concept! The trans was a 4-speed auto with shifting done manually with the lever...no clutch. On the inside, the car had a heads-up display showing speed and gear, and Buick's GCC that also included a compass, tire pressure, tire slippage, and a "G" meter. Buick truly was the king of tech back then. And to you people that bash the 3.8 for being so old, Buick is the company that pioneered the modern computer-controlled V-6 that everybody has today!

1995 was the first year for the series2. It had 205HP and 230 ft-lbs torque.

Anybody notice the Lacrosse in the back? Does the front end look different? The wheels too? Or I'm I just being hopeful? :(

Sounds like you did a really good job. How the hell can GM allow these current people to do this important job? Sometimes I just can't understand people. :angry:

I love how they call the damage "moderate". The whole front was replaced along with the airbags...STAY FAR AWAY FROM THAT CAR! And it has a branded title? I pity the fool that buys that wrecked junk. Someone is going to buy it, have lots of problems with it, and bash Buick and GM and America for producing poor quality cars. :angry:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/TO-THE-PIMP...1QQcmdZViewItem

Funny how nobody really gave a crap about fake wood from the 60's through the 90's. Many cars had it, and it was usually really, really bad. And does the Lucerne really have real wood? All of it? I know on the Ultra it was just the strips on the doors, while everything else was fake.

Any advise/ideas for Buick on their 2006 displays? They usually do such a crappy job I thought maybe we could tell them how to do it right. --how about having all cars with power so one can play with the power seats, radios, nav, etc... I hate it when they don't have the power on and some idiot disconnects the battery with the seat in some horrible position. :angry: --show all colors. I hate seeing three Regals, or whatever, all in the same color--such morons! --have one base model, and have all others loaded up --have good quality brochures with all models in that one brochure --show one Lucerne with the blue/shale interior, one in black, and one in grey. They'll probably have four Lucernes on display that'll all have tan leather :rolleyes: --have reps that actually know the facts. I know, thats asking a lot. --show a Lucerne with the wood steering wheel --leave the Terraza out in the parking lot :AH-HA_wink: --??????????

One needs to realize that Buick is in fact upscale, and they rarely use any hard plastic. My GP on the other hand :rolleyes: , cheap Wal-Mart plastic everywhere. I had a '98 Century that had a far better quality interior. I was surprised at how Buick went to the extent of applying a thin "soft-feel" coating on plastic surfaces such as the window switch bezels. One of the many reasons why I'll probably never buy another Pontiac, but I will buy another Buick.

Appropriate for a rental car? Are you nuts? :rolleyes: I'm so sick of people talking out their ass. :rolleyes:

The upper and lower is in fact padded like the dash is padded, but not quite as much.