The 1946 Buick restarted the General Motors division's assembly lines after World War II and according to the Standard Catalog, it was a mildly updated version of the 1942 Buick. The most important change from the prewar Buick might have been a reduction in models; Motor’s Manual lists six variations on six wheelbases in 1942 and just half as many in 1946.
Truly new Buicksfollowed three years later and became landmarks for both GM and the auto industry by introducing Ventiports and the two-door hardtop. The Ventiports on the 1949 Buick would become embedded in the language as “portholes” and would go on for decades with occasional interruptions, but that year’s Riviera pillarless coupe would prove a standard not only at Buick, but throughout Detroit.
The Valve-in-Head Eight and High Quality Build Buick’s Reputation
Buick by then had long been perceived as a solidly conservative car, having contributed greatly to General Motors’ success and prosperity since becoming a part of the company in 1908, according to the Standard Catalog; Cadillac had been GM’s flagship from the beginning, but Buick approached it frequently.
For 1931, according to Motor’s 13th Handbook, Buick unveiled its overhead-valve straight eight, an engine that would fairly symbolize the division thanks to its engineering, quality and occasionally surprising performance. But the year also saw the launching of Buick’s own flagship, the Series 90. The high-end model nicely lifted Buick into the luxury-car market; the Standard Catalog lists the costliest 1931 Buick Series 90 as the $2035 limousine, nearly twice as expensive as the cheapest 1931 Buick, a Series 50 two-door sedan at $1035.
The Series 90 was given a name in 1936, when it became the Buick Limited. It would live on through 1942 – the name would reappear with the 1958 Buick Limited – and would earn esteem high enough that the Classic Car Club of America would designate all prewar Series 90s and Limited as Full Classics.
Buick Skylark and Buick V-8 Arrive for 1953
The 1942 Buicks had been all-new with styling obviously influenced by the Buick Y-Job, a 1938 concept car created under the direction of Harley Earl, head of styling at GM. The Y-Job predicted the grille and sweeping fenders that appeared in 1942 and continued on the 1946 Buick; the 1949 Buick – all-new again, according to the Standard Catalog – freshened the look of the older cars, but was distinctly up-to-date.
Still, even with its Ventiports and the Riviera, Buick carried the straight eight at a time when sister GM divisions were making big changes under their hoods. Both the 1949 Cadillac and the 1949 Oldsmobile broke new ground with their engines; short-stroke overhead-valve V-8s, according to Chilton’s Manual, they were far removed from the 1948 Cadillac’s flathead V-8 and the 1948 Oldsmobile’s flathead inline six and eight.
Even the 1950 Buick, though, stuck with the straight eight while introducing a new body, but big changes were on the way. When it appeared, the 1953 Skylark was like no other Buick and was powered by the division’s new overhead-valve V-8. Like the modern Oldsmobile and Cadillac V-8s, Buick’s was oversquare with the diameter of each cylinder greater than the length of each piston’s stroke. With the arrivals of the 1955 Chevrolet and 1955 Pontiac, oversquare V-8s would be available across the board at GM.
Chilton’s Manual lists the 322-cubic-inch Buick V-8 at up to 188 horsepower while the long-stroke straight eight that it replaced was a 170-horsepower 320. A convertible with wire wheels, a low windshield and open rear wheelwells – but without Ventiports, according to American Cars of the 1950s – the 1953 Skylark was ideal to showcase the V-8, given that it was what would later be called a “halo car” to enhance and build Buick’s reputation.
No doubt, it would surprise many a traditional Buick customer during its short life and regardless of whether it measurably impacted Buick sales, the division was doing very well with its conventional cars.
The 1955 Buick Builds on Success
Buick cleaned up its styling for 1954 by all but eliminating many traces of the Y-Job’s smoothly bulging fenderlines, according to American Cars of the 1950s. The slab-sided look was in step with industry trends of the time, but only Buick had the portholes and they weren’t going away. As in the past, the portholes somewhat distinguished its models; four Ventiports per side marked a Buick Roadmaster while three marked a Buick, but a lesser Buick.
Most of those lesser Buicks rode a wheelbase smaller than the Roadmaster’s and the division’s management was quick to realize that it could squeeze the Roadmaster’s larger engine into the smaller body. The result was the revival of the Century, a name that in the 1930s and early 1940s had designated a small Buick with a big engine.
The Century returned the following year, when the 1955 Buick dropped a key identifying design element dating to the Y-Job by modernizing the grille. For the first time since 1942, a production Buick had a grille without vertical bars, but it was still impossible to mistake it for any other car.
Things had been changing at the division and the Century proved a success, but not everyone wanted a fast Buick or an expensive Buick. The division wasn’t about to lose customers who felt that way, so its long-popular Special – now the only Buick with three portholes, according to American Cars of the 1950s – and Super remained in the catalog. The Super was based on the Roadmaster, but the Special rode the smaller wheelbase, used the smaller engine and offered Buick's Dynaflow automatic transmission as an option, making Buick quality and status available at a reasonable price.
It was more than a marketing ploy, as Motor’s 32nd Handbook prices a 1955 Special four-door sedan at $2291 and a Roadmaster four-door sedan at $3349. That placed it below a 1955 Chrysler Windsor’s $2605 four-door even as the Roadmaster four-door cost $14 more than a 1955 Chrysler New Yorker four-door. Within GM, the Special was more expensive than any 1955 Chevrolet four-door, $71 less than the cheapest 1955 Oldsmobile four-door and centered between the high- and low-cost Pontiac four-doors.
That kind of positioning might seem unnecessarily complex, but it worked. The division sold 381,000 Specials in 1955, making it the year’s most popular Buick.
References:
- Barry, Edward H., Ed., Motor’s Handbook of Specifications, Interchangeable Parts, Service Instructions 13th Edition. New York: Motor, 1936.
- Blanchard, Harold F., Ed. Motor’s Auto Repair Manual Ninth Edtion. New York: Motor, 1946.
- Grey, Andrew D., Ed. Chilton’s Automobile Repair Manual 27th Edition. Philadelphia: Chilton Company, 1956.
- Motor’s Handbook 32nd Edition. New York: Motor 1955.
- Sieber, Mary and Buttolph, Ken, Eds. Standard Catalog of Buick. Iola, Wisconsin: Krause Publications, 1991.
- Vanderveen, Bart H., Ed. Olyslager Organisation NV. Olyslager Auto Library American Cars of the 1950s. London: Frederick Warne & Company Ltd., 1973.
Bob Tomaine - Automotive writer and photographer Bob Tomaine is a regular contributor to Auto Restorer, AutoWeek and Old Cars Weekly as well as a ...
