Will demand come for Pontiac and Olds A-bodies? Just like the 68-72' Chevrolet Chevelle and Buick Skylark has become popular again. Surely people will branch out when one company's "supply" runs out? Each have there glory, large drivetrain, and special options/packages. Chevrolet Chevelle 2dr, vert., 4dr, and wagon. SS super Sport option. "Heavy Chevy" option. 454cid big block. Buick Skylark 2dr, vert., Suncoupe. 4dr, and wagon. GS package. Stage 1 option. GSX option. 455cid engine. Pontiac LeMans 2dr, vert., 4dr, and LeMans wagon. GTO option. Judge package. Oldsmobile Cutlass 2dr, vert., 4dr, and Cutlass Cruiser. 442 option. H/O deluxe package. W-Machines. 455cid engine. I noticed this while looking through junkyards inventory for a certain car i was searching for. Lots more Cutlass' and LeMans. Oldsmobile Cutlass 442 1968-1971 90,127 including Holiday hardtop coupes, 2dr sport coupes, and convertibles. And this isnt even all of them. Pontiac GTO 1968-1972 216,459 including Hardtop coupe, convertible, Judge hardtops, and judge convertibles. And this isnt even all of them either. Do you think soon there will be people wanting Pontiac and Oldsmobile A-bodies just as much as people now, want Chevrolet and Buick A-bodies? I think it will.
I think the demand for the chevy's are higher but the demand for pontiac/olds/buick are all the same. Each one has it's own niche so it's pretty much equal.
I agree with you that alot of poeple want the Chevelle. But, I dont see the GS as a high-demand car right now. Call me crazy but I think its the A-body with the least demand. Alot of people don't know what a Buick GS is. Alot more people know what a Chevelle, GTO and cutlass are though... From what I understand the general market of what most people want the most is 1. Chevelles 2. GTOs 3. Cutlass/442s 4. GSs Now I'm bound to get a biased answere here being on a buick forum, but do others see it this way too? Just look at the aftermarket parts supply, you can buy anything for a chevelle, and quite a bit for a GTO, a nice ammount for Cutlasses, and the least for GSs. Am I thinking straight or am i wrong in saying Buick is [right now] the least wanted A-body?o No: ou: (of course I'm talking about most people, not the ones who know what a real BBB is) I'm sorry, I'm kind of having trouble spitting out what I want to say (tired:sleep: ) but I think I got most of it across lol
I agree Joe, seems our Buicks are pretty much last on the 'wanted" list however there seems be a growing respect (and perhaps demand) for them. Prices are going up lately too. One thing I have noticed is that some guys hate fords, some hate mopar, some hate ..insert brand here... but everyone seems to like Buicks. No idea why... later Tim
I agree with you Tim , to a point. I believe Buicks are not hated in general terms because they are either precieved as not being a threat or or they have taken people by surprise and they would like to be a part of this muscle car anomaly. I know I made a Ford guy and a Mopar guy (brother-in-law annual grudge race) hate Buicks. Or at least one anyway. Tom
They are gaining acceptance, however they will never reach 442 or GTO status (except for the GSX). They appear a lot more plain than the other ones (IMHO) and since Buick has a more stodgier image, aren't in as high of demand as their more flashy "A" body brothers. However, since the cars have the same power w/o the bloated price tags of the other muscle cars, their desireability has grown a lot. Just my $.02. Patrick
the a-body buick - GS - was never marketted nor marketted as a performance car . that budget must have been very small ! i lived in london ontario , 69-74 , and never saw a gs nor ever saw any advertisements for the gs . never knew they existed . however , ss chevelles , gto , 442 - lots of ads & vehicles on the road . i think the local pontiac/buick dealer , at the time , london motor products , never had one in the show room - 70-72 .
Now that you mention it I never saw a Buick GS where I grew up.(Vancouver Island) I graduated in 72' and there were a couple of GTOs and several Chevelles, One 442 OLds. Actually 2. There was a W30 from Victoria that used to date a girl in my home town of Duncan. It was perceived to be one of the quickest cars around. Of course there were scores of Mopars and Mustangs. I remember GTO advertising, and some 442 stuff but certainly not any Buick GS advertising. Furthermore I don't think anyone up in this part of Western Canada even knew about the 1970 model year. By the looks af all the 71's and 2s around they never caught on until the magazines started testing them and by that time it was too late for the 1970 model year and the 71s were what were ordered. This I know was the case of an original owner GSX. He wanted a 70 but had to settle for a 71. Ended up He only lived about 70 miles from me at the time. Twenty five years later I bought the car. But getting back to the suject,I agree the lack of advertising was why the Buick count is so low. Now I feel it my duty to try to spread the news, albeit a little late. But better late than never, as they say. I'd like to see more of these events like the BOP meet that I plan to attend in Bremerton WA. be invitational whereby you register early and can invite an off brand to accompany you as a guest. Like wise the lesser Mopar and Ford only events. I believe it would serve as a way to get the car count up at the more local or even regional level event and also get the word out just what Buick is all about. And of course the Os and Ps. More of my .02 cents worth. (must be up to a nickle now). Tom
Interesting you mention this, i've noticed buick A-bodies are sort of them "push-aside" cars, in other words, most people if they saw them and knew what they were all about more than not would most likely like them. I agree with most said here in this thread. None of my family are buick fans except me, and my grandpa likes them, but he's a ford guy so he wouldn't own one unless someone gave him one for free, but he respects buick's potential and power, but nobody in my family hates buicks, just don't have them 1st on the list. My family is more chevy and ford than anything, but were surprised when they saw the dream car garage episode, I even explained all I know about Stage 1's and explained the disadvantages of the stage 1 compared to the chevelle and that mustang, all had a face like this when I was done with my speech :shock: I look forward to buick being a higher demand in the near future, I didn't get into buicks untill I rode in the century I now own, first buick and first ride I knew buicks were right for me. Now that im in High School there is a few kids there with nice buicks, one has a 1987 regal with a buick 350 and it had a frame off 2 yrs ago the owner said in our conversation, he said that almost everyone in his family owns buicks, he said he's just another person holding the buick tradition in his family, after meeting him I know that there is more buick fans out there than we realize. sorry for my post being so long, im just interested in this topic :grin: -Cody
my dad bought his first new buick in 1984 (lesabre) and traded every 3 years until this year when he purchased a new impala ls . the local buick dealer wanted too much money to trade for a new buick . so he travelled to the chevy dealer and bought the impala . it is a beautiful car & he really likes it . his last chevy was a 1969 impala ragtop (2nd owner , purchased in 1980) , L48 engine , th350 , dark green , black top , black bucket seats, console . he sold that car in 1990 when he retired from farming . that buyer still has the car but after they restored it , they painted it ford blue ! what an insult !
I hope not!!!! Let the Buicks and Olds stay low priced. Let the Chivvy guys pay too much for Chevelles
