The 1962 - 1970 Buick Wildcat name had a certain ring to it . It pretty suggested action – motion on the unfastened road . Yet it was text edition General Motors – taking the name from a one - off1950s show machine , applying it to a specific model within an live series , and later spin off an entirely Modern serial publication . So went the saga of the Buick Wildcat .
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Buick ’s first use of the Wildcat name was on three exciting mid-1950s dream cars . Meanwhile , the Century , a " banker ’s raging rod " model , was revived . Then in 1962 , Buick bring out the first yield Wildcat , a new mill hot rod designed to contend with the Oldsmobile Starfire and Pontiac Grand Prix .
The first Wildcat was created as a 1953 two - seater show and experimental car . That was followed in 1954 by an all - new sporty one - off , the Wildcat II , and that in routine was followed by another in 1955 , the four - rider Wildcat III .
The three were wide ensure by an enthusiastic populace , along with other General Motors " dream cars , " both at General Motors ' tour Motorama show and through across-the-board reportage in the printing press . The idea was to test public reaction to new styling and engine room ideas and , hopefully , to bring a bit of luster to GM ’s product cars .
Meanwhile , back in Flint , Buick was honing its marketing scheme for the 1950s . Buick keep up three series at the prison term : Special , Super , Roadmaster . These monikers , first used in the mid-1930s , would persist for more than two 10 , and by the other 1950s were almost as well - known as the Buick name itself .
feature straight - eight power and heavy - handed – but pop – styling , they sell well enough to keep Buick in fourth topographic point in the output race during most old age from 1946 - 1953 .
But by the former 1950s , Buick was becoming more aggressive , much as in the mid-1930s after Harlow Curtice charter over the division . His task was to revitalise Buick , which after rate third in the industry in 1930 had fallen to seventh by 1934 .
General Motors reportedly was conceive deteriorate Buick altogether , but Curtice – who had already turned around General Motors ' AC Spark Plug Division and would preside over all of GM by the mid-1950s – cognise that lumbering emphasis on product was needed to turn the partitioning around . The first outcome was the smaller 1934 Series 40 , a rousing success that straight off became one of Buick ’s mainstays . After 1935 it was roll in the hay as the Special .
The Limited also did wonders for Buick ’s prototype . An upmarket series , it caused alarm within General Motors because it gasconade custom coachwork and was sometimes bigger and more powerful than Cadillac – but at a more attractive price .
Another astute marketing move was the 1936 Century , often referred to as the original " factory red-hot rod cell " or " banker ’s spicy gat . " The chemical formula , simple but efficacious , call for merge Buick ’s light bodies with its most powerful railway locomotive , then a 320.2 - three-dimensional - inch 120 - HP true eight . The name , of course , touch on to the railway car ’s top speed , telling in its sidereal day .
Advertising called the Century a " Headstart to Happiness ! " and admonished male readers to " Take your pretty girl . . . and find a motoring thrill that needs no touch of endangerment to give it spice . " Sexist perhaps , but the Century served as a powerful image - builder for Buick , and it sell well , too , with first year output of almost 26,000 units .
The Century continued its winning ways until World War II intervened , summate " Compound Carburetion " for 165 horsepower and ever sleeker styling . With the takings to pacification , however , neither the Century nor Limited were listed on the Buick roll .
For more on postwar Buicks , see the next page .
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Postwar Buicks
Postwar Buicks research for a wider market , which came together with its new - for-1953 overhead - valve V-8 , create the chance to revive the Century for 1954 . Using the same rule as in 1936 , Buick dropped the Roadmaster ’s 322 - three-dimensional - inch V-8 into the Special ’s 122 - inch wheelbase , and a unexampled banker ’s raging gat was born .
With 195/200 HP , the raw Century could speed up from 0 - 60 mph in a small over 10 seconds and do an honorable 110 miles per hour . The public loved it ( the all - new 1954 styling did n’t hurt , either ) , and the result were even honest than in 1936 : 81,982 Centurys built for the model class .
platter - breaking auto sales were the manufacture norm in 1955 , the Century easily outpace most to post an yield gain of 158,795 units , almost one - quarter of total Buick production . Buick , now in third place forwards of Plymouth , had aright gauged the functioning craze of the mid-1950s and looked forward to even bigger things .
But a reputation for wretched brakes , lapses in calibre ascendency due to the degraded tempo of product , and less - than - popular styling in 1957 push Buick back into 4th place . The to a great extent human face - lift 1958s go through chrome trim slather all over the bulky Buick bodies ; lattice , taillights , and bumpers were massive .
Customers rebelled , and Buick slide into fifth place with only about one - third its 1955 volume . A newfangled Limited series was bring in for that recession year , too . It was slightly more expensive than the Cadillac Sixty - Two extended - deck of cards hardtop sedan chair , and a couplet inches longer , to boot . But the timing was as inauspicious as the styling . It was discontinued after only 7,436 units were built for 1958 .
Buick swept out all its old cars so it could bug out with a clean slate for 1959 . Not only were the sharply fin cars all - new ( as were all GM elevator car ) , but so were all of the Buick ’s nameplates . Out went the Special , Century , Super , and Roadmaster ; in came – respectively – LeSabre , Invicta , Electra , and Electra 225 .
The Invicta , Century ’s permutation , continued with the formula of using the LeSabre ’s smaller 123 - inch - wheelbase consistence and Electra ’s big 401 - cubic - inch , 325 - H.P. V-8 . Production , at 52,851 , was good than the 37,558 of the 1958 Century , but piteous than any other postwar Century .
No matter , Buick ’s novel styling and new names did n’t generate the exuberance Buick had hoped for ; the brand slipped even further in manufacture standings to seventh .
With piffling choice but to continue with the Invicta , Buick learn its output free fall to 45,411 unit for 1960 and then crumble to 28,733 for 1961 , when the serial lost its four - door saloon and orthodontic braces of wagon . Buick functionary must have realized the Invicta had failed as a Century successor , but their 1962 strategy was fox at advantageously .
That class , the depleted - billet LeSabre was trim from seven models to four ( recede two wagons and a convertible ) . Meanwhile , Invicta reinstate the wagons , adding them to the live translatable and two- and four - doorway hardtop . Then in mid - twelvemonth come a sixth offer , the Invicta Wildcat hardtop coupe , a one model subseries .
To fully understand the Invicta Wildcat ’s roots , search the Wildcat show cars that come before it in the next section .
Buick Wildcat Show Cars
In today " corporatese , " Buick Wildcat show railway car would be called " concept cars . " Back in the fifties they were " dream cars . " Created for the major automobile shows – New York , Los Angeles , Chicago , and Detroit – their only purpose was to attract attending .
Set against a plush mantle , perch atop a tardily spread out turntable , and beleaguer by gowned fashion theoretical account , the General Motors dream cars did their thing . They made the common people " ooh and aah " a moment , and if everything endure right , the viewer just might be motivated go back to their Hometown , U.S.A. Buick franchise with a spark in their eye .
Since dream cars were n’t being hawk in the saleroom , hopefully the impressed head of the menage would , with the help of GMAC if motive be , touch of a new Special , Super , or – better yet – a Roadmaster .
To be certain , there were side benefits resulting from the show railroad car computer programme . styler start out to practice their imaginations in conjuring up futuristic idea , no matter how impractical , and perhaps a feature film or two from the dream machine might finally trickle down to the product example .
More potential , a tricky nameplate would after find itself on a more mundane production series . Dream cable car were big fodder for the news show boy , and imperativeness kit inkiness - and - Patrick White most often found their way to the well - thumbed pages ofMotor Trend , Speed Age , andMechanix Illustrated , not to note the daily newspaper .
By the metre the Wildcat I came along , Buick was an former hand at the dream car business . Its Y - Job , with a career dating back to 1938 , was the granddaddy of them all . By 1951 , Buick had both the LeSabre and XP-300 strutting their stuff on the automobile show circuit .
Buick first used the Wildcat name in 1953 on a mark - new show and data-based elevator car . The Wildcat I , as it is now make out , was a fiberglass two - seater convertible security that measured only 54 inches high and ride a 114 - inch wheelbase .
It vaunt a more or less warmed up version of Buick ’s brand new production V-8 , whose 322 cubic in cranked out 188 horsepower , coupled to a Twin - Turbine rendering of Buick ’s Dynaflow .
The Wildcat II appear just a year afterward , in 1954 . It was a smaller , yet more potent dream car that seemed to take its inspiration at least in part from the Corvette . It was the sports auto of the 1950s Wildcats , and it was also the most radically title .
Again , a fiberglass body was created , this metre mounted on a 100 - inch wheelbase , with an overall length of 170.9 inches and a height of 48.5 inch . The striking styling focus on sweep up - back front roulette wheel fountainhead and " fly wing " front fenders .
This arrangement left part of the front suspension seeable , so these parts were chrome plated along with the exposed wheel opening . The headlights were cowling - get on , while smaller parking / driving light nestle under the open fender cavity . Portholes – three per side – decorate the tough .
The rearward styling discourse was strongly indicatory of the limited production 1954 Skylark convertible , while the grillwork and Dagmar bumper motif appeared on the 1955 production framework .
For more on Wildcat show cars , continue to the next page .
Buick Wildcat Show Car Features
The 1954 Buick Wildcat show car features included a 322 - three-dimensional - column inch V-8 that was feed by no less than four carburetor , upping H.P. to an impressive 220 . The body was finished in an unusual dark tan with a two - tone tan leather interior .
The Wildcat II today is in the tutelage of the Alfred P. Sloan , Jr. , Museum in Flint , Michigan . Curiously , the hood headlights were move into the openings under the front fenders somewhere along the means , and the Wildcat hood ornament was removed .
The Wildcat name resurfaced in 1955 , this time with a III behind it , and await more like a product car than either of its forerunner . Some dubbed it a " toy " convertible .
This four - rider Wildcat drive a 110 - inch wheelbase and measured a compact 190.5 inch overall . hopeful Kimberly Red rouge graced the exterior , while the interior was covered in Sovereign Red leather .
The bucketful seats swivel and were separated by a flooring - mounted shift lever tumbler that keep in line the Twin - Turbine infection . The intimate V-8 again lark about four carbs , but further tweaking upped the horsepower to 280 .
While the Wildcat III ’s windshield was of the by - then - familiar bird’s-eye type , the post were more nearly vertical . Teardrop - shaped wheel cutouts dominated the side view of the railroad car , exposing a part of the fender ’s undersides . port were conspicuous by their absence .
Even though the Wildcat III may have been the most conservative of the fifties Wildcats , its grille opening and bumper design , plus the thug and headlight treatment , appear on the 1956 Buicks . Likewise , the chrome side spear found its way onto the 1956 Roadmasters and the total 1957 line .
The last Wildcat one - off , aside from the 1997 Riviera Wildcat , debuted in former 1985 . By then , show cars were bed as " construct vehicle , " this one a four - steering wheel - drive two - seater designed to make the public aware of Buick ’s high - technical school capability .
In special , it showcased Buick ’s heavy commitment to the V-6 locomotive engine , here a state - of - the - artwork powerplant displacing 231 cubic inches and crank out 230 horsepower . feature were dual - command processing overhead cams , four valve per cylinder , and Computer Controlled Coil Ignition system .
The mid - engine PPG Buick was also correspond with an anti - lock brake system ( acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene ) and sported innovative orchestration in the center of the guidance wheel . A heads - up speed indicator display was also feature . The four - wheel - drive system of rules operated full time with a torsion split of 34/66 percent front / rear .
The silklike physical structure , gasconade a coefficient of drag ( Cd ) of only 0.28 , was constructed of composite carbon fiber and glass , although steel reenforcement was found under the skin . accession to the driver ’s compartment came from a futurist canopy arrangement whereby the steerage roulette wheel mechanically tilt upward as the canopy was raised .
Buick built this Wildcat in cooperation with PPG , Inc. It pass several years at major motorcar shows and PPG / CART Indy railroad car racing event around the country .
To see how the Wildcat show cars saw the light as yield models , continue to the next Thomas Nelson Page for an overview of the 1962 Buick Wildcat .
1962 Buick Wildcat
The initiative 1962 Buick Wildcat was one of two hardtop coupes lean as 1962 Invictas . mightiness came from the Wildcat 455 V-8 , a 401 - cubic - inch building block that crank out 325 H.P. for the Electra 225 . This was the bread - and - butter Buick powerplant ; as installed in LeSabres and less Invictas , it produce 265/280 horsepower .
The Invicta Wildcat shared its 123 - inch wheelbase with the down - scale LeSabre . Overall length stretched 214.1 column inch and it tipped the graduated table at 4,150 pounds . This first year offer was priced at $ 3,927 , priciest in the line and about $ 200 more than the received Invicta two - room access hardtop .
Special equipment included a distinctive vinyl group top handling with Wildcat emblems on the nose candy - pillars , exclusive untainted - brand side and rocker panel trim , and a particular pail seat all - vinyl group interior . The front fender carried stylize versions of Buick ’s fabled porthole ; the Wildcat was a " three - holer " as pit to the four find on the top - line Electras .
Other Wildcat features admit a center console that mounted the transmutation lever tumbler , a rear floor light , and a severely - to - read tach ; froth rubber headliner with chrome - plated roof bows ; Custom trim throughout ; and aluminum front brake drums , dual exhaust system , 15 - inch wheels , and Wildcat steering wheel track .
Wildcats usually convey a goodly phone number of options . The long lean of spare - cost goodies included powerfulness steering , $ 105 ; power brakes , $ 48 ; radio , $ 90 ; tinted glass , $ 42 . Gaining in popularity was factory aura conditioning , which bring a sizeable $ 430 to the damage tag . Most Wildcats went out the doorway at well over $ 4,000 .
" Buick ’s unleashed a WILDCAT ! " proclaimed the folder , which was issued separately from the residue of the Buick line because of Wildcat ’s former introduction . interrogatively , it made no honorable mention whatsoever of the Wildcat show cars of the 1950s , even though they were similar in spirit to the yield Wildcat .
But Buick was very specific about the Modern mannequin ’s role , come to to it as " . . . the newfangled full size , sports - elan auto [ with ] sports car touches in a setting of luxury . " The composition was emphasized over and over with descriptions such as : " Sports - railroad car wallop . . . sports - cable car manipulation . . . variation - car styling . "
" The Buick Wildcat is an entirely new melodic theme in take pleasure , " Buick boasted . " It combines the vitality of sports - car styling , deal characteristic and power with the comfortable roominess of a full - size of it house car . Make no mistake , the Wildcat is . . . rigorously for American driving . " Buick made no attempt to excuse how the sport - car handling come about , although the specification lean a link - type stabilizer bar for the front .
No matter , a favorable road test was extroverted fromMotor Trendmagazine , which call the Wildcat " a bucket - tail end palace . " Another description referred to it as Buick ’s " functioning icon personification , " not excessive considering that the Wildcat stormed from 0 - 60 mph in a mere 8.1 seconds and topped out at 115 miles per hour .
The 1962 Wildcat filled much the same role for Buick as the Starfire convertible had for Oldsmobile in 1961 . Total Wildcat production in 1962 was a small-scale 2,000 units , however , while the Starfire had fare well at 7,600 units . The showy 1962 Pontiac Grand Prix , also similar in concept , did even good : 30,195 units .
In 1963 , Buick ’s tawdry drumfish were banging for the all - young Riviera , Buick ’s first personal - luxury coupe . Perhaps because the Riviera was at least partially invading Wildcat territory , the latter blossomed into a three - model series : two- and four - door hardtop and the first output Wildcat convertible . This left the Invicta nameplate to hang around for just one more year – and then only on a lone Estate Wagon .
For more on the 1963 and 1964 Buick Wildcats , see the next page .
1963 and 1964 Buick Wildcat
The 1963 and 1964 Buick Wildcat undergo only minor change . As in1962 , the 1963 Buick Wildcat ’s body was shared with the one - spoke - down LeSabre series . Wheelbase continue at 123 inches , although overall length increase slightly to 215.7 inches . Powertrains run unchanged .
The 1963 Wildcats sported an exclusive horizontal taproom grill with the Buick tip put up in a chrome circle in the heart . Also specific was a brushed vivid sweepspear that sweep from the headlights to the middle of the front door , engulfing the venti - port wine in the appendage .
Upgrades include received business leader guidance and brakes , although bucket seats were optional on the hardtop saloon . Weight ranged from 4,123 to 4,228 pounds calculate on body elan .
rare of the three Wildcat body styles was the convertible , which see a production run of 6,021 . The coupe , with double the yield , was more democratic . Most often purchase , however , was the hardtop sedan .
For 1964 , the Wildcat series was expanded to include a 4th body style , a four - door pillared sedan . body and powertrain fail largely unchanged , although an optional 425 - three-dimensional - column inch V-8 rated at 340 or 360 HP became uncommitted . Borrowed from the Riviera , they were phone the Wildcat 465 ( for the torque rating ) and Super Wildcat , respectively .
dash - wise , the horizontal - legal profession grille motif was continued , although modified . The side no longer carried the sweep clipping , trading it for a unspecific , rib lower body influence just above the rocker venire . Three horizontal fake gentle wind vents rode behind the front bicycle : " Note the distinctive treatment of the traditional Buick venti - embrasure , " the brochure suggested .
Horizontal tail lamp supercede the upright units of 1962 - 1963 . A three - speed manual transmission replaced the automatic as criterion , and a four - speeding manual of arms was offered for the first time on a Wildcat ( and abandoned after 1965 ) . Sporty " Formula Five " chrome - plated steel wheel joined the options list .
beast sales more than doubled to over 84,000 units for 1964 . The most popular model was again the hardtop sedan , although the young pillared sedan added over 20,000 units and translatable output rose to almost 8,000 .
See the next page to follow the Wildcat story into 1965 and 1966 .
1965 and 1966 Buick Wildcat
More changes were on wiretap for the 1965 and 1966 Buick Wildcat . Buick marketeers hold out on a fling in 1965 : four body styles as before , but with three different trim levels – standard , Deluxe , and Custom – for a total of 10 models . There would never be more Wildcats in a single yr .
The tactics worked well , however , pushing 1965 sales a new high : almost 99,000 . That figure would stand as the high - water fool for the Wildcat ’s nine - year ladder .
Also helping sales agreement in 1965 were all - new , more rounded organic structure , as on other General Motors full - size gondola . Styling stay unmistakably Wildcat , however , with the front , rearward , and sides carrying intimate Wildcat cues , modified to intermix with the smoother , less angular body . The sloped roofline , in particular , made the Wildcat look faster .
At the same time , the Wildcat moved up in the world – and off from its sporty - car image – by adopting the Electra 225 ’s 126 - in wheelbase . Length swelled to over 219 inches ; fortunately , weight increased only marginally .
Engine choices carried over , but Buick continued to push the performance effigy : " Wildcats do in three military capability : wild ( 325 H.P. ) , wilder ( 340 H.P. ) , wildest ( 360 horsepower ) . "
True perhaps , but when " Uncle " Tom McCahill examine the " wild " version forMechanix Illustrated , the best he could do in the 0 - 60 - miles per hour sprint was 9.1 arcsecond . avail by the new legato torso melodic line , top fastness reached a creditable 125 mph .
Prices for 1965 ranged from $ 3,182 to $ 3,727 , the latter for the Custom convertible security . It found only 4,398 customers . Most popular , as usual , was the four - room access hardtop , with a yield run of over 36,000 units spread across the three trimming levels .
The hardtop coupes were only a few hundred unit behind . The four - door sedan , bid in only two trim levels , was again good for about 20,000 units .
gamey performance was the word in the Wildcat ingroup in 1966 . A new Gran Sport option centered on the high - winding Wildcat 465 engine : 425 - cubic inches , 340 - horsepower .
Other portion included chrome - plat aura cleaner , roll - aluminum rocker limb wrap up , heavy - obligation dual fumes system , toilsome - responsibility suspension , Positive Traction Differential , 8.45 x 15 whitewall tires , and special internal and outside Gran Sport emblems . Faster 15:1 - ratio business leader guidance was a desirable option . Offered for the coupe or ragtop , the Gran Sport parcel was relatively rarefied and is extremely valued in today ’s collector market .
The bewildering regalia of Wildcat model cleared a bit to seven in 1966 as Deluxe version were desolate . Three body way came as stock or Custom , while the sedan was offer only as a banner . Minor refinements hang to the styling , set off by a revised grillwork .
For more on the 1967 , 1968 , and 1969 Buick Wildcat , see the next page .
1967, 1968, and 1969 Buick Wildcat
Model changes and a fresh engine marked the evolution of the 1967 , 1968 , and 1969 Buick Wildcat . The 1967 Wildcats debuted on September 29 , 1966 . The model commixture stay fixed , but the Gran Sport alternative was gone .
The self-aggrandising variety this year was under the bonnet : an all - new big - block V-8 displace 430 cubic inch and cranking out 360 horsepower and 475 lbs / ft torsion . Internal locomotive engine improvements centered on a better respiration high - technical school valve design . For the first fourth dimension since 1963 there were no engine choice , and the only infection useable in 1967 was the Super Turbine automatic .
Stylists were not idle , either . They make a new looking for the Wildcat , most noticeably a sweeping " elan - line " that began just above the headlight and gradually flowed downwardly , then leveled off at the rear wheel porta to keep to the rear bumper . This styling theme was evocative of the side discussion seen on the1953 Wildcat Ishow car .
Prices increase modestly in 1967 , about $ 60 , and output came in at just over 70,000 unit . convertible security hovered around 5,000 . Total yield anatomy were relatively stable from 1966 - 1969 , but sofa bed gradually lose ground , descend from over 5,000 in 1966 to less than 2,400 in 1969 .
By 1967 , the Wildcat had settled into its role as a slightly flashy Electra 225 , whose 126 - inch wheelbase it had shared since 1965 . The sporty effigy was move over way to an emphasis on luxury .
For 1968 , the sofa bed was available only as a Custom , so there were but six wildcat . With the exception of a divided grille that look more LeSabre than Wildcat , styling was left mostly alone .
similarly , the 430 V-8 sway over . A three - speeding manual gear case re-emerge ( editorial mount ) , but it ’s unlikely many were ordered . Most buyer prefer for the special - toll Super Turbine automatic , with selection of column- or console - mount duty period lever .
After 1968 , the Wildcat regress back to the LeSabre ’s wheelbase . It did n’t much matter , however , as turnout held regular at around 70,000 units from 1966 - 1969 – but then latch on to only 23,615 in 1970 .
Smaller was the order of business as the Wildcat ’s wheelbase devolve back to LeSabre ’s 123.2 column inch for 1969 . Weight was up , however , about 80 Ezra Pound , due no doubt to regime condom and emission mandates acquire outcome .
The giving block V-8 continued on , but a few under - the - skin refinements took spot . Among them were an optional varying - proportion king steering system , Turbo Hydra - Matic automatic transmission , and a refined suspension called " Tru - Trac . "
Styling was altered modestly , the highlights being yet another Modern wicket , this prison term more Wildcat - like and a more monumental front bumper . The bodyside styleline was broken into two separate carving set about forwards of the front and rear wheels , going over them and then fading downward .
And along with some other trim shuffling , the taillights and fake vents behind the front wheels were interpolate . Prices graze from $ 3,491 to $ 3,948 for the 1969 Wildcat , which Buick advert called " A New Thoroughbred ! "
See the next page to follow the Wildcat tale into 1970 .
1970 Buick Wildcat
In its concluding year of production , sales of the 1970 Buick Wildcat nosedived . Just three body styles remain , all Customs . But the Wildcat stupefy its most muscular engine ever , a new large - block " 455 - 4 " developing 370 sawhorse .
rag metal and a slightly long 124 - inch bicycle - base were shared with LeSabre . As common , grille , taillights , and trim were altered just enough to place the raw mannikin .
Among the rare of the sixties and 1970s Buicks was the 1970 Wildcat Custom sofa bed . It cost $ 4,079 and tip the plate at 4,214 pounds . Output reached only 1,244 unit .
For the first time since 1963 , there was but one four - threshold model , the Custom hardtop . Priced at $ 3,997 , it found 12,924 purchaser . The hardtop coupe get going for $ 3,949 and 9,447 were built .
Buick never seemed sure whether the Wildcat should be more carrying out or luxury orientate , more LeSabre or more Electra . After cut-rate sale nosedive in 1970 , the Wildcat was drop . Thus cease the saga of the " banker ’s hot rod . "
By 1971 , the Wildcat nameplate had vanish from the yield Buick arena . supercede it , in that traditional niche between LeSabre and Electra , was a young nameplate : Centurion . Operating largely as a fancy , higher - powered variant of the LeSabre – as had the Wildcat – it see product levels slightly eminent than Wildcat ’s dreary 1970 amount .
Thus , it survive only through 1973 , after which it was set off due to lack of interestingness and a change market . It was not replace in the Buick lineup ; apparently two fully grown Buicks , LeSabre and Electra 225 , were sufficient at the top end . Performance buyers showed a preference for modest car ( of which Buick had heap ) and luxury buyers regulate Electras , rendering Wildcat/ Centurion redundant .
Although the door was closed on the output chapter of the Wildcat after 1970 , Buick would 15 geezerhood later reach into its name ABA transit number and deplume out Wildcat for another show car . This one - off Buick hit the circuit as a two - piazza , four - roulette wheel - drive political machine powered by a double - overhead - cam V-6 .
The yield wolf , despite its rather racy show motorcar origins , was really a meat - and - Irish potato car from the purveyor of solid American transport – Buick . At various intervals , Wildcat was either a fancier LeSabre or a down - scaled Electra .
Along the way , more than half a million – 521,259 to be precise – find smear of purity in the suburban garage of America . They rolled interminable millions of expressway miles with the healthy throb of the most potent V-8s Buick could engineer .
robotlike transmission shifted , with power - attend to guidance and braking , to the sounds of the Beatles and the Beach Boys call up from the optional Bi - Phonic rearward tush speaker . A missed oil change or forgotten lube job was easily forgiven by the mighty Wildcat . luck are the odometer saw a complete tailspin , or even two .
And still the heavy Buicks drift on , solid as America in the sixties and as solid as Buick could construct them . When better cars were built , Buick – General Motors ' " premium motor car " division – built them .
