A GS! I was 17 in 1970 and had my first car, a 66 GS that I put a 400 engine in. In Spring of '71 I went into the Buick dealer and sat down to spec out a new GS. Didn't buy it but bought a '70 convertible in '72 (still have it) and many more since then. My '70 Stage 1 convertible was bought in '73 (still have it). My all time favorite other car was a '67 427/435 Corvette which a classmate had in high school. So I bought one in '74 and still have that one.
yeah, and they don't even include a frame. uni-body trash. Honestly, these cars are even small potatoes compared to the euro stuff.
Don, I don’t get it either. As a kid having some friends with Mopars I was never impressed. They were rattle boxes. Not the same quality as GM. You could hear it when you shut the doors. I am afraid I have joined the unibody legions as well. I still have a full frame Chevy truck at least.
What impressed me about Mopar was their ability to get away with using minimal material. Never liked their "feel." Wife brought a '65 slant 6 Cuda to relationship. Was reliable to end...minimal material, less to fail...hmmm. Unibody has come a long way with respect to safety, especially for a daily driver. Still don't like FWD...so I buy AWD where I can...
I bought a new '69 Malibu with auto, P/S, P/B, and A/C only. Traded it on a black/black '70 GS 350. It was like stepping into another world...of the 4 new Buicks I bought back then, the '70 350 was by FAR the best overall car. The '71 Convertible and the '72 S1 Convertible were also great cars, but the '70 was one of those special cars that just ran like crazy and was so beautiful. The guys at the dealership always washed and waxed it up when I brought it in for service. I would certainly take the '70 Buick over any of the others since I owned one and it was awesome.
Not sure if this covers the bases (I lost track with uploading), but there are several permutations: MODEL - Base - XR-7 ENGINE - Q-code without ram air - R-code with ram air FWIW, Eliminators were only available on base Cougars.
Trabant = Haemmoridenschaukel (ok, bad spelling) I would still like to drive one, but my cousin gave the one he had away 5 years ago.
How does a thread that started with four of the most well known and coveted musclecars from 1970 end up with a Citroen in it?
Hey, come on, in the German Democratic Republic the Trabant was a hot car! Pound for pound, the thing could outperform anything else in it's class! It had a 2 stroke stinkpot of a motor that delivered quite a bit of pep in the right hands. They actually handled quite good too. They'd beat Ladas... And just as an aside; my dad figured that the sun never set on Mercedes. In 1970 he had a '62 220 that while no real muscle car would put a few of the lesser ones to shame. He could easily waste 6 cylinder Camaros and Mustangs with the thing. So yes, while we all feel that our powerful Buicks are the end all, there are others who in that same time frame had different expectations and realities. In 1970 in Germany my grandfather would have been happy to own a car. The funny thing is he learned how to drive on a 70 Wildcat here in Canada a few years later. (My dad eventually did get one, and man was it nice!)
I did not want to start my own thread with Trabbi, Wartburg, Lada, Saporoshez and Moskwitsch But sorry, will not do this again ...
The interesting thing here is how it relates to today. In 1970, for about the same money, a person could have bought the original question’s cars, or something else, like a loaded junior four door sedan, stripped full size, or something odd and imported, most of which by now are gone or near valueless. I myself have looked at four door Skylark sedans and Biscaynes and though ‘if only...’ When we discuss new cars, it frustrates me that Buick isn’t building the cars I’d be proud to own ten or twenty years from now. They’re not competing with the Charger, Challenger, Camaro, or Mustang. Not even the 300C or CTS-V. They’re competing with the boringmobile appliances that if kept nice for a longer than normal lifespan will still be novelties at best. I’m not paying 30 grand plus for a new appliance. Patrick
I’d go GS, they had me at highest factory torque output! I have never been much a Chevy guy, my dad being a Detroit boy used to call them “me too” cars. I like the 68/69 goats the 70s just looks to funky to me.
I don't think any of us can predict the future. Your Buick back then was an appliance too for 99% of the people.
Does that make us ‘One Percenters’? Seems like I’ve heard that term before-something to do with bikers or Wall Street... Seriously, though, cars like a Stage 1 (and the ‘86-‘87 turbo Regals) were aimed at that narrow section of customers who wanted something special. I guess ‘special’ still means ‘musclecar’ to Dodge, Ford, and Chevy, but means ‘really good at hauling a cake’ for Buick. Patrick
What ever car it was, it had to have a hood tach or a 140 speedo to be fast. Those were the ones I wanted. Back then I did not like the new body style of the GTO so it would have been last for me and I did not know of Buick back then but I do remember those hood tachs. Probably would have picked the olds then the Chevy then Buick. But I would have kicked out the Chevy for a Mopar. 68 383 4 speed Cuda comes to mind. I like em all.
