Why was A1/L-75 Stage 1 not part of the GSX package?

If this has already been asked and answered please accept my apologies, but does anybody know why Buick didn't include it in A-9? If you were going to send a message to the world that you were in the performance game and wanted to look that part, why wouldn't you, especially as cheap as the option was? All the X's at Bowling Green got me thinking about them again.



Attachment from Team Buick

 

Why wasn't every Olds 442 a W-30?
Why wasn't every GTO a Ram Air IV?
Why wasn't every Chevelle SS 454 an LS6?

The Manufacturers do this to make more money. They love to add options to vehicles to increase revenue, that's why they are in business.
Duane

 

So I guess we don't know? Somebody at GM made the call about what was or wasn't part of GSX.

With all due respect Duane, I am going to turn your response around on you then, why wasn't it offered on the GS350? More money, right?

 

No it wasn't. Refer to A9 option package that was included with GSX. That's my question. Who at Buick decided A1 wasn't part of A9 and why? The obvious answer is what Duane suggested, but someone weighed what would and wouldn't be part of A9 in 1970. I.E. We don't have 3 speed manual GSX cars because 4 speed was part of the package.

 

Has any Buick enthusiast ever asked anyone involved directly with the GSX at GM this question?

 

I've wondered the same Brian. A-9 included Disk Brakes, gauges, and F-41 - All performance oriented & that were revenue enhancing "options" on a GS 455. To the points of revenue & it being an appearance only option, in '71 I would agree but the '70's were different: Bucket seats, console/consolette, Tach, clock, Steering wheel, etc. - All options on a GS 455 (sans steering wheel & sport mitrrors which weren't even avail.). Back in the day, the '71-2's were looked down upon @ the Nationals as not being "real" GSX's because it was a graphics only option.

A-1 was a $100 (ish) option and A-9 was an image car for Buick. It could've easily been added to the MSRP and included in A-9 which would've actually increased revenue.

We'll likely never know but surely the discussion was had back then.

 

Brian,
I have copies of the inter office memo’s from when they designed the GSX’s. As a matter of fact I scared the hell out of Ron Frakes ( who was in charge of all of this) at the first GSX reunion when I showed him copies of these, which were his “by-weekly” design meetings. He looked at me like I was crazy to have copies of these files with his signature on them, like I was a “Trekker” or something.

They were discussing all types of options, including at one time offering a Hurst dual-gate option for the automatics. Some options were discussed and added while others were discarded. Some design study cars were built, reviewed and then re-done to different specs as the design process continued.

Anyway, that is how the design process went, and yes I do not know why they were not all Stage 1’s. Maybe upper management had a say in that, but it certainly made sense to do it like they did, which was in line with everything else they were doing at the time.
Duane

 

There is one other thing I remember and something else that needs to be considered.

I remember Richard Lassiter being asked one time why he bought his Stage 1 with a white painted top and not a vinyl top.

He said it would have cost $12 more for the vinyl top and he simply could not afford that at the time.

Maybe they were hesitant to increase the cost of a very expensive car by another hundred dollars or so.

At the time you could buy a GSX for the same money as a decently optioned Corvette.
Duane

 

Point made with the other makes Duane. Unless there is some specific question posed or documents unearthed I guess we'll guess.

 

You're not, lol? You're the Buick GS "Trekker."

 

Dano,
You should have seen Ron’s face!!!! He hadn’t seen those documents in almost 40 years and I had copies, as well as some “factory” pictures of some of the design study cars during this process. A few of the pics showed cars with the double stripe, as in a red and an orange pin stripe next to each other (like on Brad’s car) and some with different decal locations. (Some of them were “stone ugly” and we should all be grateful they didn’t end up looking like that.)

When you reference the meeting notes with the car pics you can see exactly where the cars fit in with the timeline. It’s pretty cool.

I also showed him copies of all the Factory engineering specs that were required to build these cars, including all the part numbers for the paint masks that were “non-cost items” as they were used up during production.

He really didn’t know what to think about me.
Duane

 

Priceless!

 

Yeah, he did inch away from me a little.

I guess he did not understand how much us “Buick guys” appreciated what he and his group accomplished and how important that model was to us.
Duane

 

Sounds like a good book idea!!!!
Patrick

 

The '70 GSX and '70 GTO Judge were handled the same way. The '70 GSX option and the '70 GTO Judge option both came with an engine that was one step from the top. So the package was primarily about image, not about being the fastest. The GTO Judge came standard with the 366hp Ram Air III and to get the top engine, the 370hp Ram Air IV, the buyer paid extra. Same situation with the Buick.

Not every buyer cared to be the fastest, some just wanted to look cool. So having the car be a little cheaper due to the lower powered engine helped sell a few extra cars.

 

I can speak for one GSX I owned that I bought from the original owner. The doctor bought it for his wife off the showroom floor and she cared less whether it was a Stage 1 or not. (It was a standard 455 with lots of options but not Stage 1). She even made the dealership install a vinyl top on it before she would agree to take delivery. Wish I had a pic of it with the vinyl top but when I had it painted the shop called me to take a look at where the car had originally been repainted and the vinyl top molding holes filled in. I spoke with the doctor's wife and she confirmed it.

 

Wow, neat story.