Also production total for the 70, Stage 1, 4sp, AC combo is 215 units...that's 193 coupe and 22 convertible.:TU:
curious about the 22 a/c converts. Is this 22 a/c converts 4sp? wonder how many 70 Stage 1 a/c conv, auto - which is my car. Was a "Brass Hat" factory exec car, so also has pw steer, brakes, seats, windows, cruise, tilt, rear window defog. more rare options are beauty rings and shoulder belts. BUT has 14" wheels, plain steering wheel (not rally) and 4 wheel drum - go figure
Well, I know they made 264 in total (versus 232 for the Stage 1), and 96 4-speeds (versus 67?), but beyond that, Olds people don't have any info. However, my car is a dealer-prepped pace car, so its pedigree is unique.
I disagree with Most Buicks don't include Grand Sports. The Hundreds of GS's I have seen through the years including many trips to the GS nationals. These cars had the same percentage of AC as any other Buicks.
I have production figures for a bunch of Buicks, and I can tell you that AC wasn't ordered at the same rate for all of them - performance cars were ordered with AC at a much lower rate than "regular" cars. This is pretty true for any car brand.
Here are the GM stats for AC and GS's (Coupes and Convertibles combined) % with AC '68=36% '69=50% '70=58% '71=67% '72=73 % Pretty high numbers. Remember, these are Buicks not Chevys, different type of customer.
70 Stage 1 Convert with Auto and AC = 94 Not sure of your tire option, but here are the only available numbers Stage 1 convert,auto,AC and (F8) Wide Oval Red Line Tires G-70-14 = 7 Stage 1 convert,auto,AC and (F9)Wide Oval White Billboard Tires G70-14=14
The brand of car doesn't change the fact that AC was ordered for high performance cars at a lower rate than regular cars. Contrast the 1970 GS figures above with the rest of the product line (rounded up): (3000) Skylark + Sportwagon - 61% (4000) Skylark Custom + GS - 69% (5000) LeSabre + Custom- 76% (6036/46) Estate Wagon - 84% (6400) LeSabre Custom 455 - 82% (6600) Wildcat - 76% (8000) Electra - 87% (9000) Riviera - 88%
3% difference between Skylark/Sportwagon and the GS, not huge....The other models are also a different types of customers than would order a GS or a Skylark. All of the numbers are still above 50% for each year except 1968, so it is fair to say that most (more than 50%) GS cars had AC. Yes it was ordered at a slightly lower rate than regular cars. Do you have the numbers for Chevelle SS or Roadrunners? I bet those numbers are very low.
Mike, the main point in which I disagreed was the comment, "These cars had the same percentage of AC as any other Buicks." Clearly this is not the case. Even using the base Skylark/Sportwagon as a comparison (in which you pointed out the percentage difference was negligible) is pretty much a moot point because they were targeted to a different market. Were they sold to Buick fans who were thrifty? I have no idea, but considering part of the production was for Buick's entry-level car, I think it's a valid theory, no? The Road Runner was targeted at a different market than the GS, plus only one engine was available with AC. Certainly, by 1970, a higher percentage were being ordered with AC. My sources suggest 12% of Road Runners had AC, but compare that with those equipped with the Air Grabber - almost 21% came with that. When you ordered that, you couldn't have AC. Contrast this with the '70 GTX, which was more in line with the GS's target market. Almost 28% came with AC, and that was limited to one engine and one tranny - the 440v4 with automatic was the only combo available with AC. A bit more than 30% came with the Air Grabber. A similar car - the Charger R/T - had AC in almost 46% of those produced. Like the GTX, only the 440v4 with automatic was available with AC. One rung down from the GTX - the Sport Satellite, which was available with V8s up to the 383 and, hence, not quite a musclecar - had almost 56% equipped with AC. The only Chevy figures I have are for combined Malibu models, so it doesn't really say much to us. Almost 48% came with AC . . . but this includes the Monte Carlo, which I'm sure skews it higher. Just did a quick glance at 1970 Mustang stuff, and 28% came with AC. Compare that with the Cougar, where almost 58% came with AC.
