We’ve had a lot of Lincoln love here on CC, and I have to give some of our GM fans credit for being so patient. Today you’re in luck, for this most excellent ’71 Riv was recently posted to the Cohort by CJCars.
Aren’t the lines lovely? Sure, it’s a yacht, it sucks gas, but honestly, who cares? This car has presence.
If you’re new to CC, Paul did a full writeup on one of these beauties a couple of years ago; it can be found here. Let’s raise a glass to the 1963 Corvette, who lived well, invested right, and enjoyed many sirloins and baked potatoes in middle age–with lots of butter.
A perfect description of this car! Presence indeed, bordering on swagger.
Regulars know well that I am no fan of this generation of GM big car, but there is something about these that draws me to them. The styling is so outlandish, so bold, I have loved these from the time they came out. This one even makes the light green work.
I note this is a 71 with the flow through ventilation slots in the decklid, as on all 1971 big GM cars. That would be a tough decision – the 1971 engine tune with the perforated trunklid or the detuned 72 model with a proper decklid. Decisions.
Its presence is even more prominent by having a black Camry parked behind it.
I appreciate this Riviera much more now than I did when it was new. It seemed garish and overdone when new. But now it is so nice to see a car with unique styling, because that has become so rare.
Even when these were new, I was thinking, WTF? Well, I was four, so maybe I wasn’t thinking exactly WTF, but whatever it is a four-year-old thinks when he is astonished by something outrageous.
My feelings about these haven’t changed. Only my ability to articulate those feelings.
I loved and wanted one when new and still want one now. Take either the 71, 72 or 73 would not be picky. Were not the vents on the trunklid dropped mid way through the 71 model run on all the big GM cars?
I don’t know if the vents stopped mid-model, or if they stayed all the way thru the 71 model year. I know they were gone by the 72 models. This sounds like a question for Carmine or Junqueboy.
As far as I know, they went all the way through the 71 model year, but were gone for 1972.
You’d probably like a ’71 the best! I think the 455 had a slightly higher horsepower rating than the ’72 model.
The ’73 front end looks a little heavy due to “the bumper” and it also lost the unique coved instrument panel pad and engine-turned instrument panel bezels.
I personally like the rear bumper treatment the best on the ’73 but that’s just me. My favorites in order of preference are the ’72, ’71, and ’73.
Edit: the trunklid vents on my ex-’71 car never gave me any issues: they did not leak water into the trunk and the little rubber flappers behind the rear trunklid lip never accumulated trash or trapped water for that matter. It surprised me because it sure seemed like it would have been a real headache.
I have found something to like in all 3 years of the Boattail. The engine in the 71, The 72 is probably the best looking and I, like you, like the rear of the 73. Would give up an important part of my anatomy to have a Burgundy one with white or tan leather Bucket Seat interior with all the power stuff.
It’s too bad the louvers didn’t pan out for GM’s line up in the long run, it’s a key styling element that to me really gives the cars a unique, tough look. Even the clam-shell wagons had them on the back, it just looks cool on there. I guess it wouldn’t have mattered anyway since the muscle-car movement died out in a few years but they do look really good on there.
Swap the ’71 trunk lid for a ’72?
I, too, loved and wanted one new. So much so that I bought a new ’72. Not bad for a 24 YO kid making too much money.
Now I want another one more than ever but I’m a 64 YO kid with not enough money. Life is cruel….
It’s funny to hear carmakers today talk about polarizing styling on Cadillacs or Acuras or any other car that has some detailing that differs in some way from the standard high-beltline look all cars now share. “We know some people will hate them, but others will have to have them.” Sure.
Now THIS is a car with polarizing styling. In today’s much more competitive marketplace, perhaps no automaker can justify a car like this and the small volumes it would sell at.
I know nothing about what factors into automobile production costs, but I would have to guess body panels like these take many more (and more expensive) stampings than your average car. Could it be that dramatic styling like this is just too expensive to build to justify in today’s market?
No there is nothing all that special or expensive about the body stampings on this car they look pretty straight forward with a minimum number of dies and steps required. Of course they needed much larger dies than modern cars due to the sheer size of the parts and undoubtedly that adds to the cost but no more so that cars of similar size that were available at the time. So nothing other than fear of market rejection (and the low volume that could result and mean the tooling would have to be amortized over fewer cars) is preventing dramatic styling today.
The gas tank is a unique piece on the ’71 and ’72 models. The filler neck exits the LR corner at an angle to reach the license plate cutout. From my vague memories, the trunklid itself may have more than the usual two sheetmetal stampings due to its rather extreme curves (not 100% on that though).
Just a inner and outer stamping on those trunk lids.
Like a shark sandwiched between minows, the Riviera doesn’t park……it waits.
The Riviera is not a Civic Hybrid or a Camry SE, the Riviera doesn’t even know what a hybrid is. The Riviera wouldn’t wear a bright aqua tank top and shorts and go out on a public sidewalk…..thats just not what the Riviera does.
The Rivera does not “have an app for that”
The Riviera is not “ironic”, it doesn’t help you Tweet great food truck locations, it doesn’t even understand the concept of food trucks….or Tweeting…..whatever that is…..
The Riviera is not “politically correct”…..those words don’t even exist in the Rivieras vocabulary….
The Riviera doesn’t have an “ECO” gauge and if it did, the needle would swing between a picture of an oil rig fire and a burning tire dump.
The Riviera would never have a BYOB party, it knows what you drink and has it ready for you when you come over, it wouldn’t make you pay to check in luggage or subject you to radioactive scans to get on an airplane
The Riviera represents an era, when men were men, steaks were large and smoking was allowed everywhere.
We should all strive to be be more like the Riviera
Yep.
Thanks, Carmine. You have brilliantly described a lost era: the Riviera Epoch. Around 1971, my sister and I would ride in the back of the family Country Squire and count boat-tail Rivieras. We didn’t know what they were, but satisfied ourselves by calling them “Neat Back Window” cars. I still stand by that opinion: what a Neat Back Window… and there’s no app for that.
I’ve heard them called Boat-tails, Bobtails, Diamondbacks, and “those cars with that pointy rear end”. I think I’m forgetting some other names…
Amen! The same could be said for many outlandish cars of it’s era, so true. Well put.
Can I get and A-men!
Those of us that ate steaks as big as man covers and smoked two packs of reds a day are paying for it now.
A guy that I worked with drove one of these things. I was always amazed by how big they were on the outside and how claustrophobic they were on the inside. I guess that I just didn’t get it. I owned a Fiat 128 at the time.
Bravo!
Riviera is the Honey Badger of cars- he don’t give a f***!
Seriously, these were the cars that first really sparked my interest in American iron.
+1
The ’63 Rivera was one of the most beautiful cars ever designed and an absolute classic-the ’71 is no classic, in my opinion it’s downright ugly. These things always reminded me of a Corvette Stingray that had been restyled by Salvador Dali.
Great car.
Brilliant, Tom, I never thought of this Riv that way. The split-window Sting Ray was a pinnacle of sixties design, it was my slot car back then too.
This boat-tailed Riviera always repelled me, the way Disco later did and Las Vegas does now. Seeing it as the Sting Ray in middle age makes all the difference. Not least because I’m certainly not lean anymore myself. Thanks!
Living as close as I do to Las Vegas (430 miles is considered close in the West) I wish I were more attracted to its “charms” than I am. I think gambling is stupid and Wayne Newton doesn’t light my fire. And all those lights, fountains, and sinking pirate ships-guess who paid for them-YOU DID! But I have enjoyed NASCAR races there and look forward to attending more races there in the future.
Lily and I spent a few days in Las Vegas for a wedding once. We got out of town for a day and quite enjoyed Red Rock Canyon and Hoover Dam. It’s wonderful country.
Then we had to go back to the cheesy pyramid hotel.
Separated at birth.
The Riviera can make the liquor store run in less than 12 par secs……
Cars don’t make people cool but a certain 1971 Riviera proved otherwise IMO. The one I used to own made me feel like a million bucks: lots of fond memories there.
Most people focus on the rear styling but the front end of the ’71 and ’72 Rivieras is flat out gorgeous. The pointy tip and “reverse-raked” profile is almost menacing. I had scored a non-issued personalized Alabama license plate that read GRRRRR and it so perfectly suited the Riviera…
My car’s fan clutch had failed in a locked state so people actually heard me coming beforehand. The exhaust was as-original and very quiet which made for an interesting “fly-by” experience.
In Alabama, a majority of the few people who appreciated my car were middle-aged and older men. I found it interesting that the lower-income/under-educated white guys tended to ignore it (“u need to take the motor out of that & put it in a pickup”) but the black guys thought it was cool.
My favorite memory was when I was driving from Jasper to Tuscaloosa, AL one morning. The road was a twisty two-laner that eventually opened up to about a mile or two straightaway with a long bridge in the middle. This bridge crossed some sort of lake which prevented law enforcement from hiding out.
I always liked to stretch the Buick’s legs midway through that last curve so I could enjoy some triple-digit 455 goodness while crossing the bridge. The car was powerful enough to do this without a forced downshift so I usually just eased the pedal down. But this one day, there was a small crew of five or six guys working just behind the bridge guardrail and most of them stopped working when they heard the roar of my fan clutch — it was that loud.
Two black guys kept looking and started shaking their fists in the air as I approached. When I saw out that they were not mad and actually egging me on, I just had to nail it. I heard them one of them yelling ‘YEAH!!’ as I flew by them at WOT. I stuck my hand out the window & waved & saw them waving back through the rearview mirror — talk about a good time!
I think I was north of 120mph but not sure because the needle started bouncing at 45mph and was pretty much useless after that (except for setting off the speed-alert buzzer that could not be turned off).
My car was Bamboo Cream with a brown vinyl top and brown vinyl interior. I never liked the color combination but the Chrome Road Wheels offset the beige look somewhat. I ran P235/70/15 GoodYear Eagle ST raised white letter tires instead of whitewalls, but I thought they looked very good on the car and enabled me to have a little more fun on curvy roads.
“Tom the Bomb”, thanks for posting this beautiful example — it’s even green! 🙂 I love the fact that the owner kept the original color and wheelcovers. Most cars have the chrome wheels at this point. I wonder if that brocade interior looks as good as the outside.
JB, you have the best taste in cars
71 Rivieras are gorgeous, gorgeous cars. The very embodiment of automotive “styling” and I agree, as interesting as the rear end is, the front is this cars best attribute. Talk about presence…
I don’t know this for a fact, but it sure looks to me that every full size GM car of this generation used the same windshield. All the way from Chevrolet to Cadillac. Perhaps one of the GM experts here could confirm or shoot this down. Thanks.
The big letdown for me concerning the 1971 Riviera (other than the fact that my grandfather didn’t like them and traded in his ’66 Riviera for a ’71 Electra 225 coupe instead) is the dashboard. Yes, they made it “special” by making the molded plastic in front of the passenger concave, and sticking a few engine-turned metal appliques on the driver’s side. Big deal. The dash should have been a big part of this car’s appeal, just as the dash of the ’66 was.
The Riviera is almost 80 inches wide and 218 inches long, but it was dwarfed by the heights of all the modern cars around it. The door handle on the curb side was barely above my knee. My attempt to get an interior shot proved to be pathetic. If anyone knows how to shoot through glass with a Galaxy SIII, I could use their advice.
The only foolproof way to get interior photos with a closed window (especially with usually blinding glare here in SoCal) is to touch the glass with the phone/camera front — kinda risky but I do it sometimes.
Thanks Chris. I’ll give it a try next time.
I don’t care that it’s a thirsty unwieldy brute with poor brakes,it’s gorgeous even with that strange coloured paint job.
BAD AS HELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was 14 in 1971 and I thought these were the baddest things this side of a Grand Prix, which is still my favorite personal luxury car. And hell, yeah it sucks gas!!! That 455 makes it worth every dollar spent on gas!!! I still liked them when they sprouted those bodacious bumpers and the license plate was moved to the center. Just plain bad as hell!!! Still so. I do also have a bunch of Wildcat love, a BUNCH.
For several years a beige ’73 sat idle in the retirement home where my late Nana lived. I always meant to ask about it but never got the chance. Several months ago it finally vanished. I only hope that it found a good home and didn’t get crushed.
My father was a Riveria man and I can still remember making the trip,every few years to pick out the new car at the local Buick dealer. When the 71 came out the dealer called and said come take a look, I went with my father and it was parked smack in the middle of the showroom. Gold with the steel mags, no vinl roof, it was stunning. My father traided in the 68 on the spot. Dealer actually gave him a good deal if my dad let him keep it in the showroom until he could get another on. First really fast car I drove, big 455 had so much torque, burnouts were no problem, and I embarrassed many a camaro and mustang.
Was very sad to see it go.
Great analogy to a Stingray that grew up, Tom.
I love the look of the boat-tail Rivs just as much as the first gen Riv. One last big, bold styling tour de force from Bill Mitchell to usher in the bland or ugly cars to come.
Oh my word Tom, that is CC’s best heading and photo ever! I’d never have drawn that comparison, and now I can’t un-see it. Got made redundant today (after 12 years with the same company!), so I really needed a bit of very clever humour like this to cheer me up! Thank you! 🙂
I recently began posting a few pix on the CC Cohort — starting with a white/white ’73 Riviera Stage I. It is owned and driven regularly by a very nice older lady, who is extremely knowledgeable about her vehicle. She says she even “added a slightly hotter cam” to the 455!
More here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/96938568@N08/
Nice! I sense an upcoming Capsule…
Lovely car with great lines, only the off center license plate rectangle looks a bit odd. Funny how it is sandwiched between an Accord and a Camry.
Is the right blinker on?
You’re seeing the reflex part of the taillight assembly. There’s no bulb behind that part (although I wish there was).
At first I thought it was that translucent red tape you put on broken lenses. Glad it’s not. I guess the same thing is happening with the reflector in the right front side marker light in the second photo.
I had oneof these 71s. This was the original year and the styling was the “purest” The 455 had not yet been totally emasculated and believe it or not it handled pretty good. It had quick steering, about the same as the contemporary Vette. There is video on u tube of a 71 negotiating a handling course-amazing since it’s about as wide as a traffic lane. Mine had been repainted a dark MBZ brown with a creme vinyl top with pearl white bucket seats. The twin cockpit dash with the engine turned panel was amazing. Mine was in immaculate shape. I loved the pointed boatail rear. I drove this in the early 90s. It was my anti Yuppie car. My license plate frame proclaimed” This car is not politically correct”.