(first posted 3/18/2011) Four door hardtops make no sense, but what’s that ever had to do with cars? They were a status symbol: “No, I don’t drive no stinking sedan, even if I do have a family to schlepp around”. And in an era when air conditioning was as common as color tvs, and computers were the size of a barn, riding around in one of these with all the windows down on a hot summer evening was the mobile equivalent of sitting on the front porch of the nicest house on the block. It was done to see and be seen; the Facebook of its time. And this Buick would certainly up your friend count better than most.
One of the pillars of American automotive design is the pillarless hardtop. The two door version first arrived on the 1949 Cadillac Coupe de Ville (the origin of that storied name), Buick Roadmaster and Olds 98. But GM was not content to rest on its retracted windows. In 1955 Buick and Olds unveiled the first four-door pillarless hardtops, a very radical concept indeed, that is, until the pillarless hardtop wagons came along the next year.
What’s next? Wagons without even a C-pillar? I’m truly disappointed GM never took that obvious next step.
The four-door hardtops foreshadowed a trend that has recently engulfed the market since Mercedes unleashed its CLS: four door coupes. Well, here’s the granddaddy of them all. Crossing the prestige and flair of the two door hardtop with a utilitarian sedan was quite the stroke. And just like everyone else in the industry had to scramble after the ’49 two door hardtops, so this latest salvo from GM once again brought out the cutting torches.
Not that anyone who was smitten by the charms of hardtops cared, but they never were quite as quiet, dry and draft free as the dumb old sedans. And don’t ever be caught closing the door by pushing on the glass, although Stephanie has been doing that on her frameless Subaru without harm (so far) for eleven years. Why didn’t Subaru ever make a hardtop Forester? I need to get out my SawzAll and start a new trend.
By 1956, the four door hardtop was even available on lowly Chevys. Ford and Chrysler quickly joined the party, not wanting to be un-friended. Their popularity probably peaked in the mid sixties. By the mid seventies, they were mostly gone, the result of the arrival of the first personal computers. The last four door hardtop was the 1978 Chrysler New Yorker. That was the same year the Apple II appeared and Al Gore invented the internet. No mere coincidence.
The mid fifties were a great time to be a Buick dealer; no shortage of friends there. It was the number three seller in the land, behind Chevy and Ford, thanks in part to its very reasonably priced Special. The inter-divisional wars at GM were just heating up, and the Special was a major weapon. Buick prestige and style for a just a few bucks a month more than a dumb old Ford. Now that was a brilliant way to win new friends, even if it was at the expense of your premium brand reputation. Who cares; we all know that the race is to have the most friends, not necessarily the highest quality friends.
Buicks came in two sizes back then: big and bigger. The Special and Century were the former, and rode on a 122″ wheelbase. The “senior” Buicks had 127″ between the wheels. The Century was where it was at: the best of both. The big Buick’s 255 hp 322 cubic inch “nailhead” V8 in the lighter body, but with the upscale trimmings. It was the formula that made the original 1936 Century a winner and gave it its name: one hundred miles per hour; not one hundred friends. But that was the thirties; by the gregarious fifties, the focus was on social amenities, not raw speed.
The V8’s ample output always sounded like it was pushing a Chris Craft motorboat, thanks to Buick’s Dynaflow automatic, the true source of the name “slushbox”. Essentially a one-speed, its torque converter had a wide enough range to convert enough torque into very seamless forward thrust, gear reduction be damned. Perfect for absolutely smooth take-offs with a carload of friends spilling out the opened windows on the way to the Dairy Queen.
Didn’t do much for fuel efficiency either. If you really had to have one, a three-speed column-shifted manual was still available. But not cool, on a Buick. Unless you your circle of friends was very one-pointed. Although by 1956, there were cheaper ways to go really fast, like a 225 hp small-block Chevy.
Buick style in 1956 meant plenty of ornamentation, including a badge on the trunk that spelled out its model year to all prospective friends. Only works well for one year, though. Nevertheless, that’s an idea that needs to come back. It would sure make my life a lot easier, instead of having to perpetually rely on the help of my friends.
All the chrome and detailing still do their designated jobs, although within a couple of years that would blow up in outrageous excess. The ventiports were of course the Buick trademark, and this Century sports four per side, unlike the three of the lowly Special. Less ventiports = fewer friends.
I would love to see someone add another one, or two. And these are as close to the real thing as possible, not a piece of plastic slapped on the assembly line or the Pep Boys parking lot.
And that steering wheel! Old wheels like that alone slay me, with their little slogans and crests: POWER STEERING. Believe me, you didn’t need to be reminded one way or the other as to whether this big boat had power steering or not. Perhaps it was there to warn off the week-chested before they even tried to drive a non-PS ’56 Buick.
Not true; when a prospective friend leaned in your open driver’s window, that wheel nub was about the first thing their eyes would fall on. Well, maybe the second thing; possibly the third. Regardless of the order, it was instant status. More Friends. Preferably the kind that would sidle up real close, and you so now you didn’t have to worry about needing two hands to turn the wheel. Power steering was the friendliest of all of Detroit’s great inventions of the times; bucket seats and floor shifters the least so.
Ultimately, faces are what cars and Facebook is all about. Who doesn’t put their best face forward in the quest for more friends? The Buick certainly put its big smile out there for all to see; three blocks away even. Plenty of time for prospective friends to sashay innocently down to the curb before it arrived, all four of its windows down, ready to make more friends.
Related:
Buick’s Legendary Nailhead V8 And The Possible Source Of Its Unusual Valve Arrangement
That automobile is immaculate, but the uncovered red wheels kind of detract and cheapen the look. Does it have the bouncing shocks to go with those wheels?
Congrats on the 100 “likes”. I may be one of the last people on Earth not on Facebook…I’ve steadfastly refused, but may succumb as I seem to be asked daily.
Anyone know why Buicks of that era had red wheels?
Hang in there, caljn; I’m not on Fakebook, either… and have no intention in doing so!
I think that Buick had the best style of all GM cars in the fin era, in general. This 56 appears to be in very nice condition. I agree completely with caljin that it needs some hubcaps. The red steelies don’t look right on this car.
Old wheels like that alone slay me, with their little slogans and crests: POWER STEERING. Believe me, you didn’t need to be reminded one way or the other as to whether this big boat had power steering or not.
The manufacturers used to be big on labelling those kind of creature-comfort features. I remember seeing some brake pedals with “POWER BRAKES” stamped into chrome trim on the pedal. If you ordered the disc brakes on a mid-60’s Mopar, you got special hubcaps that advertised “DISC BRAKES” on them. More recently, Ford pickups used to have “EFI” badges on them. That also seems quaint today, since every new car has fuel injection. Maybe in the future, my kids will think the same thing when they see a car that has “Hybrid” badges on it.
BTW Paul, it’s nice to see your CC articles getting wordy again. The last few I’ve checked out were mostly pics without much of of your trivia, humor and anecdotes included. (I had no idea that the original Buick Century was named because it could hit 100MPH.)
If it’s labeled “Curbside Classic”, it’s going to be wordy, 800 or so at a minimum. The CC Outtakes and CC Capsules are a different ball game, as well as the other “blog” posts. We have a whole range on the menu here at Cafe CC. Look for the high-cal selections.
There will be one full CC daily; sometimes two. That’s about the limits of my pathetic fingers trying to keep up with my head. Time for speech recognition software!
I’m glad for your comment, though, because sometimes I wonder if folks really read them, or just skim the pictures. That’s ok too, but it’s nice to know some don’t 🙂
The reading and inherent nostalgia and history are the best part…of course you’re read!
One full CC per day sounds like a good deal of work, but I am more than happy to partake.
Btw, is it possible your posting clock is off by an hour?
I think the site clock didn’t get the memo on daylight savings time.
I’m still trying to find the right work load balance; it’s a work in progress.
I read everything, including the comments. Since I didn’t grow up in the US, I’m learning about cars I’ve never seen, or in some cases , heard of. Reading CC is like going to school every day where every lesson is enjoyable.
I read CC daily, and it’s a constant source of enlightenment and interest for me–even on the cars that I don’t particularly like, I will read the articles and see if you or anyone else has a viewpoint that may change my mind on something. Keep up the great work!
Thanks! 🙂
Forgive me for being a fan Paul, but I read every word you write! Every time I visit the site (multiple times a day), the first thing I do is scan to see if there are any stories by you! Your knowledge, life experience and way with words are a powerful combination for this classic car obsessed reader!
Remember when Subarus proclaimed “Front Wheel Drive” on the front fenders? (please don’t ask what years or models, as I know more about astrobiology than I know about Japanese cars..) I think those little details are awesome, and do indeed mark their era like cornerstones on old buildings.
Early-mid seventies, and in quite nice script, too.
“BigOldChryslers”, the mid-60s big Mopars that were equipped with disc brakes had 15″ wheels & covers, as opposed to the 14″… through ’66 or so (??). I hope that my memory is correct on this.
Big Oldsmobiles and big Chryslers were among the last to switch back from 14″ rims to 15″, I think. A radial equivalent to a 9.00 x 14 must be tough to find… esp. these days.
I’ve always loved the ’56 Century – I think my Revel one is still in the attic somewhere.
The 4-door hardtop was impossibly glamourous – the perfect embodiment of what American cars were all about.
I have long thought that the 1956 models of the Buick, Oldsmobile, and Cadillac represented high points in terms of elegance, class, and good taste, at least until the early 1960s. The next few model years brought too much chrome, excessive length, and huge fins, but I have to admit a fondness for the wraparound windshields of the ’59 and ’60 GM cars!
That 2 tone wagon has to be one of the best car profiles ever.
Anyone remember P.J. O’Rourke’s story for Car and Driver, “Sgt. Dynaflo”? That was a ’56, if I remember – in 1977, someone hired him to drive one from Florida to California. His tales of ignition failure, chronic overheating, dead dashboard lamps and blowing reverse gear, were the dark side of travel in an aging American dreamboat.
And that car was a lot younger when P.J. did it.
Nice capture. American cars of that era just couldn’t hold up for the long haul, but they sure did have the look.
I read every word you write and every comment. I just can’t get enough. Thank you so much. I love your writing style. I was thinking today as I drove on route 5 how much I savor each word, and pondered on why I found these comments and our reminiscing about our memories of each car so fascinating. I sure as hell do. It’s always so rewarding when I open CC up and see a fresh one.
I remember seeing a 57 I think it was in my neighborhood around 1967 and would linger looking at it fascinated by how old it looked, the rust was eating away at it’s blue grey painted metal. I loved the Taillights, and can clearly remember the wart-like turn signals in the front as if it was yesterday. Funny how outdated a 10 year old car looked back then. I wish today’s cars would get annual updates or at least modifications to the Taillights. I miss being able to identify each individual model year. Was The fact that it was a “Hardtop” what made or Designated it a “Riviera” ?
The fact that it was a “hardtop” was, in fact, what made that Buick a “Riviera”. And Riviera’s of that day were not limited to the Century line up. My father had a 1956 Buick Special Riviera, in two-tone green. I didn’t believe it was a Riviera until he showed the registration to me.
Yep, In that era “Riviera” denoted hardtop models at Buick just as “DeVille” denoted hardops at Cadillac. After hardtops became the “norm”, they lost special names. “DeVille” was applied to what would have been Series “63” Cadillacs in 1959 and of course “Riviera” became a “personal luxury” coupe in 1963.
Paul and I exchange notes on the “back channel” Admin for the FB page (yes, pay no mind to the man behind the curtain, but there is one) 😉 I suggested the idea of a CC full article on a Buick Century for the FB page to celebrate 100 “Likes” about a week or so back when the FB “Like” count was at 90 – 92. Paul asked me what model year Century should be profiled… my response was, any one would be fine… even one from the badge-engineered Y2K era whan a Century was a de-contented Regal.
Needless to say, I was quite impressed with Paul’s pick and the accompanying article.
What a great example of Buick in its prime as a cultural icon. The social comparison of the ’56 Buick back then to Facebook today is valid.
Reading LAx’s comments about regular model changes in the 60’s and 70’s and how cars looked distinctive struck a chord with me. I recall most of the cars owned by neighbours around my block growing up in my hometown in SW Ontario. It was an industrial town with lots of supply contracts to Detroit, so other than the odd VW product, the tally was skewed in the “Big 3” column. Looking back, I find it interesting that most of my neighbours never drove new cars — I would guess the average age of vehicles in the neighbourhood was 6 – 10 years old. A plethora of mid-60’s Buicks, Chevys, Galaxies… and of course, that big New Yorker just around the corner with the distinctive start-up heard most days at the crack of dawn…
Link: Highland Park Hummingbird
That link made my day, I must have played it 10 times or more !!!
I LOVE THAT SOUND !!!!
I miss those days when that Chrysler starter sound was common…..didn’t matter if it was a Duster, Dart, Newport, Monaco, etc, they all had that starter sound….My Grandfather had a slant/6 Dart Swinger, and one Uncle had a slant/6 Duster while another Uncle had a V8 72 Newport Coupe….so I remember that starter sound well, despite those days being 35 or 40 years ago.
Slaves to fashion – we were then and we still are. In 1956 we accepted extra weight, lots of wind noise, squeaks arising from more flexible body, rattles, leaks, poor side impact protection (not that it was anything great on the sedans either), and mechanical troubles from the window regulators all to look good. And we sure did look good! Style sells.
Black bodypaint + red wheels = developing trend here in CC.
When I was a kid in St. Louis, maybe 5-6 years old, the neighbors across the street had a Buick of this vintage, only was a two-tone, green and white, convertible. I loved watching them raise and lower the top on it. I’ve been in love with convertibles ever since.
I came home from the hospital in one of these. My dad traded his year old 57 Chevy wagon for a 56 Century 4 door hardtop – two tone green. To this day he still talks about that Buick – he had to pony up $1000 plus the new Chevy for the used Buick! It had a Wonderbar radio that would search out the strongest signal. I don’t remember it all that well, other than my mother slamming the door on my hand when I was about 2 years old, not long after my dad got a 60 Valiant as a company car and the Buick was gone – traded for a Riley 1.5 saloon. I found a photo that looks exactly the same.
CAme home from the hospital in one of these? I can one-up you, maybe…I was BORN in a ’56 Buick on the way to the hospital. As it was a company car, it probably was a mundane sedan though, not a glamorous hardtop.
Paul, kudos to you for your site, and great writing and photos. As one might expect, I’ve always been a car guy, and your encyclopedic knowledge of the vast array of classsics you come across amazes me.
I think the car looks great with no hubcaps and red wheels. My dad drag raced a ’55 Century in the late fifties and early sixties, and it always looked the coolest on race day, with the hubcaps off.
I like the red wheels too. Gives it a Sunday racer look to it. But it needs wide white walls not the thin ones.
Yep! thin whites are too “modern” for any pre-59 car (IMHO), either go wide white,or blackwall.
They don’t make Cars LIke
I’ve always found the 1956 Buicks more attractive than either the 1955 or the 57, 58, or even the 59. Status symbol be damn, I’d take a 1956 Buick Century sedan, if available.
Perfect Buick for me has always been the 1954 Century, the cleanest and perkiest of the lot, though I have to admit I’ve never driven one. I had liked the ’53s okay, but they were still tied to the stodgy old body style with those oblong headlight “shields” just kinda pasted on, but the next year came a general clean-and-trim, not to mention that swell new V8. I’ll have one of those, a two-door in these colors please, only with black wheels and proper hubcaps. And since I’m only imagining it I can skip the seat belts …
I must say that hardtop wagon is pretty damn stunning too! I don’t believe I’ve ever seen one before, though in those days I had not yet gotten around to loving wagons. What the hell, I was just 15.
Yeah, The 1954 Buick and the 1955 Chevrolet were the cleanest and in my opinion the best of the Harley Earl design “ethos” at mid century, pardon the pun!
When I was a kid, of 5-6 years old, my neighbors had one of these and it was very much like the black car pictured except for having white below the “side slash”. Another neighbor had a 50 Buick 4 door sedan and while I was a dyed in the wool Ford guy at that young age I was always surprised by how a car company (Buick) went from dowdy to dynamic in what seemed like one big leap.
If I was buying a 56 GM car, one of these Buicks (preferably a 2 door hardtop) would be it.
Here are my Dad, Mom and me standing in front of our two-tone green 1956 Buick Special Riviera! (We only had a black & white camera back then!)
Not sure how I missed this one first time around. Those early 4 door hardtops fascinate me. They became relatively common after 1959-60 (especially at GM) but the early ones are not seen that often.
The rest of the industry must have really seen these as The Next Big Thing because Ford and Chrysler spent what must have been scads of money to bring 4 door hardtops out during the last year that those bodies were in use. The cost accountants must have been tearing their hair out.
When I was a teen in the 70s, I saw one of these 55-56 Buicks sitting in a gas station. Whether it was wear and tear or rust, the poor thing had taken on a swaybacked form. I had never seen a 4 door hardtop before where the tops of the front and back door windows on each side overlapped by about an inch.
Those early four door hardtops were a bit more prolific – especially at Buick than one might think.
When Buick introduced the four door hardtop in the 1955 junior cars, the four door hardtops outsold sedans 121,000 to 94,000. That was probably the motivation for Ford and Chrysler to invest – instant market acceptance of an option that increased the price of the car over 7% had to scare the hell out of the sales mangers at the other companies while creating envy at the same time.
In ’56, the four door hardtop was expanded to the senior cars and hardtop mania set in at Buick – 202,000 four door hardtops to just 93,000 sedans. In ’57, the sedan was almost done for at Buick, just 68,000 were sold and the senior cars were only available as hardtops.
Rambler had a 4-door hardtop station wagon in the 1950s.
Rambler even had a regular 4 door hardtop in the new 1956 line, I believe the only independent to ever do so.
If only my beloved Studebaker could have found a way.
And the 4 door hardtop (at least at the senior “C” body level) would remain “king” untill 1977!
… the 4-dr htdp remained ‘king’ in the big Chryslers through MY1978.
The frame must have been severely rotted / rusted.
Great CC and a real nice car in the pictures. I am surprised nobody mentioned the speedometer. It was a red line that went from left to right, across, at least when you were accelerating. The one the pictured car has obviously needs to be repaired, it reads 55 with the car standing still. One thing missed, Rambler also had 4dr hardtop cars and station wagons up until 1960.
When I was in high school in the late 60’s a friend of mine had on of these. He didn’t have a drivers license, no problem he had friends that would drive it for him. I was one of the drivers and I remember it was a beast to drive on the highway. Around town no problem but on the open road it wallowed like a pregnant elephant. The car was 12 years old at the time, the shocks were worn, the front end was worn and the tires weren’t the greatest so I think all of this has to factored in to way it handled then. You’re right about the transmission, it was smooth even if it did cause a large parasitic loss of HP to the rear wheels.
The Dynaflow automatic actually had a first gear, but it only shifted into it if you floored it from a stop or maybe at least a low speed. The rest of the multiplication was with a torque converter with about five elements. Later ones (don’t know if they were really the same) were called Twin Turbo, I think. Anyway, the basic effect was about the same as two regular torque converters in a row, so twice the energy loss to heat. They should have thought about a cruising speed lockup like all modern torque converter automatics have while they were at it.
I think Packard automatics had the lockup, along with other problems.
Sorry, no time for Wikepedia-ing at the moment.
No the Dynaflow would not shift automatically into what was Low Range. Low range had to be selected manually. The first generation dynaflow had a turbine connected to the driveshaft, driven by the impeller, and like all torque converters there was a stator. However, the impeller and stator each had two elements.
The second generation dynaflow had the turbine split into two elements, one geared down, but the impeller and stator were one element turbines.
It should be noted that the twin turbine dynaflow was refined by adding a variable pitch stator. The 1956 version added an upper stator between the first stage turbine and the second stage turbine. These refinements changed the torque ratio from 2.45:1 (fixed pitch) to 2.5:1 (high performance pitch) and then 3.5:1 with the upper stator. The high performance pitch was activated by wide open throttle (or near wide open).
I had a ’50 Super, and your description of the original Dynaflow is correct!
Ventiports, Paul, not portholes. Ventiports.
Where were you in 2011? 🙂
Fixed now.
On a radio show in the ’70s, I won a Foghat album for knowing they were “Venti-ports” (as opposed to “portholes”,) wish I still had the record and remembered what station! (Western PA)
WYDD? KQV? WDVE?
Those were the rock stations back then. YDD being the furthest out there.
I actually think it was a “top 40” station (96KX) I could be wrong had it been as cool as YDD (in the ’70s) I’da remembered that! BTW I’m old enough to remember when WDVE was KQV-FM (at 102.5 always) It’s no wonder I forget stuff! LOL!!!
The original ports were simulating exhaust ports with flashing lights tied to the distributor. One of Buicks engineers had customized his Buick. Upper management saw it and ordered the 49 Buick to have the ports, but not the lights. Then they tried to say that the “ventiports” were ventilating the engine compartment (complete nonsense of course). The ports are primarily a styling feature. They did hide the lock to open the hood, at least on the 1950 models.
Thank you Karl .
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No one’s mentioned Buick’s wonderful ” Starterator Pedal ” yet….
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-Nate
Another connection between ’30s – ’50s Chevrolets and Buicks, along with torque tube drive and OHV. Do I get a pat on the back and a cookie??? LOL!
No ;
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I ate ’em all .
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-Nate
I was thinking about hardtops yesterday. Chrysler was late to the game on deleting the B pillar, but ahead of the game on deleting the “A.1 pillar.” During the ’40s, the window in the front door had a metal channel that met the vent pane. When the window was down and the vent pane was open, there was no vertical divider.
The only real advantage was more room to rest your arm on the door, but I suppose it improved visibility just a little.
There really is a B pillar, it just does not extend all the way to the roof. The rear door is hung on the B pillar. If the rear doors are hung on the C pillar, then the B pillar could be deleted. The 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham nearly did away with the B pillar, but not quite.
I guess we could call it a “B” post. Just enough to hold the latch of the front doors and the hinges of the rear doors.
The 47-52 Studebaker used this style of vent window sealing as well. When the front door window was lowered, the piece that sealed against the vent window glass went down with it.
The MoPar deal was (IIRC) quite different ~ beginning in 1934 there was a lever along the bottom edge of the no draft , flipping it caused the entire glass and pivot to lower into the door when the side glass was lowered .
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I’ve met many vintage MoPar owners who had no idea their cars were so equipped and were flabbergasted when I showed them .
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From the time when MoPar truly was an Engineering driven company .
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Sigh . one needs to have driven an Air Flow or ’41 Plymouth Coupe etc. to fully understand what wonderful cars they were making then .
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-Nate
I never really cared for four door hardtops, every one I ever rode in rattled like crazy. They disappeared around the mid seventies because rollover standards became effective. I think the last year I ever saw a four door hardtop was about 1976. Ironically, about the time they disappeared in the U.S., they became quite popular in Japan. “Ate up with Motor” had a article about them several years ago.
We had one from 1961-65. A Merc Monterey (I think). Was a pink/black, 1957 or 58.Had that square steering wheel/push button transmission/ an arm rest in front.
My mom/ dad bought it used for about 375.00
My sister got her license in it. I was too young to notice a lot a rattles. I remember how big the inside seemed.Got replaced in 1965 by a “new” Chev Biscayne.
Conceptually and structurally, the four door hardtop was nothing more than the pre-war four door convertible sedan body with a stationary steel roof in place of the folding canvas unit. As those pre-war convertible sedans had been the most expensive and exclusive body style, the postwar variation found instant appeal for an optimistic generation then experiencing the greatest growing overall incomes ever for the middle-class. Of course, dependent upon how well the engineering as done, they could be perfectly tight and rattle-free or at worst, shaky rattle-traps. Whatever the case, they were very much a body style of their times, one I’ve long liked.
For some reason, this reminded me that back in the late 60’s, my dad stored a Buick 2-door hardtop on our farm for a Mr. Wentworth. It was a very nice black and white one. I was 10 or 11 at the time, so I don’t know why we were keeping it there.
As I recall, it sat there (outside!) for several months, at least. We kids were told not to touch it, and it was locked. But I remember its 2-tone finish and the portholes. It was nothing like the cars Dad favored AT all.
I read the Ventiports were filled in because little boys would walk around and p!ss in the holes on their teacher’s cars.
Buick tried to do away with them in the late 50’s. The 58 and 59 models did not have any ventiports. The 60 models had a bit of trim that recalled the ports, but were not ports. Then the 61’s got a more substantial looking bit of trim which was just for looks. The first ventiports were made to look like they might actually vent something.
“Four-door hardtops make no sense.” SACRILEGE! Why did people buy ’em?
It’s cars with back seats and only two doors that make no sense… even if some 2-doors were a little prettier, sometimes.
In 1970, we inherited the Olds version of this car with a much gaudier interior and 14,000 miles. The seats were white leather (sides and half the back), blue cloth (with a silver thread), and silver piping. Everything but the pedals was bright blue, white, or silver. The middle of the door sides was textured bright metal. My dad drove it halfway ’round the DC Beltway or to the Pentagon on the original wide WW tires until we got a third car in ’73, then each of us kids got to drive it to HS, after he had front belts installed. We learned without incident that the handling and brakes were no match for the powerful engine and Hydramatic.
We discovered the hard way (3 times) that driving with a front window all the way down would crack the glass badly from the front edge. The windows rattled a lot even when they were all the way up, but they leaked less than our Colonnade Buick wagon when I washed the car. The upper weatherstripping looked like a wood strip wrapped in black fabric.
We had a ’57 Olds hardtop wagon before I turned 3, so I don’t remember it at all, despite riding in it cross country as a fetus, but I have a vague memory of picking up its replacement (’63 Impala wagon with dealer A/C) at Rosenthal Chevrolet in Arlington.
Great article and photos! When I think of how clean Buicks of the 60s became, pigs like this car, must have been a great fresh design motivator.
It’s admirably restrained and graceful–compared to the ’58.
It’s a pig, compared to the 1961 full-sized Buicks. 🙂
I always liked and much preferred the much less clunky and much more refined headlight bezels on the Roadmasters. Being painted the body color with a slender chrome trim ring, they blended into the body very nicely. Some goes for the tail lights. However, these are a rare sight.
The bended into the body tail lights.
My grandmother, then my great uncle, had a black ’56 Roadmaster 4 door sedan that looked extremely stodgy compared to that convertible–or the 4 door hardtop.
So much neater.
We had mid-60s Pontiacs in our family, but they were either wagons or (in one case) a convertible, ’65 Bonneville. Other than the introduction of the 1968 Bonneville 4-door sedan, were there any other well-known car lines that included only 4-door hardtops since the ’50s and then added a sedan?
The Cadillac 62 and Sedan de Ville 4 doors were all hardtop from ’57 through ’64, and there were 4 and 6 window versions after ’58. There was a pillared model with a different greenhouse from ’65-’70 that had more rear room but did not sell nearly as well, which explains its departure for ’71. I suspect all that was true of the Buick and Olds C bodies.
I’d never made the connection between air conditioning and the fall of hardtops. Silly me, I had attributed that to better solidity and keeping the roof up in event of a rollover. But once everyone has a/c and the windows are usually rolled up, who cares (besides some of us, evidently) if a sedan is a “pillared hardtop” instead of a real one? It’s hard to tell the difference from the outside with the windows rolled up. And there’s nothing declasse anymore about door frames.
There was that hardtop revival in Japan, but they knew better than to try exporting them.
My aunt/ uncles new “68 LTD” was the last 4dr HT i can remember anyone in the family having. It had a/c.
Lasted till 1975; issues with transmission/oil leak finished off my aunts interest in it..lol
It had changed from the ‘Gold metallic” with a black vinyl roof cover, to a “Choc Brown, with a tan vinyl roof cover by then too.
I think the transformation took place in 1973.
Man , it was a “powerful beast’ though.
I well remember the warm spring evening in 1955 when my aunt and uncle pulled into our driveway in a new Oldsmobile Holiday 88 four-door hardtop they had just picked up from the dealer. The car was two-tone yellow and black and had, in addition to lots of chrome accents inside, seats of white vinyl with black nylon inserts imbedded with silver threads.They had all the windows rolled down and we thought it was a very glamorous car. Years before they had a Buick convertible so the hardtop gave them some of that open air feel with the practicality of a sedan. A fun time to be a a car-crazy little kid.