(first posted 7/24/2017) Upon its official promotion to a full model line in 1991, the all-new Buick Park Avenue was warmly received for its combination of traditional Buick virtues with contemporary elegance and refinement. Did it steal many BMW buyers?… No, hell no. Yet at the very least, the 1991-1996 Park Avenue restored Buick’s flagship to competitiveness and prominence in the full-size luxury segment.
Its successor, the 1997-2005 Park Avenue, did not achieve the same level of notoriety or praise, and with little fanfare besides these final 3,000 Special Editions, was quietly discontinued after nine long years of production.
While the dignified first generation Park Avenue caused a bit of stimulation, the second generation proved that Buick was put back into its place as a maker of bland, boring, and unexciting automobiles that were sure not to shock the aging hearts of its core demographic of senior citizen buyers.
Developed and released in a period of dark days for cars at GM, the 1997 Park Avenue was a product of Ron Zarrella’s “Brand Management” initiative, by which each GM brand was assigned a specific category of consumers. With targeted demographics in mind, new vehicles were to be better tailored to suit their respective brand’s target consumer, with target-specific marketing. In theory, it didn’t sound like a half-bad idea, considering how many years of virtually identical badge-engineered cars GM was selling.
Yet in practice, it was more of the same old ways, with too many levels of management dictating the development of new cars, and of course, more badge-engineering. The newly assigned “brand managers” of each brand had little creative control over the development of their vehicles, as a laundry list of required attributes of every new vehicle were predetermined by higher-ups and various other departments and committees.
The result was that new cars, like this 1997-2005 Park Avenue, were very much designed-by-committee products, still very much like their siblings sold under other GM brands. While they may have appealed to their intended target buyer, there was little else beyond a few unique styling elements and advertising campaigns that distinguished, say, a Buick from an Oldsmobile from a Pontiac. In the end, GM was simply trying to sell too many similar flavors of the same basic product.
Despite its given name, the second generation Park Avenue by no means needed to be a stop in one’s tracks, overwhelming update. There’s nothing wrong with a car, especially one targeted towards a more conservative, understated audience, being very evolutionary in its progression. However, the milquetoast second generation Buick Park Avenue seemed more like a regression than progression with blander and more bloated looks, cheaper looking and feeling interiors, and a lack of meaningful advancements.
With its 1991-1996 Park Avenue predecessor and 2006-2011 Lucerne successor, Buick showed us that they could design a flagship that offered all the important big Buick virtues while at least being visually interesting, as well as a car that improved on its predecessor to some extent. The 1997-2005 Park Avenue was not one of those cars.
Featured 2005 Buick Park Avenue photographed: July 2017 – Hanover, MA
Supplementary 1996 Buick Avenue photographed: February 2017 – Cambridge, MA
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Aside from the addition of the Ventiports, it’s next to impossible to tell the 2 generations apart.
While these aren’t bad looking cars (either generation), by the time they appeared most of Buick’s (formerly) loyal customers had moved to Toyota or Lexus, or Mercedes-Benz or BMW. Too many years of poorly engineered and assembled cars finally took a toll.
I don’t have any trouble telling them apart. The 91-96 was a stunning car in 1991 and one that aged well in the years that followed. The 97+ version was “meh” in a “not attractive but not unattractive” kind of way.
So true J P. As a matter of fact, GM’s styling in the mid 90’s was meh on most models, if not bordering on hideous. I hated what they did to the Firebird/Camaro, the deVilles and Fleetwood, and yes the Park Avenues too. I can see why sales tanked as they had no distinctiveness – no redeeming “exterior” qualities that once made GM cars so desirable.
I agree. The 1991 was better than any Cadillac too, as far as I could discern. I’ve seen these cars in the metal and they are really solid and, without being chintzy, still really American. The mk 2 lost the gloss though it’s still okay. I’ve never seen the Mk2 in Europe but I do spot the odd Mk1. They briefly appeared as taxis in Basel, CH, along with Regals. I am quite sure it was Jamie Kitman who considered the Parky to be GM’s best car at the time. Not quite: the Opel Omega Mk1 and Mk2 gets that award.
The Mk1 Park Avenue was officially exported to Europe, something that shocked me as I thought of these as the quintessential big American car that Europeans would find too large and too floaty. Note the export-only amber rear turn signals and fog lights, as well as larger outside rear view mirrors that the US model should have had too as they were tiny.
I don’t know how GM equipped export Park Avenues, but stiffer suspension options were always available on US cars (tho still soft by world standards). The stiffest Pontiac Bonneville sport suspension would fit if GM wanted to use it.
I disagree. I don’t think there were a lot of fixed income elderly people who made up Buick’s customer base, dumping their LeSabres and Park Avenues for high maintenance BMWs and Mercedes. Lexus maybe, since they appeal to the same crowd, but BMW and MB? No way.
If they did trade in the old Buick for a BMW, they’d dump it after the first repair bill.
Is the Buick Park Avenue Special really special? Of course it is: the ventiports say it all!
Yeah it but it needs to be a 4 holer to truely be special or is it in the Vein of the Special and not worthy of any holes?
To me this looks like a dealer/regional badge with a specific city skyline.
I disagree entirely. The problem with this Park Avenue, with its rather lush interior (more so, in my opinion, than the final DeVille model it mostly sold alongside) was the availability, at a much lower price, of the similArly sized LeSabre.
That, and the fact this was a waning market. But there was nothing wrong with the Park Avenue.
Yup. I had a 2001 Lesabre Custom, and it had 75% of the options of the Park Avenue. The Limited trim level is so close that you wouldn’t know the difference.
I agree that this was a nice car, based on the Olds Aurora platform, and I saw them as “4 door Riviera”.
Main issue was GM brand overlap. The 2nd gen Aurora [would have been Anteres] and last Bonneville fought for same customers. Also, last LeSabre was more of a ‘bargain’, along with Impala.
Lucerne was nice, but name change confused everyone, didn’t last long.
Buick is now known for making SUV’s and doing OK.
Years ago a Park Avenue actually meant something. Distinctive styling, opulent interior, prestige. These all but faded away as the years went on. Overlap with the LeSabre killed it IMO. You can blame the parent company for that.
From the beginning in 1975, the Park Avenue (even when it was a trim package on the Electra) was obviously related to the Le Sabre.
My dad wanted a Park Avenue to replace his Electra T Type, but the step-monster insisted on memory seats (she never drove the car), which only came with leather on the PA, and Dad wouldn’t have leather. His LeSabre had heated cloth seats, which I’ve rarely seen on US cars. It was designed for short people.
I don’t see how anyone can say the last PA is less distinctive or handsome than the Lucerne.
Venti-Ports and “Special Edition” trinkets are available online and at Pep Boys.
Add your own Buick, Cavalier, Escort or Hyundai Accent as you will.
But I DO love the lack of a stupid console in that interior shot.
Now that’s special. With current thick A & B pillars, poor rear visibility, narrow windows, thick doors and ever space encroaching “coupe like” sedan styling, this looks like a livable place to be.
Saw a first generation Park Avenue at the LA Auto Show and was stunned by it. GM finally got the elements right after years of thrashing around and thousands of Centurys, Skyhawks and Skylarks. The first one was something special. The second Generation just “moar” of everything.
I work with a woman who drives the twin to the white car featured. She’s around 35 and quite a looker. One day I complimented her car and her story was that her now ex husband bought it, much to her dismay, that is until she drove it. It’s been a love affair ever since, with the Buick that is. Her and her ex didn’t work out and in the recent divorce the one thing that she insisted on was that she got the Buick.
Meanwhile on the other side of the Pacific
To paraphrase an old Buick slogan: “When the Chinese build Buicks, the Chinese can keep them!”
That’s Australian-built Buick Royaum, which was exported to China for two model years (2005-2006). It was based on Holden Statesman (WL).
If Buick was going to revive the fender ports they should have made them real holes, with nicely detailed ports. These came off no better than the awful stick on ones so popular at autoparts chains.
I think Gml raised a good point about the LeSabre eroding sales, and quite possibly prestige of the Park Avenue. For non discerning eyes they appear to be the same car on the same mission, just with more junk in the trunk on the PA, and more money to get it. Both the Lesabre/Park Avenue(Electra) and Olds 88/98 really were unnecessary platform extensions after they became full line divisions
I found the article about the “Brand Management”, and it sure seemed like Buick didn’t know who this Park Avenue was for.
http://adage.com/article/news/buick-hopes-boomers-join-60something-clientele-gm-division-positions-marque-luxurious-brand/76813/
But searching for “Buick Park Avenue owner average age” reveals that the typical Park Avenue owner was well into their 60s by the end of the car’s run.
Still, I have to admit I have a soft spot for the supercharged versions.
MT, when I first saw the Park Avenue in 92, I was 36. It hit all the right notes for some reason.
And it still looks good…. even though I’m only 39 today.
You want to take yourself, your spouse, and your adult children to Denny’s? Do you know that the Northstar is an unreliable piece of junk?
THIS IS THE BUICK FOR YOU! (A Deville for people who don’t trust the Northstar.)
I agree with your assessment. I still remember seeing the first of the 1991 Park Avenues at a dealership when they were closed one evening. It was expensive but was to my mind one of the best looking big American cars since the 1960s.
Then Buick made things confusing by slotting the bigger Roadmaster below it. By the time this 2nd Gen came out, I guess it was designed to appeal both to former Park Avenue buyers and former Roadmaster buyers. Those two always seemed like two very different demographics to me (with Roadmaster people being older and more traditional) and this car sort of reflects that.
I often wonder if Buick actually wanted the Roadmaster or if it was foisted on them by GM.
Buick had a great lineup in 1991. The Park Ave was brand new and was a success. The Lesabre was still selling and was due for a make over in 1992 and the Buick Century was selling very well. Oh and they had that W-Body regal but just as many folks cared about those when they were new as they do now (which almost none)
Buick was selling a full size Electra wagon from 1977 to 1990 (it was just called Estate Wagon in 1990) that did not really sell well(growing up I saw tons of Caprice and Custom Cruiser wagons but only a few Electra wagons)
I think Buick wanted a version of the U Van (aka dustbuster van). I still cannot understand why it took GM till 2005 to offer a Buick minivan. They were selling a second gen Buick U Van in China since 2000. It should not have taken much to have one sold here.
CC Effect. I saw three of these on a small radius grocery and post office trip, just in the past hour.
The Buick 1991 “A” pillar looks very much like the “A” pillar on a Citröen XM.
GM seemed to like this styling feature on its full-size cars from the early 1990s, or more likely, cost savings by sharing common parts, as the C-body Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight, along with the H-body Buick LeSabre, Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight, and Pontiac Bonneville all sported this A-pillar design.
My dad drove a first-gen Park Avenue (1995) which I frequently drove and rode in as well. It was, in most ways, leaps and bounds better than the second generation. Much classier inside and out, with more attention paid to details like easy-to-grasp outside door handles, interior ergonomics, and, well, style. For the 2nd gen, Buick figured they could, for example, just have on/off pushbuttons for the heated seats instead of high or low heat selection, or not have as many gauges, or a cutout in the armrest to close the door with instead of a softly padded pull strap. Everything was cheapened. The only major improvements were the much lower trunk liftover height and a stiffer structure (although the original wasn’t bad in that regard).
Ugg…. those egregious, ’90s plasticville GM interiors. I remember looking at the newly restyled ’95 Buick Riviera at the Los Angeles auto show and being so disgusted over the car’s horrible looking cheap plastic instrument panel, cheap switch gear, and cheap feeling interior overall, that I needed to sit in a new BMW 5 series at the show to soothe my shock over the hideous Buick interiors. It’s no wonder why GM’s once loyal customers said bye, bye forever and hello to the imports.
I cannot disagree that Buick lost a lot of would-be loyal customers with their horrible, hard-plastic laden interiors and less-than-stellar driving dynamics in the 90’s and early 00’s Despite that, I appreciate the simplicity of the 3800 engine over the far more complex(and sometimes problematic) DOHC 6 and 8 cylinder engines that most other luxury makes used at the time. I have owned several 90’s and 00’s Buicks for that reason; simple to maintain, with a nice ride and the amenities of a luxury car.
IMHO, nothing beats a 1975 (first year for the Park Avenue)…
+1! I had a ’76 Electra 225 and loved that car. It was like driving my living room down the road. That 455 was a beast as well
It’s interesting that the hubcaps are a lot like our ’68’s.
I pretty much consider all GM products to be deadly sins in one way or another. These plasticky boring-mobiles among them. Ugh….
One of the few cars to have the fuel door directly over a wheel.
Whenever I see one of those ’90s Park Avenues still rolling around they’re always clapped out clunkers that are barely road worthy. They’re most often “personalized” with “big ticket” Walmart accessories like $5.00 fender vent ports applied crookedly on the driver’s and passenger door and yards of Mylar chrome trim encasing the edges of every single exterior door, including the hood, trunk and fuel door, factory rims painted flat black or giant aftermarket rims painted black or chromed and an aftermarket exhaust system which makes the blown head gasket prone V6 have that horrible accentuated burble to it. Of course the most important attention getter is a high volume, mega watt sound system with sub bass reverberating from inside the trunk that rattles everything loose on those junky old Buicks
Mark,
You’ve given me some wonderful ideas. I’ll bounce them off the little misses. 😉
I own a 99 LeSabre Limited, which is essentially a shorter wheelbase 91-96 park avenue. My car has nearly, if not all, the options that a 91-96 non-ultra park avenue could have had. I also own a 2003 park avenue ultra. While the newer park avenue is a fancier car with heated front memory seats, heads up display, trip computer, etc, I think the lesabre is a more solidly built car. I was so underwhelmed with the 03 ultra when I first test drove it that I almost didn’t buy it. I only bought it because my LeSabre was getting up there in mileage (220k at the time) and the 03 ultra was a true survivor with meticulous maintenance history and half the mileage. Don’t get me wrong, the 03 ultra is a very nice vehicle. In 2003 the sticker price of nearly $44,000 could have bought a nicer vehicle though. Heck for 30k, you could have brought home a decently optioned and relatively similar 00-05 generation lesabre, sans the supercharged engine.
Great cars. Too bad Buick no longer makes such a vehicle.
I read somewhere quite some time ago that the only reason Oldsmobile was axed instead of Buick was because of the massive respect the Chinese have for the Buick brand.
Robert: That is 100% factually true. I was working at a Buick (Cadillac/GMC/Honda) dealer back when both Olds and Pontiac were killed off. At that time, Buick was our best selling brand with Honda hot on it’s tail. We were scared sh***ess that Buick was going as well. Then we got official word from the corporate managers that Buick was saved because of the strong ties and large number of sales in China.
Wow Dan! Thanks for that very helpful and interesting reply. I hadn’t been able to find much about it and have been curious.
I didn’t like our base ’98 PA at all. After it was totaled, at her insistence, we bought our current base 2003 PA. A world of difference for the better.
I liked the looks of the ’91-96 MUCH better. I term the last generation “Jellybeans”.
A great great road car, still 30+ MPG highway and 20+ city. Just aim and go.
Oh yeah, the plastic upper intake on the “Stage 2” engine sucks. First PA caught me by surprise, I changed the second PA before it had a chance to crap out.
I’d buy again if available and yes, I’m 70+.
Our family beater is a white 2003 LeSabre nicknamed Moby Dick that has 213,000 miles and literally outlived his first two owners. Our son bought Moby from the first owner’s granddaughter who was the third owner. The ride is floaty, the turning circle is terrible and the interior plastics are failing in spots but the 3800 Series II engine starts first try in the winter after sitting for weeks, all the power stuff and electronics still work and it has more miles on dirt roads than the average Subaru in Bend from weekend trips to Mary’s Peak. I appreciate these as prime examples of GM cockroaches killable only by incompetence.
One of those cases where it may have been a better car, but oh dear, it doesn’t really look it. The earlier one looked distinctive (well, distinctively GM) but this looks like something from Hyundai’s dark age. It lacks the sense of lightness and movement of the previous model, and just doesn’t seem well-resolved.