Surely, this cannot be! It’s either AI-generated, photoshopped or some sort of joke from the CC deities. This website has a well-documented obsession with the GM Colonnades, be they branded as Chevrolet, Buick, Pontiac or Oldsmobile. But this is a bit much: Buick made just under 18,000 four-door Regals in 1977, and they want us to believe that one found its way to the other side of the Pacific?
Evidently, it did. And it’s been a Japanese resident since ’77, too. The fender mirrors up front and additional amber turn signals on the rear end are a dead giveaway.
That’s a pretty thick coating of dust on the hood there. Interestingly, the fenders and bumper were all dusted off (someone must have taken pity on the old beast, but got interrupted mid-way through?), causing a novel temporary two-tone situation.
Superb Japanese doilies to protect that precious brocade! Ah, and those ‘70s GM bendy dashes… What a terrible idea… And so poorly executed.
Yep, that’s a miniature TV in the back all right. Well, if you’re going to fork out fistfuls of yen to import a black Regal, bring it up to local code and have it fitted for seat covers, you might as well go for a full entertainment centre. Toyota Century, eat your heart out.
This is yet another Tokyo puzzler. A few 1977 Regal coupés were probably exported overseas somewhere, but the sedan? In France, the Old Cutlass Supreme was available, as was the Chevy Chevelle Malibu. But you can get anything if you speak softly and carry a briefcase full of cash.
At least, there is one true Regal in this country (well, maybe two), as opposed to those re-christened ‘90s Century wagons I keep running into. I’m so glad to be able to bring my modest contribution to CC’s CColossal CColonnade CCornucopia, partially listed below, as I was one of the few regular writers who had not joined that particular club. One of my more random finds of the decade, I reckon. All bow to the Great Colonnade Generator!
Related posts (by brand):
Curbside Classic: 1973 Buick Century Regal – The Confident Colonnade?, by Perry Shoar
CC Capsule: The Colonnades of Melbourne Part 1 – 1973 Buick Century Luxus 2-Door Coupe, by Don Andreina
Curbside Capsule: 1974 Buick Century – Long Surviving Colonnade, by Jon Stephenson
Curbside Classic: 1974 Buick Century Luxus Colonnade Coupe – It’s Impolite To Stare, by Joseph Dennis
1975 Buick Century Regal: Rare Colonnade 4-Door Survivor, by David Skinner
Curbside Classic: 1976 Buick Regal Sedan – The End-Stage Beater, by JPC
Curbside Classic: 1977 Buick Regal Landau – Cape Cod Colonnade, by Brendan Saur
Curbside Classic: 1973 Chevrolet Chevelle Deluxe Sedan – In Search of a Better Face, by PN
1973 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu SS 454 Wagon – The Dad ‘Stache Superwagon, by Aaron Severson
Vintage C/D Review: 1974 Chevrolet Laguna Type S-3 454 – Was This Rare Big-Engine Chevy A Muscle Car Or Just Another Freeway Cruiser?, by Aaron Severson
Cohort Classic: 1976 Malibu Wagon – Dead Ends, by PN
COAL: 1976 Chevrolet Malibu Classic – Unsung Hero, by VinceC
Curbside Classic: 1977 Chevrolet Malibu Classic – Everyone Needs Some Love, And A Home, by PN
Curbside Classic: 1977 Chevrolet Malibu Classic Wagon – Long-Roof Liftback, by Daniel Stern
CC For Sale: 1977 Chevrolet Malibu Classic – Simply Good, by VinceC
Curbside Classic: 1975 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme – The Jennifer Of Cars, by Eric703
Curbside Recycling: 1975 Hurst/Olds W-25 – It Hurst So Bad, by Jim Klein
CCCCC Part 8: Cutlass Supreme And Brougham Coupes – Absolute Supremacy, by PN
CCCCC Part 7: 1975 Cutlass Supreme Colonnade Sedan – The 216″ Long Surprise, by PN
CCCCC Part 6: 1976 Cutlass Colonnade Coupe – Expletive Deleted, by PN
Car Show Classic: 1976 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Brougham – The Right Car At The Right Time, by Tom Klockau
Curbside Classic: 1977 Olds Cutlass – Better a Colonnade Than a Colonoscopy, by PN
Curbside Classic: 1977 Oldsmobile Cutlass Salon – Evergreen, by Joseph Dennis
1977 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme 5-Speed: Rare Stick-Shift Colonnade Coupe, by Aaron Severson
Curbside Classic: 1977 Oldsmobile 4-4-2 – Strength in Numbers; Some of the Time, by PN
Curbside Classic: 1977 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Brougham: Finest Brougham In All Of Hampton, IL!, by Tom Klockau
Car Show Classic: 1973 Pontiac Grand Am – Meeting Your Heroes, by William Stopford
Curbside Classic: 1973 Pontiac LeMans Sport Coupe With Floor Shifter – A Victim Of Fashion, by Rich Baron
Curbside Classic: 1973 Pontiac LeMans Coupe- A Strong Start to a Weak Finish, by David Skinner
Auction Classic: 1975 Pontiac LeMans – 40 Years On, A Kinder View, by Jim Grey
Curbside Classic: 1975 Pontiac LeMans Safari Wagon – The First Colonnade Wagon CC, by PN
Curbside Classic: The Colonnades Of Melbourne Part 2 – 1975 Pontiac Grand Am., by Don Andreina
Cohort Sighting: 1975 Grand LeMans – Colonnade For Sale, by Perry Shoar
Curbside Classic: 1976 Pontiac Grand Prix – Grand Size, Medium Prize, by PN
Curbside Classic: 1977 Pontiac Grand LeMans – Retrograde Colonnade, by Mike Burns
CC Tech: 1973-77 GM Colonnade Chassis Design – Corner Carving through the Brougham Era, by VinceC
Concept Classic: Colonnade Cutlass Precursors, by PN
The Colonnade Cutlass Cult (And Have I Escaped It?), by Laurence Jones
QOTD: Which Colonnade Would You Have Bought With A Blank Check?, by PN
Interesting! A Buick Crown. It actually pulls it off well. These were great cars, the engineering , ride and handling were class leading but I drove one as a kid and the 350 was flat out castrated and the rust advance could be measured in minutes. I dig that this car exists as it does.
The headrests aren’t the stock GM ones, but the seat itself appears to be. I wonder if they replaced to conform to some type of JDM safety standard, as with the mirrors and turn signals.
Had no idea that the 4 Door sedan version was that (relatively) rare, in GM terms 18,000 is fairly low.
Why the great objection to the curved dashboards? Ford and Mopar had this concept of a driver-centered instrument panels starting in 1969 to be shortly followed by Olds, Buick, and others well into the ’70s.To me they looked and worked just fine. They generally functioned well for their intended purpose, if not typically
festooned with an overly generous complement of gauges (at least in the cases or Ford & GM, while Mopar provided them more generously) or being very accessible by passengers. Don’t see any problem with them myself.
The 1977 Century and Regal were selling against the downsized 1977 Le Sabre. The Regal sedan trim was less popular than either Century sedan, but the Le Sabre sedans sold more than double the Century and Regal sedans. The heavy sculpturing didn’t age well and the colonnade interiors was more cramped.The only reason to buy a Century or Regal sedan was to save some money.
The Century and Regal coupes got new bodies for 1976 and arguably still were more stylish than the new Le Sabre coupe. The Century and Regal coupes sold multiples of the Le Sabre coupes and the Century/Regal sedans.
A nice find, don’t see these anywhere these days .
-Nate
Great find. I still don’t get the Japanese passion for Buicks – like you, I still see 80’s A bodied wagons with the DINOC siding wheeling around. I think Yanase imported and sold them.
I’ve got to wonder…with the mirrors perched so far up on the car, it seems that it would be difficult to determine how close a vehicle is near; also, adjusting them must be a two person (tedious) job, unless by some chance they are remotely powered?! 🙂
Wow – what a fantastic find! I guess the Colonnade Chronicles are never finished.
Of all the details that I love on this car, the TV wedged in the front seat. I guess I had too much time on my hands tonight, but I figured I’d try to find the TV model. Looks like it was a WEN CTV-650 Crystal 6 – sold in Japan in the 1980s. Here’s a picture of a matching unit below: