I’ve lived in my current home for seven or eight years now and the whole time I’ve had a neighbor a few houses away with a nice little collection of Buicks. For once I happened to be walking by when all three were outside and enjoying the sunshine, so the natural thing for a CC’er is to take a few pictures to share.
Parked on the street is what seems to be the daily driver, an eighth (and last) generation LeSabre presumably sporting the 3800 V6 these were endowed with to good effect. The minor mishap on the rear quarter is a recent development, but unlike a Camry it did not result in a permanent dent on the bumper. I’m sure it’ll get corrected in short order, the owner seems to take care of his stuff. But of more interest is what’s in the driveway.
Oh baby! Riviera cousins, both a first and an eighth (last) generation together. The newer one (on the right, right?) was produced from 1995 to 1999 and numbered a grand total of just under 90,000 sold. It’s hard to believe this is around 30 years old now, I recall when they were new, striking then and striking now, albeit rarely seen these days, at least in Colorado. This gold-hued one is very well looked after and either sports the same 3800 V6 as the LeSabre on the street or possibly the supercharged version of it. Interestingly (to me at least), the two Buicks I’ve owned had those two engines as well, albeit an earlier version of the 3800 in my 1988 LeSabre T-Type and then the same L67 Series II supercharged 3800 V6 as the Riviera if supercharged in my 1998 Regal GS – both engines ones I was immensely pleased with in those cars.
Of course I’ve saved the best for last, and that has to be this 1965 Buick Riviera, easy to identify with the one year only front end. Since it appears to be (to me anyway) the standard model as opposed to the GS, it would be equipped with the 401 cu. in. V8 which is far more than likely to already be plenty of engine. The first generation Riviera was a success; despite being offered for only three model years it managed to sell over 112,000 units with this last year being the rarest (but only slightly) at 34,586, sales only having dropped about 5-6% each year after the introduction. And of, course, more units in total than the last generation parked to the right despite a much shorter production span. Times, they change.
I’d happened to come across my neighbor as we were both leaving our neighborhood last month, he was stopped curbside as I passed by, but not before snapping the rear, an angle I rarely see in his driveway as it is invariably backed in to the garage so can take this opportunity to share more eye candy. I realize some people prefer the slightly more “bedazzled” 1963 and 1964 versions, but I quite like the clean flanks on the 1965 and the front works for me as well. Overall, this particular one is just about perfect, there isn’t really anything I can think of that I’d want to change were it mine, even the silver paint hue looks exceptional on an older body where it isn’t nearly as ubiquitous as nowadays.
I’m guessing these three cars will remain in the fleet for the foreseeable future, somehow I just don’t foresee a Buick Encore popping up there anytime soon…
Those are all beauties.
This is a duplicate of my garage at one time…….still have the 65; the 98 was lost in an accident. Like the writer stated, an Encore will never show up in my driveway either!
In the mid 90’s my parents had a neighbor down the street with a similar collection of Riviera’s. A same colored final generation was the older gentleman’s daily driver back then and his first generation pride and joy was either a ‘63 or a ‘64 (can’t recall exactly) that was turquoise. He was always detailing the turquoise car in some fashion on the weekends and that car was pristine; naturally I struck up a conversation and became friendly with him enough to when I would visit the family we would wave to one another every time he was cleaning the chrome or wire wheels. Still had the classic Riviera 10 years ago when I helped the parents move out of state, along with an Encore in the driveway…
I have always liked the front end of the 65 Riviera, and have wondered if the over-under headlights were part of the original concept. The last Riviera – I wanted to like them, but found the styling a little more awkward than beautiful. There are still some of those LeSabres purring around my locale.
The 1961 Cadillac LaSalle XP-715 concept car that was the basis for the ’63 Riviera featured exposed headlamps similar to the production ’63 Riviera. It is my understanding that, in spite of this, the hidden headlamps that made their way into the ’65 Riviera had been intended for the ’63 model, but were left out for cost reasons.
The ’63 Buick Riviera Silver Arrow I XP-810 concept car (heavily based on the ’63 production model and which was used by William Mitchell as his personal transportation) featured hidden headlamps, was widely admired, and helped to build support for the eventual adoption of the hidden headlamps featured in the ’65 model.
The ’63 and ’64 models sold well and their sales success helped to overcome the cost reason objections for not including the hidden headlamps in production models.
I Inherited my South Carolina aunts pearl white 1998 Riviera and that car was sweet. I had it shipped to me in Canada where I was living. After a few years I was buying a mid 60s convertible and reluctantly decided to sell the Riviera. The car was so pristine I had many offers at my asking price, and a few above asking, but I would only sell to someone I thought would take care of it. An elderly couple came to look and they told me they had owned two previous Riviera’s of this generation. They wanted to ship it to their winter home in Arizona and since my Riv had never been driven in bad weather, they were the obvious choice. I still miss that Riviera.
Your neighbor has good taste in cars. I do like the 65 Riviera, and the eighth-generation Riviera has its charms. The eighth-generation always reminded me of a wooden Chris Craft boat in its style.
For the LeSabre, which I do like as well, I recently read that Gen-Z is really into the last generation of Le Sabres. They see the LeSabre and the Park Avenue as part of the “grandma chic” aesthetic. Much like previous generations, they appreciate them for their comfort and reliability.
I think both the LeSabre and the Riviera (especially the Riviera) were let down but a jelly-beanish front end. I find them attractive in profile and rear views but the front just doesn’t add up.
I’d rather have a Mark VIII but I think the Riviera was a nice package, with a well made interior and, for the time, well equipped for the price
On the older generations, i’d choose a Toronado over the Riviera in the 60s; i do love the boat-tails however
The last Riviera is almost perfect. And despite the detail, I still admire it. What’s the beef? The oval griille leaves an uncomfortable body coloured strip between it and the lamps. The standard waterfall grille would have been fine; or, the approach used on the facelifted Mk1 Ford Mondeo which had an oval grille but no body colour strip.Bill Porter, the Buick designer, explained they had a tricky time with resolving these elements.
See also: Jaguar XJ-S which also had an unresolved front end.
I take it the clamshell headlamp covers weren’t working on the ’65. Looks good even without them but better with them.
I’ve always liked the last gen Riv. Make mine a ’96 with red cloth bench seats. This is one of those cars that looks great from some angles, awkward from others. Note that the Series II supercharged 3800 didn’t arrive until ’96; the ’95 used either a NA series II or supercharged series I.
As a Riviera fan I have always found the first gen attractive, especially the ’65. I also really liked the ’66 and enjoyed mine for many years. My ’97 Riviera with the supercharged engine was impressive; the engine was quite powerful, smooth, and could return very good economy if you kept your foot out of the supercharger. I got 28-30 mpg. on long freeway trips. The car was extremely smooth and quiet, and handled well despite the smooth ride. I just couldn’t warm up to the styling and the monochromatic plastic interior just didn’t convey a feeling of quality. I’m kind of priced out of the Riviera market as their values have risen quite a bit. I’d be happy with any first gen.
As with many cars of that era, I’d like a Riviera with the period appropriate engine, but with EFI and a modern automatic transmission. I’m pretty sure GM sells kits for the transmission, including the TCU to run it.
Back in the day when Buick was a real CAR company, it wasn’t strange to see a home with 2 or 3 or even 4 Buick’s in the drive. When I first got into car sales, we had Buick as one of the 4 brands and my family purchased a lot of them over those 12 years I was there. When we had a family gathering, it looked like a Buick car lot. haha.
But now today, Buick is just a fraction of what it used to be and nothing but silly boxes on wheels (SUV’s). So sad to see where Buick is today vs. 20 or 30 years ago.
I admired the top-of-the-line Buick Enclave CUV for many years and considered it to be something of a successor to the previous full-sized Buick Estate Wagons. However, when they replaced the 3.6 liter V-6 with a rough and noisy turbo 4 starting with the 2025 model year, they lost me completely.
Johnster: Me being an EV only driver now, Buick has lost me for sure until they get smart and actually offer an EV. But as for the new Enclave? I don’t know which is worse. That they only offer it in the 4 cyl or that it looks exactly like a Toyota Grand Highlander.
I could live with the 4 cyl IF it got great MPG, but having to look at a Buick that looks like a Toyota is a deal breaker for me.
The two Rivieras in the driveway are a perfect combination. I’d be happy owning either.