A few years back one of our Cohort posted a Skylark he found in Austria. That was a wee bit out of the ordinary, but then the new FWD X-Bodies were very much in the international idiom, in terms of packaging and such. Now roshake 77 has found and posted one found even further east, in Budapest. Where’s the next one going to be found? Romania? Ukraine? Russia?
This one seems a bit devoid of bright work; did the base version lack the more common sill trim piece? Maybe it’s a look they’re after. There’s no good way to tell if it’s got the 2.5 L Iron Duke four or the much more nicer 2.8 L V6.
There’s a Wartburg 353 in the background, to add a bit of authenticity to the setting.
As you all undoubtedly know by now, I had a 1980 Skylark V6 with the handling package and wider wheels and tires as a company car for a couple of years. It treated me fairly well, although it did have that weird tendency for the front end to feel like it was moving sideways under strong acceleration. But for some reason I didn’t have a significant issue with the rear brakes locking up prematurely; perhaps that was better because of the optional HD components and wider wheels and tires. I do remember seeing X cars screeching in traffic with the rears locked up.
I also got mine after it was about a year or more old, so any early recalls would have already been done. But it seems to me that the Skylark was generally better put together than the much-maligned Chevy Citation, which I titled GM’s Deadliest Sin because of its very many issues and recalls due to being released on the market half-baked. Maybe Buick’s ovens were set at a higher temperature?
Looks pretty basic to me .
I like the Wartburg .
-Nate
When the Wall fell, Eastern Germans would drive their Trabants, Wartburgs, Skodas, Dacias etc.far enough to get them into Western Germany and then abandon them on the side of the road as soon as they could. They much preferred western cars – any western car, American, European, Asian whatever.
It’s a little ironic that the same cars the Ossis were so desperate to get rid of are now collectors items.
For some odd reason I’ve always liked basic transportation .
I have three old Mercedes W123’s and my favorite os my 1982 240D stripper that didn’t even have a radio when new, the four speed automatic is the only option .
I’m not fond of 2 cycle engines but I’d give a Trabant a try .
-Nate
Me too. One car I would like to see in America is the Dacia Sandero/Logan.
It shouldn’t surprise you that overall, W123’s are held in high regard, with coupes and wagons at the head of the list, and 300D’s following those models.
No Rande ;
It doesn’t ~ I’ve been a W123 enthusiast (nutter) for a couple decades or more now since my Sweet talked me into buying one for her…..
I still have that one, it’s the base model Diesel but my favorite daily driver, go figure .
As mentioned elsewhere : at the time of the W123’s introduction Mercedes AG decided to focus on the engineering and screw the co$t ~ the resulting W123’s, W116’s and R/W107’s are simply amazing automobiles .
I have no rose colored glasses and am keenly aware of their faults (why I’ve never had a W116 and sold my European spec. 350SLC) but continue soldiering on with my 39 year old dated and slow crappy old car .
Interestingly, for those who really do enjoy driving they’re fantastic drivers and I can keep up with almost all the guys driving sports cars .
Long ago the Rolls Royce people said something like ‘quality never goes out of style’ ~ I’m sure the exact quote will be posted momentarily .
Buicks were not in my interest much ever but I do think they’re often fine cars indeed, like the turbo charged ones that came with crappy water based paint that failed in two or three years causing them to be available for under $1,500 with *very* low mileage, ready for a $600 acrylic enamel re spray and thence re sold at $erious profit to happy new owners .
I once had a 1976 (?) Skylark two door with V6 & stick shift tranny , I didn’t like it much but it went pretty well and never had any problems .
-Nate
My very first car was an ’81 Skylark, the oh so sporty 2 door with the optional V6 that was SLOWER than the 4 cylinder. Had 25k miles on it and EVERYTHING crapped out in the first year. NOT a great car.
I’ve never seen one without chrome window frames and headlight bezels. Someone denuded this one. It’s also missing the hood strip and ornament.
There was an unpopular sport model, but it had a horizontal grille.
I have been to Europe a few times, and whenever I see something like this Skylark, I can’t get it off my mind. The why? The how? It amazes me how many things like this you see over there, that you just about could not give away for free in their USA homeland. Maybe it was shipped over new? Maybe it went with a US Servicemember? Vienna is about the furthest East I have been in the EU, and as I recall, that (and Prague) was where old US clunkers were the most common.
Just goes to show you, that in a country where people appreciate their cars and take car of them, this 40-year old X-car is doing well and has another few decades of service left.
Outstanding!
After communism collapsed many a former Eastblock sailor brought back an American car.
Once I visited a Russian tanker where a Cadillac and a big Chrysler were sitting on the bridge or wheelhouse deck.
For most eastern Europeans an American car was the biggest show of of capitalism.
Taillights are from the 1980 Skylark with the amber turn signal indicators; either they’re required in Budapest or it’s a 1980 model with an ’81 grille. Can’t make out whether the gauge dials are silver or black, another 80 vs 81 cue.
Cut in chrome trim at the base of B pillar suggests the original chrome window trim was removed, or the B pillar applique from the Limited model was removed.
It’s really cool that it has the original FWD road wheels, I always found those an interesting and attractive carryover artifact through the transition to this smaller FWD paradigm of GM cars. Most examples seemed to sport cheesy hub caps which did no favors for any GM cars in this period. The apparent lack of original bright trim helps a bunch too, GM got way to carried away with clunky unflattering accents on their cars in the brougham era, they all should have looked like this.
It looks weird to see a Buick with so little trim. It certainly looks more mainstream-European as a result, but I’d have kept some shine on the headlight surrounds; that front just looks too severe.
I’ve seen FWD X Bodies in Switzerland and in Ecuador. I saw a Citation in Nebraska just a few days ago. No pictures though 🙁