Photos from the Cohort by Mike Hayes.
Related CC reading:
Curbside Classic: 1983 Buick Riviera Convertible – The Rare Ragtop Riviera
Curbside Classic: 1985 Buick Riviera – A Ray Of Light In The Darkness
Curbside Find: 1980 Buick Riviera – Deep Blue Riviera By The Woods
– Posted on October 5, 2024
A pretty Buck in nice surroundings .
-Nate
The Outback dwarfs that Buick. That is an outstanding color on the Riviera.
A 1980 Riviera, used to occasionally pass by my parent’s home, during evenings at the time. Loved the look of the illuminated oval opera light, in the twilight.
I felt the 1979 through 1985 Rivieras could have been genuinely beautiful autos, if General Motors with all of their design resources, could have offered a wheel option that maximized their good looks. Compromised significantly, by non-negative offset wheels on FWD cars. As the sportiest imaged E-Body, they never offered a truly flattering wheel design for these. Flat-faced wire wheels were the popular choice of course, during this generation. Made them look like old man’s cars, IMO. Wire wheels need a negative offset to look genuine, and elegant. Not like chintzy wheel covers. Styled wheels offered starting in 1981, looked like enlarged styled steel wheels, seen on economy cars. Turbine-style wheels offered starting in 1983, were the only reasonably attractive sporty/less geriatric wheel, offered in this generation of Riviera. Sadly, they were rare. And never seen, shod with blackwalls. The road wheels Chrysler offered on the RWD MIrada/Cordoba, would have looked fantastic on the Riviera. Aided greatly, by the deep negative offset. Preferred, without the whitewalls.
Cordoba/Mirada example.
Quick Photoshop example, with Cordoba/Mirada wheels. And their attractive, deep negative offsets.
I hated those bulging FWD fake wire wheel covers at first glance, and my rage is undimmed 45 years later. I still can’t understand why they were so popular on these handsome Rivs and Eldos, which needed no gaudy jewelry to distract attention from flaws. Then and now, it’s hard to find one without them.
The Outback weighs slightly more depending on the engine in each one.
Around here there’s a 63? Cadillac Fleetwood six window parked on a nice tree lined street among modern cars.
It looks small.
I’m not a blue haired climate Nazi but these monster vehicles are fantasy the same way a GP with opera windows and 3 feet of nose in front of the engine was designed for, well, in simplified terms, idiots.
We should be getting the hot hatches they sell in Europe.
This is a very handsome car, no wonder this series saw some of the best sales years. The design was modernized, these have quite a spacious back seat and a flat floor, thanks to FWD. The back slanted front end, combined with the curvaceous hips retains some of the traditional smooth Riviera design cues. This was the perfect size for a Riviera, this design could not be shrunken any further without losing it’s mojo. GM certainly discovered that! Yes, its an old man’s smooth, quiet, comfortable cruiser. Just a low stress way to eat up the miles. The older I get, the more I appreciate that. Most of us don’t drive on the Nurburgring on our way to and from work.
I’m guessing that car has been with the same owner since the early 80s. Frederick Cadillac was in business in Downtown Seattle until 1984.
Nice looking car in the modern era of lookalike SUVs and crew cab trucks. I was looking at new vehicles online and there is very few choices for an actual car car, coupes are nearly extinct.
My grandfather bought a 1990 Buick regal coupe after my grandmother had a stroke. A 2 door car was easier to get her into from her wheelchair. I wish he could have found a good Riviera instead. The regal was a nice car but with grandpa always wanting a Buick [the regal was his first] I wish he’d been able to get one of these. I really think he would have loved it.