Photos from the CC Cohort by Eric Clem
I guess this is the only way one of these last-generation Buick Centurys can get me to stop and take a look: turn it into a post-apocalyptic machine ready for the coming dystopia. Granted, this front-wheel-drive, jellybean-shaped sedan doesn’t quite project the menace of the V8, rear-wheel-drive machines from Mad Max, but those muscle-era icons are well beyond most budgets these days. So you work with what you’ve got, right? And, truth be told, this Buick should be a much more comfortable—if decidedly less intimidating—way to cruise through the end times.
Oh wait, did I say comfort? Perhaps up front, but from what I can tell, I see no rear seats.
And what in the world is “GREY DAWN”? An online search points to a video game and a South Park episode, but neither seems to fit. There are other cryptic details, too—like “ABG”—that I’m sure mean something to the builder.
On the other hand, I do get the “Rambler 500” references, which likely means this was a “battlecar” for the event. Nice choice, actually. Cheap, and dependable enough. And do I see a grandma’s ghost looking out from the rear window?
Am I being unfair by calling this a “retirement cruiser”? Perhaps. But as an earlier CC post on the 1997–2005 Buick Century noted, these cars seemed to attract an overwhelmingly older clientele when new. I honestly can’t remember ever seeing one driven by anyone under 60 back in the day.
Now those days are in the past, and these are simply cheap wheels—the ideal raw material for something like the Gambler 500. Admittedly, it also must make for a fun and bizarre daily driver. As post-apocalyptic rides go, it’s nowhere near as menacing as a slab of 1970s Detroit iron, but it must be friendlier to live with. The cabin is far more in line with modern ergonomic expectations, and I’d like to think the air conditioning still works. Come to think of it, this may just be an ideal dystopian car after all.
Related CC reading:
Curbside Classic: 2000 Buick Century – Comfortably Numb
What the heck is that across the hood ? .
-Nate
I see that car pretty often, it gets driven frequently. Welcome to Bellingham.
The luggage rack is a nice touch. But it needs a curb feeler or two to be taken seriously, maybe use a stick of rebar?
I had one, same color. 3.4 ltr. These were popular 3, and 4th owner cars. I paid around $3500 for mine at 29% interest.
I was desperate! The car was reliable completely. And the most boring card I ever owned. It is gone glad for that.
I had one of these as a company car in the mid 2000’s. It was roomy, peppy, reliable and got amazing gas milage. A great package that unfortunately met it’s end when I was t-boned at an intersection. Even then, it held up well.
Whenever you see A Buick Century on the road now from that era, to rocker panels are almost always rotted. This one doesn’t seem to be that way.
“ABG” is written in full on the deck lid edge – “Always Be Gamblin”.
I like the spring front bumper, anybody that hit the ends would bounce off.