While the Rivieras from 1971-73 have their promoters and detractors, you have to admit that the Riviera was always at its best when it had a unique personality, distinct from the rest of the Buick line. I’d say that was true for much of its long run, but the Boattail third-generation Riviera might be the most controversial due to its flamboyant styling. Nevertheless, those who love them really love them, and this example is a treat, a two-owner 1973 model that’s up for sale on Hemmings in Darien, Illinois, with an asking price of $26,250 or best offer.
The Riviera’s tail became a little less boat-like for 1973, enough so that some Riviera fans argue that it’s not truly a Boattail Riv. Be that as it may, the 1973 model is at the very least the most conservatively styled of the three-year run.
For comparison, here’s the inaugural edition in all its lurid splendor. Sales of the 1971 model fell to 33,810, down from the not-that-well-received 1970 model’s total of 37,336. The 1973 Riviera was actually the best seller of the Boattail’s three model years at 34,080.
This picture of the 1973 model’s luggage compartment shows the circuitous path of the trunk channel and tortured weatherstripping; that Fisher Body was able to keep the water out is a miracle.
This specific Riviera has been posted by a friend of the owner, whose husband (the Riviera’s owner) passed away in 2019; he says that “everything works and the car drives as good as it looks.” The engine compartment looks so well-detailed that the 72,878 miles on the odometer might be original, and the raft of convenience options and emission controls fairly swamps the big-block Buick 455, which produced 250 net horsepower for 1973, a good showing by mid-1970s standards.
The beige interior looks fine, and if the mileage is correct, it might even be all-original. Unfortunately, none of the pictures in the Hemmings ad show us a really good view of the Riviera’s dashboard, which was almost as highly stylized as the exterior. This is a nicely optioned car, with air conditioning, power windows, power locks, and cruise control. Another sign of the Riviera’s transformation from a sporty full-size car to a luxo-cruiser is the column shifter. Available since 1966, it wasn’t uncommon to see a 1973 model so-equipped, but a floor shifter for the Turbo-Hydramatic was still available.
The undercarriage pictures were apparently taken with a zoom lens, but from what is visible, the undercarriage is solid.
The seller, who has painted some cars in his lifetime, says that the Colonial Yellow paint job is a “10,” and it’s not a bad color in combination with the ivory-colored vinyl top. This image, however, might explain one reason why the 1970s weren’t kind to Buick’s flagship; at 223.4 inches in length, it was 15.4 inches longer than the inaugural 1963 car. While slightly smaller coupes such as the Monte Carlo, Grand Prix, and Cutlass Supreme were charting sales in the hundred-thousands, Buick’s glamorous Riviera relatively languished on Buick lots. Whether it was the styling, the size, or the times doesn’t matter; a lot of people today are fans of the Boattail’s striking styling, and this looks like a good example of it.
Related Reading
Curbside Classic: 1973 Buick Riviera GS – Be Memorable (by Joseph Dennis)
1973 Buick Riviera GS Stage 1 With Rare MaxTrac Traction Control: No Fishtailing In Your Boattail (by Aaron Severson)
Cohort Pic(k) Of The Day: 1973 Buick Riviera – Last Of The Boattails (by Rich Baron)
The bumper requirements for 1973 is what changed that rear end boat tail. And it is the bumpers that made the 1973 outsell the other two years. The front bumper is large, but reduces the outrageous forward cant of the earlier years, and overall, makes the 1973 Riviera look better, and sell better
However, why get a full-size luxury coupe, when there’s a Cutlass, a Monte Carlo, a Gran Prix or a Regal that does the luxury coupe schtick better and at a lower cost?
The Toronado, Riviera and Thunderbird were old school the moment the mid-size luxury coupe was launched in 1969. Pony cars sold the advantages of smaller personal vehicles, the PLC boom was a logical extension of where personal luxury cars were headed. The originals from the 1960s were uninteresting by 1973.
That boat tail is an aberration design. Just as silly as the long nosed 1970-1971 Thunderbird. Iacocca knew the way forward with the Mark III, Mustang II and Granada. Formal grilles, opera windows, and faux ostentation were king for the next decade. So even if the Riviera boat tail or Bunkie Beak TBird were on intermediate cars – that’s not what the buys wanted.
The 1970-1973 Riviera was the wrong look on the wrong size car. As goofy as a Marlin.
You may well be right about the earlier nose being on the nose, but I much prefer it. The one here looks bland, and the whole car is outrageous: so it needs a schnoz to match.
Somewhere in the multiverse, there is a Hall of Fame for Trunk Lids. And you can be sure the 1971-72 Riviera deck lid is the most glorious object there.
Along with the 1958 Ford Thunderbird.
It’s rather easy to tell the difference between the 1971 and 1972 Riviera. All 1971 GM cars had the disastrous rear deck lid air vents for the new Astro-ventilation that did not properly drain rain water and, thus, made those cars prone to rust issues.
GM relocated the vents to the door jams in 1972 and the problem was solved.
I definitely am one of the boat-tail fans, but I would not go so far as excluding the ’73 from the family. Certainly I prefer the original design as well as the unique dash, that was lost with the ’73 restyling.
The price seems a tad too high for this example, and pity it has the front bench seat rather than buckets; I agree the color combination looks nice
These Rivieras stood out when new, but were controversial. I remember them being a bit “too much” for Buick loyalists. Too bad Bill Mitchell didn’t get his way and have this built on the smaller A-body platform. It would have worked better.
One of the magazines tested a 1973 Riviera GS, and recorded a whopping 6 mpg average. That was too much even before the first fuel crunch.
Consider me a Boat-tail Fan as well. While I’ve share this many times before when a Boat-tail post pops up here, I’ll mention it again. I’ve been smitten with these since the age of twelve when a brand new 1972 example in Emerald Green appeared across the street from where I grew up. Beautiful car. Its owner owned a gas station at the time, so I suppose he could afford to feed that 455. LOL
I’m a fan but I fully understand why they’re polarizing. I had no idea there was a debate on whether or not the 73s are “real” boat tails, that’s hilarious! To me the defining part is far more the greenhouse shape than the sharper 71-72 point at the end. I actually prefer the 73s, so I guess I’m not a boat tail fan afterall???
That Riviera suffered much less than the one featured in the movie Thunderbolt and Lightfoot. 😉
Came here to mention the same thing, LOL!!! 🙂
When I was going to (then) “Slippery Rock College”, circa “81-2”, recall a beige one of these in / around the campus. Was a bit a “rusted”. Can’t be sure which year it was. If memory serves, inside was burgundy.
When I was in college in the early 70s, one of our physics teachers who we addressed as “Professor Gross” had a ’72 Riviera in gold. He wasn’t particularly young or handsome, but he was able to woo the coeds with his fancy wheels.
I prefer the ’71.I love the forward canted hood/grille and pointy rear bumper. I had a ’71 and it was a good driving car. with comfortable buckets. It was a standout for dramatic styling, but I never considered it beautiful like my sleek ’66.
There were a lot of US cars of then that were absurdly and inefficiently over-sized, so I tend to think that it’s going to be that way, go all of it. Give it the lot. Give it massive dippy hips, and a terrarium out back. Give it the tail off a boat. Give it golden barnacles, they should have. Sure, the exquisite 1963 Riv, it ain’t, but it’s its own glorious self.
Mind you, quite why one would order it in Bilirubin Beige is beyond me.
Bilirubin Beige wins the medal for the day.
This is a beautiful and glorious automobile .
The color suits it well .
I certainly don’t want it but it’d be a poorer world had GM’s Buick Division never had this idea .
I see they muffed the price by adding a 0 .
-Nate
Boattails have been going up in price for a while, but I don’t keep enough track of them enough to know if this one is egregiously overpriced. It’s a nice example, but I imagine that the first number will have to start with a 1 before it gets sold. Who knows.
I consider these the 59 Cadillacs of the 1970s – they were just so over the top that it was hard to imagine they were ever made. I am no fan of the 1971-76 GM B/C body, but I guess if I was going to get some variation of it, I might as well pick the one that is the most outrageous.
Staring at the comparison shots of the rear, I am trying to figure out what panels they had to change to get to the 1973 version. I think they did it by extending the bumper rearward and adding lengthening caps to the rear quarters to bring them back to the new bumper.
The entire worldwide automobile industry went all in with these butterscotch pudding colors in the early to mid 1970’s. Ugh.
What can I say about this vehicle except it looks like a Corvette Sting Ray restyled by Salvador Dali. The first gen Riv was such a better looking vehicle.
I don’t think any clear consensus exists as to what constitutes a “boat tail”. The 1963 Sting Ray has one, as does the 1936 Auburn Speedster, the 1971 Grand Prix, and the ’71 Riviera, but you’d be hard-pressed to explain what they have in common. Maybe a slender, central emphasis to the trunk lid that stands apart from the edges, and comes to a sharp or blunt point.
Anyone thinking of buying this would do well to ride in the back seat over a rough road. Back in the mid-70s I rode like that in one of these down the Jersey Tpk. From that perspective, the front sheetmetal seemed almost disconnected to the body shell, and that was when the car was nearly new.