The intermediate lineup of General Motors “Colonnade” cars has long suffered middling public opinion because of elements out of its control. First, it succeeded a 1968-72 generation of cars that people still avidly collect today, and second, it fell smack into the middle of new federal bumper requirements that ruined the styling of most new cars. But even given those realities, the Colonnade can still look pretty fantastic, like this mostly original, 57,300-mile 1975 Buick Century that is for sale on eBay in Ionia, Michigan.
While my favorite Colonnade is the 1973/4 Chevrolet Laguna Type S-3, the round-headlight Buick Century Hardtop Coupe is a close second. It has some classic Buick styling elements that come off a little better than they did on the 1968/9 Buick intermediates; for example, the way the fender line sweeps into the door and descends toward the quarter panel reminds me of the groundbreaking 1942 Buicks with their “airfoil” fenders. The hood-to-door shut line reminds me of my own 1953 Buick (and the poor panel fit that seemed to haunt all big GM cars at that point in time), and of course, the Buick rally wheels are almost a must when outfitting a Buick coupe from the 1960s or 1970s.
The seller of this car says that the paint is Apple Red, a color that was reserved for Apollos, Skyhawks, and Skylarks if you read the dealer materials. But here it is on a Century that apparently wears its original paint and gold stripes, proving that almost anything was possible in the world of American cars of the old days.
While the standard engine in the Century was Buick’s homegrown 3.8-liter V6, this car has the one-step-up 145-horsepower Buick 350 with a Rochester two-barrel. You might have noticed the big High Energy Ignition distributor cap up front, a feature that was newly standard on all Buicks in 1975. Power steering and front disc brakes were standard, but the power brake booster seen here was, interestingly, an option. So was air conditioning, a feature which was ordered on this car but is not currently working because it has no belt driving it.
It took a bit of poking around to determine that this car does indeed have the Custom trim, which included slightly fancier interior appointments and distinctive door panels, adding up to an extra $260 over the regular Century. It might not, however, be an actual Custom, because the hardtop coupe appears to have only been available with the Regal’s formal roofline. Either way, the all-black vinyl interior of this car looks great, if not a little hot on a sunny day, so it might be time to get that air conditioning repaired.
The Century’s dashboard could only belong to a car from the late 1960s through the mid 1970s; passengers were often given nothing to do, as all controls were centered around the driver in a neat little cockpit. We can see that the Buick’s instrumentation is minimal, with lights being used for most engine functions, but there is a neat electric clock to the left of the speedometer. See, the passenger doesn’t even get to know what time it is.
Someone along the way has installed a non-stock AM/FM radio with a tape deck, so you can look forward to dusting off the old cassettes. Maybe some Boston or Bad Company would be appropriate.
The Century has been a part of the seller’s extended family since new, so it seems, and the low mileage is verified by documentation, which is seen here. Although it’s a Michigan car, it’s “never seen snow or road salt” and “still has all smog equipment” in place.
And I think it’s still one of the best-looking intermediates of the 1970s; however, as a Buick fan myself I’m biased. Either way, this looks like a winner for those who are unencumbered by anti-Colonnade prejudice, and the price doesn’t seem ludicrous. While there was no catching Oldsmobile in the 1970s, Buick didn’t do a bad job of trying.
Related Reading
Lust Object of the Day: 1942 Buick Roadmaster Sedanet – American-Style Streamliner (by Paul N)
CC TV: 1974 Chevrolet Laguna Type S-3 – “Selling The Chevelle” (by me)
1975 Buick Century Special V-6: The Colonnade “Economy” Model That Wasn’t (by Aaron Severson)
1977 Buick Century Custom: A Colonnade Sedan In An Unusual Black-Over-Red Combination (by me)
I always thought the collonade wagons were also attractive
When new I didn’t like the Colonnades but they’ve aged very well .
This is a beauty and that DELCO R7 A/C compressor means ice cold A/C once fixed .
-Nate
iirc these had a Delco A-6 compressor, as did most GMs at the time. My ’75 LeSabre Custom had an A-6 as did my ’74 and ’76 Olds 98s.
As an 18 year old I bought a new ’73 Lemans. The general feeling was the high horsepower days were over, mandated big bumpers were the rule, insurance companies were calling the shots, and there was nothing you could do about it.
The Lemans went some 150,000 miles effortlessly, before I sold it some 10 years later.
At least the cars still had some styling, as opposed to the boxy ‘sheer’ look that took hold in the later ’70’s.
Later in 1977, I bought a new Ford Flairside (stepside) short bed truck, as the cars of the time held no appeal to me at all.
That makes two stories in a single day that reference Ionia, Michigan! What are the odds??
My first car was a Colonnade Malibu Classic. As much as the smaller “opera” window was en vogue in the period, I much prefer the Colonnade coupes with the larger, triangular window.
I agree; I like this much better than the concurrent Regal.
Those smaller windows made for dark, back seats.
I agree that the big windows and thin C pillar are the way to go, the only thing that would improve this car’s looks would be no vinyl top. That and maybe a velour interior in red or golden tan instead of the black vinyl.
Definitely agree on the larger triangular rear side windows and thinner C-pillars looking better and more harmonious with the car’s overall styling.
Learned to drive on my mother’s 1975 Buick Regal, same car except for the Formal roof. Same drivetrain, also,
All colonades were not created equal, but the Buicks looked better than most. There’s an overall coherence about the styling – the front looks like it belongs, the rear’s not too bad (funny ‘upticks’ on the bumper ends excepted) and it’s not too wildly deformed by the bumpers, unlike many cars of ’75. The sweep from the hood down onto the front door nicely parallels the roofline, and says Buick. I assume the faded gold stripes on the fenders and doors were a dealer’s work? Must have looked nice when new, but they haven’t aged as well as the rest of the car.
It gives the impression the Buick was designed first, the Olds and Pontiac derived from it, and Chevy got to use up the leftovers.
Wonder where car styling would have gone if this look had prevailed? And if the US hadn’t adopted those draconian bumper laws?
While this car may have upgraded interior trim, the Century Custom coupe shared the notchback roofline of the Regal.
I was really on the fence on this one being a Custom or not, so I gave the seller the benefit of the doubt, but I think you’re right. It doesn’t seem like the Custom was available with this car’s roofline; I’m going to change the title and add a caveat to the text.
I had a love/hate relationships with the colonnades. I did like the Malibu (73-75), the Cutlass owners thought they were better than everyone else, the Buick just looked like a copy of the Olds to me, and the LeMans (73-74 especially) was atrocious.
That they all rusted to the ground up here if not carefully preserved was hard to see happening before our eyes.
Ask me today, and I would say they were great looking cars. I’d get shots of one from all angles if I saw one.
I always liked the colonnade coupes especially these thin pillar versions.
Years ago I once saw on a custom car TV show where they modified the bumpers to be smaller and mounted them closer to the body, it looked fantastic.
I preferred the larger, triangular window as well. Unfortunately though, my favorite Colonade coupe is the ’76-77 LeMans, and by that time, Pontiac had dropped the large window, so you only got the opera window or the louvers.
When I was a kid, my Mom had a ’75 LeMans coupe. It had the large, triangular windows. To this day, I don’t know what color, exactly, it was. Mom had always called it “Bronze”. Decades after it was gone, it came up in conversation with my Dad and he called it “Persimmon.” Well, looking at the color charts, damn if Pontiac didn’t offer BOTH colors that year! So I guess I’ll have to see if I can dig up a picture of it.
Anyway, as a kid I HATED that car! I think part of it was I was indoctrinated with the mantra of “4 headlights = better car”. But, I also didn’t like the color. Before the LeMans, Mom had a ’68 Impala 4-door hardtop. My mind always pictures that car as sort a turquoise color, but I found an old picture of that one, and it was actually “Grecian Green” or something like that. But I thought it was a really pretty color, so that persimmon/bronze or whatever it was called just seemed like a step down to me.
One thing I’ll say for that LeMans though, even in the 70’s, with all the wild colors of the time, we never lost that car in a parking lot. Between the near-fastback roof and that color, it stuck out. Mom replaced it with a medium blue 1980 Malibu coupe that sort of blended in, and I remember we used to lose that car in the parking lot regularly!
As for my love of the ’76-77 LeMans, though, I think that can be traced to “Smokey and the Bandit”. Dad took me to see it when it came out, and while most normal kids would drool over the Trans Am, for whatever reason I was smitten with Buford T. Justice’s LeMans!
I thought the ’73-75 Century/Regal coupes were nice. I never really thought of that fender/door swoop harking back to older Buicks of years gone by, but I can definitely see it, now.
I think the only Colonades I don’t really care for are the Monte Carlo and the ’73-75 LeMans. They just have too many curves and creases, and are too flamboyant for my tastes. I think the LeMans got a lot more subdued and tasteful for ’76 (although I’m sure others would disagree with that!). But even with these two exceptions, my attitude on them has softened in later years. For me, the Monte Carlo might have also carried the sin of being TOO popular…I remember them being EVERYWHERE for what seemed like ages. And the LeMans seems so rare these days that just seeing an example of any one of them seems like a special treat.
If this has already been addressed, my apologies. But, looking at the 1975 brochure, it looks like you could indeed get a regular Century with the interior of the Custom.
https://oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Buick/1975_Buick/1975_Buick_Brochure/1975%20Buick-28.html
You’re right, Andre. Cloth or vinyl “Notchback” seats were standard on the Century Custom, but optional on the Century Special and on the plain standard Century.
Sorry, I remember them and wouldn’t want one. They looked better than the competition, and I wouldn’t want them either, but the intermediate domestic autos sold between 1968-1978 were pathetic. There’s a reason the personal luxury coupe dominated during these years.
I agree that the 2 door Buicks were probably the best looking of the bunch. However, I am that lonely oddball who’s favorite flavor is the 74 Luxury LeMans sedan with fender skirts.