I ran out of multivitamins the week of writing this and had to walk to a local drug store to replenish my supply. Multis had been recommended by my one-time physician years ago, though I can’t remember which one or how far back. No one in my extended family is a medical doctor, but from what I’ve read, the results of taking a multivitamin daily have been inconclusive. In several articles I was able to find online, benefits of multivitamins were cited as being debatable, but also that taking one once a day shouldn’t cause any harm. Suffice it to say that I believe in their plusses, for now anyway, and will continue to take them.
There was a wide array of choices at the store. I’m all about value, so I have no issues with going with the chain’s equivalent of more widely known brands. Scanning the shelves for what I wanted, my eyes stopped and froze when I arrived at a neatly arranged row of boxes of Centrum Silver For Men. The “Silver” provides a slightly different formula than “regular” Centrum, and is specially formulated for men aged fifty and up. I’m not quite fifty, but that number isn’t that far away for me. I have friends in my high school graduating class who have already turned fifty. There’s nothing wrong with the prospect of hitting the half-century mark (see what I did there?), and I consider having reached middle age a gift and a blessing. If and when I turn eighty, I’m sure I’ll look back at fifty all like, “Tra-la-la, I was so young back then…”, or whatever words I use in those days.
It’s just a bit harder to align the age I am in my head (somewhere between 13 and 30) with my actual number of birthdays while staring at a box of vitamins telling me I need extra nutrients, or will very soon. Le sigh. It is what it is. I hope I don’t need to draw a dotted line for most readers between Centrum Silver and this silver Century. When this 1982-vintage GM A-body was given its first major refresh for ’89, it had already been in production for a long time. There had been some detail changes over the years, including full-width taillamps for ’84 and a handsome, forward-canted front fascia for ’86, but the changes for ’89 were more significant in tandem with the aero restyle of its Oldsmobile cousin, the Cutlass Ciera.
Exterior changes included composite headlamps in its new, softer face, a trapezoidal grille, a revised greenhouse that did away with the C-pillar windows on four-door models, a gently-wrapped rear backlight, a rounded rear deck, and smoother taillamps that were still full-width. The revolutionary Ford Taurus had already been on the market for three model years by ’89, and this redone Century was no Buick Taurus. The refresh was nice enough, but the Century still looked old, even when brand new. I’m pretty sure the ’89 still wouldn’t have looked the freshest if it had been introduced in ’86. My parents didn’t own a Century, but they had a silver Cutlass Ciera of this generation, bought lightly used from a rental car agency. How I had wanted to hate that car, but no. It won me over for being larger, more powerful, and more comfortable than anything they had ever owned before. I also liked its throwback front split bench seats.
Standard power for ’89 came from the 2.5 liter Tech IV four-cylinder engine with 98 horsepower. According to a license plate search, this one has the optional 3.3 liter V6 with 160 horses. There’s such a disparity between those two horsepower figures that I can’t imagine purposely ordering one of these 2,600-pound cars new from the factory with the four, unless to save on a fleet of them. The ’89 Century came in two trim levels, base Custom and upmarket Limited, the latter of which category this sedan falls into. The Limited package added about $900 to the $12,400 starting price of the four-door to include an interior light package, 55/45 split front bench seats, and exterior moldings.
All ’89 Centurys were well-equipped, including automatic transmission (what midsize car didn’t have this by the late 1980s?), power front disc / rear drum brakes, power steering, AM/FM stereo radio, and other items. The Limited four-door was the second-most popular iteration that year, with 49,800 sold, second to 89,300 entry-level Custom sedans. The two-door Custom (there was no Limited) accounted for just under 7,000 sales, bested by the wagon in both trim levels, of which about 9,500 units were sold. All up, the ’89 tally of 155,500 was up over 37% over the previous year’s figure of about 113,300 cars, indicating that Buick buyers welcomed the refresh. For comparison among the mid-priced makes, the ’89 Mercury Sable found 130,700 buyers, and Dodge sold 137,700 Dynastys. The Century’s platform-mate, the Olds Cutlass Ciera, was a far more popular choice, with 239,600 units sold.
The silver paint on this Century seems so perfect for it, with all this talk of geriatrics. Speaking of which, I had let my facial hair grow out a bit a few weeks back just to see what it would look like, and my chin looked like I had dipped it into a sugar bowl. I’ve been shaving my head consistently since the turn of the millennium, and while I usually have just a hint of scruff going with what looks like a few random greys, I honestly wasn’t prepared for what I saw in the mirror with that little extra growth. (My dad used to rock the Grecian Formula, but I’m not quite sure I’ll follow suit.) In case you’re wondering, I did go with the generic 50+ multivitamins intended for mature gentlemen, and while I’m still on the fence on how I feel about that, I’m still confident I look better for my age than this silver Century ever did. At least I hope so.
Andersonvillle, Chicago, Illinois.
Sunday, July 9, 2023.
Brochure pages were sourced from www.oldcarbrochures.org; Print ad was found on the internet.
I still can’t believe how many of these A Bodies (esp. Oldsmobile and Buick) you used to see in traffic. They still make an occasional appearance, but it’s becoming uncommon to see one.
The bridge in the vintage ad is the Linn Cove Viaduct on the Blue Ridge Parkway:
https://www.nps.gov/blri/planyourvisit/linn-cove-viaduct.htm
I wonder how many ads the Linn Cove Viaduct has appeared in? It must be one of the most photogenic pieces of roadway in the world. Oddly, though, not the kind of road I’d associate with a Buick Century ad.
I do remember the same vantage point being used for a few Rand McNally Road Atlas covers over the years:
I didn’t even realize this viaduct site was a thing! Now I’m curious to know an approximate number of car ads and brochure photos that were photographed here.
Say what you want about the A-bodies, but they were inexpensive, honest, and fundamentally reliable. I would also argue that the “junior intermediate” A-bodies were rather more tastefully styled than GM’s “senior intermediate” W-body cars of the day. Even if cars like these were lambasted by the media, I see why people bought them, and I see why GM continued to make them. 155,000 sales for just the Century version is nothing to sneeze at. (For what it’s worth, the entire Buick division only managed 206,928 cars in the US during 2019, the final year before the pandemic).
My great-grandmother died in 1997, but her final car was a later-series Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera. She lived right across the street from my grandmother (her daughter), and I remember Great-Grandma’s son (Grandma’s brother/my great uncle) driving in the Cutlass Ciera at times.
These cars also have a connection to my current town, Oklahoma City, as that’s where they were built. GM’s Oklahoma City Assembly opened in 1979 and began producing the new X-body cars. Shortly after these A-body cars were introduced, OKC Assembly spent a transitional period building both A- and X-body…which makes sense, given that the A-body was based on the X-body. OKC Assembly was definitely the primary plant for the A-body cars, and possibly the X-bodies as well. After 1996, OKC Assembly moved on to building the new-for-1997 N-body Malibu and Cutlass twins. And then, a few years later, OKC Assembly began building the extended-wheelbase GMT360 SUVs (Envoy XL and XUV, Ascender LWB, TrailBlazer EXT). The plant shut down in 2006, and all of those models were discontinued, to be replaced by the Lambda crossovers (Enclave, Acadia, Outlook, Traverse) for MY2007/2009
My parents’ latter-day Cutlass Ciera was super-reliable, not to mention very responsive with the V6 and not terrible with gas.
Love the family connection here, and I also didn’t realize that most of the A-Bodies were built in OKC. Re-reading my essay this morning, I did think of the connection with the X-bodies. It had me Googling dash-to-axle ratio.
I had this split-second delay when I saw this one while on my way somewhere… I had to ask myself, “When was the last time you have seen one of these?” I’m glad I took the time to photograph this one.
Great stretch of road start to finish, worth a trip.
Joe, as one who is fifty and who has recently suggested getting a new vehicle in silver (recent 25th wedding anniversary), you’ve really made me miss the ’93 Century we used to have. Damn, I’m getting old.
It’s not hard to understand why these were popular. These appealed to the traditionalists (notice how I avoided saying “old folks”), were comfortable, a decent size, and as reliable as the sunrise. What’s not to like about that? Plus, that 3.3 liter was a terrific engine.
I work with a woman my age who has a red ’92 Century. She alternates driving it to work with her 2021 Silverado 2500. Quite a difference with those…
Let avoid talking about gray in one’s beard. No Shave November has been avoided for a while due to such things.
Joe, I commend you again…you are able to pack so much into 1,000 words. It’s rather amazing.
Thanks so much, Jason – and congratulations to you and your wife! Toward the end of their run, these cars were definitely about value. That was one of the reasons my parents went for one. Used, at that.
” If and when I turn eighty, I’m sure I’ll look back at fifty all like, “Tra-la-la, I was so young back then…” .
At 79 when I think about the long gone past, let’s say when I was 50, I see someone getting up at 4:15, walking to the train station, doing a 55 minute commute, working all day in and around Manhattan, commuting back home, playing with my young son, dinner, then bed. For years and years.
And years.
I other word, endless energy and strength. I felt like I could do anything, and pretty well did. Few aches, no pains (until Y2K), just boundless energy and strength. Like a reliable, well maintained engine.
That endless energy and strength that is online and ready for use at 50, is not – endless.
” The refresh was nice enough, but the Century still looked old, even when brand new… ” .
I agree, but as some say: “looks aren’t everything”, and that is too bad.
Informal musings about ’80s and ’90s GM A-bodies (especially the wagons) seem to find them lasting longer with their original buyers than the hot selling Ford Taurus’ and Sables of those times. I can attest that the Fords lost some of their their perceived sheen when the warranty expired, while local and older looking A-bodies seemed to mill about town for a much longer time.
Anecdotal? Of course. Other than the cars I have owned and maintained for years, all I have are casual observations.
Mostly about everything.
“Informal musings about ’80s and ’90s GM A-bodies (especially the wagons) seem to find them lasting longer with their original buyers than the hot selling Ford Taurus’ and Sables of those times. I can attest that the Fords lost some of their their perceived sheen when the warranty expired, while local and older looking A-bodies seemed to mill about town for a much longer time”.
In my European view of the world, the GM A-bodies always were something like the US-cousins of the Volvo 700/900 Series.
Were there cross-shoppers between Buick / Olds A-bodies and the forementioned Volvos – or was it a totaly different crowd ?
I think one of the biggest reasons that the Buick and to a lesser extent the Olds A bodies hung around longer than the lesser GM brands and the Taurus came down to the initial buyers. The Buick buyer was older, likely empty nesters and either at retirement or close to it. So they didn’t get driven as much, didn’t have kids tearing up the interior or bashing up the outside when learning to drive. They were also more likely to take it back to the dealer for all the recommended maintenance, and repair those little things before they added up to a lot of problems. Meanwhile the Taurus was either a fleet vehicle that went to the used market in 1 to 3 years and those second owners didn’t maintain and keep them pristine like the original owner.
As a well known biased Ford lover, your comment is highly predictable. You’re ignoring the simple fact that the Taurus drive train had very major durability issues. The AXOD automatic transaxle developed a terrible reputation for self-mutilation, the 3.8 V6 ate head gaskets for breakfast, and there were other weak spots.
The simple reality is that the reason there are almost zero old Tauruses on the road is because either the automatic blew up or the engine suffered from a major malady, and the fix would have grossly exceeded the value of the car.
Meanwhile, the drive trains in these GM A Bodies was as close to bullet-proof as any ever were. That’s the real reason there’s still a healthy number of these on the roads. I see them regularly here; meanwhile zero old Tauruses.
No amount of preventive maintenance was going to keep an AXOD from disintegrating or a 3.8 from eating its head gaskets.
I second that about Tauruses and Sables. Our ’93 Sable that we purchased used with about 13,000 miles never gave us a bit of transmission trouble. Ìt was comfortable, spacious, and drove very pleasantly. However, the first thing it did was to display its appetite for A/C compressors. I think we replace the compressor twice. The next thing was that the power windows became balky. All of that, though, was overshadowed when the delightfully torquey 3.8, at around 110,000 miles, released a cloud of white vapor from under the hood. Yep, the dreaded head gasket failure. Ford had a special warranty for some years of that engine, but not our ’93. That left a bad taste.
Exactly. The pedestrian DN5 (Taurus, Sable) cars would have been vastly more exciting car in the 80s and early 90s, but GM’s conservative, un-aspirational engineering on these A-bodies has won the longevity battle.
I’ve been a longtime fan of the GM A bodies. For the most part they are very reliable, economical, easy to work on and find parts for. GM made these long enough to where the bugs were pretty much worked out. (Except later on when they introduced the 3100 with the poor intake gaskets.) I’m especially fond of the flat top 2.8/3.1 engine and the 4 speed automatic. I would hear often about these going to 300k easy. Like my 89 Celebrity with 309k and still gets over 30 mpg highway. Only had to do simple fixes to it, like ignition module, water pump, alternator, all can be done in a parking lot. Many years I’ve not had to do anything to it. Only reason it’s gotten so far is I haven’t driven it in the winter for the last 15 years or so. Other ones I’ve had would have made it that long if it weren’t for the Achilles heel of these cars. The rear trailing arm mount is attached to the floorpan and only the bottom edge of the jack point at the pinch weld. And the floorpan under the seat is covered with this insulation pad that absorbs moisture. Even if the rest of the car looks pretty good, this point fails and puts countless A bodies to an early grave. As an engineer and metal fabricator, I’ve rebuilt and strengthened 3 of these, including said Celebrity in 2013.
Wow… minus the married with kid thing, my day is very similar to yours was. Up really early, 50 minute commute from my home to my cubicle downtown in a financial district (The Loop), etc. And then also early to bed.
Your thoughtful reflections also make me think about how much energy I have right now in this stage of my life. My Friday nights, at the tail end of a busy workweek, daily workouts, photography projects, etc., normally find me at my computer for a few hours putting together a completed rough draft for one of these 1,000-word essays. Sometimes I do, in fact, pat myself on the back.
Looks aren’t everything. I’m so much more proud of what I’ve done and continue to do, for myself and others. I haven’t cured any diseases or anything, but I feel like I’ve had an impact. That’s enough.
Yup, the silver vitamins. I started those around 49. 7 years ago now, I shudder to think. But you know what they say about the alternative to aging, so bring it on, I guess. A Chevy/Olds dealer in my former town used to stock what seemed like hundreds of Cieras, selling every one, often at very attractive advertised prices in the early 90’s. When I was new car shopping in late ’96 I had a brief thought of owning one, as the ad prices weren’t all that much more than the Civics, Sentras and Corollas I was looking at. Of course being in my mid 30’s I just didn’t consider it for long. I can’t say I necessarily regret not looking further into it, but in hindsight I wonder if I might have been happy with one. After all, it wasn’t long before there was nothing left like them.
I’ve kept a closely trimmed goatee for just about as long as I’ve been taking those silver vitamins, and yes, it’s gray despite my full head of still dark brown hair. In my case the facial hair seemed requisite due to a very strong resemblance I have to my maternal grandfather. One morning around fifty I looked in the mirror and realized I was now at the age he was when I came onto the scene, and that resemblance gave me the willies. So in spite of any discomfort I might have with the gray beard, I feel it cuts down on that doppelganger look, as he was always clean shaven. I admired and miss my grandfather tremendously, but vanity keeps me from wanting to look like the guy who was “old” when I was still a kid. Aging is weird.
The more I read about others’ recollections of these cars toward the end of their run, the more sense they would have seemed to make. How much smaller on the inside were they than a FWD B-body? They could seat six if needed, with bench seats. I could see the appeal for a larger family with a not-huge budget. Style be darned. And I’m not saying these were ugly – they were nice enough looking cars.
I still have a few years to go before I turn 50, but the conversation with my general practitioner at my yearly physical has certainly become more varied. Regarding facial hair, I started growing a winter beard a couple years ago, and my chin is entirely gray now. It’s an interesting pattern when mixed with my natural red beard and mustache. I enjoy doing it because in the spring I shave in stages, and I can see what I look like with different facial hair patterns. This year, the facial hair extravaganza culminated in the “cop ‘stache.” I send selfies of my various facial hair to my sister, who noticed a resemblance to the late, great Gordon Lightfoot (in facial hair alone). She sent this back.
Ever since I saw my first infant grab my friend’s beard and giggle, I’ve had facial hair right up to yesterday. Over the past five years, I have had to cover the gray. I did the beardstache look for the past three years and whittled it down to looking like General Custer. The gray took hold of everything, but the mustache, which became a giant blond handlebar that required hourly maintenance with products and a comb. After a year, as of yesterday, I am clean shaven for the first time in 18 years. I hate gray hair and while it is not the worst thing about getting older, I have never lost my vanity.
Now – the car. A wonderful generic vehicle. While I do not include it into the group of “honest” auto design, along with the classic Volvo sedans, Ford Falcon, Ford Fairmont, Chevy Chevelle, Chevy II, due to it being FWD – I do see a silver Century as quite a solid generic design. When they were put into production, I was still stuck with the worst car of my life – an X-Citation, and after hearing that these cars were based upon the X-cars – wouldn’t touch one with a 100 foot pole. Then came the Taurus/Sable, and these were instantly old geezer cars.
It wasn’t until much later that I had experiences with the Century as a used car. It turned out to be a pretty good generic car. Silver was enormously popular too, and I especially liked the wagon as a good generic ride. I still see X-Car roots to them, but I’ve moved on.
Both you and Kyree (above) had mentioned the X-car roots, and ever since I had read an earlier piece here at CC about the commonalities of the A- and X- cars, my eyes go straight to the doors / cabin / greenhouse. And the extra overhang front and rear. I like to think of the longevity of these A-Bodies as final redemption for the X.
*Outstanding.* Your sister’s alright, and now I feel like I need to put some Lightfoot on my MP3 player.
You’re not alone there – in my head I’m frozen in time at around 30, and my parents are in their mid-50s. In many ways, I feel like I’m living the lyrics of Don Williams’ song Amanda:
“To look in the mirror in total surprise at the hair on your shoulders and the age in your eyes.”
Probably not unrelatedly, in the same mythical, time-frozen world in my head, GM A-bodies are still abundant. These were just fixtures of life for so long, it’s almost unfathomable that they’re really fading away.
I’ve got to say, though, that the Century’s minor styling refresh for ’89 was well done. While nothing could hide that this was an old design by that point, the softer face, slightly rounded edges and revised greenhouse kept the Century from looking embarrassingly geriatric.
So true, Eric. So true. It’s not just my perception of myself that’s frozen a little bit, but also my perceptions of other things, people, and events. That’s not to say I’m not firmly rooted in reality.
I agree that the Century’s refresh was done well and that the stylists knew there market. There was nothing there that was going to alienate Buick’s core demographic, even if they weren’t going to lure any buyers of import sedans.
I let my more salt than pepper beard grow after some pre-cancerous patches were frozen on my (upper pair of) cheeks at 57. Tried light or medium brown beard dye once several years ago, it looked ok, not like shoe polish, despite being mostly lighter than what was left on my head (still mostly dark at 62!). The non-uniform color meant the roots didn’t show in a couple of days as I expected. Instead of soap, they recommend shampoo designed for dyed hair, which I was too cheap to buy for the experiment, so I don’t know how long it can last optimally.
My 95.y.o. father has lost 99.44% of the freaky extra-long chest hair he once had, but his beard still grows.
Suddenly, my dad’s Grecian Formula starts to look more like a viable option. Seriously, though, I had to read about how that stuff works, and I think I’d probably go that route instead of dyeing. I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. 🙂
Started getting gray hair at age “13-14”. Colored it from “25-45”. Had ro redo too often by then. Been gray/silver for about “17” years now.
Dyeing seems like it would take more effort than it would be worth, for me personally. Plus, I’d be worried about getting the dye on things. Days I’m glad the hair on my head has follicular challenges. 🙂
I turned 70 this year. I don’t take any supplements, and the only vitamin I take is a B12 at my doctor’s recommendation. Supplements are mostly unproven scientifically and their purity and dosage is inconsistent. It’s a racket, essentially.
My mother made it to 97 without any medications. That’s my inspiration and goal.
I do have a few challenges, mainly my tinnitus. But otherwise I’m still going pretty strong; I did a 14 mile high Cascade hike last week, and a 5 miler after I got home in the evening with the dog and Stephanie. And I do a brisk 5 mile trot up a local small mountain before breakfast many mornings, including today. And I just ordered a white-water inflatable kayak so I can explore the upper McKenzie River myself. I need to keep saying “yes” until it becomes obvious to not do so. I realize that’s going to be inevitable, but I’m not going to anticipate that before it become self-evident.
And yes, my gray is turning white.
I absolutely love to walk and feel like I’ve been on a mission to canvass every street in my immediate neighborhood, but my feet hurt just thinking about a 14 mile hike, so my hat is off to you, Paul.
In my upper thirties, after years of front-facing positions in image-driven industry, I got sober, a new career, and stopped the monthly salon visits (my hair hadn’t been “natural” since I was at least 20). Surprise, your hair has been turning white. Not kinda sorta white, Vanna White’s teeth white. This is what I get for wanting and professionally having it dyed gray at times. At this point? I honestly find it rather amusing.
I could see the discovery of having bright white hair being a cool one. And congrats on new beginnings. Sobriety is my jam.
I turned 64 about a month ago, so yes – 50 sounds positively youthful to me. There is still some dark hair up there, but the silver-gray parts are the overwhelming majority now.
Like you, I still think of myself as much younger – somewhere in my early to mid 40s, I suppose. Also, I have trouble thinking of these GM A body cars as being 30+ year old cars.
I still see the occasional Olds or Buick version out on the road in normal use, just as you found this one. I never paid much attention to them when they were new, but I have come to a grudging respect.
You make a great point about it seeming almost unbelievable that theses could be 30+ year old cars. Back when my parents had a newish one in the ’90s, a 30-year-old Buick would have been a Special, or something. I suppose there were still a few of those running around back then.
I’m coming up in a couple of months on 70. (WTF?) When I was 40, my hair and beard were sort of a dark medium brown. When I was 50, a good bit of gray was showing up, and even more by 60. Now my beard is white, except for a couple of darker streaks on my chin. My hair is silver-white, with the top a bit darker except when I’m under a light. Then it’s silver. I did a bit of leave-some-gray coloring years ago, but haven’t for a long time now. I’ve earned very bit of gray, thank you very much.
A couple of months ago, a voice in my head went off and said, “It’s time.” It’s retirement time, time to pull back from the weekly grind of providing organ music at a high level for two services every Sunday, time to pull back from the inevitable behind-the-scenes figurative sausage-making that goes with church work.
David, good on you for acting on the realization that maybe you could re-prioritize your commitments. I hope I will be able to do the same! Enjoy it. Enjoy every day.
My biggest issue with age (62) is that with each passing year the historical events and cultural references that mean something to me mean less and less to people I might talk to. I don’t begrudge any of those folks for not understanding some movie reference from 1982 (for example), but it does mean that there are fewer people around that get those things. Eventually, I’ll just be talking to myself in my head.
And that’s one reason why I have zero interest in retirement (something my peers seem a bit obsessed with right around now). I really don’t need more time by myself, out of touch with the present. At least for me, work is one of the best ways to stay in touch with the present.
Oh, and I’ll say that I haven’t taken multivitamins since my mom stopped feeding me Chocks back in the 60s 🙂
“…With each passing year the historical events and cultural references that mean something to me mean less and less to people I might talk to…
Oh man, Jeff, this hits home, especially as I think about my coworkers. There’s a pretty good age range among my fellow workers, but every once in a while in a group chat, I’ll make reference to something that a bunch of people have no idea about. Which is okay, I guess. That would have been like my co-workers around the time I started my insurance career boogie-ing down to the Bee Gees at an after-work event. (I do like the Bee Gees, for the record.)
I think I’ll be working (hope to be working) for a long time, not only out of necessity, but also for some of the reasons you cite.
And I loved that commercial. I love vintage TV ads!
Regarding co-workers, once or twice a week, I drive our ’95 Thunderbird to work. Recently it occurred to me that a good number of my co-workers are younger than my car.
The Century with the 3.1 is a second tier cockroach since the 3800 is more un-killable. A neighbor has a later Century in very good shape alongside their Prius. My guess is the Century was inherited from an older relative, rather like our LeSabre which was purchased from the first owner’s grandchild.
I’m pushing 60 and while I get stiff and achy I still take advantage of all the hiking, biking, skiing and kayaking I can and I still drive more interesting stuff than a Buick Century.
I want to be living life as fully as you and some of the other commenters. I honestly feel better at my current age than I did maybe ten years ago, now that I’m not spending much of my leisure time on weekends in a bar.
Love those old Centuries and Cieras, surely one of the great automotive values of their time. Evergreen you might say. Turning 73 this Fall, am also sort of Evergreen in a way, being extraordinarily lucky to have no serious health problems and most amazingly all of my hair with virtually no gray in it, just a bit in the lowest part of the sideburns. Must be those Irish genes; they seem to keep their hair more frequently than most for some reason.
My wife is in general & family practice medicine and says that most people, given a proper diet, don’t need supplements, with the possible exception of vitamin D for those of us in the winter sun-challenged NorthEast.
So, your wife words echo Paul’s. Old habits die hard, and I don’t see myself giving up my multivitamins any time soon. And your thankfulness for your health is inspiring. I give thanks for mine all the time, even if not every day (which I should).
Nothing wrong with taking those multivitamins, they’re like chicken soup – it can’t hurt!
Rear view (won’t put my face on the ‘net!)…not too bad for 73 years and no vitamins.
Maybe it’s the Guinness. For medicinal use only of course lol.
Guinness should use this!
Getting old beats the alternative. 🙂
Most of the time I don’t realize how old I am (um, 65, I just had to do the math). When my son visits with his wife and kids, my age comes slamming home to me. I often feel younger than I am, though when I get out of bed in the morning, my joints tell me I’m older. I started balding in my twenties, before the shaved-head look was cool. Grey hair came later, and now what’s left is white. My daughter says it takes longer to trim my beard (est. 1976) than it does to cut my hair.
Multivitamins? Well, in this information age I’m sure you can find ‘evidence’ on the net to support any opinion, so I’d believe someone I personally know and trust. Like the long-term family doc. I wouldn’t have made a special trip to buy some (it’s not like missing a day of prescription meds), so I would have missed seeing the Buick.
These just look so much better than the earlier model. GM was beginning to move out of their own little backwater into the mainstream of automotive styling. Was the trunk rack standard on these? Did anyone ever actually use it, or was it just so much extra chrome trim – as surely befits a Buick?
Great reflections as usual, Peter. Now you have me thinking about whether the trunk rack was standard equipment by this point (to house the high center-mounted brake light? I see it on this one). I don’t think my parents’ Cutlass Ciera had a trunk rack, and I certainly can’t recall having seen any luggage strapped to one on one of these cars, ever.
I think a young mindset is important. Not as in denial, but just ready to get up and do what one can. Ask me again in fifteen years. 🙂
I am probably the biggest Buick Century fan there is (and also the Ciera). I have owned 5 Centuries and 4 Cieras over the last 21 years. It is probably my favorite car I’ve owned, with the possible exception of my 99 Lesabre.
All of the ones I’ve owned have had the 3.1 V6, except for the 93 wagon which had the excellent 3.3 V6. They are both very good engines.
My current Centruy is a light blue 96 with only 97,000 miles, and still looks and drives like a nearly new car. I have had this one for 8 years, and have never had any problems with it, just routine maintenance.
The one thing I don’t like about the post ’89 models is the rounded backlight because it makes the trunk opening much too small. That was a very stupid idea, and the 82-88 roofline looks much better anyway.
Other than that small issue, I absolutely love my Century. The 95-96 also have THE most comfortable seats I have ever sat on in any car. It was like it was custom designed for my backside. The only thing I would trade this car for would be a Century or Ciera wagon, but finding one of those now is practically impossible. I will forever regret trading my 93 wagon for another Ciera sedan.Anyway, I’m glad to see there are still a few of these on the road. Great article Mr. Dennis!
Thank you so much, Mitchel. I also really appreciate the firsthand knowledge of these cars. I hadn’t even thought about the rounded backlight cutting into the trunk opening and hadn’t noticed that being an issue with my parents’ Cutlass Ciera. That car had a pretty large trunk and I suppose the only major issues they might have had with it would have been the liftover. Keep that ’96 Century humming along!
Now it’s mentioned, the opening is indeed a little smaller. Once I grabbed a trunk seal for my Celebrity, from a rounded back Ciera or Century in the junkyard. It was too short.
I sold these cars back a long time ago. And they were good vehicles. I’ve put a lot of miles on them .Century Cutlass Cierra, we sold Olds and Buick. People would buy these a year or two old for 10,000 roughly. Payments around 200 per month. I know we can’t turn back time. But they were affordable good transportation. Our incomes have not risen as much as car prices. And I believe we are pricing ourselves out of most people ability to pay for these cars. If this car was good enough then do we really need the gadgets that we are selling now?
Michael,
I agree with you 100 percent. I so wish we had good dependable, affordable cars like these now, without all the stupid unnecessary electronic gadgets. I don’t even use air conditioning in either of my old buicks. The A/C does not even work in my 99 Lesabre, and I haven’t used the air in my 96 Century since I’ve had the car, which is over 8 years now. My previous 95 Century had 2 power windows that didn’t work, so I went to the U-PULL-IT salvage yard and got 3 manual window regulators out of an old Cutlass Ciera and converted it to manual windows. Sadly, those days are long gone now.