The skies were grey and the roads were slick. Storms had lashed Brisbane before easing into a mere drizzle and the endless concrete and bitumen of Gympie Road looked dreary and monochromatic under the pallid sky. Then, a flash of colour! In a sea of whites, blacks and greys, a grand, lime green car appeared.
Classic American cars are relatively rare in Australia but for the ubiquitous first-generation Mustang. Those that do reside here are typically garage queens, wheeled out only for car shows. Judging by the condition of this 1971 Buick Electra 225, I dare say it was one of them.
Because I have so little exposure to classic American cars on a regular basis, this Electra was a surprise to behold and take in. For one, it didn’t seem quite as long as I thought it would. Perhaps it’s the relatively low height compared to most modern vehicles but the Electra’s length didn’t crystallize in my mind until I saw how long the trunk was.
Speaking of length and height, the Electra is a foot and a half longer than a new Buick Enclave. That Enclave, however, has three comfortable rows of seating. This Electra? Well, the trunk is without peer but the rear of the cabin, plush as it is, just doesn’t have the stretch-out room I’d expect from a vehicle of these dimensions. The car is all hood and trunk. That relatively low roofline, too, makes ingress and egress just a touch less graceful. I can understand why today’s full-size crossovers are so popular.
It’s purely academic to compare an Electra to an Enclave, however. No Enclave can be had with lime green paint and matching upholstery, nor can one option Buick’s current flagship with a 455 cubic-inch V8.
This car is rich with enticing details. Everywhere I looked there was something to get my attention. At the rear, there’s the Electra crest surrounding the keyhole for the trunk.
The gorgeous bladed fenders, like a femme fatale, look beautiful but deadly. Note the original dealer badge from Fred Hughes Buick in Abilene, Texas. This Electra is a southern belle.
That seems only appropriate considering the Electra was named after Texan socialite Electra Waggoner Biggs. Then GM President, Harlow Curtice, was her brother-in-law. That was quite a flattering tribute, especially because the Electra name lasted all the way until 1990 (and, frankly, is overdue to be dusted off on an electric Buick). The socialite also had a town named after her, the Waggoners being a prominent family in West Texas. The famous Waggoner Ranch, as well as the town of Electra, are about a 2-3 hour drive from Abilene where this Buick was purchased.
Fred Hughes ran his titular Buick dealership for decades, briefly stepping away from the reins to serve a single term as mayor of Abilene. He much preferred selling Buicks to politics and chose not to run again or run for a seat in congress. A staunch fiscal conservative, he argued how wasteful it was to spend so much money on a two-year term in the House.
I describe this Electra as being “lime green” but I don’t believe it’s the Lime Mist available on select ’71. That color was restricted to the Skylark and its derivatives. More than likely it’s Willowmist Green or even Cornet Gold if I’m suffering from a slight bout of color blindness.
One thing is for sure: under the long hood of this beauty is a 455 cubic-inch V8 with a four-barrel carb and a three-speed Turbo-Hydramatic 400 transmission. That was the only powertrain available in the ’71 Electra.
Speaking of the hood, these have to be the most elegantly integrated Ventiports Buick ever designed. I also love the feature line that starts at the hood and ends at the taillights. Though I adore the ’69-70 Electra, its feature line was situated much lower and gave that car a more slab-sided look. Despite being 0.3 inches longer, the ’71 looks lower and sleeker.
The wheel covers are simple and elegant. I’d take these over any of the wire wheel covers of this era.
Inside, there’s a very driver-oriented dashboard. The Mercury Marquis and Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight were more distinctive inside but the Electra’s interior is more restrained and elegant.
Electras came in four variants for ’71: regular hardtop coupe and hardtop sedan and Custom hardtop coupe and hardtop sedan. The overwhelming favorite with buyers was the Custom sedan with 72,954 produced, more than the rest combined. That pattern remained true for the rest of this generation, the toniest sedan always outselling the rest of the line.
The only issue I ever had with the ‘71’s styling was the rather understated frontend.
I’ve changed my mind, however. Seeing it in the metal and noticing that subtly protruding snout has made me a fan.
I’m also a fan of later years of this generation. The Electra survived the 5-MPH bumpers and regular facelifts better than the Grosse Point Gothic Ninety-Eight or the bloated Caprice.
It was listed for $AUD35,000 at a consignment dealership in 2019. Typically, their stock consists of late-model sedans and crossovers but occasionally they’ll have a classic for sale like this MG B or a Dodge Challenger I’ve featured previously. This Electra was imported by its third owner in 2016. In total, it has just 81,191 miles and apparently the upholstery is all original.
I wonder if the floor mats are original too.
I don’t begrudge modern cars for being taller and rounder, or for generally lacking big V8 engines. I am, however, saddened that you can’t buy a lime green car with an emerald green interior. You can still get colorful cars – just recently, Buick would sell you a brown LaCrosse with a purple interior – but automakers have limited the variety and buyers seem more than happy to stick with Resale Silver.
Though this generation of C-Body may have seen some cost-cutting, it has to be commended for looking so elegant. This is a 225-inch long sedan with lime green paint that looks elegant and understated and even, relatively-speaking, sleek. It’s a fitting upscale chariot, whether you’re a city mayor or an oil heiress.
Related Reading:
Curbside Classic: 1976 Buick Electra Limited – Eat, Drink and be Merry for Tomorrow We Diet
Nice Buick. A similar thing struck me when I was looking at an early seventies Cadilac at a show last year, the actual business part of the car where you sit seemed very small. It was almost 1/3 bonnet, 1/3 passenger compartment and 1/3 boot and very low. The proportions worked well but as you pointed out in the 2025 world of outsized SUVs & Leisure Lorries it didn’t seem especially large.
According to Automobile Catalog, the ’71 Electra 4-Door hardtop weighed 4,563 lbs.
Edmunds says a 2025 Buick Enclave with a 4-cyl turbo FWD has a curb weight of 4,567 lbs.
As for power, the Enclave’s 2.5 L turbo 4 makes almost 100 BHP more than the ’71’s 7.4L (455 CID), with 328 BHP vs. 230BHP., but torque is pretty even, with 326 Lb-ft for the 2.5 Turbo vs. 365 lb-ft for the 7.4.
So that old Electra sled is basically the same weight as a new Enclave.
Somehow I doubt the Enclave will still be around after 50 years.
Perhaps, but being of age to experience a similar vintage vehicle, ’73 Pontiac Catalina (400 CI V8, turbo 400 automatic) and presently owning a 2023 Enclave Avenir, I know which one I’d prefer to drive in 50 years were I to smash all Guinness book world records for longevity. There is absolutely no comparison. I’m not sure about the 2025 however, as the turbo 4 makes me ponder it’s longevity, I believe the 3.6 V6 (with proper regular maintenance the timing chain issues of that engine are alleviated) is likely a better bet. Comfort, handling, utility, power, and best of all consistent 22 MPG make it no contest.
This one is an amazing survivor and with 81k miles to boot. I can remember when cars of this era would get to this level of mileage most owners would sell because that’s when they’d nickel and dime you to death. Every ancillary item began to fail; alternators, carbs, mufflers, water pumps, radiators, a/c compressors, and more. The subsequent owners would usually be less dedicated to maintenance until the car slid inevitably toward the boneyard. I know I’m stating the obvious, but it’s all the more remarkable that this well-kept survivor made it down under. I’d like to have it in my garage!
The experience of those big OHV V8s belies any cold numbers. So effortless in movement. No shudder. No sound. Massive torque with the slightest throttle given. Noble beasts that sadly are no more. Prefer the 7.5 liter over a turbo 4 every day of the week.
The first car I rode in with a pronounced tumblehome was a new ’71 Electra belonging to a fellow Cub Scout’s family. I still remember the weird feeling of how the door and glass curved away from me instead of being bolt upright, as on our ’68.
My dad spent thousands keeping his mother’s ’72 Calais suspended, garaged, and running very occasionally, until he gave it to his out of state step-son c. 2010 with about 50k miles.
Those simple wheelcovers look better to me than just about everything since, from late 70s fake wires (not seen in ’71) to today’s oversized, spindly-spoked wheels.
The interior is a bit decontented compared with the pre-‘68 models, but it’s still quite nice. Still, I think I prefer its corporate cousin Olds 98. The Luxury Sedan version is every bit as nice as a Cadillac.
Best looking full-size American sedan for 1971, I reckon. Maybe best looking ’71 US car, period.
There’s a certain simple grace to those lines. That front to rear sweep that integrates the whole. The angled slope of the hood and fenders down to the front end. No weird vertical crag. The integration of the headlights with the grille – none of that cheesy throwback to 1931 affected by some brands with separate heavy-looking olde-style ‘radiators’. This looks modern and unafraid. I’m not quite so convinced by the ‘fins’ on the rear fenders, but score points for not accenting them with vertical taillights, they were so passe by then (outside of the US, at least).
Time has moved on. We know now that those bumper laws which blighted so many later US designs were an unfortunate aberration that came at the worst possible time. The rectangular headlights so often didn’t suit the rest of the styling – as we see in the ’76(?) also shown here. That front end is crass and clunky. Sometimes first thoughts are best
The proportions of modern vehicles have changed, which makes for more practicality, but unfortunately modern vehicles seem intended for shock value in bullying their way through traffic rather than far aesthetic pleasure. Are they designed at all? There seems precious little art involved. So much semi-industrial filigree with black visual band-aids instead. We need to get back to these simple surfaces and coherent detailing.
Having owned a 1971 LeSabre (my first car), I’ve always been impressed at how the front half of the Electra looked so similar to my lesser LeSabre. Yes, mine had only 3 ventiports on each side, but otherwise the nose and the front bumper (and for the most part, the grill) was the same. I had the same wheelcovers on mine. Likewise the dash. All of which I agree was very elegant. I still love the styling of that year of Buick.
I agree, Peter. It is a very nice looking car. I wish the ’73 Regal/Century would have copied that front design.
Be still my heart. It’s greenish. Need to check BP and pulse rate now.
I am surprised this car doesn’t have a contrasting, dark green vinyl roof.
In US cars from the 1960s and early 1970s, I’m often struck by the contrast between the opulent exterior and the rather modest interior. This is less related to size than to style.
At least to my eyes, the oriental-inspired seat covers on the example shown here are simply off-putting. How much more stylish would have been leather or a plush velour upholsery.
The back of the front seat bench, which appears to be covered in vinyl (why a bench at all – was it thought for mass transportation ?), also looks somewhat cheap. Not what I expect in a car of this class and with this approach.
Otherwise, a very nice vehicle that I wouldn’t banish from my garage.
Bench seats were the norm for anything larger than subcompacts and pony cars in the US until much later. The ’72 Olds 98 Regency began both the velour and the loose cushion look epochs. Cadillac offered leather seats, but before ’75, it was thick and not soft, so most people chose cloth. Aside from convertibles, the only standard leather was the uncomfortable and black driver’s seat of the divided limo.
Thanks Will. Any Buick content is welcome! I had the pleasure of seeing a ’66 Riviera on the road only this week.
Those Australian sized number plates would have to go. No excuse for them when Nth American sized ones are available.
I remember the father of a friend had one identical to this back in the late 80s. We were headed somewhere and he picked me up in this. The view out over the hood was epic. He said “Watch this…” and stomped on the gas. The front of the car rose up and away we went, nose pointed up and us looking up. Smooth quiet power. The car was so insulated and quiet inside. I wish they still made cars with torque matched with silence as this car had. It was so different from what I was used to in the 80s that that one fleeting memory sticks with me.
When luxury cars look like luxury.
Hello Curbside my name Is mr.poole I live in Ft
Lauderdale Florida . I own a 1972 Buick Electra what a.car ever time I drive the car people’s ask me questions about my car lots people’s never seen a car like that
My parents had a 1971 Buick Electra 225. They were really nice cars except for the fact that virtually every Buick V8 engine in 1971 required a valve job at around 50,000 miles. I know that it was the fact that this was the first year of low compression engines that had the ability to run on low lead, no lead or regular gasoline. I worked at a Buick dealership in 1976 and our service department was doing valve jobs left and right.
Ralph L. has a good point re: Electra 235 Custom vs Ninety Eight Luxury Sedan interior appointments. My conservative paternal grandparents had the Buick; my liberal maternal grandparents, the 98. The 98 had a clock and pockets on the back of the front bench seat; the Electra did not. As a kid, I learned the meaning of value at an early age.