We all face hardships in our lives. And to do so away from home, in an alien territory with little support, makes them harder to overcome. Most likely the conditions that sealed the fate of this mid-80s Buick Century wagon, found a few blocks away from my home in Central America.
Buicks were long gone from these lands by the time this Century arrived as a gray import. And its inevitable end was no different to a Lada or Skoda in central Wyoming. Say ‘Buick’ at a repair shop in San Salvador and they’ll look at you cross-eyed and feign they know how to spell it.
Talking about misspellings and errors, forgive me if I guessed this Century’s year and model wrong. As you can see, I don’t have much to go by. For all I know, this could be an Oldsmobile; though the rear lights say made-in-Flint to me.
I bet no worker back at Flint ever imagined a Century of theirs in these tropical latitudes. And to be honest, it’s an incongruous sight to my eyes. Like a sixties Skoda in modern Seattle or a Subaru 360 on the I-5, a Buick in San Salvador just sends conflicting signals to my brain. Yet, by an unlikely series of events, here it is. What’s left of it at least.
I remember all too well these clean and dull silhouettes roaming the orderly streets of California during my college years. So, squaring my memories with its current location is a bit of a task. But even if I wasn’t a lover of these back in the day, distance makes for longing. And even in its sorry state, this Century wagon reawakens my memories and softens my heart. Just a bit.
Being in an alien land can certainly be hard. I have a feeling that if questioned, this Century wagon would likely beg to return home. But such are the deceits of longing. In reality, if I go by evidence at the Cohort, this old Century would have succumbed to the foundry long ago. At least over here, it’s part of the landscape. For the time being.
Further reading:
Curbside Classic: 1988 Buick Century – Direct From The Waning Days Of The Brougham Epoch
Great shot of it in front of that graffiti covered wall. Too bad the Buick wasn’t tagged too.
It’s definitely a Buick. But if it’s like Mexico, it’s probably considered a Chevrolet Century. With Buick logos. Mexico did that with Oldsmobile as well, and made some pretty cool looking Chevrolet Cutlass Eurosports with ground effects.
The rear wheels look like steelies from a Gen 1 Dodge Caravan. I knew this had to be somewhere south, because even in this condition the rockers aren’t rusted out.
Amber turn signals must not have been a requirement there. The Century wagon was also sold in Japan as a Buick Regal Estate. It used Celebrity taillights, but with the top section molded in amber.
The Skoda analogy reminded me… There are a lot of Czechs in Oklahoma, and there’s even a city named Prague. One old Czech farmer near Enid owned two ’50s Skodas, a convertible and a sedan. He couldn’t get parts so he used his blacksmithing skills and tools to make his own parts. Not unlike the Cuban approach to US cars.
Even in decrepit form, clean, functional styling, ages well. Why old wagons often come across the best.
As a teen, I remember noting and acknowledging credit to GM design in 1982, for giving the new A-Bodies round gas filler doors. And many of their new cars, going forward. It would have been so tired, easy, and traditional, to give these square doors. A sign, GM was attempting to convey modernity, in their design.
As an aspiring future graphic designer, I was mildly surprised (and disappointed) GM didn’t go with round doors on the X-Bodies. But GM likely felt they needed to have design details that were familiar to traditional American larger car buyers.
Mr “Pups” , around the corner from the “remains” steals that pic.
This is so bleak. What a great find and pictures shared. With that drivers-side window down, I’m sure it is funky in there.