I don't think that I will ever admit to my memory fading; more like the years of memories overlap old ones to create new ones. How else to explain my reservations about running out to Carlisle, Pennsylvannia to gobble up this, save for the cracked filler panel behind the front bumper, 1985 "Collector's Edition" Buick LeSabre in mint condition? Shoot, it's a super hard to find coupe too. What's happened to me? What have I become?
Well, for starters, I don't need it so there's that. In the last year or so I've bought three cars, four if you count the 2017 Camaro my son bought, two of which I bought impulsively. And, no kidding, it's a hell of lot easier to buy cars than it is to get ride of them. Well, to get rid of them without losing your shirt. So, the thought of another oldie that I might want to get rid of sooner than later doesn't sit well with me. Especially one with a very, very narrow appeal. Upside, with an asking price of $3,495, with I have to imagine room to wiggle, it's not a bank breaker. Heartbreaker maybe but money wise you could do a lot worse.
Alright, so, what is this thing and what makes it special? Well, it's a member of the downsized GM "B and C" body class of 1977, it's one of the last two door "B" or "C's" GM ever built and 1985 was the last year Buick built a rear wheel drive LeSabre. I know, I know. That sort of distinction not exactly the sort of thing that rows everyone's boat but let's assume because you're here you have an interest in these things. Personally, I've always liked these cars because as a kid growing up the 1970's, the 1971 vintage GM full size cars were terrifyingly big to me. These smaller big cars were sized just right. And, they have a cool factor that can't be explained. You either get it or you don't.
However, I'm harder on these cars than most fans of them. In some cases a thousand pounds lighter and more than a foot shorter than the boats they replaced, they were a remarkable styling and engineering exercise for GM that resulted in "smaller" cars that had more usable interior room, had larger trunks and were actually still quite substantial. Where I believe they fall down on themselves was that really didn't advance the state-of-the-art of automotive engineering at the time seeing that they had so much in common with everything GM had pushed out for the previous seventy years or so. Body on frame, front engine, rear drive, etc.
Where they really come up short was under the hood. We take more than adequate power for granted these days but back in the day, especially as the '70's morphed into the '80's, big cars like this were stuffed with little engines with little power than meant absurdly bad power to weight ratios. For instance, if you take today's garden variety crossover, let's say a basic Ford Escape that weighs 3,300 pounds and has a 1.5 liter, 181 horsepower four cylinder engine, it has a power to weight ratio of one horsepower for every eighteen pounds of vehicle weight. This 1985 Buick LeSabre with a 140 horsepower, eight cylinder engine has a power to weight of one horsepower for every twenty-seven pounds. By comparison, today's Ford Escape is almost as powerful as a 1985 Corvette. I can just see myself pushing the gas pedal through the floor boards on this as I merge on I-80. Ah, what fun that isn't. For the record, this car has a Chevrolet V-8 which was not available on these cars so, something tells me there's been an engine swap over the last thirty-five years.
Speaking of engine swaps, for certain, none of what ails this car couldn't be cured with one and the prospect of a screaming sleeper is very alluring. Well, to me at least. Another one of those things, like liking these cars in the first place, whose appeal can't be explained. By the way, there are annoying reminders of this car's place in history stamped all over it. To me, that sort of ruins the fun. "Look at me, I'm special." I'd much prefer a bit older model in similar shape that isn't festooned with these sorts of things.
Most likely, this car will be sold to someone who's just looking for cheap transporation and I guess that's fine. The details of its place in history being passed over like so many historical markers in this country that very few people stop to read and contemplate why the marker is there in the first place. Let's just say that my little blog here about this old Buick is the historical marker that it, and cars just like it, diserve.
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