1998 Buick LeSabre - Three Boxes

Not so long ago before the explosion in popularity of cross overs, "three box sedans" like this 1998 Buick LeSabre were the bread and butter of the American automobile industry. Three box sedans, so called because they resemble three connected boxes, all but defining American automobile design from approximately 1949 through today. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that within the next ten years and certainly the next twenty five, the sedan as we know it will be all but a memory.

It's gotten so "bad" for the old family car already that Buick, for instance, will pull the plug on all sedans save for the LaCrosse starting in 2018. Giving credit where it's due, though, the rise in popularity of "CUV's" over the last twenty years is not without merit. Combining the utility of larger sport utility vehicles with a styling elan found on few sedans these days, it's easy to see why they're dominating sales. Most importantly, they've gotten the attention of female buyers. What would she rather be driving? A snappy new Buick Enclave/Envision (whatever) or something that resembles what Grand Pa drives? Our LeSabre here is a good example of what was right before the onslaught of cross overs which began in the late '90's.

Now, I'm not a fan of cross over per se but I'm less a fan of boring sedans like this Le SABRE; I guess I've been spelling that wrong all these years. Would a coupe version of this make any difference to me? Well, yeah...on paper it would, but I'm in the minority. A sedan is a sedan to most people regardless of the number of doors it has. Buick never made a coupe version of these 1992-1999 updates of their 1986 Le SABRE. Reminisce fondly if you will over the late "H body" Le SABRE coupe here.  Note to self: find a 1986 vintage Le SABRE T-Type to blog about.

 

Doesn't matter that sedans today are absolutely fabulous; no one cares about them. And that's really too bad. Even our ancient Le SABRE here was a pretty darn good "big" car back in its day.  Apparently, it was so good that it's still on the road after all these years. 

Back when our subject was shiny and new the mere notion of using a sport utility vehicle as a family hauler was absurd. To say nothing of luxury SUV's and today's influx of do it all wunderkind cross overs. Sedans don't stand a chance I tell ya.