Yet the Riviera name still has much of the magic which it enjoyed in the early days, and in the 21st century enthusiasts still enjoy running and restoring these classic Buicks. As the road tests in this book show, horsepower was disappearing in spadefuls in the mid 1970s, and from 1977 the only way to maintain credibility was to reduce weight by downsizing, in line with the rest of the industry. Buick toned it down for the following year, but other factors were affecting sales by then, too. Meanwhile, the 1971 Riviera had become even bigger, and its new styling featured a dramatic boat-tail rear which was too much for many buyers. For 1970, the car took on a longer hood and was made available with the new 455ci V8, but from there on emissions regulations began to take their toll on performance, and the oil crisis in the early 1970s did much damage to sales. Buick kept to the traditional rear-wheel drive, but in other respects the two cars served similar ends. The first generation Riviera was a really striking looking car, but from 1966 it succumbed to the growth trend of the times and became bigger and heavier. Ironically, it was Cadillac’s design and sales boom during the early 1960s beginning with one of. Trust Hagerty Marketplace online auctions and classifieds. Your new way to buy and sell cool cars online. Handling was also remarkably good for such a big car. Along with the 1963 Corvette, the Buick Riviera made it clear that round, feminine forms were out and a sharp, muscular era was beginning. Power and performance gradually increased over the years and the Gran Sport model of 1965 could hit a genuine 125mph if there were no curves to hinder it's progress. Comments: Known as model 4747 and only offered on the sport coupe body style, the Buick Riviera was a huge success, selling 40,000 copies. Always sold as a hardtop model with two doors, it played the performance card more effectively than Ford's Thunderbird. Positioned at the top of Buick’s coupe line up, the Riviera always represented cutting edge styling and performance and deserves a place in American automotive history. The seller says this ’63 Thunderbird will run but it needs some. Ford built 63,313 of the cars in 1963, with 42,806 being the regular hardtop (the remainder were Landau, convertible, or Sports Roadster body styles). Shop millions of cars from over 22,500 dealers and find the perfect car. In the early 1960s, Buick sales were going through a bad patch, and so the new personal-luxury coupe was assigned to that division to give it a boost. The ’63 T-Bird was powered by a 390 cubic inch V8 that put out 300 hp and an automatic was the only transmission available. Find 21 used 1963 Ford Thunderbird as low as 11,480 on ®. The 1963 Buick Riviera was General Motors response to the success of the four seater Ford Thunderbird, which had grown out of the two-seater Thunderbird that had been Ford's response to GM's 1953 Chevrolet Corvette. It is interesting to see how the products of car manufacturers go in cycles.
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