You can describe the cars Buick makes in a variety of ways, but you probably won’t exactly call them “cool. “After the 1950s, they don’t have much of a history when it comes to creating flashy, sporty cars that ooze an air of speed. No, Buicks are luxurious, modern cars that are more affordable than you might expect. Its heritage is either the Mustang or the Corvette. It offers beautiful forged sedans and SUVs that do the job for an average person.
However, in the late 1980s, Buick entered the sports car business by introducing the short-lived Buick Reatta. This 1988 two-seater was unlike anything Buick had to offer at the time, and if you take a look at its lineup of vehicles today, there’s nothing quite like it. The Reatta was a sleek, sporty vehicle and a conscious starting point for the company looking to find a new audience.
Although the car only lasted a few years on the production line, it remains a part of Buick’s history. It was one of their few sports cars and became one of the company’s few convertibles towards the end of its production. A company with such an explained personality, why would it have taken such a turn?
If we’re being honest, the average user doesn’t want a sports car. The preference for a sports car arises from a preference and an aesthetic feeling. Buick wanted to satisfy this preference by offering a vehicle that is incredibly well suited to everyday life. Jay Qualguy, then Buick’s director of advertising, explained to Car and Driver in 1988 the company’s mindset: “The more we investigated, the more we discovered that there was an organization of buyers who were looking for some kind of sporty orientation. I was looking for a practical car; A car, frankly, that a fairly well-to-do man could give to his wife. »
The car most people were looking for for this type of vehicle was a Mercedes 560SL, and since Mercedes-Benz is a luxury brand, this car is out of the price range for most people, which costs $64,230 (almost $167,000 adjusted for inflation). . That value would still be the maximum for a car today, 25 years later. That’s where Buick comes in with the Reatta: Despite having a similar structure to the Mercedes, the Buick Reatta has lowered the value to $29,000 ($75,270 adjusted for inflation). . That’s still a lot of money for a vehicle, but since it’s worth less than half the price of a German car, it’s even more exciting for the average person.
[Featured symbol via TKOIII Wikimedia Commons | Trimming & Climbing | CC BY-SA 4. 0]
When it was first launched, the Buick Reatta was only available in one configuration: a two-door coupé, and that would not change for the car’s entire run, save for the option to make it a convertible in 1990. This was a true two-seater. Breaking tradition with your typical sports car, the Reatta featured a decently sized trunk, which would greatly help most people’s day-to-day errands and activities.
It is a four-speed, front-wheel-drive automatic vehicle, powered by a 3. 8-liter V6 engine that can generate up to 165 horsepower. It’s the same engine that was discovered in other Buick coupes of the time, such as the Riviera and LeSabre. but in a smaller chassis. The Reatta had a wheelbase of 98. 5 inches compared to the 108-inch Riviera and 110. 8-inch LeSabre. Its power failed to reach the heights of other sports cars, however, it was all about combining the sporty and sporty. the practical. After all, all that was needed was the fuel of a sports car.
According to Motor Trend, the Reatta went out of production in 1991 after promoting only 21,000 units in 4 years. Buick went back to what it did best, to the point that it wouldn’t produce a convertible again for 25 years with the Cascada. It’s great when a Buick tries something new, but that doesn’t mean it will succeed, even if it deserves to.
[Featured symbol via CZmarlin Wikimedia Commons | Trimming & Climbing | CC0 1. 0]