I've been a Buick guy since I got my driver's license. One of the first cars I drove a lot was my Dad's 69 Electra with a 375 hp 430 ci motor. It left a deep impression on me. After that he had a 74 Electra, and a 76 Regal; along the way we also had a 65 LeSabre and a 66 Electra.

The first car I owned (which actually ran) was was a 63 Electra 4 door sedan. After that I had a 72 Skylark Custom, a 79 Electra Ltd, a 66 Skylark convertible, a 71 GS convertible, and an 89 LeSabre T-Type. I'm a long-time member of the Buick GSCA--I used to get the GSXtra (magazine) when it was still photocopied onto typewriter paper.

When I was young I liked Rivieras because they were Buicks, but never thought I'd own one. In Dec of 1998 my beloved LeSabre T-Type met up with a curb and lost. Since LeSabre T-Types were a limited edition car, I began my replacement search on the Internet. I typed in "T-Type" and got back a list of a couple hundred cars, including Regal T-Types, a few LeSabre T-Types, and also a few Electa, Century, and Skyhawk T-Types.

About mid-way through the list there was a Riviera T-Type. I had never heard of one before, so I got the owner to send me some pics. It was a gorgeous car with about 65,000 miles and loaded with options. (I forgot all the other cars on my list). We began to talk more and more. I found the car was in Florida and it was in good shape except the digital speedometer was on the blink (literally).

Undaunted, I looked into the cost of a flight, figured out how I could drive a car with no speedometer from Florida to Colorado, and made the owner an offer. But it was not to be. That same day I saw an ad in the Denver paper for an 84 Riviera T-Type. I went to look at the car and ended up driving it home. I loved it except for the color--white with a fawn interior. It became my daily driver.

Fast forward a couple months. I'm looking in the paper again and there is another Riviera T-Type for sale. I don't recognize the area code, but call anyway. It turns out the cars is on the other side of the state (a 5 hour drive away), its been sitting for well over 6 months, and it doesn't run very well. However, it is dark blue with a matching velour interior. To make a long story short, my 13 year-old son and I rented a Ryder truck and trailer and the blue 85 T- Type came home.

In the meantime the white 84 T-Type is sold and a '99 Intrepid takes its place. Interestingly I don't even cosider taking the blue T-Type out of my garage; the new car sits outside. And its that way today. The Intrepid sits outside while the Riv is nestled in the garage. The Riv still doesn't run right, it needs a paint job and some interior work, but its my baby and I don't want her sitting outside.

Today I like her because she is a Riv! I can always get another Intrepid--they are a dime a dozen. But my Riv is irreplaceable (unless another blue on blue T-Type comes along WITH a factory moonroof).

Phil Cooley
ROA 7446

Why a rivie...?

well, mine is a bit convoluted, but essentially it is because of Darlene.

when i was a swinging bachelor back in the late eighties, i had my own apartment. it overlooked the main drag across from a pizza shop.

one day while i was stareing aimlessly out the window, up pulled a 1984 dark green riviera. i thought, 'nice car', but that was it...then the driver got out. that was Darlene, and i said quite a bit more than 'nice' regarding her, she had on a dark green dress, yellow pumps and a cascading head of dark black hair, i was hooked, more on her than the car.

years later, i am married, and im looking thru want ads and saw a pic of a 1985 riviera and it was gorgeous, something happened and all the memories flooded back and I just had to have the car.

i spent hour upon hours scouring every used car lot, every automart magazine, every classified ad, and all the spots on the internet and began driving the family krazy.

finally in september of 2000 i saw a classified ad from an attorney who was selling his 1980 loaded for only 2000 grand, i was on it like i would have been on darlene, given the chance, and have covered my car with the same kind of love and attention ever since.

so there...

Frank Tomasic
ROA #8735

Chris was kind enough to post this on his Riviera chronology. Let me continue this excellent thread.

When I was growing up in Winchester, Virginia, we were always a Buick family. Dad helped me appreciate Buick's unique styling and quality. We owned lots of Buicks but never a Riv. It was always my favorite, though. Personally, I wasn't "tuned in" to cars before 1966 (I was 14), so I never got excited about the early Rivs. The 'E' body impressed me alot...especially with that cool new front end. But when the '68 was introduced, I was hooked! That 'air scoop' grille was a killer! I also got my drivers license that year, but the closest I could get to a '68 Riv was building a plastic AMC model.

In 1996, along with the gray hairs of mid-life, I wanted to finally own my favorite car. I found a few for sale in pretty sad condition. I kept looking and found one stored in a widow's garage in Poway, CA a few miles from San Diego (no rust!). It had 64K miles and a pretty good paint job. The interior was mint! I had a business trip to Phoenix, and 'overshot' a little to San Diego to have a look (hope my boss isn't reading this). It had been garaged for four years after the owner died, and had only been driven by the widow's sister who once kept driving after the 'Oil' light came on. Bad news. The widow had the engine replaced with a rebuilt, and garaged it again until she didn't want to deal with it anymore. The Riv was her husband's pride and joy. He bought it new and pampered it, and she was of course still missing him. That Riv was her last tangible memory of him. She didn't want to sell it to some hot-shot dealer, so when I showed up from North Carolina with blue jeans and a tool box, she knew it had found the right home. (I MUST be serious to have traveled all across the country!) Well, it wasn't a GS (I wanted a GS!), but it's condition was too good to pass up. So we settled on a very reasonable price and I had it trucked back to Raleigh.

Since then, I've re-learned my automotive skills I once knew, and with the help of a friend mechanic, got everything back in great working order....except the Automatic Climate Control (which I hate), but am still holding out hope that I will get it working, too.

To me, this model Riv is GM's absolute peak of S T Y L E. It just visually flows soooo... smoooooothly. I love contrasts in life, and the fact that it looks so elegant and refined, and yet kicks ass next to any BMW snobs out there is a true thrill for me. (My favorite motto: "All you have is money....I have a classic Riv!". It's the only girlfriend my wife lets me have. Check our the pix on Chris' Chronology.

Darrell #7007