Bargain Buick

Buicks for 1959 were all new. The baroque behemoths of 1958 were replaced by a clean, finned motif reminiscent of a supersonic airplane. The design had been presaged by the attractive 1957 concept XP-75, also known as Skylark II. The only holdover was the square-buttons in the grille. The brochure called them "Buicks so new even the names had to be new." The time-honored series of Special, Century Super, Roadmaster and Limited were tossed aside and replaced by new series designations.

The entry level car, named for the 1951 concept car, was called "LeSabre" and took the place of the Special. Taking the place of the Century and Super was "Invicta." The LeSabres and Invictas were on a 123-inch wheelbase. At the top of the range was the "Electra." Three of the six Electras were more or less equivalent to the former Limited and were called "Electra 225," for their overall length.

With a design this fresh and new, you'd think Buick would have come up with a marketing name, something like Nash's "Airflyte" and Chrysler's "Forward Look." Instead, the cars were pitched to the public on the basis of affordability: "The car within reach of two out of three new car buyers." And so the LeSabre was sold as the "Thiftiest Buick," the Invicta with short wheelbase and big engine the "Most Spirited." The Electra was, naturally, the "Most Luxurious Buick."

Engines were two versions of Buick's famed "nailhead" V8. New "Alfin" front brake drums combined iron braking surfaces with finned aluminum drums. A portable transistor radio could be removed for use at a picnic or on the beach. Best selling, not surprisingly, was the "thrifty" LeSabre with the greatest number of body styles, amounting to more than half of total production.

Curious, however, was GM's corporate strategy. Alfred Sloan's "Car for Every Purse and Purpose" was thrown to the wind, as Oldsmobile virtually paralleled Buick's market segment, or vice versa. Buick prices ranged from $2,740 to $4,300, Olds' from $2,837 to $4,366. Given Olds' fussier styling and slightly higher price, I'd have thought Buick would sell better. But Olds at least made a big deal of the new styling, and in the end sold 100,000 more cars than Buick. Go figure. For The General, however, it was win-win, as the two divisions' sales locked up 77 percent of the upper-medium price segment, far overpowering Mercury and DeSoto.

Dennis David found a bargain Buick of his own several years ago. Discovered behind a farmer's logpile, the car had been parked when the elderly owner found it difficult to drive. He had purchased it new many years earlier and had specified a very basic Buick: LeSabre hardtop coupe, with automatic transmission and heater, but no power assists - nor even a radio.

Dennis had it towed home, rebuilt the braking system and gave the engine a tuneup. The car started easily and ran well. He spiffed it up with new carpeting, and drove it for about five years. He finally sold it in a spate of collection-thinning. It had been, like the new 1959 Buick LeSabres, quite a bargain. You, too, can buy a bargain Buick. The Krause Collector Car Price Guide says that 1959 Buick LeSabres are still less expensive than comparable Olds Dynamic 88s.