Buick Electra

Buick does not build many cars like the Buick Electra: a 4-door 4-window hardtop / 4-door 6-window sedan / Electra only: / 2-door hardtop / Electra 225 only: / 2-door convertible / 4-door 6-window Riviera hardtop / 5-door 5-window ambula with 401 cuin Nailhead V8, built from 1959 to 1990 at the height of the post-war boom. Its designer of record is Bill Mitchell.

The background

The Buick Electra is a full-size luxury car manufactured and marketed by Buick from 1959 to 1990, over six generations. Introduced as the replacement for the Roadmaster lines, the Electra served as the flagship Buick sedan line through its entire production, and was offered as a two-door sedan, two-door convertible, four-door sedan, and five-door station wagon. The Electra initially used General Motors' rear-drive C Platform, undergoing a significant downsizing for 1977. For its sixth generation, introduced for the 1985 model year, the Electra underwent another significant downsizing, and adopted unibody construction as well as GM's new front wheel drive C Platform.

Along with its rebadged variants, the Oldsmobile 98 and Cadillac Deville and Fleetwood, the Electra became GM's first full-size, unibody, transverse engine, front-drive car. For 1991, Buick retired the Electra nameplate, migrating its front-drive premium sedan to the Buick Park Avenue nameplate, previously used as an upper trim level of the Electra itself. The Electra Estate was redesigned, becoming the Roadmaster Estate for 1991. In late 2022, Buick announced plans to revive the Electra nameplate for its forthcoming 2024 electric models.

The engineering

Under the skin sits 401 cuin Nailhead V8. Kerb weight is 4700 -. The gearbox is a 2-speed Dynaflow automatic. The layout matters: a front engine drives the rear wheels, the classic proportion — long bonnet, cabin set back — that most people picture when they picture a sports saloon or a grand tourer. The wheelbase is 126.3 in. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.

Where it sits

Where it sits in Buick's history is not in doubt: the Buick Roadmaster / Buick Limited came before it; the Sedan – Buick Park Avenue / Wagon – Buick Roadmaster (1991–1996) followed it; it was built at Flint, Michigan. On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Nissan Patrol, the Mini Mini, the Dodge Challenger. Its Buick stablemates include the Buick First Call and the Buick Funeral Car.

The money

There is no federal ownership record for the Buick Electra — it predates the complaint database or was never sold in the United States — so MotorJury publishes no running-cost figure for it. For a car of this age the price is set by the collector market and the condition of the individual example, not by a formula.