Buick Concept car

[Loren At 65GS]

I think I could deal with one of these in my garage.

The Buick Avista :

http://www.buick.com/avista-concept-coupe.html?seo=ysm_|_%5Baccount+name%5D_|_GMNA%7CUS%7CBUI%7CBING%7CS%7CBD%7CA%7CEX%7CBRD%7CAVI%7CMSV%7C0%7C0%7C%7CNA%7CNA%7CNA_|_Model+Overview_|_Buick%20Avista

Loren

[sjfd04]

Good article:


http://www.cheatsheet.com/automobiles/how-the-buick-gs-stage-2-redefined-muscle-car-performance.html/?a=viewall

[35chevcoupe]

sjfd04 ,
Thanks for posting that article .    That was really cool . Never knew or heard about the stage 2 GS .
Makes me want to go out to my shop and decode mine just to make sure !
Loren , that concept car is pretty cool too even though newer cars don,t really do much for me.
Well , except for the new challengers camaro,s and mustangs .  everything else just seems to blend in .

[GS66]

Thanks for the articles. Now we need a Buick Avista GS - Stage 2!😃

[elagache]

Dear Loren, sjfd04, John, Jim, and I hope still mid-60s Buick fans, 

I think I could deal with one of these in my garage.

The Buick Avista :

Sorry to differ but this car is to me everything that is wrong with our culture.  in 1965, a family man still could have bought a Buick GS and if his wife wasn't terrorized by the car, they could have started a family together with that one car.  As I understand it, the Ford Mustang was the first car more than a few families.  A muscle car wasn't only a play-thing of the rich who could afford a car only for the business of going fast.

I really love my wagon because she represents such a fusion of form and function.  Such cars simply don't exist anymore and that's a real tragedy.  Very few people can drive high-end sport cars, but that is what the auto makers want us to drool about.  At the same time, a fellow today who wants a car that can carry the kids to school, can carry the groceries, and carry a 4"x8" plywood sheet - can only turn to something like a Suburban.  If somebody made a wagon like mine with a Corvette engine, wouldn't there be a ready market for it?  Let's face it, muscle cars of the 1960s did carry plywood on the roof and survived.  I don't think anyone would try that with the Buick Avista.

There was a brief moment when performance and practicality didn't have to be completely divorced from one another.  Those of us who care for cars of this epoch should realize it isn't only the cars that are gone - the way of life they made possible is gone too.  It is a loss everyone on planet Earth should be sorry about.

Edouard

[Buick_65]

This is one of the greatest periods in history for performance motoring. You can have more horsepower than anyone could fathom in 65, and drive it every day for 200k miles. I guess if you wanted to put plywood on the roof of your hellcat, you could. Or you could buy the upcoming hellcat grand Cherokee.

[elagache]

This is one of the greatest periods in history for performance motoring. You can have more horsepower than anyone could fathom in 65, and drive it every day for 200k miles. I guess if you wanted to put plywood on the roof of your hellcat, you could. Or you could buy the upcoming hellcat grand Cherokee.

I see your point, but Buick Avista is truly another version of a well-explored recipe: the two seater sports car.  While it claims to be a 2 + 2 seating, only small children could actually be seated in the back and trying to put a child safety seat in the back of that car would be a serious challenge.  So in the end, Buick is pulling a fast one in calling this car a 4-seater and buyers will soon realize that.

At the same time, what made the American muscle car great was it versatility.  It could seat 4 adults and had a standard sized trunk.  It was a car a man could drag race and still take the family out for a vacation.  The Avista is at best a commuter and fun car.  These days it is common for both parents to have their own car, but it is also common that each car has to be able to deal with that parental chores - the Avista is poorly suited for that role.  So the potential market is limited.

At the same time demographics have changed.  During the muscle car area, women weren't driving enthusiasts, that's not true anymore.  In our neighborhood,  German and Japanese wagons are increasingly popular.  Few people actually need off-road capability and lets face it, a "high-performance" SUV looks like a pregnant guppy on platform shoes!    There is a market for high-performance cars that can take the family places.  Detroit isn't taking on the imports for that market.

I'm personally disappointed that Detroit cannot seem to reinvent the American muscle car in a way that public approves of.  The closest thing that I can think of to 1960-70s muscle cars is last generation Dodge Magnum.  Judging from what happened to the Magnum, it appears the American public has lost interest in the tradition of the American muscle car.  That seems like a very sad thing indeed.

Edouard

[GS66]

You can still buy a new Challenger. Or for more "domestic" duties the Charger. We bought a Challenger. Too bad they don't make a Gran Sport. You are correct about the versatility of the Dodge Magnum. The folks who own them seem to love it. I still drive our vintage cars a lot, but there is a place for the modern interpretation, at least for me.

[Buick_65]

Challenger, huge hit. Mustang, doing well. Camaro, so popular they have to run the plant 24 hours per day. I would say the market likes them just fine. You might not, which is okay.

[WkillGS]

The Avista, IMO, is one of the best looking cars in recent times..... except for that interior!... looks like George Jetson designed it! I would expect a production version to look more conventional, and accommodate rear seat passengers well.
   The Avista would fit nicely between the Chevrolet (Camaro) and the Cadillac, just like the Buicks of yesteryear. I sure hope it becomes a reality. Now that Pontiac and Olds are gone, it may be very likely.

I agree the Avista appears to be more of a personal performance/luxury car than the muscle cars of old. but the times have changed.
Want something similar to an old musclecar but more practical? Look at the Impala SS, Taurus SHO or any of the magnum powered Chryslers.
4 doors for the family, and performance that will (I hate to admit) put an old musclecar to shame.

I would love to have a new Mustang, Challenger, or Avista. But I'm too damn practical to buy 'just a car'. I also need something that performs more hauling duties. One of my prior favorites was my '88 Saab 900 SPG turbo. A GREAT drivers car and a hatchback  that will accommodate a mountain bike, or a haul from the junkyard or Home Depot, and nearly 30 mpg to boot. It's recently been treated to antique license plates and the daily chore have been transferred to a '01 Jeep Cherokee with a stroked 6! A nice combo of performance and utility.

[elagache]

Dear Jim, Buick_65, and Walt, and mid-60s Buick present day car observers,

All your points are well taken, but I do worry at the mind-set of the car buying public.  As far as I understand it, automakers have honed down aerodynamics such that just about any modern car is as "slick" through the air as another.  The speeds we are talking about aren't so sensitive to aerodynamics.  So the quest for the space-ship look is just that - aesthetics.  It appears to me that Pirus really took away the family car from the SUVs as much because of how it looked as its green drivetrain.  Like it or not, it isn't nearly as practical car in its original design.  Eventually a Pirus wagon did come so some people do want some amount of practicality, but plenty of young people are more concerned about how their car looks then how they can effectively use it.  Concerning how dependent people are on their cars - that sure doesn't reflect well on their decision making skills.

Cheers, Edouard 

[35chevcoupe]

Edouard ,   don,t even get me started on the toyota preus and there comparable counter parts .
If I get into that Loren or one of the other moderators might give me the Boot 

[WkillGS]

Let's not even mention the Prius!.... it's not even relevant to anything Buick offers, or to any modern performance car!

Just checked the Lincoln site and was surprised to see there are no 2 door offerings. The others are in the $33-38k range.
I still see the Buick Avista placed between the Camaro and Cadillac. Anything else comparable is from a foreign make.
The Caddy AVS-V coupe is $62k and does 0-60 in 3.8 seconds!!!
 
I'll be keeping an eye on the Avista. She's a beauty! Anxious to see the pricing.... I'll guess it'll start in the 40's.
I may need to build a garage addition for this one!

[Dr Frankenbuick]

Hey, we have a 2005 Prius used as a spare car. It was great for my older boy to use for work and community college before transferring to Pitt last fall.  There is minimal power for a guy with ham hands and very good  safety features. I didn't worry about him having issues with it although he did manage to run out of gas once. How do you do that getting 50 mpg?

We also use it on family trips. The four of us and luggage fit comfortably and it usually gets better mileage on trips. 


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[elagache]

Dear John, Walt, Dr. Frankenbuick, and mid-60s Buick car observers, . . .

Edouard ,   don,t even get me started on the toyota preus and there comparable counter parts .

Let's not even mention the Prius!....

Heh, heh, heh! . . .

Well, let me put it this way.  Apologies for misspelling the name Prius, but in this house we have a nickname for that car: Prissy! 

Just checked the Lincoln site and was surprised to see there are no 2 door offerings.

I think 2-door cars are losing out because of child safety seats.  It seems to me that the Tesla Model-S and the Porsche Panamera are a response in part to the needs of parents to have decent access to the back seat to strap in their little "monsters" . . . . (err, . . . . I mean little darlings . . . . )

Cheers, Edouard