if anyones interested.........

[Phil Genario]

lots of folks either dispise or are on the fence about the front ends of the 73 buicks, if anyone wants some insight on why they wound up looking like they do,i put a post under headlight trim in the parts section of the forum, i compiled the facts from different articles read over the years .some of it was a no brainer.i was responding to a post from a member who wasnt clear on why the 1973 cars became so ugly.my opinion is ,i kind of find the noses of the 73 buicks bold and masculine,and thats not because i own one. thats just my take on it.you either like it or not. yeah, they could have done this, or they could have done that, but ultimately the result would have been exactly what it was. the last centurion!if anyone else can add or dispute to what i posted ,bring it on! phil

[Sweepspear]

Read it. :coffee:
You are exactly right about it being a result of government regulation!
I was 12 when the '73's came out, and at the time I thought they looked like they had the face of a lake trout.
Not just the Buicks, but the whole of GM's line up.

The look grew on me over the years, and I would not be so harsh now.
I recall riding in the back seat of the '73 Electra the parents of a friend owned, and thought it was pretty sweet car at the time.


When I was 16 and pumping gas at a station, it seemed 90% of all '73 Centurions I saw were 455 convertibles.
Perhaps a local dealer cornered the market on them. :cool:

[Robroy]

Same thing happened here in Sweden with the Volvo’s, but one year later starting 74.
Could be due to that government regulation you mentioned Dale since the US always has been their biggest market.
Everybody thought those 74 big bumpers looked awful at that time, the standard joke then was that they would make a perfect bench when going on a picnic…:D
Below some picts starting with a orange 73 and two 74's

[Sweepspear]

My sister owned one of those. a 242 model?



Everybody thought those 74 big bumpers looked awful at that time, the standard yoke then was that they would make a perfect bench when going on a picnic…:D


The 5 mph impact bumpers made great places to sit at field kegger parties! http://www.clicksmilies.com/s1106/ernaehrung/food-smiley-014.gif



My miss-spent youth. :rolleyes:

[Robroy]

The 240-serie came 75 and it got even worse (see the pict below)

So compared to this I think the 73 Buick bumpers look like Da Vinci art :laugh: ;)

[73 Centurion]

Aesthetics are something each decides for themselves, I've got a '73 and I like the front end. It's a big car, it has a massive masculine face. Not as pretty as the 71-72 but ruggedly handsome.

I think Buick has a tradition of massive. Think back to the waterfall grill and the bumpers in the 50's. I agree with Phil that Buick did the best job of making the mass work with the car.

But there's one aspect that hasn't been discussed. The 5mph bumper actually works. It can bump things and not get bent. The beautiful bumpers before '73 would get distorted if they hit anything. The Skylark bumper with it's delicate point had a terrible time with this. How many have you seen where the point of the bumper is bent upward into the grill? I've seen a few 71-72 Centurions with bumpers bent just that way.

A car crash has been described as 3 accidents in one. First the car stops, then your body stops, finally your internal organs stop. The 3rd one is where most lethal injuries occur.

There are two ways to reduce the impact, absorb it or spread the impact out over time. The big bumpers to both. The bumper shocks absorb energy and they also extend the time it takes for the car to stop, milliseconds matter here. That's why they have to stick out. This significantly blunts the energy wave. The earlier bumpers absorb some energy when they bend but most of the energy wave is just as sharp when it's time for your body to stop.

We can bemoan the ugliness imposed on us by the evil government, or we can accept the fact that it reduces injuries and saves lives. If you're like me you can comfortably do both at the same time. :rooleyes2:

I chose a 73 because they are safer. I chose a Centurion because I thought it was the best looking of the full size convertibles.

This concludes this broadcast of the safety nerds lecture. :user:

John

[Phil Genario]

Read it. :coffee:
You are exactly right about it being a result of government regulation!
I was 12 when the '73's came out, and at the time I thought they looked like they had the face of a lake trout.
Not just the Buicks, but the whole of GM's line up.

The look grew on me over the years, and I would not be so harsh now.
I recall riding in the back seat of the '73 Electra the parents of a friend owned, and thought it was pretty sweet car at the time.


When I was 16 and pumping gas at a station, it seemed 90% of all '73 Centurions I saw were 455 convertibles.
Perhaps a local dealer cornered the market on them. :cool:i was 11 when the 73 buicks came out in late summer 72, we lived a mile from a storage lot where the buicks were left after they were transported.it was a huge fenced in lot,im pretty sure the dealers picked them up from there.my dad and i would go and walk around the fence and get an early peek at the new cars. i vividly remember the first time i saw the 73s, i thought they looked neat, it at first glance looked like a totally different car in comparison to the 72s(still my favorite)i liked them then and always did. if you look at the front end of a 73 regal, you can see the 72 like styling in its nose and rear.clearly pointing to the 72 centurion. im only talking the regal line ,not the century.and if you look at the roofline on your 70 riviera,especially at the quarter windows and the rear window and how it was cut into the roof, you will see where the 71 to73 b-cars got that styling from. phil

[Robroy]

For me the 73 bumpers are more bold and forward :cool: , in a way more American when looking at them with my European eyes...

[Phil Genario]

Aesthetics are something each decides for themselves, I've got a '73 and I like the front end. It's a big car, it has a massive masculine face. Not as pretty as the 71-72 but ruggedly handsome.

I think Buick has a tradition of massive. Think back to the waterfall grill and the bumpers in the 50's. I agree with Phil that Buick did the best job of making the mass work with the car.

But there's one aspect that hasn't been discussed. The 5mph bumper actually works. It can bump things and not get bent. The beautiful bumpers before '73 would get distorted if they hit anything. The Skylark bumper with it's delicate point had a terrible time with this. How many have you seen where the point of the bumper is bent upward into the grill? I've seen a few 71-72 Centurions with bumpers bent just that way.

A car crash has been described as 3 accidents in one. First the car stops, then your body stops, finally your internal organs stop. The 3rd one is where most lethal injuries occur.

There are two ways to reduce the impact, absorb it or spread the impact out over time. The big bumpers to both. The bumper shocks absorb energy and they also extend the time it takes for the car to stop, milliseconds matter here. That's why they have to stick out. This significantly blunts the energy wave. The earlier bumpers absorb some energy when they bend but most of the energy wave is just as sharp when it's time for your body to stop.

We can bemoan the ugliness imposed on us by the evil government, or we can accept the fact that it reduces injuries and saves lives. If you're like me you can comfortably do both at the same time. :rooleyes2:

I chose a 73 because they are safer. I chose a Centurion because I thought it was the best looking of the full size convertibles.

This concludes this broadcast of the safety nerds lecture. :user:

Johnvery,very well put, what you say about the 71-72 skylark bumpers as well as the full size as well is true, what makes me laugh as in the case of the 72 skylarkthey put that crappy delicate impact strip on the front bumper,like it was going to help!one slight tap and it was tweaked.i think on the 71 full size the front bumper was more fragile then the 72, either way you had to give it a substantial bang to bend them at the point of the nose.....and that concludes this weeks meeting of the N.O.S. (nerds on safety)phil

[Smartin]

It's the rear bumper that's weak in the 71 and 72 big cars. You hit it anywhere NEAR the center, and it's tweaked for good.

[Sweepspear]

i was 11 when the 73 buicks came out in late summer 72, we lived a mile from a storage lot where the buicks were left after they were transported.it was a huge fenced in lot,im pretty sure the dealers picked them up from there.my dad and i would go and walk around the fence and get an early peek at the new cars. i vividly remember the first time i saw the 73s, i thought they looked neat, it at first glance looked like a totally different car in comparison to the 72s(still my favorite)i liked them then and always did. if you look at the front end of a 73 regal, you can see the 72 like styling in its nose and rear.clearly pointing to the 72 centurion. im only talking the regal line ,not the century.and if you look at the roofline on your 70 riviera,especially at the quarter windows and the rear window and how it was cut into the roof, you will see where the 71 to73 b-cars got that styling from. phil

Now that you point it out, I do see the resemblence in that area of the roofs.
I always liked the '72 full size front end over the '71's.
But, I admit after several years of looking at pics of Adam's cars on these forums, I do like the lighter cleaner look of the '71 more so now.

(Adam, I am really in love with that Burnished Cinnamon paint color! I think it would look great on my Riviera. But do I really want to get into a complete color change over from Sandlewood? )



very,very well put, what you say about the 71-72 skylark bumpers as well as the full size as well is true, what makes me laugh as in the case of the 72 skylarkthey put that crappy delicate impact strip on the front bumper,like it was going to help!one slight tap and it was tweaked.i think on the 71 full size the front bumper was more fragile then the 72, either way you had to give it a substantial bang to bend them at the point of the nose.....and that concludes this weeks meeting of the N.O.S. (nerds on safety)phil

My god! Have you ever had to handle one of those full size '72 front bumpers? The complete assembly? Heeaavvyy! :tonge2:

[gashog]

I reguard 1972 as the last real american cars.
Thanks to Ralph Nader and the American goverment we are doomed to drive a $40,000 pos.
Thats why I decided to ride motorcycles,twice the acceleration and fun,half the cost.
My honda costs me nothing to maintain except gas, tires, and oil.

I will keep my 73 as a rememberence of how America once was.
It brings tears to my eyes when I really think about it.