1963 buick riviera and 1963 ford thunderbird

1963 BUICK RIVIERA AND 1963 FORD THUNDERBIRD DRIVER

Find Used Buick Riviera 1963 For Sale (with Photos). There not a lot of chrome on a Riviera but the front and rear bumpers are excellent. The base price of $4,333, at a time when the average price of a new house was $19,300, made the Riviera nearly the most expensive Buick offered that year. 40,000 1963 Buick Riviera - Calabasas, CA.

1963 BUICK RIVIERA AND 1963 FORD THUNDERBIRD DRIVER

But, the options available also allowed buyers to make the car their own with 3 different interior styles in multiple colors, power driver seat, air conditioning and a long list of convenience options.Īt a time when Buick was producing and selling 440,000 cars per year, they promoted that the production of the Riviera would be limited to 40,000 vehicles. The standard equipment was impressive, as would be expected for a luxury car, including power steering, power brakes and automatic transmission. An optional 425 cubic inch engine eventually became available. The standard engine was the 401 cubic inch V8 used in all Buick’s that model year. It was also just slightly larger than its main rival, the Ford Thunderbird. With classic good looks and a price just below the least. With a 117 inch wheelbase and overall length of 208 inches, the car was larger than the Special and Skylark but smaller than all other offerings from Buick. For five years, the four-seater Ford Thunderbird had the new 'personal car' market all to itself. Brian Earnest Updated: Original: Story and photos by Brian Earnest Bill Mawbey sure loves his 1963 Buick Riviera these days.

The division was seeing sluggish sales and desperately wanted the Riviera to bring in new traffic to dealer showrooms. The debut 1963 Riviera was a new player in the field of personal luxury cars and meant to be a direct challenger to the Ford Thunderbird. Buick lobbied GM management and Mitchell very hard to win the right to produce the Riviera. Mitchell originally offered the car to Cadillac, but that division passed in favor of their own car in development that would become the 1967 Eldorado. Sergio Pininfarina is quoted as saying the Riviera is “one of the most beautiful American cars ever built, it has marked a very impressive return to simplicity of American design.” The Riviera managed to be both sporty and luxurious at the same time. The car was and still is considered one of the best designs executed by GM Chief designer Bill Mitchell. The 1963 Riviera was Buick’s first entry into the personal luxury car market segment that was created and dominated by the Ford Thunderbird. While the word had been used by Buick to denote some trim levels over the years, the 1963 Riviera would be the debut vehicle bearing the Riviera model name.īuick wanted affluent customers and was willing to pull out all the stops to get the product that would attract them. It was originally intended to be a new companion car to Cadillac, a. It is also the name of the coastal region in the south of France known for its azure water, white sand beaches, luxury hotels and a hangout of the rich and famous. The Riviera was born in GM corporate styling as an answer to the Ford Thunderbird.

1963 buick riviera and 1963 ford thunderbird