Buick Technology

[Slow91z]

All of my instructors led me to believe that digital comps didn't come around until the 70's...I DO know that the auto-pilot system on B-52's and C-5's wasn't digital and auto-pilot was the most advanced system on those airframes...C-5's came out in the late 60's or so.

Either way right or wrong lets stop highjacking, and talk buicks.

 

[Buick From Hell]

I'm not all that smart, but if memory serves:

Chrysler was the first to use actual "computers", with the "lean burn" engines. 1975 or 76?

Not sure who started electronic "pointless" ignition systems, but I'm pretty sure the '84 Turbo Regals were the FIRST production cars with a crank-trigger ignition system.

I'm also pretty sure the '84 Turbo Regal was the FIRST production car to use sequential port fuel injection. In fact, wasn't the TR the first PORT fuel injected car? Hell, even the'84 Corvette used throttle-body injection...

Regardless of whether the buicks were actually "first" with all this stuff, any crackpot who thinks they WEREN'T "technologically advanced" when they came out in 1984 wasn't AROUND in 1984! Geez, the Radio Shack Trash-80, Apple IIe & Atari-800's were still the "big" home PC's of the day! We should trust a computer to keep our engines running? Computers themselves were just starting to "break out" in 1982-83...

Well I was around in 1984... in fact, today is my car's 20th birthday! I bought the first '84 TR in Utah... "Old news"? Yeah, right! Even the mechanics knew nothing about how they worked! "if it breaks down, don't bring it HERE!"

"wow you obviously don't have much automobile history knowledge, and i may not either,

I would have to agree on "and i may not either"...

 

[Little6pack]

I like this thread.

I often wonder where are those Buick engineers working today?

 

[salvageV6]

I bet they are working on their pensions.

 

[DCEPTCN]

Even the mechanics knew nothing about how they worked! "if it breaks down, don't bring it HERE!"



....and that has changed very little to this day, as my experience has been. I think we could all tell alot of stories on that subject, but the one that I will contribute is similar: Calling a Buick dealership in Albuquerque last month I was naively looking for a part with my fingers crossed. When the man in the parts department asked me what the car was I proudly announced, ' An '87 Grand National.' to which he replied,' Oh....that's the station wagon, right?'
How can these cars still be such a mystery to so many people?

 

[Little6pack]

Originally posted by DCEPTCN

How can these cars still be such a mystery to so many people?

I can honestly see how they can be a mystery.
Upon talking to a few parts counter people.
Some know exactly & some have no clue.

I figure it was because not many GN's made totally in the 84-87
range.
Even though 20k in 87 when scattered around the counrty
that is what 300 to 400 per 50 US states & Canada.

I am sure they were thought of as Montes to people who didn't own one.
I wonder what sales figures the Montes had from 84 to 88?

Even myself working in 1981 at Buick dealer those 1st Turbos 78-80 had been hated by the Mechanics because they were new tech.

 

[T-Keith]

Hi, haven't posted here in a while, here's my 2cents:

DIS was state of the art, Chevy had distributors in the trucks until 99, Dodge had them until last year. Most Japanese cars used distributors well into the 90s. Honda still had carborators in the 80s and throttle body injection in 92.

Don't forget the FWD 3.8 picked up most of the Turbo 3.8s technology in 1986 DIS and SFI. The 60degrees didn't get SFI until 93. In fact I don't know of any engine with SFI in the 1980s other than the 3.8.

Most cars still use the Turbo 3.8s engine management compontents to this day: MAF sensor, 02 sensor, camshaft sensor, ect.