Why Buicks are Dying

If i wasn't in the middle of a transmission swap I would have went even though I'm a thousand + miles away. I've been wanting to meet people in the buick community but it seems kind of dead here in Chicago area. The last year or so I've finally had $$$ to build this car. I hope the events keep going because ill be showing up. Now that i have a fresh stage 2 transmission lol.
 
I showed up on Tuesday afternoon, yes it didn’t start until Wednesday morning. But I came knowing I was going to leave Wednesday afternoon because I was to check into the hospital Thursday morning. But I came anyhow, wanted to see my car and Richard moved it away from to shop, had Coach ( Donnie ) drive it. I had not even driven it yet.
But I came anyway. People do make time for what is important to them. As far as how much money the car would sell for after I’m gone I dont give a rats ass. It’s not about money it’s about Buick coming out with a car with a little six and still kicking ass 30 years later. You can talk about the 1960’s muscle cars there were many, I know I had one. But nothing shock the world like these Buick’s. That’s all folks.
 
Life does get in the way. I attended Renyolds every year even when my Buick was down. Burlington is a 12 hour trek. Lil harder to make if I get screwed over on vacation days. I had to work all night thursday night and be back at work Sunday morning. Logistics were against me!
 
I think younger people DO like the G Body cars, but mot are priced out of their reality. So, as the owners gray and sell off, a "price correction" will happen. Not saying nice cars won't bring money. They just won't bring stupid money for much longer, if anymore.

G bodies aren't even close to that point. 50s/60s cars yes I agree, their heyday is at the backside of its peak. But the average g body lover is 30s/40s aged. Be 25-35 years before we all die off.

However. 30s/40s aged is when most of us are at our busiest/most stressful time of our lives. Either family or career or both. I'm no exception. The car I used to maintain religiously and obsess over now sits and collects a lot of dust. I keep it because the day will come when I can obsess over it again. But I'm coming up on 12 straight years of daycare payments (sometimes with two kids at once and each exceeds my house payment) and the hobbies take a back seat sometimes.
 
I showed up on Tuesday afternoon, yes it didn’t start until Wednesday morning. But I came knowing I was going to leave Wednesday afternoon because I was to check into the hospital Thursday morning. But I came anyhow, wanted to see my car and Richard moved it away from to shop, had Coach ( Donnie ) drive it. I had not even driven it yet.
But I came anyway. People do make time for what is important to them. As far as how much money the car would sell for after I’m gone I dont give a rats ass. It’s not about money it’s about Buick coming out with a car with a little six and still kicking ass 30 years later. You can talk about the 1960’s muscle cars there were many, I know I had one. But nothing shock the world like these Buick’s. That’s all folks.

Hey Ray; I think we met Wed afternoon. Sorry you had to leave but hope things have gone well for you since then. It was a very nice event!


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Ray and Charles, very nice seeing and talking with you both! Ray your friend talked to me, very nice guy he seemed serious I told him I was ready LOL
 
Ray and Charles, very nice seeing and talking with you both! Ray your friend talked to me, very nice guy he seemed serious I told him I was ready LOL
Yes I know, I talk with him today. He wants to be damn sure he will be faster then me. Spoke very highly of you. Glad you guys got to talk. Ray
 
Let's be real. These cars are a cult. They were NEVER mainstream. They were never super popular. OK maybe from 87-90. They were peculiar cars in a time right after the darkest era for automobiles, the late 70's to early 80's. Then they became the brightest star for a couple of years and a bright star for many years after that.
If you own and love this car you have to be a sadomasochist, unless you have it as a trophy in your garage. You have to ENJOY experiencing pain and frustration and disappointment. You have to have a low self esteem. You need a specialty mechanic. Your brakes will fail. Your cam will wipe. Your T tops will leak. Your bumper fillers will disintegrate. You will smell like exhaust (header crack) and burning (from your crossover pipe) oil. You will leave an oil stain everywhere you park. Your horn button cover will crack. Your power antenna will break. All the above will happen if you ONLY park it in your garage. If you race it you could add a tranny among other things to that list. And I love these cars. It is my dream car. I have been involved with these cars since early 90's. You could check my joined date on this site.
Along with "it's fast", " I want to set this thing on fire" or "I want to give it a gasoline car wash" is also a very common statement made about our cars. Actually I was just at the track Friday and spoke with someone who was racing and just got his engine back from a mechanic and he had stated something similar to 'pouring gas on it and lighting a match" because he was so frustrated. I just met him about 30 seconds before he had told me that.
I remember going to Raceway Park every Labor Day with my wife/girlfriend (same person) to watch them race the Mustangs and for the car show. Those were the glory days. I remember hitting Bowling Green in the late 90's early 2000's (before the GSCA/Lassiter BS) and it was like Turbo Buick heaven. Absolutely sick driving anywhere in Bowling Green. GN's everywhere. Well over 100 GN's in the show. I don't have any illusions of ever going back to that. But I am more happy that we had those days rather than saddened that they don't exist now.
I give MUCH respect to people like Kirban, SpoolFool, David Husek, GNS, G Body Parts, Coach, TA Performance, Mark Huffman (and I KNOW I am forgetting others-please forgive me) that are still making new parts for this rare cult vehicle. I literally can't believe that they are. I give MUCH respect to people like John Csordas, Raul Diaz, KDK, Bison, Cotton (and I KNOW I am forgetting others-please forgive me) who are still wrenching on these cars and know what the F they are doing. I give MUCH respect to Richard Clark, Kirban and Shane (and I KNOW I am forgetting others-please forgive me) who foster our addiction by housing events and keeping this website going. I always try to get GN guys together but a lot of them don't like to drive their cars. I try to heed my friend Fred's advice "why should I save it so when I die my nephew's could buy a brand new Cadillac?" Pretty sound logic. I'm probably going to die smelling like oil and exhaust. Unless SpoolFool's Drip Lip works!!!
Driving home we saw a GN on the highway that had nothing to do with the show and I was still awestruck by it. I wasn't thinking that he must smell like oil, or that his brakes probably didn't work, or that he had to travel 100 miles to find a mechanic, or that he had just left an oil stain at the gas station. All I thought was, 'man that car looks bada$$!! Thank you God that I have one.'
 
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Steve V,

You may have seen Ray and Charles but I bet he didn't see you.! :cool:


Sorry, I tried to resist but I just couldn't see myself not doing it. :p
 
Its a wonder these events still exist at all. Think about going to a Mustang event and seeing all Popular Fox body years only! It would be a small and boring event.

ANY Mustang event u see these days pretty much includes Mustangs from 2003-2004 and 2011+. Wont see too many from 1987-93 and thats 6 years to chose from so id say these events are still doing great!
 
G bodies aren't even close to that point. 50s/60s cars yes I agree, their heyday is at the backside of its peak. But the average g body lover is 30s/40s aged. Be 25-35 years before we all die off.

However. 30s/40s aged is when most of us are at our busiest/most stressful time of our lives. Either family or career or both. I'm no exception. The car I used to maintain religiously and obsess over now sits and collects a lot of dust. I keep it because the day will come when I can obsess over it again. But I'm coming up on 12 straight years of daycare payments (sometimes with two kids at once and each exceeds my house payment) and the hobbies take a back seat sometimes.

Dude! I hear ya on the daycare payments. I got 2 little ones in daycare right now and the monthly bill is higher than my house payment. My funds are extremely limited so I don't really have a modification budget to speak of...rather a budget that allows me to keep a car on the road as best possible.

I am new to these cars, but have always admired them. My first car was a G body and I'm glad to be back in one. I feel like I'm 16 again everytime I'm out in it. I will say the cost of the TRs is a huge discrepancy compared to any other G Body out there.
 
Its a wonder these events still exist at all. Think about going to a Mustang event and seeing all Popular Fox body years only! It would be a small and boring event.

ANY Mustang event u see these days pretty much includes Mustangs from 2003-2004 and 2011+. Wont see too many from 1987-93 and thats 6 years to chose from so id say these events are still doing great!


Few years ago wife and I drove to an event. Didn't know it was mustang night. The Buick was an oddly popular draw. Sadly, all those powerful mustangs and not one bite after the event :( Maybe the Buick still carries some sway...

Haven't been to an event in years. Last few we attended we were the only TR.
 
Thank God I never had to put my kids into daycare. Wife stayed at home first 14+ years we were married. Raised 'em.
Extra dough went into cars, I guess.
 
I definitely try to support our local Buick events every summer but it's really had to take days off work to attend events many miles away. Maybe when I retire in 10-12 years, these events are still around and I can attend.
 
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