Buick Century

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Buick Century

Manufacturer:	General Motors
Production:	1936–1942, 1954–1958, 1973–2005
Assembly:	Oshawa, Ontario, Canada Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Framingham, Massachusetts
Successor:	Buick LaCrosse
Class:	Full-size (1936–1958) Mid-size (1973–2005)
Body style:	2-door coupé 4-door sedan 2-door convertible
Platform:	FR A-body (1973-1981) FF A-body (1982-1996) FF W-body (1997-2005)
Related:	Buick Regal Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera Oldsmobile Intrigue Pontiac 6000 Chevrolet Celebrity Pontiac Grand Prix
Similar:	Chrysler Sebring Mercury Sable Toyota Camry

1941 Buick Century

Buick Century was a model name used by the Buick division of General Motors for a line of full-size performance vehicles from 1936 to 1942 and 1954 to 1958; Buick also used the Century name from 1973 to 2004 for its value-added mid-size cars.

1 Full-size Century
- 1.1 1936–1942
- 1.2 1954–1958
2 Mid-size Century
- 2.1 1973
- 2.2 1978
- 2.3 1982
  - 2.3.1 Engines
- 2.4 1989
  - 2.4.1 Engines
- 2.5 1997
  - 2.5.1 Engines
3 Future
4 Factory sites
5 External links

[edit] Full-size Century

[edit] 1936–1942

1938 Buick Century Sport Coupe

Buick renamed its entire model lineup for the 1936 model year to celebrate the engineering improvements and design advancements over their 1935 models. Buick's Series 40 model range became the Special, the Series 80 became the Roadmaster and the Series 90—Buick's largest and most luxurious vehicles, became the Limited. The Century took the place of the Series 60.

The basic formula for the 1936 to 1942 Century was established by mating shorter wheelbase Buick Special bodies to Buick's eight-cylinder engine. While the Special was powered by Buick's 233 in³ was rated 93 hp at 3200 rpm, Centuries produced between 1936 to 1942 were powered by Buick's inline 320.2 in³ at 120 hp, making them the fastest Buicks of the era and capable of sustained speeds of 95 mph plus, earning the Century the nickname "banker's hotrod".

The Century was discontinued at the end of the abbreviated 1942 model year, during which total model production only accounted for about ten percent of Buick's total output.

[edit] 1954–1958

Image:Buick-century-57.jpg

1957 Buick Century Convertible

In 1954, Buick reintroduced the Century using the same formula of mating the smaller, lighter Buick Special body to its V8 engine with the intent of giving Buick a performance vehicle. Included in the model lineup during this period was a station wagon model, a body style that had been unavailable during the Century's first production period of 1936 to 1942.

In 1955, the California Highway Patrol placed a large fleet order for Century 2-door sedans, a body style unavailable to the general public.

Because the Century was considered the senior "small Buick", the model received GM's only hardtop station wagon, the Century Caballero, from 1957 through 1958. The Caballero's expensive tooling, plus its limited sales appeal, caused GM to abandon the hardtop station wagon body style going into its planned 1959 divisional-wide new design program.

Buick's 1959 complete lineup name changes retired the Century name for full-sized cars, replacing the 'most spirited Buick' with the Buick Invicta series.

[edit] Mid-size Century

[edit] 1973

1977 Buick Century Special landau coupe

Buick Century was placed on the rear-wheel drive A-body sharing with siblings like Pontiac Grand Prix, Pontiac LeMans, Pontiac GTO, Pontiac Cam-Am, Pontiac Grand Am, and Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. When all of GM's intermediate models were redesigned in 1973, the Century name reappeared on Buick's mid-size sedans and wagons and some coupes. (Previously the Skylark had been Buick's entry in this market segment.) Beginning at this point, Century was a mainstay of Buick's smaller line, along with the new upmarket Regal coupe. With the vanishing of the Skylark coupe after 1972, the Century inherited the potent Gran Sport performance option. While the Stage I 455 in³ (7.5 L) V8 was somewhat diminished from its performance heydays due to emission controls, the Century GS coupes of 1973 to 1975 remained strong performers by the standards of the time. At the other end of the power spectrum, to meet fuel economy regulations, some later models of this generation were equipped with 231 in³ (3.8 L) V6s.

Between 1975 and 1977, a Buick Special coupe was marketed as part of the Century model lineup as an entry level vehicle. Called the "Century Special" in Buick literature, the coupe was based on the 2-door colonnade bodystyle with the triangular quarter glass. The 1977 Century Special featured a rare landau coupe using the porthole quarter glass common to the 1974 to 1977 Chevrolet Malibu Classic and the Pontiac LeMans.

[edit] 1978

1978 Buick Century coupe

In 1978, a downsized, redesigned Century appeared in the form of a fastback coupe ("aeroback") and sedan (the bodystyle was shared with the Oldsmobile Cutlass Salon), as well as a more traditionally styled station wagon. V6 engines were standard due to fuel economy regulations. One of the more interesting and rare models of this time was the 1979 to 1980 Century Turbo Coupe, powered by a turbocharged version of the 3.8 L V6, which offered V8-like performance with more reasonable fuel consumption. The Turbo Coupe was not nearly as popular as the similar Regal Turbo Sport Coupe of the time, and total production is estimated to be less than 2,500. The fastback sedan also did not sell well (in common with the similar Cutlass Salon sedan) and it was revamped as a more conventional notchback in 1980. For 1981, the fastback coupe was dropped. With the introduction of the new front wheel drive Century in 1982 (see below), the existing notchback sedan and wagon models were transferred to the Regal line.

[edit] 1982

1982 Buick Century sedan

In 1982, another downsized Century arrived, this time on the front wheel drive A platform, in coupe and sedan form. In 1984, a station wagon was added to the lineup to replace the departed Regal wagon. 1984 also saw an Olympic version of the Buick Century, comemorating the 1984 games in Los Angeles. In 1986, all versions were "freshened" with a new, more angular front fascia. Wheelbase was 104.9 in (2664 mm), with 189 in (4800mm) overall length. Both four-cylinder and diesel V6 engines were offered in this generation, although neither became popular. Performance versions of several Buick models, including the Century coupe, were offered in the mid 1980s under the T-Type name. With a 181 in³ (3.0 L) V6 producing 110 hp (82 kW), the Century T-Type's performance was modest, but the 3.8 SFI engine, producing 140-150 hp (105-112 kW), offered spirited performance in this relatively lightweight vehicle.

[edit] Engines

1982–1985 2500 2.5 L (151 in³) I4
1982–1985 3.0 L (181 in³) V6
1986–1988 2.8 L (173 in³) V6
1984½–1988 3.8 L (231 in³) V6

[edit] 1989

1995 Buick Century Limited sedan

Buick Century wagon (1989-1996)

The Century received a facelift for 1989, gaining a new more-rounded roofline, but continuing on the aging A-body. Beginning in 1989, all models except wagons were easily known by their distinctive full-width taillights, a somewhat extravagant flourish on a smaller sedan, but one that carried on a Buick tradition of big taillights. An exterior refresh came in 1991. The 2.5 L I4 was replaced with a new 110 hp 2.2 L for 1993. For 1994, the coupe model was dropped, and all models received a standard driver's side airbag. Also in 1994, the 160 hp 3.3 L V6 was replaced with a 3.1 L V6 with the same power rating, and power on the 2.2 L I4 was up to 120 hp with the introduction of MFI.

[edit] Engines

1990–1992 2500 2.5 L (151 in³) I4, 110 hp, 135 ft·lbff
1989-1993 3300 3.3 L (204 in³) V6, 160 hp, 185 ft·lbff
1993 2.2 L (134 in³) I4, 110 hp, 130 ft·lbff
1994–1995 2.2 L (134 in³) I4, 120 hp, 130 ft·lbff
1994–1995 3.1 3.1 L (191 in³) V6, 160 hp, 185 ft·lbff

[edit] 1997

1997-2005 Buick Century

In 1997, what would become the last Century made, still a front wheel drive V6-powered configuration. The platform switched from the aging A-body to the W-body. Only a four-door sedan was offered, the coupe and wagon variants having vanished. In this generation, the Century and Regal were exactly the same car, distinguished only by trim and engine differences. Since the Century was lower-priced than the Regal, it was also the lower-powered and plainer of the two. Nevertheless, the design was well-proportioned and the car retained its reputation for quality. After the 1998 discontinuation of the Skylark, the Century for the first time became Buick's entry-level car. Buick tried to position the Century as a lower-priced alternative to Japanese family sedans like the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord.

Many late-model Buicks are difficult to distinguish from one another. The Century features a traditional Buick look with some chrome, while the Regal had a body-colored grille. This Century also looked very similar to the larger LeSabre. Visual cues include the Century's rounder headlights and more angular grille.

[edit] Engines

1996–1999 3.1 3.1 L (191 in³) V6 160 hp, 185 ft·lbf
2000–2005 3.1 3.1 L (191 in³) V6 175 hp, 195 ft·lbf

[edit] Future

From April 1999, Shanghai GM produced a version of the Century for the Chinese market. These models had slightly different names: the entry-level model was the Buick New Century, with more upscale models carrying the GL and GLX names. Later, G and GS models were added. Since the Century was sold in Asia, it shouldn't be confused with the Japanese-market Toyota Century.

In 2004, it was announced that the all-new Buick LaCrosse would replace both the Century and Regal in 2005. A limited run of Centuries with special trim were produced for 2005 to mark the end of the name. The last Buick Century rolled off the assembly line on October 15, 2004.

[edit] Factory sites

Most Centuries were built in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada; Framingham, Massachusetts, or Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and Mexico where the A-body cars were built. As of 1997, all Centuries were built in Oshawa, and the Oklahoma plant was retooled to build the Chevrolet Malibu. The Century was the only A-body car to cross over to the W-body.