Buick Roadmaster

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Buick Roadmaster

Also called:	Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon
Manufacturer:	General Motors
Production:	1950–1958 1991–1996
Predecessor:	Buick Electra (for 1991)
Class:	Full-size
Body style:	4-door sedan 4-door station wagon
Platform:	FR B-body
Related:	Chevrolet Caprice Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser
Similar:	Chrysler New Yorker Mercury Grand Marquis

The Roadmaster was an automobile built by the Buick division of General Motors. Buick first used the Roadmaster name between 1936 and 1958. In 1991, Buick again applied the Roadmaster name to its full-size rear-wheel drive sedan and station wagon models.

1 1936-1958
2 1991-1996
- 2.1 Year to year changes
3 Trivia
4 External links

[edit] 1936-1958

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

Roadmasters produced between 1936 and 1958 were built on Buick's longest wheelbase and shared its basic structure with senior Oldsmobiles. Between 1946 and 1957, the Roadmaster was Buick's premium and best appointed model, and was offered in sedan, coupe, convertible and station wagon bodystyles between 1936 and 1948. In 1949 a hardtop coupe, designated "Riviera" joined the model line up; a four-door hardtop joined the model range in 1956.

The 1953 Buick Roadmaster station wagon, Model 79-R, was the last wood-bodied station wagon mass-produced in the United States. Its body was a product of Iona Manufacturing which built all Buick station wagon bodies between 1946 and 1964. Priced at US$4,031, the wagon was second in price to the Buick Skylark. Only 670 of these final woody wagons were produced for 1953.

In 1959 Buick again introduced a model range that represented a significant shift in its body design, and the Roadmaster name was replaced by the Electra name.

[edit] 1991-1996

Buick revived the Roadmaster name for a B-body station wagon in 1991, replacing the Electra in the lineup. The wagon was called the Roadmaster Estate Wagon. A sedan joined it for 1992. The Roadmaster was very similar to the Chevrolet Caprice, and Oldsmobile sold a nearly-identical Custom Cruiser wagon for 1991 and 1992. Standard on all Roadmaster Estate Wagons were woodgrain sides and a "Vista Roof", a fixed sunroof over the second row seats. The Estate Wagon could seat up to eight with an optional third row seat. All these wagons initially used Chevrolet's 5.0 L small-block V8, but both Buicks used the larger 5.7 L version from 1992. However, GM discontinued both the Roadmaster sedan and the Roadmaster Estate Wagon in 1996. This was blamed on the smaller Park Avenue growing in size, but was in reality a response to the SUV craze. The Texas factory where RWD GM cars were built was converted to truck and SUV production. When discontinued, the Roadmaster Estate and the similar Chevrolet Caprice wagon brought up the end of the era of the full-size family station wagon.

[edit] Year to year changes

1992: A 4-door sedan joined the Roadmaster wagon as an early 1992 model, carrying the 5.7 L V8 engine that developed 180 hp. That engine also went into the Estate Wagon, replacing the 5.0 L.
1993: No major changes were made for 1993.
1994: A redesigned dashboard included a new instrument cluster, with climate controls mounted higher and a knee bolster below. Dual airbags were also installed, but what excited Roadmaster buyers most was that they now got a modified version of the LT1 engine used in the Chevrolet Corvette. Similar in displacement to the prior V8, the LT1 sent 260 hp to a new 4-speed automatic transmission.
1995: Only a handful of minor changes were made to 1995 models, including long-life automatic-transmission fluid. Larger, foldaway style mirrors were installed as well, and radios got bigger controls. Sedans wore new bodyside moldings, while Estate wagons added a shade for the "Vista Roof" as well as a cargo cover.
1996: The Roadmaster held out until 1996 when the end had clearly come. For its final year, the traditional, rear wheel drive Roadmaster enjoyed only a few changes. Engine coolant could last 5 years or 100,000 miles, and automatic climate control became standard. The Roadmaster Estate Wagon and the Chevrolet Caprice wagon would be the last full-size station wagons until the introduction of the Dodge Magnum sports wagon in 2005.

[edit] Trivia

This car features in Stephen King´s book From a Buick 8. Humboldt von Fleisher drove a Roadmaster in Saul Bellow's novel Humboldt's Gift.

A 1949 Roadmaster appears in the movie Rain Man.
Jack Nicholson and Leonardo DiCaprio's characters were driven around in a newer Roadmaster in The Departed although the car is rarely seen from the outside.