Buick Century
Buick Century is the model name that was used by Buick for a line of upscale full-size cars from 1936 to 1942 and 1954 to 1958, as well as from 1973 to 2005 for mid-size cars.
The first Buick Century debuted in 1936 as a shorter and lighter model featuring the same engine as the bigger Roadmaster and Limited series giving it more performance. The Century name was then used on six generations of cars of varying sizes as well as performance and trim levels.
In 1969, Buick developed a concept car known as the Century Cruiser.
Series 60 (1930–1935)
Originally, the Series 60 had a six-cylinder engine, developing at 2,800 rpm. It had, at the beginning of the generation, a full-length running board denoting the top model for Buick at the time. In 1930, GM built 38,180 cars. The bodystyles available were torpedo, sedan, coupe, and roadster convertible, using GM's "B-body" platform.In 1931, the running board was reduced and a new straight-eight engine and. Aesthetically, the Series 60 remained almost unchanged, and the same fact occurred also in the following year. In 1931 and 1932, a total of 55,135 were produced.
In 1933, the length of the body increased. The engine power increased to. In 1934, the appearance was changed to a more rounded appearance, with a new eight-cylinder engine and 100 hp. In 1935, the model remained almost unchanged. Total production from 1933 to 1935 was 31,385. In 1936, the model changed its name to "Century".
First generation (1936–1942)
Buick renamed its entire model lineup for the 1936 model year to celebrate the engineering improvements and design advancements over their 1935 models, introducing a "streamlined" appearance. 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 the shorter behind-the-engine cowl Special bodies to the Roadmaster's larger straight-eight engine. While the Special was powered by Buick's 233 cu in inline-8, rated at 3200 rpm, Centurys produced between 1936 and 1942 were powered by the 320-cubic-inch producing, making them the fastest Buicks of the era and capable of sustained speeds of, hence the name Century, earning the Century the nickname "the banker's hot rod."
The Century was discontinued at the end of the abbreviated 1942 model year, during which total model production only accounted for about 10% of Buick's total output.
Second generation (1954–1958)
Buick reintroduced the Century using the same formula of mating the smaller, lighter Buick Special body to its largest and most powerful 322 cubic inch "Nailhead" 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.Introduced in the middle of the 1955 model year, the four-door Buick Century Riviera along with the four-door Special Riviera, the four-door Oldsmobile 98 Holiday, and four-door 88 Holiday, were the first four-door hardtops ever produced. For the first time the Century wore four "VentiPorts" on the front fenders, just like the larger Buick Roadmaster and Super; making more apparent its status above that of the Special.
In 1955, the California Highway Patrol placed a large fleet order for Century two-door sedans, a body style unavailable to the general public. It combined the Special two-door sedan body shell with Century powertrain and trim. Broderick Crawford was shown driving a two-door Century sedan during the first season of his popular syndicated TV series Highway Patrol. Power brakes were optional. Tubeless tires were new.
The Century remained Buick's performance line, with engine power rising from 200 in 1954, to 236 in 1955, to 255 in 1956, and topping out at 300 from a bored-out engine in 1957–58, the last model years for the full-sized Century line.
In 1956, the Century's base price was $2,963. Power windows were standard in the convertible. A padded safety dash became optional.
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 proved expensive to manufacture and unpopular with customers, so GM did not bring it back for 1959.
For 1959, Buick renamed the Century the Invicta.
Third generation (1973–1977)
The Buick Century nameplate was revived for the 1973 model year on the rear-wheel drive intermediate A-body platform, which was redesigned for this year. The name replaced Skylark for Buick's mid-sized cars. The Century Regal coupe was added at the top of the model range, and later became a separate series, dropping the Century name. It was available with two- and four-barrel versions of the Buick 350, putting out, respectively. The 455 was also an option. The base Century and Century 350 coupes had a fastback roof with large rear quarter glass, while the Century Luxus featured a more formal notchback roofline with narrow opera windows.By replacing the Skylark, the Century inherited the Gran Sport performance option. The package was available with any engine and included upgraded suspension, additional instrumentation, and unique appearance treatment. Dual exhaust increased output of the four-barrel 350 to. While the Stage I 455 was somewhat diminished from its performance heyday due to emission controls, output was competitive for the era at and. A Saginaw three-speed manual was standard with either 350 engine. A Muncie M-21 four-speed was available with either 350 or with the regular 455, while the Stage I required a Turbo-Hydramatic 400.
For 1975, the Luxus was renamed Century Custom. The new 231 V6 was installed as standard equipment along with a three-speed manual transmission on coupes and sedans, and the big-block 455 was no longer available. The four-barrel 350 V8 became standard on station wagons. A new landau top became available for fastback coupes that partially covered the rear quarter glass, giving an appearance similar to the formal-roof Century Custom. A Century Special coupe was added to the lineup, using the fastback roofline. The Special was marketed as an economy variant of the Century and was only available with the V6 engine.
In 1976, the US government legalized rectangular headlights, and Buick promptly added them to the Century, positioned side-by-side on coupes and stacked vertically on sedans. Sedans received a taller, more-formal grille, while coupes got an angled, body-colored front end along with new bodyside sheetmetal that lacked the traditional "sweepspear". The Gran Sport option was discontinued.
In 1977, the V6 engine was revised to be even-firing, and a Oldsmobile V8 was added as an option for station wagons.
Buick Centuries were used in the 1975 and 1976 Indianapolis Motor Speedway as pace cars. Buick introduced a 1975 Buick Century "Free Spirit" edition replica based on the Indy Pace Car for the public with patriotic graphic decals and the Buick Hawk on the hood. This 1975 vehicle had a transmission shifter on the floor with bucket seats and "Hurst Hatch" T-tops installed. The white exterior and blue/white interior was based on the 1975 two-door sheet metal. The engine was a 350 V8, as opposed to the 455 V8 used on the actual Indy 500 Pace Car. Alternatively, in 1976, Buick introduced the "Free Spirit" edition of the Indy Pace Car; it was downsized to the 1976 Special facelift sheet metal with a 231 V6. The original Indy Pace Car had the turbocharged 231 V6. The replica featured a rakish silver, black, and red paint job with black interior. The vehicle had positive-traction differential.
Fourth generation (1978–1981)
GM downsized its intermediate line, reducing wheelbase by 4″ and curb weight by nearly half a ton. The Century name was now applied to the entire range except for the coupe, which retained the Regal name. The Century was initially offered as an "aeroback" fastback two-door coupe and a fastback four-door sedan along with a station wagon model. The car was over a foot shorter, several inches narrower, and several hundred pounds lighter than its predecessor. V6 engines were still standard due to fuel economy regulations. Big-block engines were gone and the new base powerplant was Buick's new V6, introduced specifically for the Century and Regal. The V6, and the Chevrolet 305 V8 were options. The Pontiac and replaced the Chevrolet engine for 1979.One of the more 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 and reduced emissions. 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 two fastback models proved unpopular. For 1980, the fastback four-door sedan was dropped in favor of a conventional notchback four-door sedan. After 1980, the Century fastback coupe was discontinued. With the introduction of the new front-wheel drive Century in 1982, the existing notchback sedan and wagon models were transferred to the Regal line.
Fifth generation (1982–1996)
In January 1982, another downsized Century arrived, this time on the front-wheel drive A platform, in coupe and sedan forms. In October 1983, a station wagon was added to the lineup to replace the departed Regal wagon. The 1984 model year also had an Olympic version of the Buick Century, commemorating the 1984 games in Los Angeles, California. In 1985, all 1986 versions were "freshened" with a new, more angular front fascia. Wheelbase was, with overall length. Both four-cylinder gasoline units 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 Buick's 181 cu in V6 producing, the Century T-Type's performance was modest, but the 3.8 SFI engine, producing, offered spirited performance in this comparatively lightweight vehicle.For 1985 and 1986, Hess & Eisenhardt/Car Craft of Lima, Ohio converted 124 finished Buick Century coupes into coachbuilt convertibles. Although these convertibles were sold as new cars through Buick dealerships, these conversions were not factory authorized. In 1986, the engine distributor was replaced by a coil-pack ignition system that proved to be far more reliable than the system that it replaced. The Venezuelan-built models were sold as the "Chevrolet Century" in South America and the Caribbean. In Mexico, it was sold as the Century Limited. Introduced for 1984, it was the top model for General Motors Mexico, and it survived successfully the import car wave from 1991 and continued in production until the 1996 model year.
The Century received a facelift in late 1988 for the 1989 model year, gaining a new more-rounded roofline, but continuing on the A-body platform. Black plastic inserts with the Buick trishield emblem replaced the rear quarter windows. The front end received flush headlamps and a rounded grille, and the stand-up hood ornament was now standard. All sedan models were easily distinguished by their distinctive full-width tail lights, a somewhat extravagant flourish on a smaller sedan, but one that carried on a Buick tradition of big tail lights. The 3300 was introduced in 1989 as a lower-powered alternative to the 3800 cc power plant. The smaller engine featured multiport fuel injection, waste spark distributor-less ignition controlled by the ECM after startup, but had no balance shaft. An interior refresh came in 1989 for 1990 models.
1991 facelift
For the 1991 model year, the Century received another slight facelift featuring a bigger radiator grille and different headlamps. Also, the interior received new door panels moving the window switches and door lock switches into a more convenient configuration found on more modern cars, where the switch location corresponds with the window location in the car body. This feature never appeared on its sibling the Oldsmobile Ciera, which retained the inline switch bank mounted flush with the door panel, the rear switch being the drivers door window. The Century windows switches were not backlit, but lit by a small bulb in the door panel trim above the switch bank. Other interior changes included new seat covers, and relocating the front outboard seat belts from the A pillar into the door, functioning as "automatic" seat belts so that the belts could be buckled and the door opened and closed while still buckled. The driver and front passenger could enter and exit the vehicle while the seat belt was still fastened.For 1993, the 2.5 L I4 was replaced with a new 115 hp 2.2 I4. For 1994, the slow-selling coupe model was dropped, and all models received a standard driver's-side airbag. Also in 1993, the 3.3 L Buick 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 with the introduction of MFI. Midway through the 1994 model year, a round speedometer replaced the wide rectangular one, but the car still carried on with the original dash.
Despite its dated design, the Century and its sibling the Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera still sold well during the 1990s and proved both reliable and profitable to GM since their tooling costs had been monetized. In general, the A-body platform was very sturdy, and quality was improved every year while more standard features were added.
Engines
Sixth generation (1997–2005)
The Century was redesigned for the last time in December 1996. The four-door sedan was the only body style offered, and was still a front-wheel drive, V6-powered configuration. Plainer "Custom" and fancier "Limited" trim levels were carried over from the previous generation. The redesign moved Centurys to the W-body platform, rejoining its former Regal sibling. In this generation, the Century and Regal were nearly the same car, distinguished only by seating configurations, trim and engine differences. Since the Century was lower-priced than the Regal, it was also the lower-powered and plainer of the two, offering only a 3.1 L V6. In keeping with its traditional image, the six-passenger Century came equipped with a front bench seat and column shifter, while the more performance-oriented five-passenger Regal came standard with front bucket seats and console shifter.After the 1998 discontinuation of the Skylark, the Century became Buick's entry-level car for the first time. For 2003, all trim levels were eliminated, leaving one standard model. Additionally, the "Century" nameplate on the front doors was dropped, and only seen on the vehicle's tail lights.
Changes were relatively few over the Century's nine-year run. The all-new Buick LaCrosse replaced both the Century and Regal. A limited run of Centurys with special trim were produced for 2005 to mark the end of the name. GM rolled the last Buick Century off the Oshawa assembly line on October 25, 2004.
The Buick Century was produced in China as the New Century from 1998 to 2000, and ran on the 3.0 liter LW9 V6 engine which was also used in the first-generation Buick GL8. A four cylinder model was also available paired to a 5 speed manual gearbox. The Century was replaced by the Buick Regal due to poor sales.