| 1965 Buick Riviera |
The Riviera was a kind of American Bentley Continental. Conceived as Buick’s answer to the best selling Ford
Thunderbird, but eschewing the chrome and glitz of its contemporaries, the Riviera was blessed with some of the finest
styling to come out of Detroit in the 1960s. It was swoopy yet restrained and had presence and gravitas where Cadillacs
and Chrysler Imperials were merely big. In a word, it had class. The 1965 was the third year and last of the original body
style.
Under the hood was the inevitable V-eight engine, initially a 6.5 liter, later with 7.0 liters and anything up to 365bhp. Even
with the obligatory two speed gearbox, this huge five-seater was good for 130mph, although handling was strictly
conventional on the separate chassis and the brakes were really never up to the job, quickly succumbing to the dreaded
fade at high speed. Inside the Riviera driver wanted for nothing, with electric windows and power steering as part of the
package and a dashboard that looked distinctly tasteful by Detroit standards. Rivieras came equipped with a
speedometer safety buzzer, tilt steering wheel, upper and lower instrument panel pads, full carpeting, double door
releases, and walnut paneling on the instrument and door panels.
The production run for 1965 was 34,586. The Manufacturer’s Suggest Retail Prince was $4,318.00
Inevitably, in a land of built-in obsolescence, Buick fiddled with the Rivera’s classic styling – most memorably the
clamshell-covered head lights – and after 1965 the car lost something of its unique personality, sharing its underpinnings
and structure with the Cadillac Eldorado.
Thunderbird, but eschewing the chrome and glitz of its contemporaries, the Riviera was blessed with some of the finest
styling to come out of Detroit in the 1960s. It was swoopy yet restrained and had presence and gravitas where Cadillacs
and Chrysler Imperials were merely big. In a word, it had class. The 1965 was the third year and last of the original body
style.
Under the hood was the inevitable V-eight engine, initially a 6.5 liter, later with 7.0 liters and anything up to 365bhp. Even
with the obligatory two speed gearbox, this huge five-seater was good for 130mph, although handling was strictly
conventional on the separate chassis and the brakes were really never up to the job, quickly succumbing to the dreaded
fade at high speed. Inside the Riviera driver wanted for nothing, with electric windows and power steering as part of the
package and a dashboard that looked distinctly tasteful by Detroit standards. Rivieras came equipped with a
speedometer safety buzzer, tilt steering wheel, upper and lower instrument panel pads, full carpeting, double door
releases, and walnut paneling on the instrument and door panels.
The production run for 1965 was 34,586. The Manufacturer’s Suggest Retail Prince was $4,318.00
Inevitably, in a land of built-in obsolescence, Buick fiddled with the Rivera’s classic styling – most memorably the
clamshell-covered head lights – and after 1965 the car lost something of its unique personality, sharing its underpinnings
and structure with the Cadillac Eldorado.