Retro Review: This Look Back At The 1984 Buick Century Estate Wagon Is Grandma Approved


Retro Review: This Look Back At The 1984 Buick Century Estate Wagon Is Grandma Approved

The mini-van was a transformative vehicle in the 1980s and Chrysler was cleaning up, leaving all the other manufacturers to scramble for their own version. GM was among the scramblers and in 1984 they were fighting on the wrong side of the battle. Trying to take on the mini-van with mid-sized wagons was just not going to cut it and they knew that. The company had a crash program going together but while that was being completed, a refresh on the A-body station wagons was needed. Hence this car.

For whatever reason, this design, maybe the size of the wagon, etc connected with old people in ways no one could have imagined. I know my grandparents had one, guessing someone you knew over the age of 65 had one, and Buick sold ’em with ferocity. The engine in this car is an interesting piece. A 3.0L Buick V6 that’s a short deck version of the tried and true 3.8L engine powered these cars. Compression was 8.45:1 and horsepower output was 110. It did not make for lightning fast acceleration but those were reliable engines that trooped on for hundreds of thousands of miles.

This plain-Jane wagon was tasked with the impossible. Standing up to the mini-van onslaught. And it did. Usually with a person sporting white hair behind the wheel.

Press play to see this 1984 video review of the 1984 Buick Century Estate Wagon –


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