So Lohnes decided to reply to the Ford wagon I offered up with a copycat version of the car that started it all. A 1973 Oldsmobile and a 1975 Pontiac aren’t that far apart from each other, and if there is one thing GM has been well-known for, it’s selling one item seven ways. You even picked a red/red/wood tape car! C’mon man, originality has to count for something here. So let’s get out of the older stuff for a minute and catch up with the most modern take on a station wagon. And yes, I’m ignoring SUVs altogether and focusing on traditional body-on-frame station wagons. By the early 1990s they were on the endangered list. Ford killed off their big wagons in 1992, and Chrysler hadn’t had a rear-drive wagon since 1981, and hadn’t had a full-size wagon since 1977. Only GM was left with station wagons, offered up in Chevrolet Caprice, Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser and Buick Roadmaster Estate versions. Excepting 1A2-coded Caprice Wagons (it’s analogous to the 9c1 Caprice police pack), the GM B-body wagons were taking tradition to the end: big, comfortable, cruisers.
The best way to explain a mid-1990s Buick wagon to anyone is that it’s a Caprice wagon with a lot more stuffing in the interior. And that’s the truth, since Buick’s median buying age during this time period was deep in their mid-60s and looking for more of the same product that they had been buying for decades. This particular blue example is the base 350, automatic version (not the LT1), and hasn’t broken 100,000 miles yet. While Lohnes is trying to coax a half-dead carbureted 455 to life in the winter, the most work I’ll have to do is make sure the car has fuel. Score one for me.
The interior is spotless and the outside is stunning. It’s always nice to see these in a color other than white. Just look at that room! With the seats folded this Roadmaster would give a Tahoe a run for it’s money in the cargo carrying department, and of course, my favorite feature, the “Little Bastard In The Back Window Flipping Me Off” third-row seat is present and accounted for, as well as the multifunction tailgate.
Inside you have the full gauge package and an interior color that (gasp!) isn’t black, gray or mauve. And it looks good, not cartoony. One benefit of Buick selling to the geriatric crowd is that these things are damn comfortable and everything is easy to work. All of the seating surfaces look immaculate, as they should, since this car is a one-owner unit.
So there you have it, my last piece of standard artillery. Come hell, high water or another wayward shot by Lohnes, I’ve only got one more offer left in the Wagon War. Will Brian give me something that’s worth taking on, or will he wave the white flag? Only time will tell…
eBay Link: 1992 Buick Roadmaster Estate
Too much of a 90s jellybean car, it has no class or dignity.
Push, comfy, dead reliable, easily upgraded engine and trans, invisible to cops…
Excellent choice.
They are the ultimate blender car. I cruise 80 on the freeway most of the time. Averaged 85mph going to Speedweek last year. Plan to pull the engine and trans for a swap into my S10.
If only that dash cluster wasn’t so…………..bland. The car is awesome in all regards except what you have to look at every time you’re driving. So close.
My ’95 Impala SS is “tired” at 245k miles so I’m looking for something like this. I’ll hold out for a 94-96 with the LT1, wheels/tires from the Impala SS, reasonable tint on the windows and roll on down the hiway.
Hey – with gas being around $1.80, you can finally afford to drive this asphalt luxury liner!
I average 19 to 21mpg in my general running around, and hit 24 on road trips.
I like it, sad that this was supposed to rival BMW and Mercedes wagon offerings? The 70-s were over a long time before these were offered.