Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve always found the special editions that popped up around the 1976 American Bicentennial to be a little bit too over the top. Way too much red, white and blue marketing seemed to be going on, and in the days of government-mandated pollution control systems that crippled horsepower, railroad-tie bumpers and broughams as far as the eye could see, most of the cars seen in patriotic colors seemed to just not work. In reality, the most American-feeling production car made at the time, the 1974 Pontiac Trans-Am Super Duty, was one year gone.

But after being tapped for Pace Car duties for the 1975 Indianapolis 500, a rolling American flag is exactly what we got. The design was the work of Gary D. Smith, who had come up with the design after he noticed how the flanks of the early A-body coupe easily worked as a waving flag setup. The actual pace car got a worked-over 455, but the street-going cars were powered by Buick 350s and came with the heavy-duty suspension setup.

Forum member “Eliteman76” knows well my taste for mid-1970s machines, but I don’t think he was ready for my response, which was pretty much the sound a cat makes when it eats something it doesn’t like. Different strokes for different folks and all that, but I am not feeling the love for the patriotic Buick.  It is too much, visually and cost-wise, and the only selling points for me are the horseshoe-handle shifter, the classic Buick sport wheel and the T-tops. But maybe I’m wrong. Maybe all that’s needed is a cleanup, a quick once-over on the paint, and some freshened graphics to make this Buick everything it can be.

What’s your call, readers?

Facebook Marketplace: 1975 Buick Century Indy Pace Car