The 1961 Buick represented a shifting point for General Motors’ deeply troubled premium-priced brand. The car’s styling lurched from the swaggering flamboyance of the 1950s to the more utilitarian conservatism of the 1962-64 models.
This shift was particularly apparent in the bubble-shaped, two-door hardtop Buick LeSabre shown above. The roof’s design, which was shared with GM’s other lower-priced big cars, was offered for only year.
Like the sci-fi designs of the previous decade, the 1961 Buick still had a fair amount of rounded contours. The brand also sported a few gaudy details, such as the Nash-like taillights and spear-shaped front fenders (with even more pointed bumper tips).
Even so, the tail fins were replaced by a tapered and horizontal rear end that was admirably free of chrome.
Meanwhile, side sculpting was much more angular . . . and rather plain. This hinted at the stylistic direction of the 1962-64 Buicks.
Buick marketing called its 1961 models “the clean look of action.” That wording suggested an apology for the overamped styling of the previous-year’s design, which had extravagant fins in both the front and rear.
New design placed more emphasis on practicality
In addition to new sheetmetal, the 1961 Buick was slightly less bulky. The LeSabre two-door hardtop saw reductions in weight (around 100 pounds), length (almost five inches) and width (two inches).
The most significant change to the big-car body Buick shared with other GM divisions was swapping out the “dogleg” windshield for a more traditional design. A Buick brochure stated that the A-pillar’s new shape allowed “the easiest getting in and out in years.”
Also see ‘1950 bucktoothed Buick: The definitive design statement from General Motors’
This was a frank acknowledgement that the dogleg could be challenging to navigate around, particularly as GM cars got lower. I would also imagine that the less complex shape of the new windshield was cheaper to manufacture.
Designers did maintain a hint of the old A-pillar’s design by giving its base a curve. Note that the beltline now arched upward into the A-pillar, which helped to better integrate the greenhouse with the rest of the car. This was unusual for that era.
GM apparently decided that its two-door hardtop body style needed more headroom because 1961 models were taller and the rear window was less rounded. As with the A-pillar, note how the C-pillar is more integrated into the beltline.
Buick carries forward an unusual interior feature
Styling on the inside of the 1961 Buick was also toned down somewhat. However, carried over from the previous year was an oddly-called “Mirromagic” instrument panel. This was an unusual setup whereby the speedometer and other gauges were reflected onto a mirror rather than seen directly by the driver.
Buick argued that this allowed you to “adjust the mirror to your most comfortable viewing height and at the same time direct eye-straining glare and reflection out of your line of vision.” Did it live up to its claims? I don’t know, but the feature was discontinued for 1962.
Buick’s makeover was a response to changing times
The most striking aspect of the Buick’s new styling was that it had a generic quality. The brand’s most iconic styling cue — the side sweepspear — was ditched. Fairly small, tacked-on fake portholes were now the main way to identify a Buick.
In addition, Buick’s entry-level LeSabre was pruned to the point where it was only four inches longer than a low-priced Chevrolet, down from seven inches the previous year.
Also see ‘1965-68 GM big cars: The end of different strokes’
The brand seemed to be running away from the big, bold styling of its past. That made a certain amount of sense because output had fallen to under 254,000 units in 1960. This represented a disastrous 66 percent drop from Buick’s peak of almost 739,000 units in 1955. To add insult to injury, in recent years Buick had been outsold by Oldsmobile and Pontiac, which it had traditionally bested.
The zeitgeist had changed. The big, glitzy and powerful cars that Buick championed in the 1950s had fallen out of favor due to both a recession and social criticism.
GM management responded to Buick’s sales collapse by giving the brand a makeover in 1961. In addition to a major redesign of the full-sized cars, a new compact was introduced. Dubbed the Special, this nameplate generated almost a third of Buick output for 1961.
How did Buick compare to GM’s other 1961 big cars?
For 1961 the Buick lineup was still priced higher than GM’s three other high-volume brands. For example, the list price of Buick’s entry-level LeSabre two-door hardtop was around $450 more than a top-end Chevrolet Impala, $400 more than an entry-level Pontiac Catalina and $200 more than Oldsmobile’s entry-level Dynamic 88.
Even so, the LeSabre no longer looked appreciably gaudier than its lower-priced siblings. In most respects it was more conservative. And where the Buick did show a little flair, it was surprisingly similar to the Oldsmobile. Both brands had double horizontal creases along their sides. In addition, the Buick’s pointed front fenders were echoed in the Oldsmobile’s rear fenders.
Did Buick still have a reason for existing? Production figures for 1961 gave a modest “yes” answer. Buick’s share of GM’s premium-priced, big-car output inched up three points to over 28 percent from 1960. However, for the next three years it settled back to around 25 percent.
Buick’s big cars didn’t really rebound until 1967
Interestingly, the full-sized Buicks didn’t get their mojo back until 1967, when the side sweepspear reappeared. I am not suggesting that styling was the key factor in Buick’s rebound, but I suspect that it helped. The cars were once again immediately recognizable as Buicks.
The 1961 Buick could be looked at as a stylistic detour that undercut the brand’s distinctiveness. That said, a reset was clearly needed. Changing times arguably required a trimmer, more practical design. However, that didn’t mean Buick needed to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
NOTES:
Production figures, specifications and/or prices are from the auto editors of Consumer Guide (2006), Gunnell (2002), Automobile Catalog (2022) and Wikipedia (2013).
Share your reactions to this post with a comment below or a note to the editor.
RE:SOURCES
- Auto editors of Consumer Guide; 2006. Encyclopedia of American Cars. Publications International, Lincolnwood, Ill.
- Automobile Catalog; 2022. Accessed Dec. 20.
- Gunnell, John; 2002. Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1946-1975. Revised 4th Ed. Krause Publications, Iola, WI.
- Wikipedia; 2022. “U.S. Automobile Production Figures.” Page last modified Jan. 26.
ADVERTISING & BROCHURES:
- wildaboutcarsonline.com (Automotive History Preservation Society): Buick (1961); Chevrolet (1961); Oldsmobile (1961); Pontiac (1961)
- oldcarbrochures.org: Buick (1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1967)
Concerning the mirrored speedometer, I think I may have an answer why they stopped using it. I bought a ’61 rust free parts car from west Texas, as I needed the lower body parts to replace a north eastern rust bucket’s missing body parts. When I sat in the car after it was dropped off at my shop, I noticed the speedometer’s horizontal face was covered with a coating of baked-on dust/dirt, that after cleaning, left the clear plastic speedo cover badly scratched.
We could wonder if the arrival of the “senior compact”, the Special along with the Skylark coupe for the 1961 model year (who’ll evolve into an intermediate for 1964) and to a latter extent, the introduction of the Riviera might have get the attention of some full-size Buick buyers?
While Buick motor company did continue to produce a fine automobile over the years , probably the main reason their sales declined was due to higher costs for models like the Electra or Lasabre which was notably higher than other GM cars of that era . Sure, a Buick is always going to cost more to purchase than a Ford or Chevrolet . Theres an old saying : ” You cannot get a Cadillac for the price of a Chevrolet ” and that was true back in the old days and is still true today ! Happy Motoring !